Chapter 47: Sightseeing Airplane

Although the shipyard interior looks respectable, once work begins it becomes too fantastical, making it truly unsuitable to recruit villagers.

But Tang Wen also deeply understood the principle of integrating locally, which is why he planned to support the village's fishing company.

Anyway, he currently lacks no steel, and silver coins will soon become abundant.

Actually building ships would only incur a processing fee; it's a small matter.

However, the fishing boats given to the village will definitely be selected from Level 1 warships, being cheap and fast.

In fact, there are thirteen types of Level 1 warships in total, corresponding to thirteen technology trees, with a unified cost of 22,500 silver coins.

But the actual tonnage and equipment of each ship differ; the smallest, the C-series "Chengan," is only five or six hundred tons, while the largest, like the M-series "Lake Erie," has a full load of 2,340 tons, already reaching the level of large vessels equivalent to destroyers.

Why choose the "Matsushima" to begin construction? Actually, it is due to the dock's limitations.

The dock dimensions are only 100 by 10 meters, while the "Lake Erie" measures 100 by 12.88 meters.

The remaining Y-series "Black Swan," F-series "Bougainville," I-series "Eritrea," and others generally have tonnage between 1,000 and 2,000 tons, yet their widths also exceed the 10-meter width limit.

The C-series "Chengan" has too little tonnage, so the R-series "Matsushima" became the most cost-effective Level 1 ship within the restricted range.

To build larger vessels, the dock must inevitably be upgraded.

The next-level shipyard has not yet been unlocked; at least the novice mission must be completed first.

In fact, before Tang Yi left, he had already arranged the shipyard mission; the construction of the "Matsushima" will begin after midnight tomorrow night, with an estimated completion in 27 days.

During this period, the shipyard's mission is to manufacture iron sheds for port use, to disguise the "Hornet."

Thinking of the "Hornet," Tang Wen suddenly remembered there was still a commander unused.

At his mere thought, a figure resembling an officer suddenly appeared in the empty space ahead.

"Reporting to Commander, Williams Halsey reports to you!"

As an M-series legendary captain, Halsey wore a standard M-series general's uniform and a white naval cap, saluting Tang Wen with knees together.

He possessed a heavy, transcendent aura, fully displaying the composure of a five-star commander.

When Halsey stood before Tang Wen, the latter immediately felt the kind of oppression seen only among retired veterans, and it was much stronger.

However, captains in the World of Warships system are clones, inherently loyal to the commander.

"Welcome, Halsey."

Tang Wen, influenced by Halsey, silently straightened up and sternly commanded:

"Now, I appoint you as captain of the aircraft carrier Hornet."

"As you wish."

【Hornet (VIII Gold): Williams Halsey (Level 10)】

【Note: The commander's level will affect combat settlement and post-combat maintenance expenses; each level reduces usage costs by 5%.】

【Hornet usage costs have been reduced to 59.87%.】

【Hornet:

Health: 100%

Ammunition: 100%

Endurance: 33.4/20,878 nautical miles】

【Note: With at least two captains, you can form your own fleet:

The fleet requires a minimum of three warships, including one flagship of Level 3 or higher;

After forming a fleet, ships within the fleet gain +5% health, +5% anti-air capability, and +5% speed.】

After a string of information popped up, the first thing Tang Wen saw was the terrifying maintenance cost reduction ability of a Level 10 captain.

Level 1 reduces by 5%; Level 10 directly lowers fuel, ammunition, and maintenance costs by 40% and shortens corresponding times.

The World of Warships system's captains reach a maximum of Level 21; in extreme cases with stacking, costs can be reduced to about 34% of the original.

The Hornet originally had an endurance of only 12,500 nautical miles, requiring 4,000 tons of fuel.

Now with fuel consumption reduced by 40%, the range directly exceeds 20,000 nautical miles, which is over 37,000 kilometers.

If this buff were applied to the "Matsushima," wouldn't it greatly reduce fishing costs?

The "Matsushima" can carry 170 tons of fuel; the 40% savings on fuel costs would approach one hundred thousand.

However, he did not immediately voice this idea; otherwise, sending the newly appointed aircraft carrier captain Halsey to command a Level 1 gunboat... well, that would not be good.

Moreover, the "Matsushima" hasn't even had its steel plates cut yet; let's wait.

Besides, the aircraft carrier cannot sail out now anyway. Airplanes... airplanes?

Having experienced flight, Tang Wen was very eager to try again, but rashly taking off would likely lead to being shot down as an intruder.

In these times, legally owning an aircraft carrier might be difficult, but owning airplanes... perhaps that could be tried?

E City, Huaxin Bookstore.

Tang Yi complained dissatisfiedly to the clerk:

"You have neither this nor that; all you have here are children's books, not a single valuable book."

Facing this strange old man, the clerk was also full of helplessness:

"This is already the largest and most complete bookstore in E City. Naval books... such books can only be subscribed to; they are generally not sold.

If you leave a phone number and pay a deposit, I can have someone order it for you; it should arrive in about a week."

"..."

Tang Yi spent the entire day running all over E City, riding a Willys Jeep and drawing plenty of attention from passersby, but still could not find the materials he wanted.

Except for enthusiasts, which bookstore would sell such niche professional materials?

At most, there are a few military magazines, but those are not what Tang Yi wants.

He thought again of that girl who secretly sold books; should he contact her again?

As a fellow traveler, he actually felt a bit of pity for the owners of those books, but then he thought, since they were going to be secretly sold off anyway, giving them to himself at least made those books fulfill their value.

However, he did not intend to give up on this bookstore path, so he said:

"Alright, this is our factory's phone number: XXXXXX. Let's start with a thousand yuan."

"Okay, you... wait, how much?"

"A thousand. I'll give you five hundred as a deposit; I'll check first if they're useful."

Taking the five-hundred-yuan bill, the clerk sucked in a sharp breath; he had never heard of buying books this way.

"Which unit are you from? I'll note it down and issue you a receipt."

"Gaijin Shipyard in Dawan Village, yes, in Dawan Town."

With the receipt in hand, Tang Yi thought about staying in E City for one night and going to that girl's home tomorrow to buy books, so he borrowed the bookstore's phone and called the shipyard.

The phone connected quickly; Tang Wen naturally had no objections, but before hanging up, he gave Tang Yi a new task:

"Tomorrow, go to Pingtan Airport and ask if we can register a private aircraft. Or registering it under the shipyard's name would work too."

Tang Wen thought the call came at just the right time; Tang Yi could conveniently run an errand to ask about the aircraft.

In Tang Wen's era, individuals were allowed to own private aircraft, whether self-manufactured or purchased.

But to use them legally, one needed to obtain a pilot's license oneself, contact the relevant airport to lease a parking apron, cover maintenance costs, and register an identification code.

If operated by a company, it might be slightly more troublesome, but it wouldn't be a big problem.

To sum it up in one sentence: money.

For the dream of legal, free flight, a little money meant nothing to Tang Wen; it was just that he didn't know what the regulations were at this time.

Tang Yi surprisingly didn't find it absurd and asked matter-of-factly:

"Then which aircraft do we need to register?"

"The B-25 bomber, the F4F Wildcat fighter... no, let's declare it this way: the B-25 as a small twin-engine propeller passenger aircraft, the F4F as a single-person light propeller sightseeing aircraft, the SBD-5 and TBD as two-person small propeller sightseeing aircraft.

Hmm, that's it. Contact them then... wait, you don't seem to have a mobile phone?

Go find Boss Huang and have him help buy a few mobile phones and get SIM cards; I'll call him to help."