Chapter 456: The Prologue of the Age of Dreadnoughts
The Quirinale Palace in the old city of Rome is the political center of the Kingdom of Italy.
Of course, the scenery here is also good. There is the Gemini Fountain in the center of the square in front of the palace, and there is an obelisk moved from the Mausoleum of Augustus. On both sides of the obelisk are two 5.6-meter-high giant stone statues with fine carvings.
They have different expressions, and there are two lifelike horses beside them.
After entering the palace, the garden is also unique, surrounded by elegant corridors, making it look harmonious and solemn.
All of this seemed so fascinating to Vittorio Cuniberti, so it was inevitable to look around secretly. After all, it was his first time to come to the palace, so there was nothing new.
The attendant who was responsible for guiding him was also very considerate and introduced him from time to time.
When Cunibody was led to a door, the attendant gestured for him to wait a moment and then knocked on the door. Immediately, the majestic voice that Cunibody had heard came from the room.
"What's up?"
"Your Majesty, Mr. Cuniberti has arrived."
"Invite him in quickly."
As soon as Cuniberti came in, he saw that there were only two people in the room, and he knew both of them. One was Admiral Argill, the Minister of the Navy, and the other was His Majesty Carlo, the monarch who summoned him.
"I have met His Majesty and His Excellency the Admiral."
Although Cuniberti didn't know why the king and the general summoned him, he still had the proper etiquette and immediately curtsied.
After Cuniboti finished his salute, Admiral Agil said, "Cuniboti, come and tell His Majesty your plan for the new warship in detail."
Admiral Yagir's words shocked Cuniberti, because he finally knew why the king summoned him. Of course, this was also an opportunity for him. As long as he could convince his majesty, he would definitely develop a new battleship.
matter.
When he thought of this, Cuniboti was filled with fighting spirit, and he said, "Your Majesty, I have a little opinion about the new battleships. At present, battleships in various countries use two-stage main guns. This tradition comes from
In the era of sailing battleships. Of course, the setting of the two-stage main gun was more about the issue of projection."
What Cuniberti said is also based on current warship design and the actual needs of the user navy for naval warfare.
Because the battleship type originated from the era of sailing battleships, the battleships at that time had three artillery decks on each side. The guns on the bottom deck had the largest caliber and heaviest guns, and the guns on the top deck had slightly smaller calibers.
The gun is also lighter.
This is a compromise setting in order to lower the battleship's center of gravity as much as possible while allowing the battleship to have some heavy guns.
After entering the era of ironclads, the navies of various countries continued this tradition. At this time, battleships began to explore ways to fight. Of course, at this time, demons were dancing around and they could be built in any way. But after the emergence of the Italian Torino class, all countries basically began to explore this kind of battleships.
A consensus was reached.
The Turin class also marks the return of battleships, so most naval generals believe that steel battleships can return to the main fleet battle line bombardment style of the year. The artillery installed in the side turrets on both sides is also a decisive weapon, or
They are the most important decisive weapons.
Starting from the Turin, the development of battleships has been to continuously increase the caliber of the artillery arrays on both sides, from 120mm to 152mm, from 152mm to 178mm, to 203mm, and the name was gradually changed from the secondary battery to the secondary main battery.
Of course, the second-level main gun is also because the first-level main gun has a slow rate of fire, and it takes 1-2 minutes to fire one shot. At this time, the armor and structure of the battleships of various countries are getting thicker, and the chances of the battleships of various countries getting a shot into the soul are getting slimmer.
Therefore, the existence of secondary main guns is very meaningful.
With the development of the times and the application of new technologies, Cuniberti keenly observed the shortcomings of the current secondary main guns, that is, the lack of armor-piercing capabilities. The first-level main guns were inferior in fire rate and armor-piercing capability.
But it is gradually improving. At this time, it will become possible to fully equip the first-level main gun.
"As for now, I think the secondary main guns can be cancelled, because although their projection capacity is higher than the first-level main guns, they lack the means to severely damage the opponent. I think that after canceling the secondary main guns, new battleships can be used
Add two main turrets and four first-level main guns. Rely on the salvo fire of eight main guns.
The power can completely double the firepower of the first-level main gun. Moreover, compared with the two-level main gun, the first-level main gun can achieve more unified firepower. It adopts a unified firing director, which can be used at a longer distance.
Higher accuracy. I believe that the Garibaldi-class patrol provides a good explanation on this point."
Regarding what Cuniberti said, Admiral Yagir immediately responded. "That's true. On the Garibaldi-class patrol, the eight 254mm main guns, with the assistance of the unified firing director, can achieve long-range shooting accuracy."
It has been a very huge improvement. It can completely conduct accurate artillery fire on the enemy at a distance of 6,000-9,000 meters."
Admiral Yagir made this assist, and Cuniberti cast a grateful look.
Faced with the cooperation between the two, couldn't Carlo see it?
But since Cuniberti, Italy's chief naval architect, was recruited to Rome, he certainly had his own considerations.
After hearing from Admiral Yagir that Cuniberti, the chief designer, had a bold battleship plan, Carlo had a hunch. Sure enough, after listening to Admiral Yagir's story, it was really Dingding.
Dai Mingquan's heavy artillery battleship, in this case, how could Carlo miss it.
For Italy, the importance of the navy goes without saying. After ensuring a certain amount of land forces to defend both sides of the Alps, more threats to Italy come from the sea.
"Go on."
Although no specific signal is given, the sentence itself represents a kind of recognition.
Cuniberti, who got the signal, continued. "I have an idea about the new battleship. That is to integrate the various advanced technologies we currently have into one battleship. At present, I think the new 305 mm
The 45x naval gun is very suitable as the main gun.
As for armor, carburized and surface-hardened nickel-chromium alloy steel is still the best armor steel (Krupp armor steel) at present, and I think it will continue to be used. And based on actual needs, I think new battleships should be equipped in the middle of the ship, the turret, and the engine room.
The armor at key points such as ammunition depots and command towers needs to be 300 mm thick.
As for power, I agree with the steam turbines and oil-fired boilers currently available. Steam turbines can provide warships with full speed for up to thirteen or four hours, which is a crucial advantage for maritime battles. As for oil-fired boilers, the same is true.
The reason is that oil-fired boilers are more efficient, which can free up more space for the warship, or bring a longer maximum range. In addition, it can also reduce the number of personnel, at least the coal shovelers are no longer needed."
After hearing this, Carlo already understood Cuniberti's thinking, and he still had another question.
"So what are the specific data of your battleship?"
"The specific data of the ship is that the total length of the ship is 158.3 meters, the width is 25.1 meters, the draft is 9 meters, the standard displacement is 19,100 tons, and the full load displacement is 22,500 tons. The firepower is 8 305 mm 45 times caliber main guns, 14 105 mm single
Tube
Secondary battery. The thickest armor is 300 mm. In terms of power, the ship is equipped with 18 oil-fired boilers and 4 steam turbines with a power of 26,000 horsepower and a maximum speed of 22 knots. The endurance is 6,800 nautical miles at 10 knots or 4,500 nautical miles at 14 knots...
………”
Facing Cuniberti's detailed report of battleship data, Carlo's eyes became brighter and brighter.
"What about the cost? It's impossible that you haven't calculated the cost, right?"
Facing Carlo's inquiry, Cuniberti certainly couldn't hide it. Although this ship building was a bit expensive, he could guarantee that it would be worth every penny.
"The cost of building this ship is around 40 million lire. Of course, if more are built, the price will be lower."
After Cuniberti said this, he looked at Carlo a little uneasily. Because the price is really expensive, take the Garibaldi-class armored vehicle, which is currently the most expensive in Italy.
At present, due to the hot sales of the Garibaldi class, the cost of the Garibaldi class at the shipyard has dropped from 33 million lire at the beginning to the current 30.9 million lire. Such a high drop is precisely because the number of Garibaldi classes built is enough.
There are many reasons. So far, a total of 8 Garibaldo-class ships have been built, including 3 from the United States, 2 from Spain, 2 from Japan, and 1 from Italy (two more are in the queue).
"Okay, let's build one first and let the navy verify it first."
Carlo's words made Cuniberti breathe a sigh of relief, and also made Admiral Yagir breathe a sigh of relief.
He was not afraid that the king would not build the new battleship if he opened his mouth. The performance of the new battleship proposed by Cuniberti was worth building. What he was afraid of was that the king was fascinated by the performance of the new battleship and would build several ships as soon as he opened the door.
.After all, this new warship uses too many new technologies, and sometimes new technologies also mean unreliability, so building one first is definitely a wise decision.
"However, the ship needs to be built secretly. I don't want to cause a fuss before it is launched."
At this time Carlo made a new request.
"Your Majesty, this is easy to handle. Our navy can use the name of the Garibal No. 4 ship to start construction of the ship. At the same time, we will strengthen supervision. There will be no problem at all." Admiral Yagir assured, patting his chest.
"I believe in the capabilities of your navy. The funding for this ship should come from the more than 80 million lire you have saved."
