1890 King of Southeast Asia

On January 16, the "great victory" promoted by Japan had spread to all countries in the world, but because the European war was in full swing, no one cared.

Liu Yiming certainly knew the news. People in Nanhua were very excited about the "failure", and the people were very angry about the "failure" of the navy.

It was just anger towards the Navy Department, because the people attributed the reason for the "failure" to the slow pace of the navy's expansion of armaments.

As we all know, the Navy Department is responsible for the naval armament plan.

Under the pressure of public opinion, the Navy Department submitted the third revised shipbuilding plan to the parliament, which was a brand new expansion.

The Navy Department's 1915 shipbuilding plan is a five-year shipbuilding plan.

It includes the construction of six new battleships, eight large cruisers, twelve medium cruisers, thirty-six ocean-going destroyers, and twelve large ocean-going comprehensive supply ships.

According to the plan, the Dahan-class battleship will be retired and sealed in 1918, and then the number of large battleships in the battleship fleet will be maintained at twelve.

The basic parameters of a large cruiser are a displacement of no more than 15,000 tons, a main weapon of more than nine 203 mm guns, a speed of more than 30 knots, and a cruising range of more than 15,000 nautical miles.

This is a product derived from actual needs. Because of the scattered territory of Nanhua, it needs medium and large warships with high speed and long range to respond quickly. Using only battleships is obviously not enough.

Moreover, the cost of using battleships is also high. The first-class fast large cruiser is obviously more cost-effective in normal use.

If we look at it from the mainstream point of view, this kind of warship is undoubtedly a benchmark in the field of tonnage waste. The Invincible-class battlecruiser has only an additional displacement of 2,000 tons, but is equipped with eight 305 mm guns.

However, the thickest part of the main armor belt of the Invincible-class battlecruiser is only 178 mm, and this cruiser is required to defend against the same caliber weapons, that is, 203 mm guns.

Moreover, it is also required to have a cruising range of 15,000 nautical miles, which is unprecedented for previous warships, because the new warship needs to consider sailing directly from Arabia to Hawaii and then put into battle.

This led to the need for a large amount of tonnage to be used in the protection and power systems of the new warships, and the emphasis on armaments was reduced.

The Naval Design Bureau only took a very short time to come up with a design plan with a designed displacement of 14,500 tons.

In order to meet the voyage of 15,000 nautical miles, new boilers and steam turbines were used to ensure a maximum speed of more than 30 knots, equipped with ten 203 mm guns, and a 3223 layout.

In terms of protection, due to the high price of warships, the design bureau strengthened it as much as possible. The main armor belt was 203 mm and tilted inward at 15 degrees. The number of watertight compartments was increased as densely as possible, and key defense was also carried out in important areas.

In the end, when the Naval Design Bureau made a cost estimate, it came up with a staggering price - the conservative estimate of the cost was about 7 million.

This is close to the cost of a battleship. The Queen Elizabeth-class battleships that have not yet been put into service in the UK cost only 12.5 million per ship, and the displacement is more than 10,000 tons.

Of course, the endurance of the Queen Elizabeth-class is only a fraction of this class of cruisers.

The navy had envisioned reducing tonnage and defense to reduce costs to less than six million, but Liu Yiming refused.

Liu Yiming didn't want a ship that could be blown up at a touch, which would just be a waste of money.

When the European war began, the prices of various materials rose. Nanhua sold some of the materials and made a lot of money.

The government was also affected by public pressure, and with a wave of its hand, it passed the naval shipbuilding plan and allocated funds to start construction of four ships at one time.

Compared with the construction of large cruisers, both civilians and parliament are more concerned about the development of main battleships, but this time, the battleships were difficult to produce.

"I have seen the design plan of the new warship. Although many new technologies are used, I see conservativeness in the overall design thinking. Why?"

Liu Yiming quickly flipped the sketch in his hand, and then threw it aside casually, with dissatisfaction on his face.

This time, the warship designer still continued the thinking mode of fast battleships and designed them under the standard requirements of 35,000 tons.

First of all, the speed. By using large water tube boilers, the space occupied by the power system is reduced, freeing up tonnage for other systems.

Eight heavy boilers drive four steam turbines, providing 120,000 horsepower, with a designed tonnage of 35,000 tons and a designed speed of 29 knots.

In addition to the increase in speed, the protection level has also undergone a qualitative change. The waterline armor has been increased from 260 mm to 350 mm, and the front and seat ring of the main turret have also been increased from 310 mm to 350 mm.

In addition, the weapon system has also been upgraded. The main gun is still three 356 mm triple main turrets, but the number of secondary guns has been increased, sixteen 76 mm anti-aircraft guns have been added, and twelve twin 37 mm anti-aircraft guns, as well as a ship-borne seaplane system.

The electronic communication system has also been upgraded. An electronic information center is set up on the front and rear masts. The former can be used as a fleet command and communication center, and the latter can be used for remote communication.

Overall, this is a comprehensive battleship with good comprehensive strength and a standard fleet core battleship.

For Nanhua, this is the next generation of core battleship. Because of the existence of the information center, it can integrate the power of the battle fleet and exert the maximum power of the fleet.

However, Liu Yiming was disappointed, because this design showed that the Nanhua Naval Design Bureau and naval officers were still focused on the anti-interference stage.

This warship is powerful, but not enough to deter and deal with the next generation of warships. Liu Yiming did not know the specific development of the navy, but he was very clear about the development of caliber.

The warships of World War I experienced another innovation, the most obvious of which was the breakthrough in the caliber of artillery.

In World War I, Britain first broke through the caliber limit of 343 mm and increased the caliber of the main gun to fifteen inches, 381 mm.

Germany's Bavaria-class battleships are also under intense construction. Their defense indicators are similar to those of the new class of warships, but the caliber of the main gun has reached 380 mm, and the tonnage indicator is 5,000 tons less.

Nanhua used to have no choice, with insufficient technical strength and urgent demand for warships, so it had to increase tonnage in exchange for other indicators.

British warships attach importance to firepower and speed, and relatively sacrifice defense. German warships attach great importance to defense and sacrifice firepower and speed.

Nanhua is even more strange. It sacrifices firepower and defense, and uses a large amount of tonnage to pile up speed and range. That is, Nanhua's vision is one version ahead, otherwise it really can't scare people.

However, at present, Nanhua's demand for new warships is no longer so urgent. At least in the next five years, Nanhua will not be threatened much. At this time, it should rebalance between anti-interference and external interference.

Moreover, this design indicator is still advanced at present, but it may not be when it is put into service.

War will make the military make a crazy leap forward, and the technological changes in one year are more than ten years in peacetime.

If you don't prepare in advance, you can only come up with a bunch of garbage.

"Regarding the issue of improving firepower, we discussed the comparison between twelve 356mm main guns and nine 380mm or larger main guns."

"The key issue is that we believe that twelve 356mm main guns will not significantly improve combat effectiveness, but the cost is not small."

"As for equipping with 380mm or larger main guns, we have asked various factories, and none of them are sure that the research and development can be completed before the warship is launched."

"Due to the limitations of processing technology, the development progress of larger caliber guns is relatively slow."

Zhao Jiaxing looked at Gu Fan, and Gu Fan dared to stand up and said cautiously.

"Is this true? We cooperated with the Germans before the war, and their technology was reserved?" Liu Yiming was stunned. He realized that he might have been tricked by the Germans.

Although, he also tricked the Germans, and did not provide the technology and strategy that could really determine the outcome of the war, but only provided the technology that could delay the war.

"The factory is not sure. Half a year ago, the factory trial-produced a 406mm artillery barrel. During the test, it was damaged after only three shots."

"The factory rushed to complete the new sample three weeks ago. The test results showed that the life and accuracy of the barrel were far from the standard."

"What is certain at present is that we cannot meet the requirements in terms of precision processing capabilities. At present, various metallurgical laboratories are trying to compensate with new materials, but whether it is feasible is still unknown."

Gu Fan is also in a difficult situation. If there is no requirement, just one caliber, it is not difficult to make a few guns. Just like the British Type I 406mm gun, it has poor accuracy and short life, and is not as good as the 381mm gun.

"The construction cycle of a large warship is usually about three years, and it takes more than a year to wait for the launch and outfitting. The installation of the main gun will be carried out in the middle and late stages, which will be slightly slower, and there will be two years."

"Concentrate professionals from various metallurgical laboratories, equipment research institutes, etc. to concentrate on the artillery. Two years should be enough."

"Even if the research and development progress is slightly behind, it is acceptable. At present, we have no external threats, so there is no need to rush to settle."

"I need a warship that can still maintain overwhelming combat effectiveness ten years later. At present, all countries are seeking to be bigger and stronger, and we must keep up with this pace."

Liu Yiming knocked on the table lightly, and knew why Gu Fan brought Zhao Jiaxing to make a report.

Doesn't Gu Fan understand these principles that Liu Yiming said?

No, as the Chief of Staff of the South China Navy and an outstanding graduate of the Royal Naval College of Greenwich, the world's highest naval military institution, Gu Fan will not fail to understand the whole problem.

Including the problems in the design of this warship.

In fact, Gu Fan was also very dissatisfied with this class of warships, but this was designed by the designer in response to current requirements and under current conditions, and it could be put into construction immediately and put into service quickly.

The Navy Design Bureau was not aware of the top-level strategy, and the starting point of the design was to "defeat Japan" and win the decisive battle at sea.

This class of warships was just right, with mature technology, a construction period that could be shortened to two years and a few months, and a low price. Its combat effectiveness could also fully crush the warships in the world today.

However, it was only applicable to the present...

Gu Fan knew it, but there was no way to solve it, so he had to touch Liu Yiming. After all, Nanhua not only had the navy, but also the army and air force, as well as a large number of industrial institutions.

Gu Fan did not have the ability to concentrate these resources to serve the navy, but Liu Yiming did.