Naval Pictures X: Underway on Nuclear Power

[Colt Ward]

Last week the Chinese's newest aircraft carrier, Fujian (CV-18) went on sea trial.

Now for everyone's favorite game . . . who can spot the Seawolf!

[mikecj]

Underneath getting the hull shots of course

[Cannonshop]

The problem I'm seeing in the Fujian images, is maybe not a problem...but I suspect it is, and I suspect it's not a good sign.

Where's the ready aircraft?  Those decks are too 'clean', she's not ready for action.

[chanman]

The problem I'm seeing in the Fujian images, is maybe not a problem...but I suspect it is, and I suspect it's not a good sign.

Where's the ready aircraft?  Those decks are too 'clean', she's not ready for action.

It's first sea trials. They haven't even installed the arrestor cables yet.

[Cannonshop]

It's first sea trials. They haven't even installed the arrestor cables yet.

so they're trialling a floating mockup?  Engine technology and how to seal a hull should be pretty much understood already, it's not like China doesn't build big ships, they're letting it out of the yard without its teeth.

seems...irresponsible to me, esp. isnce one of the FIRST things you're going to want to know about your new Aircraft Carrier, is whether or not it will actually function like an Aircraft Carrier-aka whether the arrestor gear works, deck can take the pounding, catapults function, and what flight ops are doing to the carrier's weight and balance for navigation and 'not tipping over' testing.

dunno, maybe I'm totally off-base here, but 'Sea Trials' to me reads as testing whether or not a given ship can perform the basic functions it was designed to perform, particularly outside of dock.

[Colt Ward]

so they're trialling a floating mockup?  Engine technology and how to seal a hull should be pretty much understood already, it's not like China doesn't build big ships, they're letting it out of the yard without its teeth.

seems...irresponsible to me, esp. isnce one of the FIRST things you're going to want to know about your new Aircraft Carrier, is whether or not it will actually function like an Aircraft Carrier-aka whether the arrestor gear works, deck can take the pounding, catapults function, and what flight ops are doing to the carrier's weight and balance for navigation and 'not tipping over' testing.

dunno, maybe I'm totally off-base here, but 'Sea Trials' to me reads as testing whether or not a given ship can perform the basic functions it was designed to perform, particularly outside of dock.

 . . . yeah, and you determine it's real vs projected stats.  It is a pretty basic part of the finishing of a ship.  After sea trials you go back and load the more complicated things to test out- in this case the ship is determined sound and now you mission test it.

[chanman]

so they're trialling a floating mockup?  Engine technology and how to seal a hull should be pretty much understood already, it's not like China doesn't build big ships, they're letting it out of the yard without its teeth.

seems...irresponsible to me, esp. isnce one of the FIRST things you're going to want to know about your new Aircraft Carrier, is whether or not it will actually function like an Aircraft Carrier-aka whether the arrestor gear works, deck can take the pounding, catapults function, and what flight ops are doing to the carrier's weight and balance for navigation and 'not tipping over' testing.

dunno, maybe I'm totally off-base here, but 'Sea Trials' to me reads as testing whether or not a given ship can perform the basic functions it was designed to perform, particularly outside of dock.

The first thing to test with a ship is if it does ship things. If anything isn't up to spec, easier to fix it at this point than after it's full of everything else. They've built plenty of big ships, but Fujian is the first of her design and first use of a bunch of systems. They've been spotted testing the electromagnetic cats in dock with dummy carts already.

USS America sea trials: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yn_68OIZPxA
USS Harry S. Truman sea trials: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6314ccjYrsQ
USS Gerald R. Ford doing some high speed turns during sea trials https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z9Aa9pQYrg0

[Daryk]

If you want really fun videos, search for "shock trials"... ;)

[JadeHellbringer]

Remember too that while she doesn't have flight capability at the moment, while they test hull and engine capabilities, that's not anything new for a large warship. The Italians built the Littorio-class battleships (Littorio in particular) with the 15-inch guns on board for trials, but the directors and other equipment that would allow them to be used wasn't boarded for some time after- trials were run and completed with the distinctive fire control towers missing most of their gear, instead being a strangely-spindly pole with nothing more around it. As a ship, she was ready, but as a combat asset she'd have been useless.

That wasn't the idea though- they weren't yet testing her combat abilities. They were testing to make sure engines worked, hull didn't leak, turns didn't cause unexpected rolling, that kind of thing. I suspect Fujian is doing the same- make sure she's seaworthy and no weirdness comes up first, THEN start seeing how well her flight deck works.

To show what I mean, below are two shots of Vittorio Veneto, one as completed in 1940 still missing her fire control systems, the other during combat training (with Littorio) about a year later.

[glitterboy2098]

it is also worth noting that the chinese are probably going to be fairly confident the flight deck works at least in terms of layout and materials, since they mocked it up inland and did a lot of operational testing of the mockup to refine things. they did the same with Liaoning and Shandong (something that mystified some people when they were doing it, because "why are they flying J-15's off the top of a building?") such facilities also double as training centers for the deck crews later.

as far as the sea trials go.. the USnavy has an extensive set of trials they put new carriers through before an aircraft ever touches its deck. speed tests, steering tests, maneuverability tests, shock tests using depth charges, not to mention the testing of the various individual systems inside the ship. and if they find anything wrong, they go back to dock, do (sometimes extensive) repair work, and go out and do it all again until it has a clean bill of health. only then do they take on part of the airwing and start testing aircraft operations.

[Cannonshop]

"Why yes, I am incorrect"-but it got you guys to post more awesome pictures, so it's a win for both education, and the audience.

[MoneyLovinOgre4Hire]

I thought that only worked on War Thunder forums.

[Cannonshop]

I thought that only worked on War Thunder forums.

what, getting me to admit I'm wrong? nah, that happens a LOT, because I'm so rarely right...

[MoneyLovinOgre4Hire]

No, making an intentionally wrong statement in order to get someone else to post more stuff.

[Euphonium]

No, making an intentionally wrong statement in order to get someone else to post more stuff.

I thought that was a general rule of the internet

[Cannonshop]

No, making an intentionally wrong statement in order to get someone else to post more stuff.

If I could claim to have been wrong intentionally, rather than just being wrong about the subject, I would.   I can't.