For ordinary people, they have no idea that the world has entered a world of great conflict.
Prophecy has been a huge test of human intelligence from ancient times to the present.
It's IQ, not wisdom.
From some small details in history, we can find that most ordinary people cannot predict even a war that will lead to the overthrow of a country within a year.
As for predictions, IQ taxes are often collected.
However, there are still a small number of people who know that the war has reached its final countdown.
As an engineer in the Ship Administration Department of the Ministry of Navy, Zhao Zhiyuan can clearly sense the changes in the current situation and can even smell the smell of war from some details.
For example, the Navy requires that the construction speed of the "Nanhua Class" and "Linhai Class" under construction be accelerated, and the same is true for other warships. Generally speaking, the Navy is willing to pay overtime pay and strives to launch the warships as soon as possible.
At the same time, according to the requirements of the Navy, the keel of the "Youzhou-class" combat ship was laid three months ago. The difference from the past is that the shipyard is now rushing to build it day and night.
Accelerate, everything is accelerating! From the 3,000-ton fast cruiser to the 10,000-ton battleship, they are all accelerating.
Shipyards from Nanhua to Linhai are working day and night to build warships, and even the Xin'an Shipyard in Yingtianbian is also the same in this small shipyard.
After checking his documents in front of the shipyard gate, Zhao Zhiyuan entered the shipyard. Riding his bicycle, he did not go to the office, but went directly to the dock. Before he arrived at the dock, he heard the deafening sound of air hammers, electric drills, and
The workers shouted and whistled, and the aerial crane rotated back and forth to lift steel plates, boilers and other objects into the dock.
"beep……"
Amidst the harsh whistles, a 100mm single turret was slowly being lifted to the outfitting berth. On the berth, a thousand-ton warship painted in blue and gray was almost completed.
"How about it, Mr. Zhao, I say we can definitely deliver it this month! Look..."
Just then someone walked up to him and said.
It was Fang Dekai, the naval construction supervisor. He pointed at the warships on the sea with his fingertips holding a cigarette, and then said.
"This is the first one. In the next twelve months, there will be 18 light cruiser gunboats in service. By then, the Imperial Navy will have the most powerful cruise gun fleet in the world."
Fast cruiser gunboat... This name sounds a bit awkward. This type of cruiser has almost no armor defense, but is extremely fast. It is mainly used for escort. According to the official statement, "it is to ensure the safety of maritime transportation lines in wartime."
But in reality? As the chief designer, Zhao Zhiyuan knew very well what kind of cruise gunboats were here and there. They were clearly large torpedo boats!
Torpedoes are still the secret weapon of the Ming Dynasty. After years of development, they are not only increasingly mature, but also very powerful. However, torpedo boats are small in size and have poor self-sustainability, so they can only be used offshore.
These shortcomings were fully exposed when the Imperial Navy moved to the open sea. The Navy urgently needed torpedo units to coordinate operations with the fleet in the Pacific. Therefore, based on the needs of the Navy, the Shipyard designed this "cruise gunboat."
According to the final design, the overall layout of the ship is close to the cruiser style. The total length of the ship exceeds 102 meters. It adopts the traditional two-mast layout with parallel chimneys amidships. The theoretical output power is as high as 15,000 horsepower, which is similar to the "Youzhou" under construction.
The main power of the battleship is equal, which ensures that its speed is enough to make any current warships unmatched.
In terms of weapon configuration, the ship is equipped with a total of four 120 mm guns at the bow and stern. In addition, four twin 460 mm torpedo launch tubes are arranged between the two chimneys and at the stern of the ship, but they were installed secretly at the naval base.
.
"Indeed, as soon as these four rapid-fire cannons are installed, sea trials can almost be carried out!"
Zhao Zhiyuan said while staring at the turret hoisted to the bow of the ship.
"Ten shots per minute...If you hadn't witnessed it with your own eyes, it would be really hard to believe it!"
Rapid-fire cannon!
After years of research and development, Krupp Arsenal has finally developed a mature rapid-fire gun. Through the advancement of the gun mount, the gun's rate of fire has been greatly increased. The main difference compared to the previous old-fashioned artillery is the addition of a cradle.
and reentry aircraft. And it is this seemingly inconspicuous small improvement that has completely subverted the old naval battle model.
The cradle can be simplified into a bracket model with an O-shaped or U-shaped cross-section, and the gun body can slide along the slide rail provided by the cradle. In this way, the recoil generated by the gun after firing will push the gun body along the slide rail.
It moves backward to absorb the negative effects caused by the vibration of the gun body and maintain the stability of the entire gun body. The upper gun frame is fixed, reducing the burden of the retraction movement. The retraction machine will automatically return the gun barrel to its original position, which greatly improves the stability of the gun body.
Increased rate of fire.
"Rapid-firing artillery will certainly usher in a new era for the Navy."
As a naval officer, Fang Dekai stared at the naval guns being installed on the deck and said in a rather emotional tone.
"The rate of fire of just four artillery pieces is almost equivalent to the rate of fire of 20 artillery pieces. If calculated, the firepower of a fast ship is no less than that of three similar warships..."
Narrowing his eyes to a slit, Zhao Zhiyuan stared at the position where the torpedo launch tubes were installed amidships. He had witnessed the scene of a torpedo boat attacking a target ship. Until now, he could still recall how he stared at the two small boats with dumbfounded eyes.
The scene where the target ship was easily sunk was accompanied by two huge water columns, and the target ship sank.
If you hadn't seen it with your own eyes, who would have believed that a small torpedo boat could easily sink a ship of thousands of tons?
Even if it's a wooden shell, it doesn't matter. The steel shell... can also be blown up and sink.
"Soon, the navy's secondary guns will be replaced with rapid-fire guns."
Fang Dekai lowered his voice and said.
"I heard that the Krug Arsenal is studying a 150mm rapid-fire gun. After it is put into service, the navy will basically be full-speed cannons except for artillery with a caliber of 210 or above. Maybe we don't have many warships, but in terms of firepower
, must be far ahead of the British Royal Navy."
British Royal Navy!
That is the number one imaginary enemy of the Imperial Navy!
In the Imperial Navy's exercises, the Royal Navy is the target of the Imperial Navy.
Although the Imperial Navy regards the Royal Navy as its imaginary enemy, its strength is inferior to others!
Until now, the Imperial Navy only has four battleships, four armored ships and four ironclad ships. Its strength...
"Royal Navy..."
Fang Dekai's words made Zhao Zhiyuan think for a moment and then said.
"There is a huge gap in strength between us and the Royal Navy. The second phase of the naval expansion plan has just begun. Even if the second phase of the plan is completed, the gap in strength between us is still very large..."
This chapter has been completed!