Waiting, it's definitely torment.

Although a similar situation has occurred in the fleet exercises every year in the past, that is, patiently waiting for the battle report of the commander of the aircraft group formation after launching an attack, there has never been a time like today, which makes Liu Xiangzhen so uneasy, even if he sits down and rests for a while.

In the future, it may be said that this is a major feature of carrier-based aviation, as well as aircraft carrier operations.

But now, who thinks so?

In order to calm down, in fact, he wanted to find something to do for himself, distract himself, so as not to think crankily, Liu Xiangzhen went to the aviation bridge.

In fact, when Liu Xiangdong was still the commander of the task force, the aviation bridge was Liu Xiangzhen's nest.

The aviation bridge can be regarded as a place unique to aircraft carriers.

Because the "Yokoe" was the first aircraft carrier of the Imperial Navy, and it was converted from a battle cruiser, there was no experience at all, so there were many design flaws, such as the aviation bridge located in the front of the ship island, above the commander's bridge, and below the navigation bridge.

This position is obviously very cramped, and the view is not very wide.

The latter two sister ships, the "Mohe" and "Linghe", were adjusted, and the aviation bridge was moved to the left side of the rear of the island, and it protruded about a meter and a half above the deck. Although it has some impact on the landing of carrier-based aircraft, the field of view is very wide.

Inside the aviation bridge, more than a dozen officers and men were busy.

At this time, the busiest are the officers and soldiers of the aviation department.

According to the regulations, carrier-based aircraft can only do basic inspections in the hangar, and then they must be sent to the flight deck, where they can refuel and reload bombs. All maintenance and installation operations involving flammable and explosive materials such as fuel and ammunition must be carried out in an open environment.

To make such a provision is a lesson to be learned with blood and life.

More than 10 years ago, in the 85th year of the imperial calendar, the "Sea Dragon" was overhauled in the hangar because of the illegal operation of officers and soldiers, which caused the accumulation of oil and gas mixtures produced by gasoline volatilization and was detonated by sparks, resulting in the death of dozens of officers and soldiers. If it weren't for the timely action of the first mate on duty, closing the internal watertight passage and controlling the fire, I am afraid that the "Sea Dragon" would have sunk due to a large explosion at the fuel depot.

It was this accident that led the Imperial Navy to draw up a code of rules for aviation operations.

In addition, there are blessings in disguise.

Soon after, the Nanjiang Naval Ship Design Institute developed an extremely advanced and until now top-secret ship firefighting system. The system works on a very simple principle: immediately after a fire breaks out on a battleship, high-pressure carbon dioxide gas is injected into the compartments where dangerous goods are stored, as well as into the pipelines that transport dangerous liquids, to ensure that they are in a state of hypoxia for 15 to 30 minutes.

Now, this system is used on all large warships, including aircraft carriers.

In addition, after the Navy issued a code of conduct for aviation, all four Longjiang-class ships returned to the shipyard for the first retrofit after their completion.

There is only one project, which is to set up an aviation service station on the flight deck.

Each service station has a refueling system and a ammunition system, which are connected to the oil depot and ammunition depot by oil pipelines and ammunition elevators.

To put it simply, any carrier-based aircraft can complete the preparatory work before the dispatch at the service station.

Each of the four "Longjiang" class ships has six service stations, two behind the front lifts and four behind the rear lifts, which can serve six carrier-based aircraft at a time.

It's just that only four of them can usually be used.

The main thing is that the two service stations in front of the rear elevator are often occupied by standby aircraft, and the utilization rate is very low.

Affected by this, on the newly built aircraft carrier, the position of the service station was adjusted, and the two in front of the rear elevator were moved to the middle of the flight deck. Although the utilization rate is very low in normal times, it can be used very well when the whole deck is dispatched.

In any case, it will definitely take an hour and a half to get more than thirty carrier-based aircraft ready for takeoff.

The first round of attack aircraft could be prepared for sortie within half an hour because the aircraft on standby on the flight deck could be used. At all times, these aircraft on standby are fully fueled and ready to take off after a brief preparation.

Obviously, the preparation for the second round of attacks is not so simple.

Speeding up preparations before take-off and shortening the preparation time between two rounds of attacks have always been a key research topic for naval aviation.

Unfortunately, until now, no effective improvement has been found.

Soon, more than 30 carrier-based aircraft were sent to the flight deck one after another. After completing a simple inspection, the main thing is to let the engine heat up, and then send it to the service station in the order of torpedo attack aircraft, dive bombers, and fighters. After refueling and loading, the fighters first, then the dive bombers and torpedo attack planes were placed in reverse order, from the stern to the front.

At this point, both sides of the flight deck, especially the left side, have been emptied of people and belongings.

For the same reason, if there is a sudden attack, carrier-based aircraft loaded with fuel and bombs and torpedoes will have to be thrown off the carrier.

This is also stated in the Code of Operations.

Carrier-based aircraft are expensive, but aircraft carriers are even more expensive.

Besides, it takes only a few months to build dozens of aircraft, and it takes several years to build an aircraft carrier.

It's just that if an accident really happens, I'm afraid no one will care so much.

Before you know it, an hour is almost gone.

"Report to the commander, preparations for takeoff are complete."

After Li Hengjia of the Second Carrier-based Aviation Wing made a report, Liu Xiangzhen did not delay any longer, issued an order for combat readiness, and then set off to return to the commander's bridge.

Although both of them are brigadier generals, a few days ago, Li Hengjia's status was still above Liu Xiangzhen.

Fortunately, this ace pilot who jumped from the army aviation with Li Yunxiang is easy-going, and rarely has anything to do with Liu Xiangzhen, who is a few years younger.

It's not that he has no ambition, but he is already satisfied with being able to mix with the brigadier general.

Besides, he is a few years older than Li Yunxiang, and even if he is promoted, he has no future at all.

In his own words, by the time he was fifty years younger, there was nothing to pursue. It is enough to be able to do your job well and be worthy of wearing a military uniform for a lifetime.

After returning to the navigation bridge, Liu Xiangzhen did not immediately give the order to dispatch.

There is nothing strange about it, until now, no report has been received from Zhu Huasheng, indicating that the first batch of carrier-based aircraft has not yet found the mobile fleet.

I don't even know where the mobile fleet is, what to attack?

If Zhu Huasheng and the others did not find the mobile fleet, they would have to make adjustments to their tactics, let some of the torpedo planes parked at the front of the flight deck unload the torpedoes, hang up the auxiliary fuel tanks, and go on reconnaissance missions, striving to find the mobile fleet in the afternoon, and then organize an attack.

The point is that if the distance is too far, then the carrier-based aircraft on the attack mission cannot return.

One sortie is one less!

If you have to use a long-wave radio station to contact the rear, it may also be exposed, so unless it is discovered by enemy reconnaissance aircraft, it is necessary to maintain radio silence.

Without a radio station, there is no way for Liu Xiangdong to send additional carrier-based aircraft.

Even if you are in a hurry, you must have a purpose.