Chapter 458 The new visiting fleet arrives in France

Author: Wang Zixu

Chapter 458 The new visiting fleet arrives in France

When Zhu Jingyuan arrived in Nanjing, the visiting fleet of the Ming Navy also arrived in France.

Two 60,000-ton battleships, four 40,000-ton battleships, and one 40,000-ton aircraft carrier.

In this way, seven battleships and twelve 16,000-ton cruisers docked at the French naval port of Le Havre.

The number of new capital ships in this fleet is more than the number of new capital ships currently built in France.

The purpose of this fleet heading to the West was not just to participate in the parade for Louis Charles' coronation as Louis XVII.

Instead, after a lapse of six years, he once again came to Thailand and Spain for "goodwill visits".

The specific number of ships participating in Louis XVII's ship review will be discussed with the French side and will depend on Charles's own needs.

It is likely that only one or two ships will be arranged to go there.

Compared with six years ago, the size of Ming's visiting fleet has once again expanded.

Not only were two 60,000-ton super battleships added, but a 40,000-ton aircraft carrier was also added.

Although the succession of the new king of France is far less important than the succession of the Ming Emperor, it is still a very important event in the world.

At the end of last year, the sixty-five-year-old Huang Yue retired with the title of Zhengyipin Dazongbo, and was granted the additional title of earl.

Fifty-three-year-old Shen Fu, after ten years in the position of Minister of Honglu Temple, was finally promoted to the rank of Zongbo, taking over all Huang Yue's original positions and being in charge of all cultural and diplomatic affairs.

As a representative of the Ming Dynasty, Shen Fu, together with Niu Jian, Zhu Jingyuan's personal representative, arrived in France on a visiting fleet.

The fleet's arrival in France caused a huge stir among officials and people alike.

First of all, the scale is too large. The scale of a single ship and the scale of a fleet are unprecedented.

Then there is the special relationship between the two countries. When Charles was about to be crowned, the Ming Dynasty arranged for such a fleet to participate. The meaning of this expression could not be clearer. This is absolute support.

From the royal family to the nobility, from manufacturers to the middle class, as well as ordinary people who pay a little attention to international relations and military affairs, they all feel that their country has received enough attention, and they all feel very glorious.

Private newspapers have reported the relevant news for a long time, and people who had the opportunity to come over in the past few days came to the pier to watch.

Fleets from other countries participating in the fleet review have also arrived in France in the past two days.

Most countries have arranged for a battleship to come over, and some are not even the most cutting-edge battleships.

Comparing the two, Ming's fleet appears to be even more exaggerated.

The scene of a total of nineteen huge warships from the Ming Dynasty sailing into the dock of Le Havre, France, and when they docked at the dock and the harbor, bursts of cheers arose from time to time.

Of course, journalists from major newspapers in France and Thailand would not miss this rare opportunity. They took the time to find good angles and locations and took a large number of photos and videos.

The film technology integrated and invented by Zhu Jingyuan has now spread to major countries in the world.

The French, who already had a special relationship with Ming Dynasty, learned the fastest.

The entire port of Le Havre is surrounded by a lively sea.

French King Louis XVI and his wife, as well as Crown Prince Charles and his wife and children, who were about to hold the coronation ceremony, also brought the main French nobles and officials to the interior of the military port to welcome and visit.

The French King and Crown Prince's family are among the best in the world in terms of status.

Coupled with Zhu Jingyuan's special relationship, they were valued more by Ming officials than the average Thai and Western kings and crown princes.

Shen Fu, the representative of the Ming Dynasty, and Niu Jian, the personal representative of Zhu Jingyuan, came out of the cabin together and received the French King and his wife and the Crown Prince Charles and his family.

The two took them aboard the flagship battleship Huguang and visited the deck facilities and main cabins of the battleship.

At the position of the reduction gear set in the core engine room, Louis XVI looked at the huge mechanical structure composed of large gears in front of him, and couldn't help but sincerely admire:

"This...this huge mechanical warship is simply art!

"The huge and majestic body and the complex and sophisticated structure are really fascinating!"

Louis XVI might become a technical geek if he lived in future generations...

Charles also looked carefully at the mechanical structures around him and asked some curious questions from time to time:

"What is the output power of the Huguang battleship's power system? What is the power density of the entire power system? And what is the maximum speed of this battleship? Can it be disclosed?"

Niu Jian didn't do anything to hide this issue, and directly told Charles the specific data clearly:

"The design power of the power system is 200,000 horsepower, the power density is 50 horsepower per ton, and the design maximum speed is 32 knots."

French officials, including Charles, who paid attention to and understood the battleship technology research and construction process, were all surprised when they heard these three data, and then they all had obvious doubts.

The crowd started talking in low voices.

"Fifty horsepower per ton! My God!"

"Our battleship's power system can barely achieve thirty horsepower per ton!"

"This is a battleship power system, not a cruiser. Can this kind of power density really be achieved? Is it really no problem?"

"Daming's technology level far exceeds ours. Of course it can achieve this kind of power density and still maintain safety."

"The key point is that a 60,000-ton warship can travel at a speed of 32 knots. This is really terrifying!"

"This speed can catch up with many cruisers..."

"No, unless the weather is calm, a cruiser that claims to be above 33 knots will probably not be able to catch up with her."

"Yes, the larger the warship's tonnage, the more stable its speed, and the stronger its ability to cope with bad weather and sea conditions."

"When the wind and waves in the North Sea rise, it will be good if the cruiser can run at 20 knots, but the battleship can continue to run at 30 knots."

"So when there are wind and waves, let alone cruisers, even the latest destroyers that claim to have 35 knots can't outrun the battleships that only have 30 knots in name..."

"Wait a minute, I have a question. With 200,000 horsepower and a displacement of 60,000 tons, how can it achieve a speed of 32 knots?"

"On the other side, according to our calculations, our 40,000-ton battleship needs 150,000 horsepower to run at thirty knots, more than 190,000 horsepower to run at thirty-two knots, and more than 190,000 horsepower to run at thirty-two knots. The second quarter requires at least 230,000 horsepower..."

"So... the underwater linear design of Daming's hull is more excellent? Can it reduce resistance?"

"The shape of Ming's ship is indeed different from ours, but you can't see it underwater..."

When these people discussed this point, Charles went to ask Niu Jian without saying anything:

"Mr. Niu, how did the Ming Dynasty make a 60,000-ton ship run at 32 knots with 200,000 horsepower?"

Niu Jian said with a smile:

"His Royal Highness the Crown Prince can actually observe the shape of Ming Dynasty's ships. Whether it is the bow, stern or bottom, they are different from traditional warships and have special drag reduction designs.

"But the specific method of reducing it can be regarded as a national military secret, so even if it is the relationship between His Royal Highness Prince Dashi and His Highness the Crown Prince, there is no way to tell you directly.

"We can only say that His Highness can arrange for French technical personnel to use their brains more on drag reduction design and pay more attention to the latest research trends in fluid dynamics.

"As long as you are willing to work hard, you should be able to reduce the power demand by more than tens of thousands of horsepower through linear design."

After hearing this, Charles nodded very gratefully:

"Thank you, Mr. Niu, for reminding me, and thank you to my best friend for informing me..."

A group of people took a tour inside the cabin and came out of the battleship's cabin again.

Charles stood on the deck of the Huguang and subconsciously looked at the other battleship next door - the aircraft carrier Zhenhai.

Ming Dynasty sent the official version of the 40,000-ton aircraft carrier it built to France.

The new 60,000-ton battleship certainly feels shocking, but this is within the scope that everyone can understand.

With the technical support of the Ming Dynasty, various countries in Europe and the West have built a batch of 40,000-ton high-speed battleships in the past few years.

They were able to understand that if they obtained higher-level production processes in steel and other related industries, and scaled up the existing 40,000-ton battleships, they would be able to obtain a relatively reasonable design for a 60,000-ton or even larger battleship.

This is essentially a combination of faster engines, larger artillery, and thicker armor. Compared with traditional battleships, new high-speed battleships are not completely subversive changes.

As for aircraft carriers, it's completely different. Now all countries in Europe and the West are trying to figure out how to build them.

No one had ever made it before.

Daming has not provided any public reference samples before.

With the signing of the Europa Naval Treaty, the definition of aircraft carrier was clarified.

In the next three years and eight months, various countries in Europe and the West successively tried to build a number of aircraft carriers.

The craftsmen of the Ming Dynasty were fully involved in the design of new battleships at this stage. Most of the new battleships in the European and Western countries had Ming Dynasty providing part of their technology.

Therefore, the Ming Dynasty knows exactly what these battleships in Taixi are like.

Regarding this latest batch of aircraft carriers, Zhu Jingyuan and the craftsmen of the Ming Dynasty believe that each has its own characteristics.

Some countries seriously lack experience and have no accumulation in related fields. The Ming Dynasty does not provide direct help, so the ships they build are taken for granted.

The most basic situation is to remove the rear deck or front deck of the original cruiser and lay half of the flight deck.

A rather bizarre situation is the design of removing all the main guns, but continuing to place the chimney in the middle of the hull, and laying two decks in front and behind the chimney.

A slightly better situation is to lay a deck in the middle of the hull and place the smoke exhaust outlet behind the hull.

A better situation is to put the chimney on the middle side, but some are on the left and some on the right.
To be continued...