Immediately afterwards, at the sincere invitation of Jerome Bonaparte, Albert boarded an ironclad ship named "Soulte".
Albert, who was standing on the deck of the ship, first raised his head and glanced at the giant mast standing in the center and the "chimney" with a green-black metallic luster located behind the mast. Then he turned his head and glanced at the people on both sides of the deck.
The "monster" firmly trapped by the cables and slide rails slowly spoke.
"If I guessed correctly, this ironclad ship was just launched recently!"
"Albert, you observed very carefully! This child (referring to the ironclad) has just turned one full moon!" Jérôme Bonaparte introduced to Albert with a hint of pride, "And its construction time was in 1856.
February 14th!”
Hearing Jérôme Bonaparte's introduction, Albert was secretly surprised.
As the shadow helmsman of Britain, although he does not understand the construction technology of ironclad ships, he knows very well that it takes time for a ship to be built and launched, and it also takes time to be launched and put into service.
If the construction of this ship really started in February 1856, then the time from construction to launch of the entire ship was only more than two years. (The time from launch to service in Britain is generally about half a year)
This kind of shipbuilding speed is completely comparable to that of the British Kingdom.
If you include France itself, it is still the largest army in Europe...
Thinking of this, Albert couldn't help but feel a trace of fear and regret in his heart.
If the Kingdom of Britain could have firmly opposed the Bonaparte family becoming the ruler of France, then Britain would not have faced such an aggressive ruler.
…
Of course, Albert didn't know that the ironclad ship he boarded was not a truly new ironclad ship, but an ironclad ship transformed from a sailing battleship.
The entire ironclad ship also reduced many basic steps and saved a lot of time.
…
Just when Albert was worried about the shipbuilding speed of the French Empire, Jérôme Bonaparte's voice reached Albert's ears, "Albert, let me show you the inside!"
After regaining consciousness, Albert and Jerome Bonaparte walked side by side to the escalator connecting the deck and the cabin, while the commander of the Mediterranean Fleet and other accompanying personnel were ordered by Jerome Bonaparte to stay on the deck and wait.
After entering the first floor through the oak steps at the escalator, Albert's vision immediately broadened.
Looking towards the end of the cabin from the escalator, there is no other obstruction in the entire cabin except the rail rifled guns fixed on the hatches on both sides, as well as the naval soldiers and the lieutenants in command of the special forces lined up in two rows.
.
Although the lieutenant was very confused as to why only two monarchs arrived, he followed the script he had prepared before and gave a straight military salute to Jerome Bonaparte and Albert.
"Your Majesty, Saint Ann!" The naval soldier standing behind the lieutenant also shouted loudly to Jerome Bonaparte and Albert according to the pre-rehearsed procedure.
Upon seeing this, Albert and Jérôme Bonaparte also waved back to the naval soldiers.
Later, through the introduction of the second lieutenant, Prince Albert learned that the "Sirte" was an ironclad ship with a double-layer gun deck. There were 50 guns in the upper and lower decks (including 16 194 mm guns and 34 164 mm guns.
gun), the thickness of the armor at the muzzle of each gun is 120 mm. (In fact, the armor of the fort is 109-120 mm, and the second lieutenant here said the maximum value is 120 mm).
After hearing the data, Albert once again felt a hint of gloom in his heart.
In terms of data alone, this "Sulte" can completely crush any British warship, not even the "Warrior" class ironclads being built by Britain can match it.
The 50 artillery pieces placed on the left and right sides of the ship give the ship enough to destroy any enemy who dares to attack, and the 120 mm armor thickness means that it is difficult for the opponent's artillery to cause any substantial damage to one's own side.
However, the only thing that is not satisfactory is that the sailing speed of this giant ironclad is 13 knots (23.076km/h), while the paper speed of the "Warrior" is
Section 14.
As for endurance, the "Warrior"'s 3,910km/11-knot endurance is even better than the "Sirte"'s 3,410km/8-knot.
In other words, if the "Warrior" wants to escape from the "Sulte", it can still do it.
But as the overlord of the sea, "escape" has never been in the dictionary of the British Kingdom.
No matter how powerful the enemy at sea is, Britain will choose to fight it with perseverance.
It is precisely because of this perseverance in the naval spirit that Britain will defeat the Kingdom of Spain with its invincible fleet, the Republic of the Netherlands, known as the coachman of the sea, and the Kingdom/Empire of France.
Therefore, Albert secretly determined to build an ironclad ship that was faster and more powerful than the "Sulte".
He believed that with Britain's profound shipbuilding skills, it would be able to build an ironclad ship that surpassed the "Sulte".
…
Under the guidance of the second lieutenant, Albert visited the ammunition room, power room, and bedrooms where soldiers lived at sea.
Looking at the neatly arranged bedroom, Albert felt the thriving vitality and meticulous discipline.
Obviously, France is not only catching up with the Kingdom of Britain in terms of ship performance, they are also desperately trying to catch up with Britain in terms of the quality of their sailors.
An excellent fleet must have excellent sailors and commanders to match it, otherwise no matter how excellent the ship is, it will be nothing more than a toy (here specifically refers to the United States).
Although the quality of French sailors is not as good as that of Britain, the gap between the two is not huge.
If you are not careful, Britain may be surpassed by France.
…
After visiting the interior of the Soulte, Albert and Jérôme Bonaparte, accompanied by the commander of the fleet and the commander of the Soulte, left the ship in a small boat.
On the way back to the hotel in the carriage, Albert looked worried from time to time.
Jérôme Bonaparte, who was sitting directly opposite Albert, could not help but feel secretly happy. He understood that Albert had become wary of the French Navy, and this was the purpose of his trip.
…
Early the next morning, Jerome Bonaparte and Albert took the train back to Paris.
That evening, Jérôme Bonaparte summoned Dicko again.
"Now Albert has been deceived by us, and I believe that before long, there will be a bunch of useless fleets in Britain!"