What the hell is a private enterprise?

Chapter 408 The enemy withdrew an aircraft carrier

After 11 hours of continuous effort, the fire on the Enterprise was finally extinguished.

However, compared to other warships, firefighting is only the most basic step; the main focus is on preventing the reactor from malfunctioning.

Fortunately, the crew of the Enterprise immediately switched the reactor to emergency mode and shut down all the gates.

The frigate Estorhind was eventually repaired so that its rudder was barely usable, and it was otherwise undamaged except for the severe damage to its stern.
The USS Morrison lost its bow, which was completely broken off, but miraculously it did not sink.
The midships of the USS Barry were completely twisted, rendering the entire warship unusable and creating an angle of approximately 5 degrees between the fore and aft hulls. However, the crew of the USS New Jersey managed to repair the flooding and extinguish the fire, and the ship did not sink.

But their losses were less than one-tenth of those of the Enterprise.

Fern climbed onto the deck, which reeked of burning, and saw Calvin kneeling on the ground, staring blankly at a piece of warplane debris.

Looking back at this supercarrier island, which carries a heavy history and expectations, all that remains is a twisted steel wreckage after a huge fire, with an exaggerated crack appearing as if the entire rear section has been torn apart.

Although the deck was not penetrated by the gnats, the high temperature and the hangar explosion caused a slight bulge on its surface, making it no longer smooth. An elevator on the port side near the island was missing.

In fact, even if 100 gnats faced the deck of the Enterprise, they would not be able to cause penetrating damage, and the survivability of the aircraft carrier is beyond doubt.

The US has never skimped on building airtight compartments in its warships, making them extremely difficult to sink.

The Empire suffered minimal losses of large warships in the last war, largely thanks to its design with maximum safety redundancy.

The counterexample is Japan, which, due to its poor shipbuilding capabilities, had to frantically add materials, reducing safety and making the survivability of its warships questionable.

Even after a major battle, even if the US is victorious, the defeated US can repair its ships and fight again, while the Japanese, once they sink, are truly sunk.

The Enterprise's hull and propulsion system remain intact, and the main structure is neither deformed nor flooded.

However, the cost was that the entire island superstructure and flight deck were reduced to ruins, rendering the ship completely incapable of combat.

If the ship were to be repaired, it would require cutting up the island superstructure and 70% of the mid-to-aft deck in the dry dock, then repairing the hangar, repaving the superstructure, and installing a new island superstructure. The cost would be astronomical.

Furthermore, the Enterprise, after being repaired, will need to undergo sea trials and adjustments again, and ideally, it will be two to three years before it can return to service.

Fern approaches Calvin:
"The chief engineer on board told us that the Enterprise could still move at more than 30 knots. Please don't be discouraged. The main responsibility for the failure lies with me."

In fact, when discussing the distance the fleet should travel to avoid the storm, some people suggested moving several hundred kilometers away from the storm's range.

However, apart from the nuclear-powered Enterprise, which is of little concern, the other warships have limited fuel, making port calls for resupply and domestic transport very troublesome.

Fern was unwilling for the Enterprise to act alone, so he ultimately chose to retreat only 150 kilometers to join the group.

However, Calvin harbored no resentment, as it was a unanimously agreed-upon order.

"I may be the first captain to lose a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier."

He stood up. The reason he had disappeared for the past few hours was not because he was injured, but because he had been continuously directing the fearless repair teams to do their best to save the aircraft carrier.

But now the Navy may face a difficult choice:
The time and cost of repairing the Enterprise may ultimately make it less cost-effective than rebuilding a Nimitz.

For an empire with its current shipbuilding capabilities, adding a new nuclear aircraft carrier is not too difficult.

If the Enterprise is deemed beyond repair and decommissioned, Calvin's crime would be similar to simply discarding the Enterprise.

“No, that won’t happen.” Fern thought about it more deeply:
"Now we not only cannot abandon the Enterprise, but we may also have to reactivate some decommissioned aircraft carriers."

Calvin quickly understood the meaning behind those words, and hope rekindled in his eyes.

"Has the order to retreat been issued from the mainland?"

Fern nodded: "The Missouri has also been withdrawn, and for some time to come—at least 97 years—the Empire should not enter the South Mei again. We need more time to prepare."

Calvin was not surprised by this. With this kind of strategy of assembling hundreds of fighters to break through defenses, the Empire really wouldn't dare to take the risk again before establishing a forward base as solid as an iron pea.

To date, the Antarctic Fleet has lost one aircraft carrier, one frigate, one destroyer, and one nuclear-powered Blackfish. The remaining warships are not in good condition either and all need to be put into dry dock for major repairs!

The Antarctic task force is now defunct and all its ships need to be sent to the shipyard for repairs.

This isn't a game level with progressively increasing difficulty. If you suffer a loss, next time it won't just be the navy, but the entire empire betting its entire fortune.

"Then I'm afraid we'll have to rely on our allies from now on."

Calvin sighed, but Edwin immediately stepped in:
"have nothing left."

The former immediately realized:
"The Clemenceau was attacked too? Of course, they couldn't possibly be unharmed. It wouldn't be surprising if they sank... I was also talking about Dai Ying. It seems the Royal Ark arrived at the Falkland Islands ahead of schedule. The next phase should be to focus all efforts on turning it into an impregnable fortress."

"The Royal Ark is gone too."

Edwin said to him, as he stared in disbelief:
"After hearing about our and the losses of the chickens, the Royal Ark fleet departed from the port at five o'clock in the morning, and it is very likely that it will first cross the ocean and return to Europe along the African coast."

"..."

A faint rumbling sound came from the sky. The group looked up and saw a B-52 flying by leisurely.

Upon learning that the fleet was in danger, the Imperial Air Force provided support in a way that its other counterparts would never have dared to dream of:

The distance from Florida to Guyana is nearly 4000 kilometers. Even with auxiliary fuel tanks and in-flight refueling, it would only provide Fern with a maximum of one hour of loitering support before he had to land.

As a result, waves of F-15s took off from the mainland, ensuring that there were fighter jets in the sky to provide support from 3 a.m.

Subsequently, two E-3 early warning aircraft arrived one after the other to provide aerial visibility, allowing the B-52s that followed to arrive as reconnaissance aircraft to assist.

In addition to them, there were seven or eight refueling aircraft providing support, maintaining an ultra-long-range air defense line of 4000 kilometers from the mainland to Guyana.

The number of landing fighter jets has become so large that the Guyana airport is struggling to operate, and countless amounts of money are being spent every moment to ensure the safety of the fleet.

The five warships that left did not dare to send a communication until 11 a.m., by which time they had reached the waters off Antigua, 1000 kilometers from the nearest coast.

For nearly nine hours, the five warships had been fleeing at full speed with their boilers fully loaded. By this time, they had very little fuel left, and many of the damaged parts had become even more severe. They could only slowly crawl back to the mainland at an economical speed of 15 knots.

"Let's go, or the Air Force will hate us if this continues."

Edwin gave a wry smile:
"The USS New Jersey is towing the USS Barry, and the USS Enterprise is towing the USS Morrison. We want to bring the children home as much as possible."

(End of this chapter)