Daming 1805

Chapter 157

Zhu Jingyuan did not directly comment on the concerns of Wang Lai and the craftsmen, but first asked about another situation:
"Let's not talk about the future vision. The design plans under the indicators I requested at the beginning are basically finalized now, right?"

Wang Lai nodded solemnly and said:

"Battleships, aircraft carriers, and two types of warships have produced a total of six detailed design drafts, and they have all been finalized.

"What we should do now is to select the two most suitable design schemes from these basically completed schemes.

"Draw out formal design drawings, then decompose them into engineering drawings, and send them back to the shipyard to start construction

"However, everyone looked at the various data of the new naval guns and shells, and was a little dissatisfied with the existing design indicators, and wanted to modify the indicators and redraw the drawings.

"However, I believe that the most critical issue is the choice between the two design tendencies of purely decisive warships and warships that continue to participate in low-level battles.

"Even if the design index is changed now, we still have to face this choice, but it has mentioned a higher level."

After hearing this, Zhu Jingyuan nodded slightly.

I have participated in most of the design meetings, so I know where the general problems are now.

The so-called decisive battleships, as the name suggests, are designed to compete with the enemy's fleet, basically without considering other uses.

The craftsmen believe that the decisive battleship has a single purpose, and the "absolute core protection" design proposed by Zhu Jingyuan can be adopted.

That is to say, the protective design called "extreme or blank" by craftsmen.

For the most important core areas on the hull, that is, the cabins such as turbines, boilers, ammunition depots, and turrets, the armor defense design level is directly raised to the highest standard under the hull size and tonnage restrictions.

For other unimportant areas on the hull, armor protection can be completely abandoned, and there are only structural frames and hulls like civilian ships.

This is almost stud...

Of course, the protection effect of the core area of ​​this kind of warship is very good.

Even if the bow, stern and upper deck are completely smashed, as long as the armor box in the core area is not broken, there is a high probability that the ship itself will not sink.

The disadvantages are also obvious. Both the bow and stern and the superstructure are easily damaged, and it may even turn around and break the tail directly.

The sailing and maneuverability of a ship is directly related to the line shape of the hull.

As long as the hull structure is damaged, the sailing performance will plummet.

The ability to rush to the field was immediately lost, and it was impossible to continue fighting with the fleet, so he could only slowly move back to repair the ship.

There is a high probability that this kind of ship will not die no matter how hard it is fought, but as long as it participates in the battle, it is easy to get injured. If it is injured, it has to go back to repair the ship.

It may happen: repair the ship once, go out once, participate in a battle, and then go back to repair the ship immediately, and this cycle repeats.

So the craftsmen thought they were suitable to join the battle fleet that would determine the outcome of the First World War.

If the decisive battle fleet wins and your own fleet takes control of the sea, no matter how slow you run on the way home, you can make temporary repairs on the battlefield before leaving, or let your teammates drag you home.

If you don't win, then sink yourself, so as not to be captured by the enemy back.

Another type of battleship is a "universal battleship" that considers various types of battles.

They have to take into account the avant-garde battle and the decisive battle, break the diplomatic relationship and fight against the breach, and need to deal with encounters in special sea conditions and weather, etc.

They can't go back to the dock after one fight. They need to fight continuously and maintain their combat effectiveness for a long time.

It needs to cruise for a long time on the ocean, continuously drive and hunt the enemy cruiser, and also need to entangle with the enemy screen guard and capital ship.

The craftsmen believe that if such comprehensive combat requirements are to be considered, the only option is to adopt a "graded protection" design.

According to the importance of different parts of the warship, different thicknesses and types of armor are arranged, and the armor boxes are also divided into three to four levels.

Most areas of the hull have different thicknesses of armor, so it will not be easily damaged and distorted.

In the case of minor injuries, sailing and combat capabilities are usually not affected, and the deck is not even afraid of being washed.

In a real naval battle, the size of the battleship is absolutely crushing. If the cruiser wants to challenge the battleship alone, it will basically die.

When a cruiser faces a decisive battleship, there is a certain chance to desperately send the capital ship back to the shipyard for repairs.

Facing a general-purpose battleship, it may just cost the battleship's painting, which does not affect her to fight a decisive battle, or continue to slaughter the next group of cruisers.

Obviously, the hierarchical protection is a universal idealized design, so it is called a universal battleship.

The disadvantages of this design are also very obvious.

Under the same tonnage, the protection effect of the core compartment of a general-purpose battleship is definitely lower than that of a battleship designed with "absolute core protection".

Because the protection of the non-core area takes up the share of the armor.

To achieve the same level of core protection, the tonnage of general-purpose battleships must continue to increase.

Here comes the paradox.

After the tonnage of the absolute core protective battleship increases, it can continue to strengthen its core defense level!

In the original history of the earth's navy, the pure "absolute core protection" design and the traditional conservative hierarchical protection design existed for a very short time.

Basically, around the 20s, it existed for a total of less than 20 years.

At that time, it happened to be the "naval holiday" period caused by the naval treaty. None of the naval powers built new ships, and most of the designs were shot on the design drawings.

On the eve of the outbreak of World War II, those cutting-edge battleships of the new era, except for the "final battle weapon Yamato", were basically a mixture of the two ideas.

They are all "radical versions of hierarchical protection designs influenced by core defense concepts."

Or "an optimized version of the core defense design that draws on the idea of ​​hierarchical protection design."

This design direction is actually the most difficult to grasp.

Protective armor should be designed in grades, how many grades should it be divided into?How exactly?
Which level should the different areas and equipment on the battleship be assigned to?
What is the best value for the difference in armor thickness ratio between different levels?
What is the ratio of main armor to horizontal armor?

In the era without computer simulation, it is difficult to directly find the real optimal range, and can only rely on the experience of the navy and designers.

Therefore, although most of the cutting-edge battleships of World War II in history were designed in this style, the design effects are uneven.

The well-designed Richelieu and Veneto classes are talked about by later generations.

The inexperienced design of the Bismarck class was ridiculed as the best battleship of World War I.

Yamato, the final decisive weapon, was not intended to be used universally, and went back to adopt the most extreme and absolute core defense design.

Now, in this world, under the guidance of Zhu Jingyuan, the Ming craftsmen are also going straight to the ultimate goal of hybrid design.

However, Zhu Jingyuan himself only knows the concept and direction, and he has no ability to grasp the "degree between radical and conservative".

The craftsmen also didn't have enough experience. Before Zhu Jingyuan provided the guiding ideology, they didn't even have a mature core defense idea.

After half a year of going back and forth on computing power, the craftsman is still not fully sure of the final choice.

So the final result is that in the design of the cutting-edge battleship, three different plans have been formed, and at the same time it is hoped to continue to modify.

In Zhu Jingyuan's view, this is a matter of course.

Design experience needs to be accumulated.

The design of warships is not done once and for all, but needs to be continuously iteratively upgraded and updated.

Specific to a warship, after it is completed, it can still be greatly upgraded, corrected original problems and replaced with new equipment.

A one-off design with no margin at all is an immature design. Design problems like Zumwalt have nothing to do with whether there is a margin.

Zhu Jingyuan got up and came to the table for discussion, where there are now a pile of staged design drawings.

There are several overall overview drawings that are close to finalization status and are placed on top.

There are three sets of battleships, and three sets of aircraft carriers.

The battleship No. [-] plan adopts the absolute core protection design, and other parameters have also been adjusted to the extreme for the decisive battle.

Four triple-mounted 360mm naval guns are used, the main armor is 360mm thick, arranged at an inclination of 23 degrees, and the maximum speed is [-] knots.

This is a typical "Iron King Eight", and its defense level is obviously beyond the standard in this era.

If it is placed in the original earth history, it will become the second largest battleship in the world after Yamato, far surpassing cutting-edge battleships such as Iowa and Richelieu.

Zhu Jingyuan glanced at it and gave up directly. From the beginning, he didn't want this kind of battleship that would be eliminated soon.

Although the design plan has a plan to upgrade the boiler and increase the speed to 27 knots.

Although Zhu Jingyuan is also considering upgrading the boiler, he must also prepare for the possibility of directly using it for elimination without upgrading the boiler.

It is really impossible to join the aircraft carrier formation activities at the 23rd knot, and the 27th knot is relatively conservative.

The battleship II plan adopts a mixture of two ideas and compromises, and at the same time leans more towards a more traditional design.

The main guns have been reduced to three, the thickness of the main armor has been reduced to 280 mm, and the arrangement is still inclined at [-] degrees, with a maximum speed of [-] knots.

On the basis of having complete primary and secondary armor boxes, the overall protection of the superstructure above the main armor has also been significantly strengthened.

The battleship No. [-] plan is also a mixed plan of the two ideas, but the direction is opposite to the No. [-] plan, and it is more inclined to strengthen the core protection.

The thickness of the main armor has been increased to [-] mm, the upper armor extending upwards from the main armor has been abandoned, and the superstructure protection has also had obvious trade-offs.

The bow of the ship has no armor at all, as long as it is hit by another ship, it will "turn around", referring to the historical battleship Wisconsin.

In the history of the original world, the cutting-edge battleships of World War II were basically the last plan.

Because World War II is already an era when the spear is slightly larger than the shield, the shield must be strengthened as much as possible within the controllable range.

After thinking for a long time, Zhu Jingyuan turned to look at Wang Lai and the other craftsmen:

"A final plan must be selected today, and construction must officially start before the end of the year.

"The No. [-] ship plan is directly abandoned. Let me see how many people support the No. [-] plan by raising their hands?"

After Zhu Jingyuan finished speaking, the craftsmen at the scene hesitated for a while, and almost half of them raised their hands, including Wang Lai.

Zhu Jingyuan nodded slightly, and then asked the craftsmen who supported Plan No. [-], and almost one-third of the craftsmen raised their hands.

Obviously, the remaining one-sixth are the real radicals who support Plan No. [-].

The more radical the plan, the smaller the number of people who support it.

The most conservative options are the most popular.

Zhu Jingyuan looked at Wang Lai:
"Master Wang, please tell me why you and most of the craftsmen support Plan No. [-]."

Wang Lai has a relatively gentle personality. When he is in charge, he will comprehensively report the situation of the craftsmen and try to be as impartial as possible.

But when you are a craftsman, you will stick to your own personal point of view:

"I believe that the current naval combat plans of the Thai and Western countries are still at the level of fighting with bayonets to wash the deck at a close distance of five kilometers.

"Our long-distance combat ideas are not yet fully mature, and we still need to be prepared for possible close-range raids by cruisers.

"So my suggestion is that the battleship Intrepid is used as an experimental ship, and the superstructure should still provide protection against small-caliber artillery.

"At the same time, the trial production of the new armor developed according to the new armor formula provided by His Highness has been completed, and the defense effect has been significantly improved.

"There is also the inclined armor installation method proposed by His Highness, which further improves the defense effect of the same thickness of armor.

"Now our 280mm armor is enough to defend against the latest naval guns of the Thai and Western countries at a distance of ten kilometers.

"Moreover, we can expect that after our new 360mm fifty-caliber naval gun enters service, the combat range of our cutting-edge warships will continue to increase to fifteen kilometers or even further.

"Under such circumstances, the relatively conservative design of the No. [-] plan can improve the continuous combat capability as much as possible while ensuring the absolute advantage of our fleet.

"This design can fully meet our needs, and there is no need to pursue the more extreme solutions No. [-] and No. [-]."

Zhu Jingyuan nodded lightly in satisfaction:

"Okay, then determine the second plan, complete the official drawing on the way back to the capital, and start working directly after returning to the capital."

In history, the direction of Plan No. [-] was the most chosen during World War II.

But the cutting-edge battleships of Ming Dynasty appeared too early in this world.

When the defense of the core area is sufficient, it is a natural choice to strengthen the defense of other areas and increase the continuous combat capability.

But some craftsmen seem less willing to accept this option.

There has always been a clear difference in character between craftsmen and craftsman-born officials, and ordinary university officials who are required to take the official examination.

The character of the craftsmen is obviously more straightforward, Wang Lai's is relatively rare, and Li Rui's is a typical state.

In addition, Zhu Jingyuan's attitude towards the craftsmen has always been very kind, and he got along with them all day long, so the craftsmen will not be too afraid.

So, just after Zhu Jingyuan announced his decision, a craftsman in his 30s immediately spoke up:

"Your Highness, Plan No. [-] is still too conservative. We cannot guarantee that the enemy's naval gun manufacturing technology and artillery skills will not see a leapfrog improvement in the next ten years.

"Emperor Shizu once said that what most people agree with may not be correct, and the truth is often in the hands of a few people.

"So I don't agree with the voting decision. I still hope that His Highness can reconsider the third plan. If the second plan must be adopted, then please continue to raise the tonnage limit to [-] tons."

Zhu Jingyuan laughed directly after hearing this:
"Our Intrepid ship will be able to serve as a capital ship in the next ten years, and will gradually retreat to the second line in the future.

"The seat of the main force will be given to a new generation of capital ships with a larger tonnage.

"Ten years later, the enemy has upgraded, and we should have larger tonnage battleships.

"Don't adjust to 420 tons, go directly to [-] tons and use [-]mm naval guns. That is a new task for everyone in the future."

The craftsman was obviously taken aback for a moment, then nodded vigorously, and said with a longing face:

"Sixty thousand tons! 42 centimeters! This is really good!"

Zhu Jingyuan was suddenly speechless.

This guy obviously prefers a bigger boat. As for the choice of the second plan and the third plan, it doesn't seem to be particularly important to him.

Many craftsmen at the scene also understood what had just happened, and suddenly burst into suppressed laughter.

　The next chapter must be at two or three o'clock in the middle of the night... It is not recommended to wait for the brothers...

　　
　
(End of this chapter)