Sword of Light: Humanoid Self-Propelled Artillery

Chapter 244 Battleship Converted into Aircraft Carrier

Wang Gensheng's idea of ​​using fighter jets to carry torpedoes, especially manned "Huitian" cruise torpedoes, stemmed from the fact that it was quite difficult to control torpedoes to travel hundreds of kilometers to attack targets on the vast ocean.

However, if it is mounted on an aircraft, it will be much easier. After all, flying higher allows for a wider view, and the manned torpedoes on board not only solve the problem of being difficult to detect, but also the problem of unmanned torpedoes being inaccurate.

One can imagine that when the airborne Kaiten torpedoes take off from the aircraft carrier deck and spot the opposing carrier fleet in the distance, they can launch the torpedoes without having to risk being bombed by enemy aircraft and the carrier fleet's own anti-aircraft guns.

The manned torpedoes deployed can easily lock onto and attack enemy aircraft carriers.

It can even bypass the escort ships, cruisers, and destroyers blocking the way. Keep in mind that an aircraft carrier fleet usually consists of two to three aircraft carriers in the very center.

Then, three or four heavy cruisers are deployed around the perimeter. The main task of these cruisers is to assist the aircraft carrier in fire defense.

After all, the deck of an aircraft carrier is a runway and parking area for aircraft, and there is not much space to install anti-aircraft guns or anti-aircraft artillery.

Therefore, cruisers, or even heavy cruisers, are needed for air defense protection. Of course, this is not all. There are also more than ten frigates and anti-submarine ships on the outermost perimeter. These warships together form a three-dimensional defense against air, sea surface, and sea.

Therefore, it is naturally very difficult for ordinary torpedoes to bypass these protective nets and hit the core of the aircraft carrier inside the protective ring.

After all, ordinary torpedoes have a range of only ten kilometers or so, and they rely on inertial navigation, so whether they hit the target is entirely up to luck.

The Kaiten torpedo, on the other hand, can easily launch attacks from tens or even hundreds of kilometers away. The only problem is how to find the target.

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Somewhere on the coast of the Bohai Sea, there is a cliff that looks nothing unusual from a distance. However, it is actually a secret naval dock. After lifting the curtain, you will find a cave on the cliff face that is tens of meters wide and tens of meters high. Inside this cave is the cruiser Congqing, which was captured in 1948.

After more than half a year of renovation, the place is no longer dark; the walls are now covered with searchlights of all sizes and wires.

With the victory of the three major battles, the cities north of the Yangtze River were naturally liberated. These cities had some factories, which gave the liberated army a certain industrial capacity. As a result, Wang Gensheng had the funds and materials to renovate this secret shipyard.

Of course, Wang Gensheng's purpose in building the shipyard was quite simple: to convert the Congqing cruiser into a light aircraft carrier. After all, in Wang Gensheng's view, the value of an aircraft carrier was far greater than that of a battleship.

Moreover, converting a cruiser of more than 7,000 tons into an aircraft carrier is much simpler than building a new one. After all, all you need to do is remove the turrets from the deck of the cruiser Congqing and level the deck of Congqing to turn it into an aircraft carrier.

After all, the biggest challenge in building a ship is the hull and the propulsion system, while modifying a deck is not difficult at all.

As for the Congqing, it's a bit too small to be converted into an aircraft carrier. You should know that the smallest aircraft carrier during World War II was the Japanese Ryujo, whose standard displacement was only 8,000 tons. Its flight deck was only 156 meters long and 20 meters wide, while the Congqing was over 150 meters long. Therefore, after its deck was cleared, it could be used as a runway for aircraft take-off and landing.

However, the Qinghao was only 16 meters wide, which was 4 meters less than the Longxiang. Of course, this 4-meter difference was not a problem, as it could be solved by using an extended deck, which was simply adding 2-meter-wide steel plates to each side of the warship.

Adding a two-meter-wide deck on each side will not affect the warship's balance at all. In fact, as long as the ballast is appropriate and no excessively heavy items are piled up on both sides, two meters or even three meters would be fine.

And most importantly, regarding the power issue, the power of the Chōkyō was no weaker than that of the Ryūjō aircraft carrier. The Chōkyō cruiser was powered by four steam turbine engines, with a total power of 64,000 horsepower and a top speed of 32 knots.

The Ryujo aircraft carrier was powered by six steam turbine engines, but its total power was only 65,000 horsepower. Although the Kei-class cruiser had 1,000 more horsepower, its top speed was only 29 knots due to its larger tonnage.

Just as Wang Gensheng ordered the removal of the gun turrets from the deck of the Congqing, Deng Zhaoxiang, the original captain of the Congqing, was somewhat reluctant. These were 152mm caliber guns! And there were three turrets with six guns! So Deng Zhaoxiang went to Wang Gensheng and said:
"Si Ling, it's such a waste to dismantle such a good cannon! Is an aircraft carrier really that important?"

As the captain of the Congqing, Deng Zhaoxiang was very resistant to Wang Gensheng's idea of ​​dismantling the Congqing. However, Wang Gensheng resolutely said:
"Captain Deng, I understand your feelings, but this is no longer the era of big guns and warships. Now it's the era of aircraft carriers. No matter how thick your warship's armor is, how many bombs weighing tons can it withstand? No matter how far your shells have a range, can they exceed the range of an airplane?"

"But! But..."

Wang Gensheng looked at Deng Zhaoxiang, who had been trying to say something for a long time without success, and immediately interrupted him:

"Alright, enough with the 'buts'. Captain Deng, do you know why our shipyard is built in this cave, instead of openly sailing the seas?"

In response to Wang Gensheng's question, Deng Zhaoxiang immediately replied:
"It's all because those old medaka bombers keep trying to bomb us..."

Deng Zhaoxiang couldn't continue speaking, but Wang Gensheng chimed in:

"See! The guns of the cruiser Congqing are powerful, but what good are they if they can't hit anything? The Congqing has no way to deal with the old Tsui bombers. But if we turn the Congqing cruiser into the Congqing aircraft carrier, it will be a different story. Then, if the old Tsui bombers dare to come again, it will be our fighters chasing after the old Tsui bombers and shooting them down, instead of the Congqing taking the bombs by force."

As Wang Gensheng spoke, Deng Zhaoxiang began to imagine himself piloting an aircraft carrier at high speed across the sea.

But as Deng Zhaoxiang pondered, he suddenly realized a problem: what about the fighter jets?

Where are the pilots? Can an aircraft carrier be called an aircraft carrier if it has no fighter jets and no pilots?
At best, it's just a mobile platform at sea, a sitting duck!

(End of this chapter)