The Rise of the Empire

The two sides continued to mushroom for about a week before finally signing a cooperation agreement. And when the Austro-Hungarian delegation was sent away, before Ruprecht had a rest, a letter with the royal mark was delivered to the prince. My good buddy, my comrade-in-arms who once fought together on the battlefield of mouth guns, and my business partner—the German Crown Prince Wilhelm II wrote again!

"Damn it? Is it a postal package? It's not a gift for me, is it? His Royal Highness is too polite." Looking at the square and heavy postal package, Prince Ruprecht smiled. This Crown Prince William is very good, he knows it's okay to send some gifts to exchange feelings. Let me think, what's in here....

Um? ah? "Damn it! Why are you Y sending me a book?" After opening the package of the mail, there was a box that looked high-end and elegant. The silver-plated shell and complicated patterns make people think about it, but when the traverser excitedly opened the box, there were no valuable jewels or some artworks inside, but drawings and a description that matched the drawings. document!

"Is this brat addicted to fiction? Then make a design bureau yourself!" The prince said in a very depressed heart, but after looking at the line diagram on the blueprint, he found that the things sent this time The main writer must not be Prince William, an amateur who can't even count three knives!

Because these map traversers know each other! This thing is the historical Brandenburg-class pre-dreadnought battleship! It's the battleship that claims to be the closest in appearance to Dreadnought!

Seeing the three turrets arranged on the central axis, the prince immediately became confused. He really didn't expect that the Brandenburg-class battleship, which was aborted because of his cruiser plan, would still be haunted! Still tenaciously alive.... This vitality is stronger than Xiaoqiang! In other words, the German Navy still believes that it needs a battleship that can take the lead, and the Munich-class armored cruiser is still too small....

Although there will be no budget for large warships in the next 3 years, the fourth year will be 1894. When the Sino-Japanese Sino-Japanese War broke out, which shocked the world, a new wave of naval construction will be detonated again! But the prince thought about it, the German Navy should indeed get a few warships of more than 10,000 tons. Among other things, putting on a facade is always necessary, right? If it started construction in 1895 and entered service in 1898, it would still be possible to at least use it as an offshore defense gunboat in World War I.

Xiongzi's letter first explained the background of the emergence of this class of battleships. Although the Munich-class armored cruiser is very good, its tonnage is too small, which is a product of compromise between performance and budget, and the main gun firepower is too weak. In the first battle of the battle line, the strength is limited. Therefore, in order to make up for the lack of firepower of large-caliber naval guns in the fleet, the German Navy Ministry came up with a plan equipped with six 280MM artillery.

On the whole, this design is still stronger than the history. At least the thickness of the armor belt has come down. The main armor belt, which had a maximum thickness of 16 inches, was cut to about 11 inches. It's a bit thicker, but it's okay. Generally speaking, as far as the firepower level of the former Dreadnought battleship is concerned, the hardened armor can be guaranteed to be safe if it is brought to 9 inches.

The historical terrace turret has also been improved and replaced with a turret with a relatively complete servo system. According to the above, the single firing rate of each artillery is about 40 seconds. This performance is already very good. The layout of the main gun is still arranged on the central axis, while the firepower of the secondary gun is still weak, with eight 105MM guns distributed on the side string.

What makes fundamentalist dreadnought enthusiasts the most unbearable is that the barrel length of the middle turret is still 35L. In order to allow the turret to rotate, in order to save deck space, the German designer cut it short. How people look, how uncomfortable.......

Ordinarily, this stuff should have been given to the crown prince by someone through a special channel, and the crown prince was obviously a little moved.

The news revealed in this is that after the German Navy completes the cruiser construction plan, it is very likely to build a new battleship. And this plan has won the support of some people inside!

"The idea of ​​arranging six 280MM artillery on the central axis is advisable, which is conducive to better firepower, but the overcrowded hull limits the performance of the artillery in the middle, and the distance from the muzzle to the deck is very likely to damage the deck. Facilities. The central placement of the three turrets also affects the position of the secondary battery, so that our warships are at great risk when facing lightning strike ships and small warships."

"So, in order to solve these problems, I think the size and tonnage of the new warship should be appropriately expanded, and there are also places worthy of optimization in terms of layout. The hull length of 114 meters is a bit tight, and we can stretch it to 124 meters or even 130 meters. m! The tonnage has also increased from the limited limit of just over 10,000 tons to around 12,000 tons!"

"In order to better play the role of the main gun, I suggest that the front deck of the entire battleship use a long forecastle hull, the No. 1 and No. 2 turrets are deployed at the front and rear of the forecastle, and then the No. 3 turret is lowered by one deck. In this way No. 2 turret and No. 3 turret form a piggyback, saving deck space!"

When the prince finished writing this passage, the excitement in his heart reached an unbearable level! Deploy the artillery on the central axis! Piggyback layout! Brother finally let you come out early! At this moment, the prince is not fighting alone! The designers of South Dakota, Iron Duke, and King-class battleships are possessed by their souls at this moment! It's a spirit! A design that represents the development direction of advanced combat power, a design that is not obvious in this era, but has strong vitality! Will one day carry forward in the world!

The design of the long forecastle is to more effectively accommodate the internal facilities of the warship while improving navigation performance. After a deck is raised, the waves at the bow will be much better, and the No. 3 turret, which is lowered by one deck at the tail, will generally not be affected by the surge. Moreover, 150MM secondary guns can be arranged on both sides of the long forecastle to increase the firepower of the battleship's secondary guns. This design solves the problem of limited main guns and insufficient firepower of secondary guns faced by this warship!

"The speed of the battleship must be increased. A speed of only 16 knots will drag the cruiser down in battle. I suggest that the speed of the battleship should be above 18 knots, and the output power should be at least 13,000 horsepower. At the same time, in order to improve the efficiency of the power system of the battleship as much as possible and To reduce the preparation time for sailing, we can adopt a brand new water tube boiler.” In the end, the prince made some improvements to the power system at the end.

The prince wrote a reply letter, and at the same time told Baron Vittorio about this matter, asking him to refine the whole plan according to this idea. Then sent two letters back.

And just 4 days later, the traverser received a reply. Crown Prince William was very satisfied with this improvement, and at the same time became very interested, and talked about his vision for the future German navy!

"Well, the business is done, it's time to consider adding some private goods!" The prince dedicated an afternoon and an evening to write the second reply letter. The first letter is too much!

The second is more ~~~, can you give me more bookmarks, clicks and recommendations? ?