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Chapter 1206 The completed steam ironclad ship
In the dry dock of Dalian Shipbuilding No. 94, a steam iron-hulled ship is nearing completion. The [-]-meter-long steel hull can only be accommodated by the side dock.

Many shipwrights were on board the steamship for the final checks.Some of these shipwrights came from southern Liaoning and Shandong, and some hired cheaper Korean laborers and Japanese laborers.

More than a dozen ship engineers held the design blueprints and walked out of the cabin of the steam ironclad ship, introducing the third steamship built by the Dalian Shipyard to Secretary of the Navy Nelson.

The first steamship, Yongchang, a small and medium-sized ship of several hundred tons, is now used as a passenger ship between Dongying and the mainland.

The second steamship, Dongfang, was much larger, with a full-load displacement of nearly [-] tons, and was used to lay submarine cables on the west coast of the Pacific Ocean.

And this steam ironclad ship is a huge breakthrough, and it took a lot of time for the first shipyard to conduct research.

On the surface, a Western trading company commissioned the No. [-] Shipbuilding Factory to build the first steamship for war, but in fact it was "leased" to the Ministry of the Navy after it was built, and it was the first steam ironclad ship owned by the Ministry of the Navy.

"The steam engines and coal-fired boilers weighing tens to hundreds of tons are really amazing. Such warships have surpassed any wooden battleships." "The ironclad steamship is very satisfied.

As an admiral in the era of wooden sail battleships, Nelson has not seen steam warships specially used for war.If the cost is not considered, the steel battleship is undoubtedly more suitable for combat.

“During the design process, we considered using the three propulsion methods of sail, paddle wheel, and propeller at the same time as the Dongfang steamship, but the paddle wheel occupies too much position on the side of the ship, which will reduce the space for placing the artillery, and it is easy to become a The enemy's artillery is the first to attack the target. Therefore, we gave up the paddle wheel propulsion, but used a hybrid power such as sails and propellers. In terms of steam power, a horizontal reciprocating steam engine is used, and the maximum speed is expected to reach between 13 and 14 knots , faster than ordinary sailing battleships."

"Compared with the previous two steam iron-clad ships, the steam engine, iron hull, and propeller are not unique technologies of this ship, and even the technology of this ship is improved based on the previous two non-military ships. To say this The uniqueness of the ship may lie in the use of 3-inch thick wrought-iron armor to protect the guns on the main deck. We believe that this armor is sufficient to withstand concentrated fire from wooden double- and triple-decker battleships."

The ship engineer continued to introduce the situation of the "experimental class" steam iron armored warship to Nelson while walking.

The Admiralty is the only customer of the steam ironclad warship. If the Minister of the Navy can be satisfied, then the Admiralty may place orders one after another in the next few years to allow the "experimental class" steam ironclad warship to join the construction sequence.

"Ten 10-pound front-loading smoothbore guns on each side of the ship, a 40-pound cannon on each of the bow and aft decks, and several salutes. Although the Imperial Arsenal has not yet been able to provide stable breech-loading rifles, such artillery alone is enough It is enough to destroy any enemy ship that dares to confront the experimental-level steam ironclad warship." The director of the No. 68 Shipbuilding Factory said confidently.

The original plan was to equip 20 artillery pieces, but it was later changed to 22 combat artillery pieces.

"40-pound guns, 68-pound guns." Nelson saw the 68-pound smoothbore guns on the deck, with a burning look in his eyes.

In the most glorious era of sail battleships, 32-pound, 24-pound, and 12-pound smoothbore guns were commonly used, with an average weight of about 20 pounds, and the average weight of the shells used by this "experimental" steam ironclad ship exceeded 40 pounds .

The most important thing is this kind of ironclad ship with wrought iron armor. In this era of sailing battleships, solid bullets propelled by black powder cannot penetrate such armor at all!
"Originally when we designed a frigate of this level to withstand the recoil of a 110-pound gun, the Imperial Arsenal seemed to think that it should wait for the breech-mounted rifled gun technology to mature before equipping it for an ironclad ship. After the breech-loaded rifled gun began to equip the army, it only needed Just come to our dock and spend some time on refitting." said the factory manager.

"It is said that mature rear-loading rifled gun technology can greatly improve the range and hit rate of the gun, and with the addition of the 110-pound gun, once it hits the sailing warship, it is likely to directly penetrate the opponent's hull." Nelson said to the more advanced The battleship's cannon was full of anticipation.

"That kind of artillery costs several thousand taels of silver, and it is necessary to train talents who can operate the artillery. The follow-up artillery shells are also big. I don't think the empire has so much financial resources to support the construction and update of the front-mounted smoothbore guns it currently has. Yes It may take millions of taels of silver to fully upgrade the armaments..." the captain speculated.

At the critical moment, the number of artillery pieces of the Kyushu Army has surpassed the number of artillery pieces of other empires and kingdoms in this era, and it is located in the most glorious era of sail battleships and front-mounted smoothbore artillery. Without many competitors, it is difficult to be determined to sacrifice other The project prioritizes investment in the replacement of artillery.

Owning a breech-loading rifle is the first in the world, and not having it is also the first, and a complete replacement of the breech-loading rifle will cost a huge amount of money.

Perhaps the only place that needs to improve armament technology is in foreign wars.Especially due to geographical restrictions, the number of troops sent to Europe cannot be too large. At this time, a crushing elite fleet is needed.

But Nelson shook his head: "You guessed it wrong. The military's pursuit of new technologies is crazy. I came to Dalian Port this time not only to receive this 'Secret Class' steam ironclad ship that is about to be completed, And brought in new orders."

"New order?" The director's eyes sparkled.

Their first shipyard was still thinking that the shipyard would be in a short rest period after the completion of the steam ironclad ship. They never thought that when Nelson received the "Secret Class" steam ironclad ship, he would directly bring in a new steamship order!
"Although our Admiralty is now equipped with sail and gunships, after seeing the secret-class steam ironclad ship, I have to admit that the steam ironclad ship is a new generation of naval ships that completely crush wooden sailboats. The pursuit of the number of artillery is not as good as the pursuit of Large caliber cannon."

"As you said, replacing equipment requires a lot of money, especially the replacement of ships. In the absence of a huge external threat, no one in power is willing to carry out large-scale armament replacement, but to carry out batch-by-batch replacement. The existing sail battleship Conservatively, we can fight for another ten years. We plan to replace the wooden ships of the Admiralty with steam ironclad ships in batches." Nelson said.

(End of this chapter)