Volume 1: The Empire Awakens Chapter 30: Accepting the Test (Part 1)
The three of them still went to the restaurant. The proprietress was still very welcoming, but this time there was an extra young waitress. Later, Tan Renhao found out that the girl was called Qiong Huayu, the proprietress's daughter, who took advantage of her vacation to help her mother take care of the business in the store.
Hao Dongjue had a strong urge to "hunt for novelty", but after the wine and food were served, the three of them shifted their attention to the fleet's affairs.
Tan Renhao first introduced to the two the gains of the trip to Qingdao and some of his opinions. Finally, Tan Renhao asked Hao Dongjue a very important question, which was a question he had not mentioned in front of Chief of Staff Wu Xianyu.
"If it's just about improvement, it's very difficult. The other two bombers don't have too many problems, the most important one is the torpedo bomber."
Hao Dongjue is a pilot, so naturally he knows the most about airplanes.
"We are all familiar with the data of the 'Gannet'. Its design standard can only carry a torpedo with a maximum weight of 800 kilograms. If it takes off from a shore airport, it can only carry a 1,000-kilogram torpedo at most, which is the maximum bearing capacity of the ammunition rack.
If the 1,500 kg Swordfish torpedo is to be installed, the racks must be improved and the strength of several main fuselage frames must be strengthened.
This is a huge project. If we only use the personnel within the fleet to carry out the modification, it will be very difficult, and it is impossible to modify all the bombers in a short period of time. "
Tan Renhao frowned slightly.
"You mean to say that the Gannet is not suitable for the use of new torpedoes?"
Hao Dongjue nodded.
"This cannot be achieved by reducing the amount of fuel carried or removing redundant equipment from the aircraft to reduce weight. This involves the structural bearing capacity of the entire aircraft. Unless we have enough engineering and technical personnel and we have a very good understanding of the structure of the 'Gannet', it is impossible to complete the modification."
"The fleet should have no shortage of such personnel. The Fifth Air Wing has quite a few excellent ground crew members. Perhaps they can really do it."
Chang Jianxin interjected.
"Maybe, but it can only be a small batch modification, and the performance of the fighter will change greatly. The pilots need to familiarize themselves with the new fighter, especially the flight performance under full load. If they are not careful, they will not be able to fly at all."
Tan Renhao did not speak. The situation was already very clear. In the absence of new torpedo bombers, the only feasible way was to modify the "Gannet" so that it could carry "Swordfish" torpedoes into the sky. As long as the torpedoes could be dropped, that would be enough. As for the new torpedo bombers, it would probably take two or three years to get them.
"By the way, Renhao, you know that Marshal Sajitin is coming to our side, right?"
Chang Jianxin changed the subject. After all, those issues were not something the three of them, young staff officers, could care about.
Tan Renhao immediately shook his head and looked at Chang Jianxin with a questioning look.
"The marshal came to inspect the fleet when you went to Qingdao. Commander Liao Hanxiang accompanied the marshal to review the fleet, and they also performed a simulated bombing show."
Hao Dongjue rushed to speak, "I heard that Marshal Sajitin is very satisfied with the officers and soldiers of the Fifth Fleet, and he also discussed the development plan of the Fifth Fleet in detail with General Liao Hanxiang."
Now, Tan Renhao became interested.
"Did the Marshal give any instructions?"
Hao Dongjue shook his head.
“The marshal left that day, but I heard that the navy is drawing up a new development plan.
In two months, the cabinet will submit this year's financial report and next year's financial budget to Parliament.
I think Marshal Sagittin wants to submit the navy's budget to the cabinet as soon as possible to get more funding."
Tan Renhao nodded, this was a very reasonable explanation.
Marshal Sagittin was both the Commander-in-Chief of the Imperial Navy and Minister of the Admiralty.
At the end of each year or the beginning of each year (usually in late December or early January), the cabinet government will submit a fiscal expenditure report for the current year (previous year) to the House of Commons, and at the same time submit a fiscal budget report for the new year.
The House of Commons will take ten to fifteen days to complete the audit and review, and ultimately discuss the new fiscal budget for the new year with the cabinet. After reaching a consensus, the new fiscal budget will be approved.
In order to obtain the most military funds, the Navy Department would submit the new year's military budget to the Cabinet one month or even two months in advance.
Thinking of this, Tan Renhao suddenly understood.
Why is the Fifth Fleet in a hurry to conduct a test of its actual combat effectiveness at the end of this month?
As long as the test is passed and it is proven that the bombers carried by naval aircraft carriers can sink battleships, then General Liao Hanxiang will have sufficient reasons to request an increase in spending on the Fifth Fleet and naval aviation.
Marshal Sagittin was also able to apply to the cabinet for more naval funding with convincing evidence, and the cabinet government was able to get parliament to agree to the naval spending for the new year.
To put it bluntly, all of this is for money. Only with sufficient military funding can the construction of the navy, the Fifth Fleet, and the naval aviation force receive more support.
That night, the three of them mainly talked about this topic.
At the same time, all three realized that the inspection at the end of this month was extremely important. It was a key opportunity for the Fifth Fleet to develop faster in the next year.
Three days later, Tan Renhao received a new order. The three-person staff team led by him was responsible for statistics and analysis of the data obtained during training by the three torpedo bomber squadrons of the Fifth Wing.
This time, Tan Renhao and his team did not get the chance to board the aircraft carrier. All the data was provided by a group of staff from the aviation wing, and their task was only to make an analysis report.
It was only then that Tan Renhao learned that the Fifth Air Wing had comprehensively modified the twelve "Penguins" and used simulated training torpedoes weighing 1,600 kilograms conduct intensive training in the waters near the Kerama Islands.
In addition, more than 20 other types of bombers were also improved and equipped with simulated aerial bombs for high-intensity training.
Of course, these trainings were conducted in secret. For this reason, almost all training-related work was dispersed and assigned to irrelevant staff members, and Tan Renhao and his team were one of them.
Tan Renhao and his men completed the mission perfectly. More than ten days later, signal flags for departure were raised on all the warships of the Fifth Fleet, which had been stationed in Naha Port for more than a year.
That afternoon, Tan Renhao and his colleagues followed the fleet staff aboard the flagship "Yancheng".
