Seeing Luanda who was a little excited, Zhu Xianhai could only applaud. At this moment, he saw hope in this young man.
Not because of his knowledge, but because they truly saw the future.
Looking directly at him, Zhu Xianhai couldn't help but applaud him.
"Very good, then tell me what you think!"
"In order to ensure the safety of this lifeline, we must control a series of strongholds in the Pacific, just like the company's current layout in the Pacific Islands. I believe that the commander has long been prepared for this. These islands are like
It's like a necklace, connecting Nanhua and Huaxia with a line. Now what Nanhua faces is how we can ensure that this line is not cut off!"
How to guarantee?
We must build a powerful navy!
There is no doubt about this. In fact, Zhu Xianhai has already had a plan for this. In the past few years, 300 cadets have graduated from the Naval Academy every year. In fact, he is preparing talents for the expansion of the Navy.
In fact, Zhu Xianhai valued talent reserves more than shipbuilding. Why could the late Qing Dynasty never build a strong navy?
Even the Beiyang Navy has a weak successor? This weakness is essentially a lack of talent. Although there are two naval schools in Mawei and Beiyang, the number of officers who graduate every year is only a few dozen, and among them there are only less than a dozen.
To 20% study navigation.
Is it possible to achieve the expansion of the navy with just this few people?
Although the Beiyang Navy was established in 1883, it did not establish a modern talent recruitment and training mechanism until the Sino-Japanese War of 1894, and the navy did not establish this mechanism until the fall of the Qing Dynasty.
In comparison, what about Etajima? As early as the 1880s, more than two hundred naval officers graduated every year. Relying on the "Etajima Hammock" seniority ranking system that was linked to performance, the Japanese Navy established a system of recruiting officers regardless of their origins.
With the background of the employment system, through the cultivation and accumulation of talents, it is absolutely normal for the Japanese Navy to surpass the Manchu and Qing Navy.
In the expansion of the Japanese Navy, it is always the ships that wait for the people, rather than the ships that wait for the people. In just ten years after the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1894, the Japanese Navy established a powerful navy that ranked among the best among the great powers.
Accumulation of talents.
It is precisely because of this accumulation of talents and continuous investment that they have a second-class navy in the world, second only to the United States and the United Kingdom.
It is for this reason that Zhu Xianhai attaches great importance to the cultivation of reserve talents. The training from naval schools to merchant marine Rotary schools, and from naval officers to merchant marine crews, is essentially to prepare for the expansion of the navy.
Ten years ago, Nanhua did not have a single merchant ship of its own, but now Nanhua has more than 370 merchant ships and ocean-going fishing ships, with a total tonnage of more than 200,000 tons, hundreds of captains, and tens of thousands of crew members. What are they all about developing the navy?
potential.
"We need to build a powerful maritime force. The capital ships of this maritime force are completely different from the capital ships of various countries today. It should have the same firepower and defense as combat ships, and it should also have the ability to communicate with cruisers.
Speed and seaworthiness. This is because limited by the size of the fleet, our warships need to be used in naval battles, but also need to have better ocean-going capabilities. In peacetime, they can protect important maritime traffic and ensure enough
Use the firepower to attack the opponent who "covets" our own maritime interests..."
Currently, the main ships of the South China Coast Guard are six cruisers. The establishment of this cruiser itself is also to protect South China's overseas interests and to protect maritime lines of communication.
But how can a cruiser fight against a battleship?
There is no possibility at all.
"What kind of warship do we need? A warship with a displacement of about 7,000 tons, a speed of up to 16-18 knots, 200 mm armor and at least four 254 mm guns. If possible, in order to strengthen the firepower, we should design a 280 mm
to the 305 mm naval gun.”
Pointing to the sketches on the drawing frame, Ruanda expressed his ideas one by one. His idea was undoubtedly extremely advanced in this era, because in this era, there was a clear distinction between battleships and cruisers, but he
Some requirements for warships can be adjusted according to actual needs. This concept is undoubtedly extremely advanced.
"Powerful firepower, high speed, and thicker armor than a cruiser, but slightly inferior to a battleship. When they end up together..."
"Battle Cruiser."
Zhu Xianhai smiled.
His concept is not that of a battlecruiser. However, unlike later battlecruisers, its two twin turrets are located amidships, which is somewhat similar to the "Tianlong-class". In fact, it is derived from the 1,600-ton "Fubo-class"
"As for the two 2,800-ton "Shanxi-class" ships, they fully borrowed from the "Tianlong-class" purchased from the United Kingdom, and only further improved the turret and ship structure.
Zhu Xianhai had never had a hand in the navy's warship design, but now faced with this sketch, he raised some targeted questions, from the layout of artillery to the distribution of armored belts. After learning that due to the tonnage, only 200
After millimeters of armor, he asked directly.
"We need a warship that is very difficult for enemies to hit. Its anti-sinkability must be good enough and it must be able to withstand the largest artillery now!"
"In this case, the tonnage of the warship will be increased by at least 3,000 tons, the speed will be reduced, and the manufacturing difficulty will be further increased."
Although we are confident in Nanhua's shipbuilding capabilities, is it a big step to build tens of thousands of tons of warships right from the start?
"Do you know the castle?"
Zhu Xianhai picked up a pen and drew a simple diagram in the corner of the drawing.
"You are currently using a full-length side armor belt. In order to ensure the thickness of the armor, you have to reduce its size. If it is thickened, the heavy armor belt will affect its seaworthiness. We can completely replace it.
One idea is to design an armored fort!"
Then Zhu Xianhai drew an armored belt on the paper.
"We shortened the side armor defense area to about two-thirds of the length, and the central part formed a central armored fort. Our turrets, ammunition compartments, boiler rooms and main engine rooms and other major parts are all made of this rectangular iron armor
The fore and stern parts of the ship at both ends of the armored fort are protected by horizontal armored decks. By adding watertight compartments, a certain degree of sinking resistance is obtained, but the key is the central armored fort. As long as it is not penetrated, the warship will
It’s impossible to sink. By shortening the length of the armor belt, we can get thicker armor!”
This is the most popular "central armored fort" in the 1870s and 1880s. In another world, "Zhenyuan" and "Dingyuan" adopted this design. They both showed excellent protective performance in naval battles.
, after being hit by artillery shells below 152 mm, none of them were penetrated. The main facilities inside the ship remained in good condition, and the damage was basically limited to the deck. Facts have proved that the design of the "central armored fortress" achieved their purpose.
This is also the reason why Zhu Xianhai proposed this idea. On the one hand, it is because it is successful, and on the other hand, it is because of the technology - this technology itself is the technology of this era, and of course, more importantly, what "in the pre-dreadnought era"
He doesn't understand techniques like "Key Defense" at all.
The technology of "Central Ironclad Fort" is relatively simple and straightforward, and there is no technical difficulty at all. Even the angled turret layout for installing large-mouth artillery was taken over by Zhu Xianhai. Its main gun layout and appearance are similar to those of the Beiyang Navy
The "Dingyuan" class ironclads are very similar, with two twin 254mm main guns arranged at an angle, a bit like the slightly smaller "Dingyuan".
After briefly sketching the concept of its main structure on the sketch, Zhu Xianhai said with a smile.
"In this way, we should be able to obtain a battle cruiser with heavy armor, leading defense capabilities, and fast speed. What do you think?"