Historically, the failure of the Russo-Japanese War intensified domestic social conflicts in Russia, and the navy's poor performance also made it the best target for criticism from various forces. The new Duma that emerged after the "1905 Revolution" insisted that the navy needed to
Major reforms were carried out in administrative and other aspects, but the tsar and the top brass of the navy insisted that no reforms were necessary.
The Duma vetoed all the navy's shipbuilding plans, and new battleships became victims of political struggles. It was not until 1908 that Tsar Nicholas II decided to forcibly promote the reconstruction of the navy despite the opposition of the Duma. In this case, the Duma was forced to give in.
A certain compromise was reached with the Navy, and the Navy, which had been operating dismally for four years, finally began to rebuild.
The Battle of Tsushima in the game affected the history of Russia. Although the "1905 Revolution" still happened, it was not as violent as in history. Originally, the naval reconstruction was only forcibly promoted in 1908 because the navy did not lose the battle in the Battle of Tsushima.
, a plan to build four ships was adopted in 1906.
Compared with the brand-new concept of the dreadnought ship, the design and construction capabilities of Russian shipyards were extremely insufficient, so the Navy Ministry launched a tender for major shipyards at home and abroad. Soon the Russian Navy Ministry received 51 bids submitted by 27 shipyards at home and abroad.
Design plans come from Italy, France, the United Kingdom, the United States and even Germany, but only 6 of the 27 shipyards are Russian.
The Russian Navy was very interested in the Italian Cunibetti company's plan, but when it was learned that the Italians installed the 120 mm secondary gun in the turret instead of the gun profile as the Russians wanted, and insisted not to make changes to the design
, the Russians immediately threw this plan behind them.
The next thing that came into the eyes of the Russian Navy was the plan of the German company Blohm and Voss, but the Russians also proposed that these battleships must be built in Russian shipyards. Of course the Germans were unwilling to accept it, so the two sides broke up. The Russian Navy Ministry
It was decided to use the purchased German design to modify the original design of the German company according to Russian standards, and the Baltic Shipyard accepted this task.
When the Russians revised the design, the British John Brown Shipyard provided a lot of help. The British discovered the merits of the rejected plans, including many features of the Cunibeti Company's plan. The revised
The design scheme makes people feel that the new battleship is a kind of warship between the battleship and the battlecruiser, which is often called the "Baltic battleship".
This design highlights the unprecedentedly powerful firepower: four triple main turrets are all arranged on the longitudinal centerline of the hull. One main turret is arranged at the front and rear of the hull, and two turrets are arranged amidships. This is similar to the Dante? built in Italy at that time?
The layout of the battleship Alighicheri was similar.
The firepower of the warship's 305mm main gun broadside salvo exceeds that of any British or German battleship of the same period. The battleship in the design uses an ice-breaking bow so that it can move freely in the Baltic Sea even when it is frozen in winter. Due to the use of lighter
Yarrow-type boilers replaced the previously commonly used Belleville-type boilers. The ship's speed was also outstanding, reaching a speed of 24 knots, which was 2-3 knots higher than the speed of most dreadnoughts at the same time.
The revised plan has an obvious weakness: too much armor protection has been sacrificed to ensure high speed, and the thickness of the side waterline armor is 229 mm. Compared with the world's major battleships at the same time, the armor belts in most parts of it are thinner
25-76 mm. From this point of view, it seems to be an intermediate ship type between a battleship and a battlecruiser. In order to prevent torpedoes or mines from causing major damage to the battleship, the ship adopts a double-layer hull and extends to
deck.
Historically, the construction of new battleships began in 1909. Due to the inefficiency of the Russian shipyard itself and the fact that a new type of battleship was being built, the construction of new battleships was full of difficulties and progress was very slow. By 1910, it even came to a standstill because
The Navy is not satisfied with the hull strength and construction technology of the battleships under construction, and believes that they cannot meet the design requirements at all.
The construction of new battleships has been intermittent for the next two years, and during this period, Duma's perseverance efforts finally achieved certain results: the defects of the shipyard were improved, and the navy's poor administrative system was finally improved to a certain extent.
After a series of problems were solved, the construction of new battleships continued. However, in the past two years, the dreadnoughts of various naval powers in the world were also developing rapidly. The United Kingdom has begun to build super-dreadnoughts equipped with 343 mm main guns, thus making
The firepower advantage that the Russian dreadnought had hoped for when construction began was gone.
All four battleships were launched and conducted sea trials in 1911. The first "Sevastopol" in service joined the naval combat sequence in 1914, and the remaining three battleships also entered service one after another in December of that year. This is Russia's famous
Gangut-class battleship.
Although the Russian navy suffered considerable losses in the Tsushima Sea War, it was still a victory after all. Therefore, in the game, the Tsar proposed a shipbuilding plan in 1906 and it was approved. After combining various plans, the Russians came up with the drawings of the Gangut-class battleship.
Some supporting technologies were also purchased, but controversy arose over where to build the new battleships.
The Tsar believed that it should be built in his own shipyards to accumulate technology for Russian shipyards, but he was opposed by the Duma. The Duma believed that the inefficiency of the domestic shipyards would inevitably delay the delivery of the battleship, and it would not be officially put into service until 1911 at least.
The Japanese dreadnoughts and invincible-class battleships will soon be commissioned, and the Russian Pacific Fleet's advantage is gradually losing. By the time the four battleships are commissioned, it is already too late.
Tsar Nicholas II began to hesitate. He already knew what happened in the Battle of Tsushima, but he was still frightened. If it were not for the help of the new Chinese warships, Russia would have lost the Battle of Tsushima. Japan's new warships were in service
The Russian Pacific Fleet really couldn't resist it.
The Tsar has ordered four Invincible-class battlecruisers in Cam Ranh Bay. The warships have already been launched for trial sea trials and will soon serve in the Pacific Fleet. Even so, the Tsar is still not reassured. The Japanese government ordered a Dreadnought in the first batch.
warships and four Invincible-class battlecruisers, and more battleships will soon be in service. The Russians do not have an advantage.
In order to win the war with the Japanese, the four newly built battleships must be put into service as soon as possible. The Tsar was persuaded by the Duma. After Russia decided to build these four battleships abroad, major foreign shipyards began to compete again, but the fastest
The launch of sea trials would not be until 1909, which was too late. The war with the Japanese might have ended by then.
The Tsar agreed to build abroad just to buy time to fight the Japanese-Russian naval war. If he could not participate in the Japanese-Russian naval battle, what was the point of building abroad. Just when the Tsar could not make up his mind, the Navy Ministry gave him a brilliant suggestion, that is
The condition for building new battleships in Cam Ranh Bay is to hire warships from Cam Ranh Bay to join the Russian Pacific Fleet before the new battleships enter service. If the dreadnoughts and Invincible-class battlecruisers in Cam Ranh Bay are damaged, these four battleships can be used as mortgages.
There is one Dreadnought and two Invincible-class battlecruisers in Cam Ranh Bay. After completing the Russian order, the construction of two Invincible-class battlecruisers will begin immediately. If Cam Ranh Bay agrees to the Russian employment conditions, the Russian Pacific Fleet will have a Dreadnought.
warships and eight Invincible-class battlecruisers. Even if the Japanese new ships are put into service, Russia can have an advantage.
Chen Hao originally did not want to participate in the battle between Japan and Russia and let the two countries fight to the death, but Russia's conditions tempted him. The Russians' Gangut-class battleships had weaknesses, but they also adopted a large number of new technologies.
Technology, if the Russians provide design drawings and supporting technology for him to build, the Cam Ranh Bay Shipyard will have experience in building large battleships, which will be of great help in building its own new dreadnought.
The order price of the Russians was 2.8 million pounds per ship. Since the steel materials needed to build warships in Cam Ranh Bay were imported, each ship only had a profit of 200,000 pounds. The price Chen Hao paid for this was to help the Russians fight the war. In these four battleships
Before entering service, the capital ships of his fleet will be integrated into the Russian Pacific Fleet.
Although the Russians said they would take four battleships as collateral, the value of this battleship is certainly not as good as Chen Hao's fleet. After the two self-built Invincible-class battlecruisers in Cam Ranh Bay enter service, there will be one dreadnought and four Invincible-class ships.
The value is no worse than the Russian battleships. If four warships are lost, this mortgage is basically meaningless.
Chen Hao didn't want to make money from the Russians, but he really wanted battleship technology. After hesitating for a long time, he agreed. However, he told the Russian representatives that if any of his five battleships were lost, he would
The president delivered a battleship to the Russians. The Russian representative asked the Tsar for instructions, and the Tsar said that he could agree to this condition if Chen Hao's Cam Ranh Bay battleship completely obeyed the command.
Of course the Tsar would agree. Even if Russia's four newly built battleships were put into service immediately, the combat effectiveness could not be guaranteed due to the lack of qualified sailors. The main ships of the Cam Ranh Bay fleet were no worse than these four battleships, and they were all sailors who participated in the Battle of Tsushima.
There is absolutely no problem with control and combat effectiveness.
The cost of the Invincible-class battlecruiser is only a few hundred thousand pounds cheaper than the new ships built by Russia. If the Cam Ranh Bay fleet loses its battleships and sailors, this cannot be bought by hundreds of thousands of pounds. This cooperation
No matter what the Russians said, it was a good deal. Chen Hao was relatively at a disadvantage, but for the sake of the technology related to the new dreadnought, he could only admit it with a pinched nose.
The two sides had been communicating via telegrams. After reaching a preliminary consensus, Chen Hao quickly left Guizhou and returned to Cam Ranh Bay, preparing to further discuss cooperation details with the Russians. (To be continued.)
