The army exercises continued, but the figures of the monarchs of the two countries did not appear again, and neither did the figures of senior officers of the two navies.
Located 12 kilometers west of the Altmark training ground, there is a manor of the Hohenzollern family, where the two monarchs and several naval officers from the two countries are all present.
Of course, with so many people here, it is impossible to come here for vacation, so under the witness of the two monarchs, the German-Italian naval technical cooperation negotiations began.
"Everyone, these are some of our country's views on naval cooperation. Please correct me."
Rear Admiral Tirpitz, who is called the Chief of the General Staff of the German Navy but is actually the head of the Navy, presented the German cooperation plan at the beginning.
Admiral Yagir and others took the plan and read it quickly, while the German naval admirals waited silently.
The cooperation plan of the German naval counterparts covers several aspects, such as joint maritime training, military and technical exchanges, and equipment research and development. Of course, among these cooperations, the most important thing for Germany is warship design and military
communication.
Needless to say, warship design, all German warship designers should be disbanded. In later generations, the wasteful tonnage design of German warships that was ridiculed by military fans has become an ancestral skill.
And indeed, if we don’t talk about what didn’t appear later, we can’t talk about the two battleships of the German Navy at present. The Brandenburg class also has a strong armored ship style, and its speed and firepower are also far behind its contemporaries.
battleships from various countries. As for the epoch-making Turin class, they are completely incomparable.
If the Brandenburg class appeared at the same time as the Turin class and did not pay attention to its arrival, then there is nothing to defend the Frederick III class.
This time the firepower of the Frederick III class has increased. The 350mm main gun is not behind the battleships of other countries. However, its maximum speed of 17.5 knots should be regarded as the second slowest except for the American battleships that love to make iron turtles.
.
In terms of armor, although the main armor belt of the Frederick III class has a thickness of 228mm-300mm, its armor belt is very narrow and cannot provide sufficient protection. In addition, it needs to be said that its 2000 nautical miles/9 knots
In terms of endurance, it does not seem inconsistent to call it a coastal defense battleship.
That's right, I don't know what the German Navy thinks, but the endurance of this class is a full 2,500 nautical miles lower than the previous class, the Brandenburg class.
Of course, this cannot all be blamed on warship designers. After all, the navy is responsible for whatever warships it needs. But judging from the design of the warships, the needs of the German Navy are indeed a mystery?
But when the German navy colleagues looked at the Italian battleships, they would definitely be filled with emotion.
As for military exchanges, this is even simpler. Over the years, the Italian Navy has accumulated a lot of combat experience in various expeditions. At the same time, the uninterrupted battles have also allowed it to obtain first-hand battleship information, making it easier for it to see the battleships clearly.
development.
So the German Navy lacks this experience, so they hope to gain this experience from their Italian colleagues.
The German side's cooperation plan was quickly read by the Italian side.
"Everyone, your country's cooperation plan is very good, and it is very conducive to the naval cooperation between your two countries."
Admiral Yagir praised the other party as soon as he opened his mouth, but then he changed the subject. "However, we think there are a few points that were not taken into consideration?"
Faced with Admiral Yagier's somewhat doubtful words, Major General Tirpitz immediately asked, "What are you talking about?"
"First of all, in terms of technical cooperation, our country believes that the naval technical cooperation between the two countries should continue. For example, the previous research between your country and China on armor steel is a very good example. In fact, from this aspect, we can also expand to
We have good room for cooperation in the research and development of new artillery, as well as technical breakthroughs in ship power, as well as communication technology."
Admiral Yagier's words aroused the German side's thinking. There is indeed a lot of room for improvement in technical cooperation. For example, Germany is very coveted in radio communication technology. This is equipment that every sea-going ship needs to be equipped with. This time Italy is willing to
Take it out, it's a bit incredible.
However, this technical cooperation is also a good example of what is easier said than done.
All the technologies needed by the navies of the two countries are basically in the hands of various supporting companies. If you want to share them with everyone, this will not be possible without sufficient exchange of interests.
In addition, in addition to this technical cooperation, the different needs of the two navies will also cause technical differences. For example, I think bigger cannons are better, so we should work on larger calibers, and I think future warships will have thicker armor, so
Deep penetration is more important, so the body tube should be longer. Logically speaking, both are correct, so who should you listen to?
So this technical cooperation sounds good, but it is not easy to realize. Even for the armor steel project, which was the most successful cooperation, Krupp still believed that it had suffered a loss. The funds and manpower provided by Italy were too far behind that of Italy, but it was still able to achieve it.
It was not fair to get so many benefits. And this matter was suppressed by the Kaiser because of the special friendship between the two countries.
"As for technical cooperation, there are many things that need to be coordinated, so we cannot decide now."
Major General Tirpitz thought about it and returned to Italy.
"It doesn't matter. In fact, I think we can cooperate on projects that both parties agree on. It doesn't necessarily require cooperation on both sides."
Admiral Yagier behaved very generously and did not mind Germany's hesitation.
This also shows Italy's urgency for technical cooperation, because the Italian Navy knows that in this era of rapid technological advancement, if Italy wants to not fall behind technologically, it cannot do so on its own. The Italian Navy's annual research funding is simply not enough.
Therefore, at this time, it has become an important topic for the Italian Navy to cooperate with other navies to engage in technological research and development.
The German Navy, which is preparing to vigorously develop its own navy, has become the target of Italy's hope for cooperation. And the German Navy happens to have its own needs. If it doesn't take the opportunity to propose cooperation matters, how long will it wait?
After hearing Italy's proposal to prioritize cooperation that both parties were interested in, Germany also expressed its agreement.
Of course, the two parties came to talk about more than just technical cooperation. Later, the two parties had exchanges on joint exercises and the design of warships that the German Navy was most concerned about.
Of course, during the exchange, Admiral Yagier bluntly pointed out that after observing the two German battleships, he expressed doubts about whether their strategic goals were consistent.
At this time, Major General Tirpitz took the opportunity to propose that Italy send shipbuilding technicians to provide technical assistance to several German shipyards.
Italy recognizes this and can provide help to the German shipbuilding industry.
Of course, no matter how the German and Italian navies talk about it, it will not affect the friendship between the two monarchs.
