Ironclad ships of this era are almost all like this. A layer of iron is directly nailed on the wooden shell to become an ironclad ship.
As the first "ironclad ship" built by Nanhua, it is also like this. In fact, it is still a wooden ship in essence.
Nanhua actually built an "ironclad ship"... To be honest, in Zhu Xianhai's view, this kind of "ironclad ship" was just a layer of iron plates nailed to it. It was basically a steam version of the "turtle ship". Yes, it was the one used during Wanli's expedition to Korea.
, that thing that North Korea nails with a layer of iron.
Well, it seems that during the Civil War, the Yankees' armored ships were almost always covered with a layer of iron on the waterline, a two-inch thick iron sheet.
However, a one-inch thick iron plate here is enough. After all, the needs of customers are different!
Zhu Xianhai asked, staring at the sharp steel collision angle in front of the iron keel in the dock.
"Is the ram strong enough?"
"It must be strong enough. The main body of the collision angle and the keel are integrated, so it is definitely strong enough."
When he answered in the affirmative, Liang Mingwei asked curiously.
"Boss, is this collision angle useful? I heard the chief engineer of Harleys said that such a collision angle is of no use at all, just like..."
Looking at his boss, Liang Mingwei said.
"Like its ten-inch cannon, it seems to be of little use."
Why isn't Harris, the shipyard's chief engineer, here?
In one sentence, he simply couldn't understand why the company would insist on building such an ordinary ship. In his opinion, even if the company wanted to build a warship, it could start with ordinary wooden-hulled warships step by step instead of finding a new way.
Compared with this kind of "gadget" that might be sunk by wind and waves even when it goes to sea, he prefers to build merchant ships - another shipyard is building iron-ribbed clipper ships.
"What does it mean to be of little use? He doesn't understand at all!"
Zhu Xianhai directly sneered at the judgment of the guy from Hares.
"His judgment on the cannon may be right, but the ramming angle will definitely be useful, and may even become the most important weapon of the ship. After all, sometimes the ten-inch cannon may not be useful, but the ramming angle will definitely be useful.
It is very useful, it is used to ram and sink enemy ships. Just rush up and hit it!"
A few years later, the Battle of Lisa was the first major sea battle involving steam-armored ships. The naval battle proved that using artillery against armored warships was no longer effective. Steam-powered ships were highly maneuverable and could quickly transform into various forms.
In the Battle of Lissa, the Austro-Hungarian fleet's use of ramming tactics was often effective, and this ancient tactic was resurrected. After that, until the beginning of the 20th century, most countries installed ramming horns on their warships.
"No matter whether the opponent's warship is big or small, if it hits it at such an angle, it will definitely sink with one hit! I can guarantee that this will definitely meet the customer's needs! As for the ten-inch cannon..."
Zhu Xianhai smiled and said.
"The ten-inch Dahlgren cannon is powerful enough, but in fact it is not used at all. Using such a cannon to bombard the small wooden boats of the Hunan Army is a waste of firepower. Let's just ram them."
As soon as he finished speaking, Liang Mingwei said in surprise.
"What? This, this ship is going to attack the Hunan Army? Dong... Dongjia, what does this mean?"
Looking at Liang Mingwei who looked confused, Zhu Xianhai smiled.
"This ship is going to be sold to the Taiping Army to make a lot of money!"
Pointing at the ship in the dock, Zhu Xianhai said proudly.
"Look, how much can such an armored ship with iron armor and ten-inch cannons be sold for? What is our cost? The budget is less than 70,000 silver dollars, but we can transport such a ship back to China
Later, it was sold to the Taiping Army for at least five or six hundred thousand taels, which is seven or eight hundred thousand silver dollars! This is a profit of more than ten times! However, this is not important. What is important is that with this ironclad ship
, the Taiping Army was not only able to break the Qing army’s blockade of Tianjing, but could also run rampant across the Yangtze River!”
Liang Mingwei looked at his boss with dumbfounded eyes. He was so surprised that he was speechless. His boss... he hated the Qing Dynasty so much!
Even when he was in America, he did not forget to harm the Qing Dynasty!
Liang Mingwei can understand Zhu Xianhai's eagerness!
Through the news brought by the second batch of immigrants, he almost understood the situation in China. Although the siege of Tianjing was solved after breaking through the Jiangnan camp two years ago, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom was still in chaos, and Hong Xiuquan was still obsessed with
In a gentle village with thousands of people, the government was controlled by his brothers Hong Renda and Hong Renfa.
Li Xiucheng, who looked down upon the two of them for controlling the government and constantly wrote letters demanding reform of the government, specialized in running his own Sufu Province under repeated attacks - he had captured Hangzhou at the end of last year.
Then what?
That is to say, this year, Zeng Guofan planned a three-sided attack on Tianjing, and then besieged Tianjing. This siege lasted for several years. It was this siege that gave Zeng Guofan the name "Zeng Tietong".
The number, that is, this siege, completely surrounded the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. One year later, Zeng Guoquan entered Xiaoling Guards east of Zhacheng. Two years later, the Hunan Army captured Tianbao City on the top of Zijin Mountain.
And what about the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom?
It’s cold!
During the three-year defense of Tianjing, Zeng Tietong relied on his iron barrels to encircle and attract hundreds of thousands of Taiping troops to return. Li Xiucheng, who had just captured Hangzhou, was forced to abandon Hangzhou and led his army back to Tianjing.
, this time the good situation that the division finally managed to achieve was broken. The Sufu Province that it worked so hard to manage was completely captured by Li Hongzhang, Zuo Zongtang and others in just one or two years. From Zeng Tietong's troops to the capital
Next, the strategic initiative fell into the hands of the Qing army.
The Battle of Tianjing, to put it bluntly, was the curtain call for the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom!
How to break the "iron barrel encirclement" of "Zeng Tie Tong"?
Zhu Xianhai had been thinking about this issue. After much thought, he set his sights on the Yangtze River and the Hunan Army's navy. How could the Hunan Army be able to fight under Tianjing City for a long time?
It relied on the navy to control the Yangtze River, which not only prevented the Taiping Army in the north from going south, but also ensured the smooth flow of our own logistics supplies through the navy. As long as the Hunan Army's navy was broken, Zeng Tietong's deep trench fortress under Nanjing City would be able to
It has become a display - without the food, grass and gunpowder support in the rear, how long can they persist?
Historically, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom was unable to lift the siege of the Hunan Army, so it eventually walked towards the end of the city and the country. As long as it could defeat the navy, it could lift the siege and avoid the destruction of the city and the country!
At least, I can hold on for a few more years!
It is almost impossible to rely on the wooden ships of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom to defeat the Hunan Navy and seize control of the Yangtze River. After all, the current Taiping Army is no longer the Taiping Army of the past. The invincible navy has long been playing tricks.
It's over.
So if you want to defeat the Hunan Navy, you have to find another way. What should you do? The simplest way is to crush it through technology. For the Hunan Navy in this era, such an "iron-armored ship", even if it is covered with a
An iron-clad armored ship is also invincible.
With it, crushing the Hunan Navy is as easy as chopping melons and vegetables.
Liang Mingwei, who recovered from the shock, first looked at the "ironclad ship" in the dock that had begun to be plated, then looked at his employer, and then said.
"Master, can this ship sail that far across the ocean? What if it sinks midway?"
"fine!"
Zhu Xianhai smiled proudly.
"We have the Great Eastern..."
This chapter has been completed!