While Rock and Stanley Baldwin were quarreling, several Royal Navy officers were getting drunk in a tavern next to Portsmouth Naval Base.
Portsmouth Naval Base is one of the three major naval bases in the UK and the home port of the Home Fleet.
After the signing of the "Washington Naval Treaty", the Royal Navy will dismantle 20 battleships and retain only 22. As many as tens of thousands of naval personnel are about to retire. These naval officers are all from the "Princess Royal" battleship that is about to be dismantled.
cruiser.
The battlecruiser "Princess Royal" is the second ship of the "Lion" class battlecruiser, which includes the "Princess Royal", "Lion" and the improved "Queen Mary".
The "Lion" class battlecruiser has a standard displacement of tons and a full load displacement of tons. It is equipped with eight twin 13.5-inch 45-caliber main guns and 16 single-mounted 4-inch caliber secondary guns. The main engine has an output power of horsepower and a speed of 27 knots.
Battlecruisers of this class were ill-fated. Both the lead ship "Lion" and "Royal Princess" participated in the Battle of Jutland. During the battle, the "Lion" was hit by 12 large-caliber shells from the German ship's main gun, and it was promptly launched.
The ammunition depot was filled with water to avoid sinking.
The "Royal Princess" was hit by nine large-caliber shells from the German ship's main gun during the battle and was seriously damaged.
The "Queen Mary" was hit by five large-caliber shells from the German ship's main gun during the battle, and sank due to the explosion of the main battery turret ammunition depot. Only 20 of the ship's 1,266 officers and soldiers were rescued.
After the signing of the Washington Naval Treaty, in order to reduce the tonnage of the capital ships to less than 525,000 tons, both the "Lion" and the "Royal Princess" were about to be demolished.
"The "Washington Naval Treaty" is too harsh on our Royal Navy. The Princess Royal entered service in 2012 and has been forced to be scrapped in less than ten years. Why can't the Princess Royal be like the Victory?
It's not fair to the Princess Royal to keep it permanently like that!" Major Garfield slapped the table and yelled. He was the deputy gunnery commander of the Princess Royal and was also on the retirement list this time.
Major Garfield graduated from the Royal Naval College at Dartmouth. When the "Princess Royal" was delivered, Major Garfield served on the "Princess Royal" and has a deep relationship with the "Princess Royal".
The "Victory" is a sailing battleship belonging to the British Royal Navy. It was once the pride of the British Royal Navy. In the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805, the "Victory" was once the legendary British naval commander Horatio.
Nelson's flagship.
Horatio Nelson is the Nelson of the "Nelson" class battleship.
The "Victory" was decommissioned in 1812, and was later parked in the Portsmouth naval port and was not demolished.
"Yes, even if the 'Royal Princess' cannot be preserved permanently like the 'Victory', it should not be directly demolished. Several hulls in France can be sold at a good price. Find a new one for the 'Royal Princess'
Good master, the 'Royal Princess' is still very powerful." Third Officer Morris is not on the retirement list, he will still stay in the Royal Navy, and may continue his naval career on the "Nelson" class battleship that is about to start construction.
It's really like people but different fates. In terms of pure ability, Major Garfield is actually better than Morris.
Unfortunately, Major Garfield came from a civilian family, while Morris came from a noble family. So now that the Royal Navy is downsizing, Morris can continue to stay in the Royal Navy, but Major Garfield will be forced to retire.
However, this will not affect the friendship between Major Garfield and Morris.
"Good job Morris, you can still stay in the Royal Navy, maybe there will be a chance to serve on the Nelson or the Rodney, and we poor old guys are going back home, God, I don't even know
What else can I do besides fighting? I entered the Royal Navy at the age of 21, and it has been 20 years now. 20 years——" Nelson, the forty-year-old chief engineer, looked confused. He had devoted his youth to the Royal Navy, and now he is old.
Only he knew how he felt when he was kicked away.
"Nelson, you are not old yet. Do you still remember your ideal? You want to become the second Horatio Nelson of the Royal Navy and make the Royal Navy proud of you." Morris tried his best to comfort him. He didn't want to look at this.
A group of old friends left, but there was nothing Morris could do about this matter.
"Hahahaha, I have been kicked out of the Royal Navy, do I still have a chance to become the second Horatio Nelson?" Nelson's eyes were red. His father gave Nelson the nickname because he admired Horatio Nelson.
this name.
"Nelson, you can. As you know, the Kingdom of Mozambique and West Africa have purchased several unfinished battleships from France, but the Kingdom of Mozambique and West Africa lack experienced naval officers and soldiers. You can consider going to the Kingdom of Mozambique or West Africa, and the benefits are still the same.
Very good." Morris actively tried to find a way. Morris, who was born in an aristocratic family, was always better informed than Nelson and Garfield, who were born in civilian families.
"The Kingdom of Mozambique? West Africa? Where is West Africa?" Nelson didn't know whether he was drunk or because he really didn't know where West Africa was.
"In name, only in name -" Morris winked.
"What do you mean?" Nelson and Garfield were both curious.
"Those French battleships were nominally purchased by the Kingdom of Mozambique and West Africa, but were actually built at the Walvis Bay Shipyard and Edward Shipyard-" Morris lowered his voice. It is always hard to make such a big deal about it.
Southern Africa received four "Normandy" class battleships, which is also a useful supplement to the British Royal Navy.
"So what?" Nelson drank a little too much, and his mind couldn't turn around for a while, and he didn't understand the twists and turns.
"You will never want to be the second Nelson in your life -" Morris looked disgusted.
"I have known for a long time. I have known it since my third year of service on the Princess Royal. Even if you can become the second Nelson, Garfield and I can't even dream of becoming the second Nelson. Who made us both come from different backgrounds?
As for civilian families, no matter how good we perform, we will never get a real chance." Nelson waved his arms and shouted, these words he didn't dare to say before, but now it doesn't matter.
As people who are already leaving the Royal Navy, there are some things that I really hate to say. Inside the Royal Navy, things are really not as glamorous as it seems on the surface.
"Nelson, you drank too much -" Morris looked helpless. There were some things that Morris knew very well, but as a member of the Royal Navy, there were some things that Morris couldn't say.
"I didn't drink too much. During the Battle of Dogger Sands, a fire broke out in the port side gun of the Princess Royal. The fire once approached the ammunition depot. If Garfield hadn't been the first to rush into the fire, the Princess Royal might have sunk.
As a result, someone was promoted later, and Garfield only received one commendation; during the Battle of Jutland, the midship turret was hit and almost exploded. If I had not filled the ammunition compartment with water in time, the "Royal Princess" might have ended.
It's the same as the 'Queen Mary', what's the result? What did I get? I got a discharge notice, the Royal Navy no longer needs me - hahahaha -" Nelson's tears finally shed, this in the Royal Navy
A professional soldier who had served in the Navy for 20 years ended up as tragic as the Princess Royal.
"Nelson, don't be like this-" Morris hugged Nelson's shoulders.
Nelson covered his face with his hands, tears streaming down his fingers, and his back was extremely desolate.
The other protagonist in the story, Garfield, did not shed any tears. He drank the whiskey in the glass in one gulp, and then handed the glass to the bartender: "One more glass!"
"Nelson, Garfield, go to southern Africa. The Royal Navy does not need you, at least the Southern African Navy needs you -" Morris finally pointed out that outstanding soldiers like Nelson and Garfield should not leave the navy just like this.
"Southern Africa - what's in southern Africa? They don't even have a battleship, and I've already forgotten how to command an eight-inch gun." Garfield smiled bitterly, having once faced a difficult situation.
In fact, even if outstanding naval officers like Garfield and Nelson left the Royal Navy, they did not necessarily have to go to southern Africa.
The Royal Navy is unique in the world and everyone knows this.
Although the British government's financial resources have been poor in recent years and the Royal Navy has lost its advantage, in fact the combat effectiveness of the navy is not determined by the displacement of the warships and the caliber of the main guns. No matter how powerful the warship is, it still needs excellent professional soldiers to give full play to the warship's capabilities.
combat effectiveness.
The U.S. Navy, which has been in the spotlight in the past two years, has not actually participated in any real large-scale naval battles. The combat effectiveness of the U.S. Navy has not been tested by war, and its combat effectiveness is questionable. Once a war breaks out, how much combat effectiveness the U.S. Navy can unleash
Still a problem.
The U.S. Navy Department is also aware of this situation, so over the years, the U.S. Navy Department has been trying to recruit outstanding talents from the British Royal Navy to come to the United States and join the U.S. Navy.
But this is not easy. Although the United States' national power is growing day by day, based on the reputation and impression of Americans in Europe, few truly outstanding talents are willing to go to the United States.
Even if the U.S. Navy Department recruits high-paying personnel, few real elites are willing to leave the Royal Navy.
Now those frustrated elites have to leave the Royal Navy.
"The 'Normandy' class battleship purchased by the Kingdom of Mozambique and West Africa was actually purchased by the Southern African Navy. After it is completed, it will also join the battle order of the Southern African Navy. If you go to Southern Africa, then we may be able to fight side by side in the future.
——Oh, Southern Africa has undergone major changes to the 'Normandy' class battleships. I have a relative who participated in the design work. The 'Normandy' after the major changes will definitely surprise you." Morris praised the Southern African Navy as one
Duohua, in recent days, scenes like this have been happening frequently around the naval base.