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Ship island
Early aircraft carriers, such as the British "Hundred Eyes Giant" and the American "Langley", all had flat flight decks without protruding parts. Modern aircraft carriers basically concentrate the bridge and chimney on one side of the flight deck, just like an island, which is a "ship island".
From the requirements of aircraft take-off and landing, it is best that there is nothing on the flight deck of the aircraft carrier. However, the tower, flight control room, navigation room, radar and communication antenna of the aircraft carrier need to be towering on the deck. Therefore, modern aircraft carriers design these superstructures very compactly, focusing on the "ship island" on the starboard side of the flight deck, leaving most of the decks empty and convenient for aircraft to take off and land.
flight deck
The flight deck is the upper deck on the surface of the aircraft carrier, which is used for the take-off and landing and parking of carrier aircraft, also known as the ship surface field. Because of the low take-off and landing speed, early aircraft can take off from the small deck laid on the bow or upper part of the main turret of a warship and land on the short deck at the stern. But modern aircraft carriers are large upper decks that run through the whole ship. It should be pointed out that the flight deck of an aircraft carrier is much wider than the hull. Seen from the front, the flight deck extends from the hull to both sides, and its shape is very strange.
The flight deck should bear the strong impact load when the plane lands on the ship, so it should be made of high-strength steel plate. During World War II, the surface of aircraft carrier flight deck was paved with wooden deck, while the surface of modern aircraft carrier flight deck was all metal.
Straight and inclined flight decks
From the appearance of the aircraft carrier to the early 1950s, the flight deck of the aircraft carrier was straight. Its shape is rectangular, and the anti-scour net divides the deck into front and rear parts; The front part is used for aircraft take-off and landing, and the rear part is the aircraft landing area. The anti-collision net is put down, and the front and rear areas are combined into one, so the carrier aircraft can take off from the stern without catapults.
With the jet plane boarding, the limitations of the straight deck are exposed. In the early 1950s, British Navy Colonel Carmel put forward the idea of inclined deck, which proved to have many advantages and became the standard deck style of modern aircraft carriers.
The inclined deck is divided into two parts. The straight deck at the bow of the ship is the take-off area, and the inclined deck at the rear half is the ship area, which intersects obliquely to form a triangular berthing area. The inclination of the inclined deck is expressed by the angle between the center line of the inclined deck and the center line of the aircraft carrier. The advantage of the bevel deck is that when the landing plane fails to hook the blocking rope, it can immediately pull up and go around without colliding with the plane parked on the front deck. In addition, the take-off and landing of carrier aircraft can be carried out at the same time.
☆ slingshot work
Early propeller planes could easily take off from the deck because of their low take-off speed, but the weight and take-off speed of jet carrier aircraft increased sharply and they could only take off through catapults.
1in August, 1950, Britain installed a BXS- 1 steam catapult with a power stroke of 45.5 meters on the deck centerline of the Perseid aircraft carrier, and the test was initially successful. The US Navy bought this patent and finally developed it. Steam catapult uses high-pressure steam to push the piston to drive the slider on the ejection track to project the carrier aircraft connected with it. The American C- 13- 1 steam catapult is 76.3 meters long and can eject two carrier-based aircraft every minute. If a 2-ton jeep is ejected from the bow, it can be thrown into the sea 2.4 kilometers away, which shows its great power.
The steam catapult consumes a lot of steam when it works. If you eject at the minimum interval, you need to consume 20% of the steam of the aircraft carrier boiler. Now, the United States is developing a new electromagnetic ejection method, but it is difficult to put it into practice in the near future.
☆ Towing rope ejection and front wheel ejection
When the carrier-based aircraft takes off, the slider on the ejection guide rail is used to eject the aircraft at high speed. According to the connection mode between carrier-based aircraft and sliding body, ejection modes can be divided into tow rope ejection and front wheel traction ejection.
When towing the catapult, the deck personnel first hang the plane on the skid with a steel towing rope, and then fix its tail with the rear end of the catapult with a steering release lever. In the process of ejection, the sliding block dashed forward will break the fixed tension bolt on the index release lever, resulting in the rapid acceleration of the aircraft along the track. At the end of the flight path, the plane accelerates to the straight takeoff speed and leaves the deck, and the towing cable falls off the plane. The slider returns to the starting point of the catapult to prepare for the next work.
The front wheel ejection mode was successfully tested by the US Navy in 1964. When the front wheel bracket of the carrier aircraft is equipped with a traction rod, the front wheel is directly hung on the slider, and the slider directly pulls the front wheel of the aircraft to accelerate takeoff during ejection. In this way, there is no need for 8- 10 deck personnel to hang the towing cable. The ejection time is shortened and the direction safety of the aircraft is good, but the front wheel of this carrier aircraft should be specially designed. The nuclear-powered aircraft carriers of the US Navy all adopt this take-off method.
☆ Carrier baffle
Before ejection, the jet engine of carrier-based aircraft was running at full speed, and at this time, high-temperature and high-speed gas was injected backwards, which did great harm to the aircraft and personnel behind. At this time, the baffle erected behind the catapult can deflect the airflow upward without spraying it on the deck behind. These baffles are called "baffles" or "gas baffles".
Generally speaking, there is a set of ***3 gas deflector behind each catapult. When a single-engine aircraft takes off and lands, the middle opens; When the twin-engine plane takes off and lands, all three parts are open. In order to reduce the combustion temperature of air flow, a grid water pipe for circulating cooling water is installed behind the air guide plate.
"Angle" of Aircraft Carrier Head
The front end of the flight deck of an aircraft carrier sometimes projects some corners. If we look closely, we will find that these "corners" are all aimed at the front end of the catapult. In fact, this is the "recovery angle" of the aircraft carrier towing cable.
We know that when the tow rope ejection mode is used, the tow rope will fall off from the ejected plane. These towlines are generally steel cables with a diameter of 20-40 mm, which is a pity if they are used once. So the designer installed a horn on the top of the deck in front of the catapult. The front end and two sides of the horn are covered with mesh bags, and the traction rope can be reused after falling into the mesh bags.
1964, the United States successfully tested the front wheel ejection mode, and the tow line began to gradually withdraw from the historical stage. It is difficult to see the recycling angle on the large aircraft carrier newly built in the United States.
Aircraft carrier elevator
The hangar is located under the flight deck, so the movement of the aircraft between the hangar and the flight deck needs the help of the elevator. The elevators of early aircraft carriers were generally arranged on the center line of the flight deck, which was called "inboard elevator". This elevator is not affected by wind and waves; But it not only affects the strength of the flight deck, but also affects the take-off and landing of the aircraft. The United States adopted the "side lift" for the first time on the completed Essex 1942, which eliminated the above shortcomings. But it also has the disadvantage of being easily affected by wind and waves.
Weighing the pros and cons, modern aircraft carriers widely use side-lift type. Since the forest, the US Navy has been using side lifts, usually four on the port side and three on the starboard side. Take the elevator on the Enterprise as an example. It is made of magnesium-aluminum alloy, with a length of 23.5 meters, a width of 15.9 meters, an area of 374 square meters and a dead weight of 105 tons. This elevator can accommodate two A-7 attack aircraft with folded main wings, and has the ability to lift and lower the total weight of 47.6 tons in 1 minute.
☆ Carrier aircraft arresting cable
In the era of propeller plane and straight deck aircraft carrier, the plane must stop at two-thirds of the flight deck after landing, otherwise it will rush into the front parking area. There are 10- 15 arresting cables and 3-5 anti-collision nets on the straight deck aircraft carrier. The jet carrier aircraft on the modern aircraft carrier does not turn off the engine when landing, and can go around immediately if the situation is not good, so the blocking cable is greatly reduced. The U.S. Navy has four arresting cables, the first one is set 55 meters away from the tail end of the inclined deck, and then one is set every 14cm, which is tensioned by bow springs and 30-50 cm higher than the flight deck.
When the carrier aircraft lands on the ship, the tail hook is lowered below the landing gear, and the landing point should be between 1 and two arresting cables, which requires the pilot to have high control skills. According to the statistics of the US Navy, the total number of carrier-based aircraft landing during the day is about 62-64%, the tail hook is about 18%, and the tail hook is about 16%. At night, the tail hook hangs on the third and fourth ropes. If the tail hook is not hooked on the arresting cable, the lander must pull up and go around, which is about 5% during the day and as high as 12- 15% at night.
The MK-73 arresting cable buffer of American aircraft carrier can make the 30-ton carrier aircraft run 9 1.5 meters after landing at the speed of 140 knots. After the carrier-based aircraft stops, the arresting cable automatically resets to meet the arrival of the next landing aircraft.
☆ Carrier aircraft landing guidance
Before the 1950s, the landing pilot (LSO) stood at the left end of the flight deck and signaled the plane to land. However, after the jet plane boarded the ship, this method no longer applies. From 65438 to 0952, British Navy Lieutenant Colonel gerhardt was inspired by the female secretary's action of putting lipstick on the mirror, and designed an early optical landing aid device-landing aid mirror. It is a mirror with large curvature. The light set at the stern of the ship is directed to the mirror and then reflected into the air, providing the pilot with a descending slope of light (the angle with the sea level is 3.5-4 degrees). The pilot can correct the error along this slope according to the position of the plane in the mirror until it lands safely.
In 1960s, Britain invented a more advanced "Fresnel" lens optical landing aid system, which is similar to the landing aid mirror in principle, and also provides a light falling surface in the air, but the signal it provides is more conducive to the pilot to judge the orientation and correct the error. In the 1970s, the US Navy developed a fully automatic landing aid system, which measured the actual position of the aircraft by radar, and then the carrier computer obtained the correct landing position of the aircraft according to the movement of the carrier itself, and then sent out an error signal after comparison in the command computer. The autopilot of the carrier aircraft corrected the error according to the signal to guide the carrier aircraft to land correctly.
☆ Working principle of Fresnel lens optical landing aid system
The system is located on the self-stabilizing platform on the port side in the middle of the aircraft carrier to ensure that its beam is not affected by the side-to-side swing of the hull. It consists of four groups of lights, mainly five segmented light boxes arranged vertically in the center, and emits five layers of light beams through Fresnel lenses, which are parallel to the landing runway and keep a certain angle with the sea level to form a five-layer slope. The carrier aircraft enters the entrance of the glide slope (0.75 nautical mile away from the carrier), and the height of each beam is 6.6m. The middle section is an orange beam, which turns into a yellow beam and a red beam from top to bottom respectively. There are horizontal green reference dimming lights on both sides of the light box in the middle part. When the altitude and gliding angle of the carrier-based aircraft are correct, the pilot can see that the orange ball is in the center of the green reference light. If this angle is maintained, it can glide accurately under the ship. If the pilot sees a yellow ball of light, and it is above the green reference light, he needs to lower his height; If you see the red ball of light, and it is under the green reference light, you should lift it immediately, otherwise it will hit the end face of the aircraft carrier's tail column or fall into the sea behind the tail.
A group of red flashlights are vertically arranged on the left and right sides of the central light box. If the carrier aircraft is not allowed to land, it will flash. At this time, the green reference light and the central light box are turned off, telling the pilot to stop descending and go around immediately, so it is called "go around light". There is a set of green lights on the go-around lights, which are called cut-off lights. When it is open, it is a signal to allow access to the glide slope.
These lights are controlled by landing guidance (LSO). They observe the position of aircraft, landing gear, flaps, tail hooks, etc. on board. On the LSO platform on the port side of the stern, while manipulating the light signal, talk to the pilot. There is a main flight control room at the upper left rear of the ship island. A flight controller monitors the flight deck and the air, and finally checks the safety of the landing aircraft. On the American aircraft carrier, the flight control officer is a high school pilot, and his major is assistance.
Colorful clothes on three aircraft carriers
If we pay attention, we will find that the deck personnel of American aircraft carriers are wearing colorful clothes, which is very eye-catching. There are more than 1000 operators on the flight deck of the American aircraft carrier. In order to facilitate the organization in the process of taking off and landing, they mainly use the colors of work clothes and helmets as distinguishing signs, and the work clothes and life jackets are also marked with their own titles and numbers. The following are the main colors of helmets and work clothes for flight deck staff.
Marks of personal helmets, work clothes/life jackets (chest/back)
Aircraft maneuvering and landing gear personnel blue personnel number
Huang Huang title and personnel number of aircraft take-off and landing operators
Lightning arrester operator green green a
Aviation fuel engineer Zi Zi F
Cargo stevedores' free supply/postal service
Green and yellow titles of aircraft ejection officers
Ejector operator green green c
Green and red titles of ejection safety observers
Aircraft crash rescuers red red crash/rescue
Elevator operator white blue e
Explosive Ordnance Disposal Officer (EOD) Red Red Black (EOD)
Support equipment troubleshooter green green GSE
Helicopter landing signalman red green h
Helicopter flight equipment inspector red-brown H.
Untie soldier green green a
The landing commander of this plane did not lose it in vain.
Green and brown squadron signs for field mechanical sergeant and maintainer.
Maintenance sergeant green squadron logo and maintenance police
Quality Inspection Sergeant Brown Green Squadron Symbol and Quality Assurance
Aircraft maintenance sergeant's green, green, black and white pattern and squadron logo
Liquid oxygen workers white liquid oxygen
Maintenance personnel green, green and black stripes and squadron symbols
Medical staff white red cross society
Pioneer white blue t
Ordnance red, red and black stripes and squadron symbols
Photographer green green p
Brown squadron logo of flight equipment inspector
Security official white white security
Vertical Supply Coordinator White and Green Supply Coordinator
Tractor driver blue blue tractor
Free officer
Parking of carrier aircraft
When not in use, carrier-based aircraft are usually stored in the hangar, which is located under the flight deck and is the place where carrier-based aircraft are parked and overhauled. Dozens of carrier aircraft need a lot of places to park, so the hangar of modern aircraft carriers has a growing trend. Carrier-based aircraft are folded in the hangar, arranged in a compact and orderly manner, and necessary passages are vacated, so that each aircraft can quickly ascend to the flight deck through the elevator.
When the weather is fine, the aircraft carrier can also be parked on the flight deck, tied with rigging and evenly arranged on the eye block on the flight deck and hangar deck, so that it will not slide and collide in the storm.
☆ Open and closed hangars
These two hangars actually refer to two ways of construction. The hangar deck is the strong deck of the open hangar, which is the main structural form of the hangar that was still used by the aircraft carrier until the middle of World War II. The upper deck of the hull is the hangar deck, and the hangar and flight deck are designed as the superstructure of the hull. The flight deck of this structure only bears the aircraft load, and no longitudinal partition is needed. The hangar occupies the full width of the ship, and the sides of the ship are the two sides of the hangar. The hangar has a large area, but its protection ability is poor.
The Royal Ark, which was completed in UK 1938, took the flight deck as a solid deck to bear the force of waves acting on the hull. The flight deck is firmly connected with the solid longitudinal beam, and the longitudinal partition wall extends from the flight deck to the lower part of the hull, forming an integral structure and enclosing the hangar, so it is called "closed hangar". Later, Britain added 76 mm thick armor to the flight deck of the "Glory" class aircraft carrier completed in 194 1 year. In the life-and-death struggle of World War II, the hangar with this structure stood the test. Now it has become the standard hangar form of aircraft carriers. Only the Spanish "Prince asturias" is still using the open hangar.
Transport plane on aircraft carrier
People are generally used to fighters, attack aircraft, early warning aircraft and anti-submarine aircraft uploaded by aircraft carriers. However, in the United States, the aircraft carrier is also equipped with a fixed-wing transport aircraft. I am afraid that not many people know it. These transport planes are mainly used for cargo transportation between shore ships and aircraft carriers. Although a large nuclear aircraft carrier has strong self-sustaining ability at sea, an aircraft carrier goes to sea for as little as several months and as much as six months. It is inevitable that there will be some temporary emergency problems on its 90 planes and 5,000 personnel, such as personnel exchange, evacuation of the wounded, and urgent need for some spare parts and articles. At this time, the carrier-based transport aircraft is the most convenient means of transportation.
Aircraft carriers in other countries usually use helicopters to carry out transportation tasks, but for heavy aircraft carriers owned by the United States, fixed-wing transport aircraft with long range and high speed are needed. The carrier-based transport aircraft in active service in the United States is mainly C-2A. This type of transport aircraft is modified from E-2 Hawkeye early warning aircraft. 1964 In the year when E-2 was in service, C-2 also made its first test flight, and mass production began two years later. At present, there are 39 aircraft serving in the US Navy. The maximum load is 4530 kg when the aircraft is ejected onto the ship, 6800 kg when it takes off on land, the maximum flight speed is 574 km/h, and the range is 1930 km. The plane can carry 28 people when transporting people.
☆ United States carrier aircraft wing
The huge strike force of an aircraft carrier depends on the carrier aircraft it carries. The carrier-based aircraft of various countries' aircraft carriers are not consistent with their compilation methods, but the carrier-based aircraft wing carried by large American attack aircraft carriers can best reflect the strength of aircraft carriers. The United States Navy's carrier-based aircraft wing is generally composed of 8- 10 squadrons. The whole wing has about 80 planes and more than 2000 soldiers. The commander is the captain of the colonel, the squadron has a deputy squadron leader 1 name, and the squadron leader is the rank of lieutenant colonel.
Historically, according to the actual situation of combat missions and aircraft carriers, the United States Navy's carrier-based wing used various formation forms, such as Coral Sea, Kennedy, Roosevelt and conventional aircraft carriers. But after the 1970s, there were three main forms.
One is "transitional type", which includes 9 squadrons: 2 F- 14A Tomcat fighter squadrons (* * * 20); Two F/A- 18 Hornet fighters/attack squadrons (* * * 20); 1 A-6E "intruder" heavy attack squadron (16, including 4 KA-6D tankers); 1 E-2C eagle eye early warning aircraft squadron (* * * 4); 1 EA-6B electronic warfare aircraft squadron (* * * 4); 1 S-3B Viking anti-submarine squadron (* * * 6); 1 SH-3 Neptune (or SH-69F rampus) squadron (***8) and ***78 combat aircraft. It also carries support aircraft, such as C-2A transport aircraft. During the Cold War, the US Navy used this carrier-based aircraft wing to compete with the former Soviet Union for hegemony.
The second type is called "force delivery type", which is to add four F/A- 18 fighters/attack aircraft on the basis of the above style, and the others have not changed.
The latest knitting style is called "standard" 1997, all the active 1 1 carrier aircraft wings of the US military were changed to this configuration. There are: 1 F- 14 Tomcat fighter squadron,14; Two F/A- 18c naval combat/attack squadrons, 24; 1 F/A- 18A Marine Corps Combat/Attack Squadron,12; 1 E-2C Hawkeye Early Warning Squadron, 4; 1 EA-6B electronic warfare aircraft squadron, 4; 1 S-3B Viking anti-submarine squadron, 8; 1 SH-60F rampus anti-submarine helicopter squadron, 5; A total of ***8 squadrons, 7 1 aircraft of various types. In addition, there are two HH-60H transport helicopters.