Chapter 655, Steel Battleship (this one is about to end)
Simply put, due to the special characteristics of wooden ships and the presence of terrifying shipworms, the maintenance of wooden ships is much more troublesome than steel battleships.
Many wooden ships were scrapped within a few years. The reason was the invasion of shipworms, which had eaten away holes in the bottom of the ship, and the ship might have sunk in slightly larger waves.
You must know that the method of Ouzhou colonists wrapping copper sheets on the bottom of ships to prevent shipworms did not appear until the end of the 18th century.
And due to the preciousness of copper, only some large warships are qualified to have the bottom of the ship covered with copper skin.
Most of the other wooden ships use the Eastern method of brushing the bottom of the ship with wood tar and regular immersion in fresh water to kill shipworms.
In short, regardless of the expensive value of steel in this era, in terms of the cost-effectiveness defined by Xinghai Kingdom itself, steel ships are definitely much more cost-effective than wooden ships, and in terms of safety and stability, steel ships are more cost-effective.
It is an instant kill for wooden ships.
The first self-produced steel ship produced by Xinghai Kingdom in 1656 was a 500-ton patrol boat.
This 500-ton patrol boat is mainly suitable for major coastal ports and coastline security patrols.
Because it adopts the most advanced double-flying-wing ship type of later generations, and uses a hybrid sail-engine, it uses a single-sided deformable sail and installs two heavy oil turbines.
It can use the sail power alone to save fuel, or it can use the heavy oil turbine alone when the environment is harsh. In an emergency, the sail-machine hybrid power is activated, allowing its speed to reach a terrifying 45 knots!
If the life of the heavy oil turbine is not considered and the power is forcibly increased, it can even reach 60 knots.
The patrol boat's force is deployed with two six-barreled heavy machine guns and a heavy oil flamethrower with a range of up to 500 meters.
The six-barreled heavy machine gun can ravage all ships within a kilometer range, while the heavy oil flamethrower can completely ignite enemy ships in just a few seconds, and seawater cannot put them out.
It can be said that even if such a patrol boat is pulled against the existing warships in Ouzhou, it will not lose half a point. It can even make the enemy stunned by its high speed.
Another thing to note is that this is just a small boat suitable for offshore combat.
After a large number of such patrol boats are deployed in overseas territories, Xinghai Kingdom will no longer have to worry about the safety of those ports and coastlines.
A year later, the 1,000-ton frigate was launched.
This kind of warship, which also uses heavy oil turbines, can reach a maximum speed of 25 knots, but it is only equipped with two 125mm rapid-fire guns at the front and rear.
The birth of the rapid-fire gun was due to Fang Xiaoyue's development of a later alloy. The mechanical strength of this alloy allowed the rapid-fire gun's continuous firing mechanism to withstand 50 gunfire impacts per second.
Of course, due to technical problems, the rapid-fire cannon can now only reach a firing rate of 10 rounds per second.
But this is already amazing.
Since the naval gun shells use the newly developed TNR high explosive, its power is more than five times higher than the previous nitrocellulose.
Under such circumstances, this new type of frigate can almost be said to be a maritime fort.
The two naval guns at the front and rear can fire 20 shells at the attack target per second, which is enough to send any warship of this era to the bottom of the sea in an instant!
For this reason, some veterans who are good at calculating calculations, or are accustomed to saving money, even suggested that the navy should not develop new warships.
This frigate named Marine Hussars is enough to deal with any enemy that appears on the sea.
In fact, this is also the case.
Even the 18th-century French Trisolaran battleship, a super battleship with a displacement of nearly 5,000 tons, could not withstand the violent firepower of the frigates!
No way, even though it has 120 cannons and is known as the giant on the sea, it is still just a wooden warship.
And wooden warships, no matter how large they are made, are still just a pile of wood that can be knocked apart at any time in front of modern naval guns.
However, more elders of Xinghai Kingdom do not agree with this proposal.
Many big gun parties are pursuing greater tonnage, stronger firepower, and more barrels!
Hence, the 3,000-ton cruiser launched after the frigate became their favorite.
This cruiser named Ocean Law Enforcer is still made of all steel. It has four heavy oil turbines, six 125mm rapid-fire cannons, and 12 six-barreled heavy machine guns. It can be said that it is armed to the teeth.
Not only can it traverse the sea and attack enemy fleets, it can also provide firepower across the shore.
Of course, the Ocean Law Enforcer is only a second-level ship in the Star Sea Kingdom Navy's ocean blueprint.
The real capital ship was the 6,000-ton battleship launched three years later.
It has three 200mm double-barreled main guns and twelve 120mm rapid-fire cannons, which can be said to be armed to the top!
With the rapid prosperity of overseas territories such as Lu Song, Malexia, Tianzhu Nixiya, and Tuao through immigration and other means, the national power of Xinghai Kingdom can be said to have reached its peak.
Because the immigrants' livelihood was guaranteed, coupled with the fact that in this era, they could only sleep at night and did not have too much entertainment, the population of Xinghai Kingdom experienced a spurt of growth in just thirteen years.
The huge population of more than 13 million has greatly alleviated Xinghai Kingdom's population shortage in industry, agriculture, etc.
The widespread use of radio has also enabled Xinghai Nation to have the ability to further expand.
In the spring of 1660, the newly established Imperial Sea Fleet of the Xinghai Kingdom quietly passed through the Sois Canal and entered the Imperial Sea.
Their mission for this trip is to go to the Zituoluo Strait to establish their own main base.
In view of this purpose, not only the entire Imperial Navy was dispatched, but also a large immigrant team followed behind the fleet.
The Zituoluo Strait is now in the hands of the Francois.
Because the Zituoluo Strait is the only maritime traffic artery connecting the Imperial Sea to the Great Xi Ocean, this also makes the Francois attach great importance to the Zituoluo Strait.
In order to prevent the fleets of other hostile countries from passing through the Zituoluo Strait, the Francois not only built a large number of forts in the south of the Zituoluo Strait, but also built a fortress that was said to be unconquerable.
Under such an environment, ships from various countries in Ouzhou must either pay high taxes or sneak through the Zituoluo Strait.
But the Folangji Zituoluo fleet stationed in the Zituoluo Strait will teach them how to behave.
The broken wooden boards that appear from time to time near the Zituoluo Strait are their best fate.
And the fleet of Xinghai Kingdom is ready to stroke this tiger's whiskers this time.
In fact, due to the terrain, before the Star Sea Fleet could approach the Zituoluo Strait, the Zituoluo Fleet of the Folan Machines made an emergency exit from the port to meet them.