CV-18 Fujian/003 CATOBAR carrier thread

Tam

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39-year-old heads China’s 3rd carrier construction
By Liu Xuanzun Source:Global Times Published: 2019/11/21 19:53:40
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China's second aircraft carrier leaves the Dalian Shipyard for its ninth sea trial on Thursday. Photo: IC



With military observers expecting China's second aircraft carrier to join naval service soon, the country's third aircraft carrier is being built in Shanghai, headed by a 39-year-old builder, the state broadcaster reported.

Experts said on Thursday that China's shipbuilding industry consists of very young teams and has mastered technologies to build aircraft carriers that could one day rival the US.

China's third aircraft carrier is under construction at Jiangnan Shipyard in Shanghai, and its chief builder was born in 1980, Jin Yi'nan, a professor at National Defense University of the People's Liberation Army (PLA), disclosed in a China Central Television (CCTV) program this week.

Jin said he recently visited the shipyard, but did not reveal the name of the chief builder or anything on the new carrier's development.

The Xinhua News Agency reported in November 2018 that the new type of aircraft carrier was being built, but official media has rarely mentioned any progress since then.

Military observers speculated that the third carrier could be larger than the previous two and feature a flat deck with an electromagnetic catapult.

Hu Wenming, then-chairman of China Shipbuilding Industry Corp and head of China's aircraft carrier program, said on CCTV in August that China has a mature development and construction team, with 36 years as the average age of team members.

"Whatever type of aircraft carrier our country wants to develop, we can make it on our own," Hu said.

China learned from refitting the purchased former Soviet aircraft carrier Varyag into the Liaoning, used the experience in building the second carrier, and is now applying innovations in the third one, a military expert who asked not to be named told the Global Times on Thursday.

"The teams are very young, and you can expect them to build aircraft carriers that could be on par with the ones of the US in the foreseeable future," the expert said.

China's second aircraft carrier sailed through the Taiwan Straits on Sunday and conducted tests and training in the South China Sea, the PLA Navy announced on Monday.

Photos and videos surfaced on Chinese social media showing the second carrier arriving in Sanya, South China's Hainan Province on Tuesday, as military analysts speculate it might soon be commissioned at a naval base there.

Military analysts predict that China could operate around six carriers in the future, as later entries could become nuclear-powered.
 

Anlsvrthng

Captain
Registered Member
I have a plausible theory about the construction strategy that the shipyard follow.

They don't make supermodules, what happens now is the fitting of hydraulic hull.

The bulk carriers has a support frame, that makes it easy to form the hull and make all piece of it fit together.


But a warship has complex internal structure, and no support beams apart from the kneel plate.

So, it is hard and not trivial job is to manufacture the hull modules to the required precision to fit each other.

What happens now is the hull elements constructed to be flexible, and the three bar on each 10 meter long and 40 meter wide element is to help to deformate it to fit to the next.

So, now they don't plan to weld them together, but they move back and forth the modules to see if fit, and if there is a misalignment then deform them with the top bars and /or cut /weld pieces to the steel to fit


The next step would be to insert perpendicular bulkheads, more likely the new medium crane installed for this purpose, it will fix the shape of modules, and guarantee that they will fit together regardless of any additional works/ installation done.

After that they could move the 10 meter long modules to the final assembly place OR (more likely) to the big assembly buildings for final fitting.

The two new building on the right big enough to accommodate the shaped, ready to weld together modules for final fitting.

But if the 10*40 modules guaranteed to fit then they can ship them to other factories as well to install the living quarters, generators, machinery and so on.
 

Deino

Lieutenant General
Staff member
Super Moderator
Registered Member
Indeed, in recent times, Chinese aircraft carrier became quite shy ... no news from the Type 002 and also the Type 003 currently under construction at the Jiangnan Shipyard in Shanghai tries to hide ... :(
 

Orthan

Senior Member
An update. Poor image quality.

Judging by what i see, comparing with the last picture, there is now 2 pieces of hull being assembled behind the second big module. The 2 big modules dont appear to be connected, because it seems that they are not aligned.

Beyond that, it doesnt appear that things there changed too much.
 

Anlsvrthng

Captain
Registered Member
I'v just realised that the three block on the upper left corner fit into the gap of the modules in the bottom right corner.
aaaaaaaaaa.jpg
 
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