Chapter 403 The situation of shipbuilding in various countries in Europe and the West

Author: Wang Zixu

Chapter 403 The situation of shipbuilding in various countries in Europe and the West

Zhu Jingyuan continued to explain his ideas to the officials and craftsmen of the shipbuilding system headed by Zhu Zhongliang and Wang Lai:

“The cost per tonnage of high-speed destroyers used in the fleet is much higher than that of battleships.

"However, the cost of a destroyer per ship, specifically the construction cost of a two to three thousand ton destroyer, is of course much lower than any tens of thousands of ton battleship.

"Therefore, it is impossible for us to build battleships to do the work that can be done with destroyers, and the overall cost will be too high.

"At the same time, in the short term, the Europeans should not be able to build a 50,000-ton battleship.

"When they can build battleships of more than 50,000 tons, we should have more 60,000-ton battleships than them.

"Before they built battleships of this size, the main mission of our existing 60,000-ton battleships was actually to serve as a world-class deterrent force.

"In fact, the work that usually requires battleships can be done by 40,000-ton mass-produced battleships.

"As far as the current level of shipbuilding technology in the world is concerned, they are completely adequate.

"If we use the technology we have just completed to upgrade the existing 40,000-ton battleships, it should be enough to cope with the Taishi's battleships of less than 45,000 tons.

"Even if we face their 50,000-ton battleships, they may not be incapable of fighting.

"It's just that with our Ming Dynasty family background, there is no need to take on that kind of challenge."

When Zhu Jingyuan said this, his attention turned to Wang Lai:

"Don't say that the Ship Department...the Ordnance Department has no plan to upgrade the technology of the existing 40,000-ton warship?"

Wang Lai immediately nodded very seriously and briefly reported the relevant situation to Zhu Jingyuan:

"What His Highness said makes sense, of course we have done the upgrade plan.

"Based on electroslag remelting technology, the 360mm naval gun was redesigned and produced, and replaced with the latest boiler and turbine system with greater power density.

“The number of artillery pieces can be upgraded from three triple mounts with a total of nine guns to four triple mounts with a total of 12 cannons without reducing the speed and defense strength.

"The new artillery can use super-heavy artillery shells of at least 850 kilograms or even 900 kilograms.

"The actual power will not be lower than the 380 to 400 mm artillery made with traditional technology.

"You can even try to replace the three or even four twin-mounted 420mm guns with new ones.

"Or we can continue to retain the nine main guns and increase the overall thickness of the main armor to 360 mm.

"Or raise the core of the horizontal armor to two hundred millimeters."

Zhu Jingyuan nodded lightly after hearing this:

"Technological upgrades are certainly possible, especially boiler and turbine systems.

"I would rather slow down the construction speed a little, and all the subsequent 40,000-ton warships to be built must use new power systems.

"But there is no need to continue to increase the number and caliber of the main guns of this type of ship, as well as the thickness of the armor.

“It is completely sufficient for now, but it may not be needed in the future.

“After using new technologies, the weight and space saved can be used for internal technology upgrades such as observation, control, and command.

"You should have some idea of ​​the shipbuilding status of various countries in Europe and the West, right?"

Wang Lai was a little surprised, but the two had worked together for a long time, and Wang Lai quickly understood Zhu Jingyuan's thoughts.

Zhu Jingyuan revealed his judgment to the core designers like Wang Lai. He believed that the future was the era of aviation weapons.

The 40,000-ton mass-produced high-speed battleship is a necessary supplement before the aircraft carrier can no longer operate independently.

It is also a large air defense platform next to the aircraft carrier and the future fleet combat command center.

The 60,000-ton battleship is the supplier of deterrence until the aircraft carrier cannot provide deterrence.

Under this guiding ideology, the main gun and armor indicators of the 40,000-ton battleship certainly do not need to be significantly upgraded.

Just upgrading it with new technologies at the current scale should make it difficult for the Taixi people to surpass it in the next ten years.

As the person in charge of warship design, Wang Lai certainly knows the news about the navies of various countries in Thailand and Spain.

When Zhu Jingyuan asked specifically, Wang Lai immediately gave a brief explanation:

"Three years ago, after our 40,000-ton battleship cruised the world, the countries in Thailand and Spain immediately started building new generation battleships targeting our new battleships, and they have all been launched this year.

"Because we don't know the actual detailed information about our warships, their design target parameters are actually estimates.

"Most of the naval admirals and craftsmen from various countries in Europe and the West have seen that the maximum speed of our warships is not just twenty-five knots, but they don't dare to think about thirty knots. Their estimates are all about twenty-seven knots.

is standard.

"Except for the four traditional naval countries of the United Kingdom, Spain, Portugal, and the Netherlands, our craftsmen are directly involved in the design of warships in other countries, so we have the most accurate understanding.

“Among these countries, the French have the greatest accumulation of original naval technology, and the new warships they finally designed and built also have the most balanced indicators in all aspects.

"The first ship of the new battleship is named Duke of Normandy, and the second ship built at the same time is named Duke of Orleans, using the titles of the French crown prince and his wife.

"The new battleship has four twin-mounted turrets, all of which are new guns with a caliber of 360 mm and a caliber of 45 times.

"It has 300 mm thick side main armor and 120 mm thick horizontal deck armor.

“The full load displacement is approximately 38,000 tons, and the maximum design speed is 27 knots.

"If we don't have our new battleship as an indicator for comparison, this is a high-speed battleship with a fairly balanced design.

"According to other intelligence, the indicators of the new warships built by the British and Spanish are very close to those of the French.

"The new battleship designed and built by the Prussians under the guidance of our craftsmen has been named the König.

"With a slightly higher full load displacement of 40,000 tons, they have basically achieved similar targets to the French new battleships.

“The Sardinian Italian Dante and the Austrian Allied Forces each completed a triple turret design.

"But the artillery of both countries uses a slightly lower caliber, both are 340mm main guns with a caliber of 45 times.

“Both countries have installed four triple turrets on the 40,000-ton hull, and both have up to twelve main guns.

"However, the Austrian triple turret has only two sets of shell conveying channels, and the loading speed is slightly slower.

"However, the speed of the new warships of the two countries is a bit lower than that of the French and Prussian, both only twenty-five knots.

"The largest tonnage among the new warships is the Lucian St. Petersburg class, with a full load displacement of 42,000 tons.

"The Lucians installed six twin main guns with a caliber of 360 mm and a caliber of 45 times on it.

"The side armor and horizontal armor are the same as those of France, and the maximum speed is slightly lower, reaching twenty-six knots.

"The Ottoman factory, under our guidance, built a battleship with a full load displacement of 30,000 tons, a maximum speed of 23 knots, and four twin-mounted 300mm main guns.

"At the same time, a battleship with a full load displacement of 35,000 tons, a maximum speed of 27 knots, eight 360mm caliber, and a 45x caliber main gun has been ordered from the Ming Dynasty Royal Shipyard. It has now been launched.

.

"This ship is a simplified version of our 40,000-ton warship.

"Important technical indicators such as the square stern, bulbous bow, turbine power, triple turret, and gun diameter have been reduced. However, among the new warships from European and Western countries, it is still the highest technical level."

Zhu Jingyuan couldn't help laughing when he heard this:

"Among the European and Western countries, the highest level of new warships is actually in the hands of the Ottomans?"

Zhu Zhongliang and Wang Lai also laughed when they heard this comment.

To achieve this level, the French and British would have to weigh more than 38,000 tons.

And the reliability cannot be compared with that produced by Daming.

The atmosphere at the scene relaxed for a while, and Zhu Jingyuan asked a new question:

"What about their shipbuilding plan? When new warships are launched, they should also have new ideas in the future, right?"

Wang Lai, as the chief shipbuilder of the Ming Dynasty, was also very clear about this information:

"The current primary goal of most European and Western countries is to continue to optimize the design of existing 40,000-ton warships.

“All countries are working hard to improve the power and efficiency of the power system, and to tackle and improve the design of multi-unit turrets.

"In addition to the power system, the Austrians and Italians are hesitant to develop a 360mm main gun.

"They may jump directly to the 380mm caliber or even the 400mm caliber.

“Their subsequent new warships are highly similar in design to existing warships, and their main goal is to increase the speed to 27 knots.

"The Prussians and Lucians are mainly working on the design of triple-mounted turrets.

“At the same time, we have also begun to work on artillery with a caliber of 400 mm and above.

"The new warship is going to use triple turrets, and the Lucians also want to increase the maximum speed of the warship.

"The French are quite quick-thinking and are ready to continue building the existing Normandy-type battleships.

“At the same time, technicians are preparing to tackle the design of a quadruple turret.

“The British side has relatively little intelligence, but it can be completely confirmed that they are also working hard on the triple turret and power system power.
To be continued...