Munitions Empire

In the dock full of workers, the sound of welding was rising and falling, everyone busy, and in front of them, a giant ship was gradually taking shape.

This is no ordinary ship; it is a warship, a super warship surpassing all previous warships! Its full load displacement exceeds 80,000 tons! It is the largest war machine ever built in the history of this world.

As an aircraft carrier, this ship has a total length of over 323 meters and a width approaching 40 meters! Thanks to its angled deck design, its width has even set a historical record for warships.

In order to build this aircraft carrier, tens of thousands of workers work tirelessly every day to assemble special steel plates onto this warship.

The entire warship contains thousands of compartments, even including independent stores and small cinemas. Hundreds of non-combat personnel will serve on the warship, providing services such as haircuts and laundry for the entire crew.

The warship hosts more than 5000 assorted sailors and air force officers! The strike capability of this carrier surpasses that of an entire kingdom in the past!

The four neatly aligned catapults are also being built for the first time, capable of accelerating heavy jet fighter jets to takeoff speed, a brand-new technology other countries have not even begun to imagine.

On the warship, which is gradually taking shape, countless workers move back and forth, with sparks from welding occasionally falling and slowly descending beside the already formed hull.

Cranes lift the massive, heavy steel plates, delivering them to the positions awaiting installation, while the bridge section, yet to be constructed, remains a gigantic cavity.

Due to the need for steam catapults, there are four deep furrows on the deck that have not been leveled, and the arrester wire positions in the back also appear incredibly disorganized.

There are some completed tents on the thick deck area, where a group of engineers is checking and verifying the completed sections according to blueprints.

The entire project is excessively complex and gigantic; after all, it is the first time in human history that such a colossal war machine is being built.

No joke; even the battleships sunk from Mirage Country only had a full load displacement of just under 40,000 tons.

The fleet-level aircraft carrier built by the Great Tang Empire itself has at most just over 30,000 tons full load displacement, even slightly smaller than the battleships of Mirage Country.

Even though Tang Country had previously launched 100,000-ton cruise ships, launched 130,000-ton oil tankers, and built cargo ships over 100,000 tons, the tonnage of warships never exceeded 50,000.

Now, after this new carrier of the Great Tang Empire is launched, this record is about to be broken! The Great Tang Empire is about to possess the largest war machine in the world!

It can carry over 75 various models of carrier-based aircraft, completing various tactical and strategic missions under the most complex conditions.

For the navy of the Great Tang Empire, it shoulders the significant task of realizing full jet-powered aircraft, and is also the pride of the navy.

Though the carrier-based aircraft ready to be loaded on this carrier have not yet been mass-produced, with most of the planes still in secret test flights, it has already reserved its spot as the future ruler of the seas.

All the equipment on this warship will be the most advanced, including advanced electronic equipment, radar detection systems, sonar detection systems, CIWS, and air-defense missiles...

As a warship, its information processing capabilities are approximately the sum of the information processing capabilities of all countries except the Great Tang Empire!

As long as the Great Tang Empire does not build a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, it will essentially remain the world's most formidable naval combat weapon.

The entire world knows that the Great Tang Empire is building the world's most terrifying war weapons in the virtually enclosed industrial zone of Dragon Island, but they could never have imagined that these advanced war weapons had exaggerated to this extent.

While other countries around the world are still producing M4 and T-34 level tanks, the Great Tang Empire's catapult jet fighter jets are already ready to board ships.

How vast is the gap in between? So vast that the weaponry and equipment produced by the Great Tang Empire have already surpassed other countries in the world by more than two generations.

Once the next war breaks out, the military equipment of the Great Tang Empire will sweep over opponents with an overwhelming gesture, turning them into dust, leaving not even a trace.

"Work faster! Pay attention to every procedure!" A foreman passed by workers installing internal equipment and loudly reminded them.

"Don't worry! Boss, we're the best workers in the world. If you don't trust us, who else would?" A worker, with a pencil tucked behind his ear and a wrench in hand, responded to his superior with a smile.

Obviously, they have been working here for many years, having already developed some rapport with their leader.

In fact, they weren't exaggerating; they really are the best workers in the world because the advanced warships they have built have never been surpassed to this date.

Four steam turbines have already been installed in the designated locations, and the generator set has also been completed; the completion progress of this Great Tang Empire's carrier has reached nearly seventy percent.

At this rate, it will soon be able to launch, complete sea trials within a year, and enter service very quickly.

Of course, since there's no worry about various issues in the overall design of the warship, the Great Tang Empire has started constructing three identical aircraft carriers in one go on Dragon Island.

This is the advantage that Tang Mo bestowed upon the Great Tang Empire: his technology is mature and reliable, having undergone countless tests. Compared to those countries feeling their way through, he has the experience of the five permanent member states at his disposal.

The three gigantic dry docks are already packed to the brim, with heaps of steel plates and radar and other electronic equipment devices prepared to be mounted on the ships on the adjacent spaces.

Giant trucks are neatly parked together, as it is they who have gathered various parts from all over Dragon Island to this place.

"Don't be cocky! There will be no time for tears then!" The leading foreman pointed at that worker, then stepped over a coil of cables on the ground and headed towards another construction site in the distance.

"Leave it to me, boss! Take care!" The worker shouted a farewell to the departing leader and then bowed his head, continuing to work diligently.

The tech workers here might be more arrogant than the next, but they complete their work quite perfectly. The invincibility of the Great Tang Empire has a share of credit from these workers because they ensured the quality rate of advanced weapons so the warriors of the Great Tang Empire can wield these weapons to sweep everything away.

These workers had built the world's first ironclad warship many years ago, and later they built the first cruiser, and later participated in building the world's first battleship!

Over the years, they not only built the world's first submarine, but also built Liberty ships, gigantic oil tankers, and nowadays the giant-class large transport ships.

Besides that, they also built the first generation of container ships and were responsible for building the world's first aircraft carrier! Now, they are beginning to construct the world's first generation of steam catapult angled-deck aircraft carriers!

So the worker was not exaggerating at all earlier; the miraculous ships they've constructed have never been surpassed!

The Essex-class, and the improved Essex-class aircraft carriers they produced before have already been sold to other countries.

However, until the new aircraft carrier of the Great Tang Empire enters service, these ships cannot be delivered to other countries.

Those countries that purchased the Essex-class aircraft carriers have already visited the ship and learned the general idea of aircraft carrier construction, prompting them to start their aircraft carrier construction work one after another.

In fact, over a dozen aircraft carriers are already in construction, and many countries have started training their naval aviation personnel.

However, for these countries, this brand-new naval equipment is still shrouded in various mysteries, making their progress not as smooth as imagined.

These countries discovered that as long as they take off into the wind, their propeller-type carrier aircraft can actually take off easily.

With the help of arrester wires, planes can also land on the carrier's deck—this is theoretically feasible, but extremely dangerous in practice.

The biggest problem is that pilots are unable to accurately determine their landing position, allowing them to easily miss the landing interval and crash into the sea.

The Great Tang Empire did not take these countries' personnel to observe the auxiliary lighting system for takeoff and landing during aircraft carrier tours... which has made it several times more difficult for each country's navy to train carrier-based aircraft pilots.

While training onshore, these pilots frequently overshoot the set runway boundaries, and whether they could land successfully was entirely dependent on the pilot's experience.

Even more frustrating is that this experience is entirely gained through flying, and as soon as there is a slight change to the carrier's structures or landmarks, the experience becomes completely useless.

This only concerns the problems encountered during land experiments; if at sea, under the rise and fall of waves, the truly dangerous nature of aircraft landings is difficult to say.

Pilots from various countries, who have failed countless times and are always on the brink of losing their lives, are really eager to know what methods the pilots from the Great Tang Empire have to complete high-efficiency takeoff and landing operations under such challenging conditions.

Of course, after rigorous training, they gradually improved their success rates. Soon, each country's carrier-based aviation ranks grew stronger.