Daming 1805

Chapter 403 The Situation of Shipbuilding in Western Countries
Zhu Jingyuan continued to explain his thoughts to the officials and craftsmen of the shipbuilding system headed by Zhu Zhongliang and Wang Lai:

"The cost per unit tonnage of high-speed destroyers used in the fleet is much higher than that of battleships.

"However, the single-ship cost of a destroyer, specifically, the construction cost of a two- to three-thousand-ton destroyer is of course far lower than any battleship of tens of thousands of tons.

"So, it is impossible for us to build battleships to do the work that can be done with destroyers, and the overall cost will be too high.

"At the same time, in the short term, the Taixi people should not be able to build a [-]-ton battleship.

"When they can build more than [-] tons of battleships, we should have more [-] tons of battleships than them.

"Before they built battleships of this size, the main mission of our own [-]-ton battleships was actually to serve as a world-class deterrent force.

"Actually, the tasks that usually need battleships to do are to let [-] tons of mass-produced warships do it.

"As far as the current level of shipbuilding technology in the world is concerned, they are completely sufficient.

"If we upgrade the existing [-]-ton warships with the technology we just completed, it should be enough to deal with the Taixi battleships below [-] tons.

"Even if they face their [-]-ton battleship, they may not be incapable of fighting.

"It's just that with our Daming's family background, there is no need to do that kind of challenge."

Having said that, Zhu Jingyuan turned his attention to Wang Lai:
"Don't talk about the Ship Division...the Ordnance Department has no plan to upgrade the technology of the existing [-]-ton warship?"

Wang Lai immediately nodded very seriously, and briefly reported the relevant situation to Zhu Jingyuan:

"Your Highness is right, of course we have done the upgrade plan.

"Based on the electroslag remelting technology, the 360mm naval gun was redesigned and produced, and the latest boiler and turbine system with higher power density were replaced.

"Without reducing the speed and defense force, the number of artillery can be upgraded from three triple mounts with a total of nine guns to four triple mounts with a total of twelve guns.

"The new artillery can use at least 850 kilograms, or even [-] kilograms of super-heavy shells.

"The actual power will not be lower than the 380 to [-]mm artillery made by traditional crafts.

"You can even try to replace the new 420mm guns with three or even four twin mounts.

"Or keep the nine main guns and increase the overall thickness of the main armor to 360 mm.

"Or raise the core of the horizontal armor to two hundred millimeters."

Zhu Jingyuan nodded slightly after listening:
"Technical upgrades are certainly possible, especially boiler and turbine systems.

"I would rather slow down the construction speed a little bit, and all subsequent [-]-ton warships will be converted to new power systems.

"However, the number and caliber of the main guns of this type of ship, as well as the thickness of the armor, do not need to continue to increase.

"It is completely enough for now, and it may not be needed in the future.

"After the use of new technology, the weight and space saved are used for internal technology upgrades such as observation, control, and command.

"You should have some understanding of the shipbuilding status of the Thai and Western countries, right?"

Wang Lai was a little surprised, but the two had worked together for a long time, and Wang Lai quickly understood Zhu Jingyuan's thoughts.

Zhu Jingyuan revealed his judgment to Wang Lai, the most core designer, and he believed that the future is the era of aviation weapons.

The [-]-ton mass-produced high-speed battleship is a necessary supplement before the aircraft carrier cannot fight independently.

At the same time, it is also a large-scale air defense platform around the aircraft carrier and the future fleet combat command center.

The [-]-ton battleship is the supplier of deterrent force before the aircraft carrier cannot provide deterrent force.

Under this guiding ideology, the main guns and armor indicators of the [-]-ton battleship certainly do not need to be greatly upgraded.

Just upgrading with new technology at the current scale should make it difficult for Taixi people to surpass in the next ten years.

As the person in charge of warship design, Wang Lai certainly knows the news about the navies of the Thai and Western countries.

Hearing Zhu Jingyuan's special question, Wang Lai immediately gave a brief explanation:
"Three years ago, after our [-]-ton battleship cruised around the world, countries in Thailand and the West immediately started building a new generation of battleships based on our new warships, and they have all launched this year.

"Because they don't know the actual detailed information of our warships, their design target parameters are actually estimated.

"Most of the admirals and craftsmen of the Thai and Western countries can see that the maximum speed of our warship is not only 25 knots, but they don't dare to think about 27 knots. Their estimates are based on around [-] knots.

"Except for the four traditional naval countries of Britain, Spain, Portugal, and the Netherlands, our craftsmen directly participated in the design of warships in other countries, so we have the most accurate understanding.

"Among these countries, the French have the deepest accumulation of original naval technology, and the new warships finally designed and built are also the most balanced in all aspects.

"The name of the first ship of the new warship is the Duke of Normandy, and the name of the second ship built at the same time is the Duke of Orleans, using the titles of the French crown prince and his wife.

"The new battleship has four dual-mounted turrets, all of which are 360 ​​mm caliber and 45 times the caliber of the new artillery.

"It has 120mm thick side main armor and [-]mm thick horizontal deck armor.

"The full-load displacement is about 27 tons, and the maximum design speed is [-] knots.

"Without our new warships as an indicator for comparison, this is a well-balanced design of a fast battleship.

"According to other sources, the specifications of the new warships built by the British and Spaniards are very close to those of the French.

"Under the guidance of our craftsmen, the Prussians have designed and built a new warship that has been named König.

"They used a slightly higher displacement of [-] tons with a full load, and basically achieved an index similar to that of the new French warship.

"The Italian Dante in Sardinia and the Austrian United Force each completed a triple-mounted turret design.

"However, the artillery of the two countries adopts a slightly lower caliber, both of which are 340mm and 45 times the main gun.

"Both countries have installed four triple turrets on the [-]-ton hull, and both have as many as twelve main guns.

"However, in the Austrian triple turret, there are only two sets of shell delivery channels, and the loading speed is slightly slower.

"However, the speed of the new warships of the two countries is a bit lower than that of the French and Prussians, both of which are only 25 knots.

"The largest tonnage among the new warships is the St. Petersburg class of the Lucians, with a full load displacement of 4 tons.

"The Lucians installed six dual-mounted 360 mm caliber, 45 times the main gun on it.

"Side armor and horizontal armor are the same as the French, and the maximum speed is slightly lower, reaching 26 knots.

"Ottoman's factory, under our guidance, built a battleship with a full load displacement of 23 tons, a maximum speed of [-] knots, and four dual-mounted [-]mm main guns.

"At the same time, I ordered a battleship with a full load displacement of 27 tons, a maximum speed of 360 knots, eight 45mm caliber and [-] times caliber main guns from Daming Royal Shipyard, and it has now been launched.

"This ship is a simplified version of our [-]-ton warship.

"Important technical indicators such as the square stern, bulbous bow, turbine power, triple-mounted turret, and gun diameter have been reduced, but it is still the highest technical level among the new warships of the Thai and Western countries."

Zhu Jingyuan couldn't help laughing when he heard this:

"Among the countries of Thailand and the West, the cutting-edge warships with the highest level are actually in the hands of the Ottomans?"

Zhu Zhongliang and Wang Lai also laughed when they heard this comment.

To achieve this level, the French and the British must have a weight of more than [-] tons.

Moreover, the reliability cannot be compared with that produced by Daming.

The atmosphere on the scene relaxed for a while, and Zhu Jingyuan asked a new question:

"What about their shipbuilding plan? When the new warship is launched, there should be new ideas for the future, right?"

Wang Lai, as the chief shipbuilder of Ming Dynasty, is also very clear about this information:
"Most Western countries, the current primary goal is to continue to optimize the existing [-]-ton warship design.

"All countries are working hard to improve the power and efficiency of the power system, and to tackle key problems and improve the design of multi-mounted turrets.

"In addition to the power system, the Austrians and Italians are hesitant to develop a 360mm main gun.

“They may jump straight to 380mm, or even [-]mm.

"Their follow-up new warships are highly similar to the existing warships in design, and the main goal is to increase the speed to 27 knots.

"The Prussians and Lucians are mainly working on the design of the triple-mounted turret.

"At the same time, we have also begun to tackle the problem of artillery with a caliber of [-]mm and above.

"The new battleship is preparing to use triple turrets, and the Lucians have to increase the maximum speed of the battleship.

"The thinking of the French is jumping, and they are going to continue to build the existing Normandy-type battleships.

"At the same time, technicians are preparing to tackle the design of the quadruple turret.

"There is relatively little information from the British side, and it can be fully confirmed that they are also working hard on triple-mounted turrets and power system power.

"In addition, we also got information that they are secretly developing and building a new type of warship.

"The level of secrecy of this kind of warship is unprecedentedly high, and discussions among insiders are often referred to by the word 'shh'.

"Instead of directly mentioning certain engineering code names or scheduled ship names...

"In general, except for the special warship of the British, no other country has a larger tonnage warship plan.

"That's still beyond the reach of most countries.

"Even for their new target warships, the overall indicators still lag behind our existing [-]-ton warships.

"Not to mention the new model after upgrading the electroslag remelting process."

Zhu Jingyuan was a little surprised when he heard this and asked:

"Shush-class... battleship? Do you know any other news about this kind of battleship?
"The judgment of Ankang's technology and information personnel, what type of warship might this be?"

Zhu Jingyuan was a little surprised by this Hush, because the British in his previous life built a "Hush" class warship before World War I.

At that time, the Hush-class was the "Brave-class large light cruiser", which was later changed to an aircraft carrier.

The first two were the Brave and the Glorious, both 240 meters in length and [-] knots in speed.

76 mm armor of the light cruiser class, four fifteen-inch (380 mm) guns of the battleship class.

The third, called Fury, was even more outrageous, with two eighteen-inch (450mm) guns.

This is not even a battlecruiser, nor is it a large cruiser of World War II, but a large cannon light cruiser.

In Zhu Jingyuan's memory, they seem to be the crispy cannon boats with the biggest difference in artillery and defense capabilities in history.

At that time, Fisher, the first British Secretary of the Navy, traded speed and range for the defense concept of battle patrol, and under the budget constraints of the stingy budget, he used the name of light cruiser to create a freak warship.

Fisher's battle cruise philosophy of "speed and range are the best defense" is certainly not wrong.

Because the ultimate realization of this concept is the later aircraft carrier.

If Fisher has been Lord of the Navy for a few more years, the Queen Elizabeth class is likely to be a 27-knot battle cruiser.

Had he lived a few more years, he might have become a fanatical carrier faction.

According to Zhu Jingyuan's understanding, Nelson, the most famous British admiral, is closer to Fisher in thinking.

It is also the logic of pursuing defense with speed.

The point is, now that the aircraft has matured, the idea of ​​an aircraft carrier has already appeared in the navies of various countries.

Now Nelson is likely to support aircraft carrier construction.

So in this world, the British warship Hush, will it be an aircraft carrier from the beginning?
When Zhu Jingyuan was thinking in his mind, Wang Lai who was opposite directly gave a similar judgment:
"The judgment of our craftsmen and the information personnel of the West Factory is that the British have a high possibility of building a large aircraft carrier, and a lower possibility of building a larger-scale super battleship.

"However, whether it is a large aircraft carrier or a super battleship, it is impossible to directly reach the level of [-] tons.

"Our steadily advancing [-]-ton battleship and aircraft carrier project will not be inferior to the British in terms of speed, standard and quantity.

"So we think there is no need to pay too much attention to this so-called hush boat..."

After hearing this, Zhu Jingyuan nodded lightly:
"Without knowing our aircraft carrier design, it would be impossible to imagine that we can directly build a [-]-ton aircraft carrier.

"The key is the cost issue. Without absolutely reliable data support, their decision makers cannot use the construction cost of a [-]-ton warship to conduct this kind of experiment.

"Even if the navy and craftsmen believe in this design again, it is impossible for traditional decision makers to follow suit."

Wang Lai also fully agrees with Zhu Jingyuan's judgment, and at the same time, he really wants to ask, why the Supreme Emperor of Ming Dynasty and His Royal Highness Prince Dashi, you two can make such a decision?
Is it just because an aircraft carrier of this level is actually your own idea?

Zhu Zhongliang next to him has been listening, and finally couldn't help but interrupt when he heard the aircraft carrier:
"Now that there are planes all over the world, have all the countries in Thailand and Western countries thought about aircraft carriers?"

Wang Lai immediately reported:
"Yes, the navies of various countries in Thailand and the West have studied the method of using aircraft on board.

"The most radical ones are the British, French, and Spaniards, all of whom have already done actual modification tests.

"The flight deck is laid on existing cruisers or large merchant ships and cargo ships, and a test aircraft carrier capable of launching and recovering aircraft is converted.

"However, the design is still very immature, and there are still many problems in the eyes of our craftsmen.

"Every country in Thailand and the West believes that we must also have an aircraft carrier design, so the countries that cooperate with us all want to obtain information.

"However, His Royal Highness Prince Dashi has long issued an order. We have issued a sealed order to all craftsmen, and we must not disclose any aircraft carrier-related designs to the Taixi people.

"Under such circumstances, when they figure out a relatively mature aircraft carrier design plan, our [-]-ton super-carrier should form a combat capability."

(End of this chapter)