Wild North America 1846

Chapter 391 slap a sweet date
"Enemy situation detected in front of the port side, 30 chains away, first-level battle alert for the whole ship, ready to fight."

"The heading is 15 degrees south-southwest, the speed is 12 knots, the order is to accelerate to 15 knots, the battle flag is raised, and the whole fleet is ready to fight."

"The artillery positions report their preparations."

"Three warning shelling shots, ready to launch..."

Entering the boundless Pacific Ocean, the "Gust" fleet galloped at high speed with joy. The tall bows broke through the blue sea, galloped between the crests and valleys, and began to practice various tactics nervously.

to be frank

In the vast Pacific Ocean, the ironclad cruiser "Gust" has no opponents at all, and the only powerful British Royal Navy is an ally.

Regardless of whether this ally is a bit of a donkey, he is arrogant, arrogant and has a bad temper, especially with a sharp mouth that makes people want to tear it apart.But after all, it is an ally, and it is an ally that occupies a dominant position in the relationship between the two parties.

Li Cha sat firmly in the only commanding position in the command tower, and did not interfere with the command of the fleet. Instead, he felt that the iron-clad warship galloping at full speed in the 19s, which represented the world's most advanced technology, felt really different.

nothing else
Judging from the feeling of riding, this "Gust" ironclad cruiser is very stable in the undulating waves, giving people a sense of peace of mind.

Due to the longer and wider hull, the large displacement and deeper draft, this ship will not have the feeling of being thrown by the waves when sitting on it, and there is no swaying left and right like a small ship, 3~4 meters above the sea. The waves can't cause any bumps at all, and basically they can pass through the waves that are crushed steadily.

Due to the high structural strength of the warship itself, compact layout and many sealed cabins, there is no tremor and cavity feeling caused by large cruise ships bumping between waves when sailing on the sea. From the perspective of riding experience and actual feeling, it gives people a feeling Speaking confidence.

Sailing in the deep ocean in the future, the officers and soldiers are also full of confidence, and will not be shrouded in deep-sea phobia all the time.

The territory of the Tang Empire was extremely vast, so the Royal Navy required ships to be equipped with long range first, firepower second, and speed only third, that is, just enough.

The main battleship of the Royal Navy undertakes the mission of global hegemony, and is often active in the stormy Atlantic Ocean and the warm Mediterranean Sea, coupled with the British naval bases all over the world, so the requirements for the range are not high.

Among the three elements of the ship;
In the design of the Royal Navy's main ships, firepower ranks first, speed ranks second, and range ranks third.

It is precisely because of the high requirements for speed that the Royal Navy has adopted the technical route of sail power and steam engine plus side paddle wheels.
As a result, the speed cannot be increased, and the cost is expensive and not easy to use.

The deck layout of the cutting-edge British ships is extremely complicated, with numerous equipment and small space, and the manipulation interferes with each other, causing the British sailors to complain.

The actual situation of each country is different, and the focus of the demand for warships is also different. There is no distinction between right and wrong, and only one's own feet can know whether it is comfortable or not.

The "Gust" ship formation practiced some tactics on the sea. The front and rear main guns and secondary guns successively carried out a series of actual combat exercises such as shelling training, combat coordination, search and arrest, etc., showing a very high level of ship operation.

In this regard, His Majesty the Emperor gave a high evaluation.

After the drill of the entire fleet formation, it was not until dusk that they returned to the port of Oak Bay, ending a whole day of high-intensity and wonderful drills.

It was already evening, and the sky was full of red clouds.

Emperor Li Cha and his entourage immediately moved into the local temporary residence, and gave a banquet in the evening to reward the fleet officers who performed well in the actual combat training today, as a sign of closeness.

During this inspection of the Oak Bay Naval Port, there is another major topic; that is to discuss the "Gust" class ironclad cruiser and its subsequent development model plan.

The "Gust" class ironclad cruiser was originally plan B. It was a candidate for the "7800-ton Zhenwei Ironclad Cruiser Project" rejected by His Majesty. The range and firepower were greatly emasculated, and it was not the target ship expected by the Royal Navy.

It took four and a half years for the "Gust"-class ironclad cruiser plan to go from approval to construction until the first ship was completed and put into service. The No. 4 ship of this class, the "Evil Wind", has been launched and outfitted and will be delivered to the Royal Navy before the end of the year. .

The No. 3 ship "Bitter Wind" and the No. 4 ship "Hailwind" are under construction to varying degrees, and it is expected that they will be completed in succession in the second half of next year.

A total of 6 ships of this class were built, and 4 ships were planned to be deployed in the Atlantic Fleet, stationed in New York Port, Hampton Port, and New Orleans Port, to maintain the maritime military presence of the Datang Empire in the Atlantic Ocean.

The two ships are deployed in the Pacific Fleet and will be used as the main force of the Pacific Fleet. The home port is San Francisco Bay Port (note; including Oak Bay Port), Los Angeles and Seattle.

Next Step

On this basis, whether to develop follow-up small improvements to the ship type, or to pick up the previous "7800-ton Zhenwei Ironclad Cruiser Project" has become the primary concern of the Royal Navy.

Originating from the confidence of victory in the North American War, the Royal Navy generally favors the latter.

After all, he had tasted the dominance of the sea in the North American naval battle, his horizons became wider, and his heart became wilder. A type of armored cruiser with a weight of less than 5000 tons could no longer satisfy the appetite of the Royal Navy generals.

if conditions
Who wouldn't want to control a capital ship with stronger combat capability and greater power?

"I'm aware of the military's opinion, but the development of the Royal Navy is not something that happens overnight, let alone the idea of ​​quick success, and the extravagant hope of contending for world ocean hegemony because of the victory in the North American War.

That is neither realistic nor possible, because the Tang Empire does not have the possibility to challenge the British maritime hegemony in terms of economic resources or military aspects.

And, there must be self-limitation.

You must know how to allow others to sleep soundly on the side of the couch?

Any country that may endanger the British maritime hegemony will be listed as the most dangerous enemy by the British without hesitation, and they will use all means to suppress it, including the choice of war.

I believe that such serious consequences are something no one wants to see, and it is harmful to the development of the empire. "

Richard did not rudely veto the Royal Navy's new ship development plan, but from the perspective of international politics and great power wrestling, he taught his confidant admirals a lesson in international geopolitics.

The outbreak of the First World War in the future was because the rapidly rising Germany could not see the situation clearly and brazenly launched an ambitious plan centered on the development of the "High Seas Fleet", which deeply stabbed the sensitive bottom line of the British and completely detonated The arms race in Europe, culminating in the inevitable outbreak of war...

Since then
The Germans have become the eternal enemy of the British. From World War I to World War II, they have always been the number one enemy in the minds of the British, and all kinds of ridicule and sarcasm followed.

What kind of evil Prussian, with a funny and laughable garlic nose, likes to hold pork sausages and drink beer, chew and drink, an emotionless killing machine...

This situation continued until the British Empire slipped from the throne of world hegemony, and the relationship between the two sides gradually eased.

There is no problem with the development of the army, and the British are optimistic.

If the navy is to be developed, it will touch the most sensitive bottom line nerves of the British. The better the Tang Empire naval ships performed in the North American War, the more worried the British will be.

Does this sound funny?

The fact is so nonsensical, the Tang Empire must ensure restraint in the development of the navy.Or to put it another way, it is to wait for the lagging Royal Navy ships to improve before considering the development of new and more powerful main ships.

The paranoid and stubborn traditional conservatives of the British Royal Navy have been proven wrong after paying a heavy price for technological exploration, and were quickly replaced by the voices of the innovative young men in the Royal Navy.

Before the North American Naval War
The artillery installation method generally accepted by navies around the world is still inherited from the densely arranged gun door layout of the sail battleship, with 2 to 3 layers of artillery decks to increase firepower.

The results of the North American naval battle have fully demonstrated the great superiority of the rotating turret layout, which has been accepted by all naval powers in the world and has become one of the iconic technical features of the new ironclad warship.

This is true of the Tang Empire, the French Navy, and the British Royal Navy. Italy, Russia, Austria-Hungary and other countries have followed the trend and launched their own construction plans for iron-clad ships with rotating turrets.

But how to lay out the artillery, there are countless plans.

The Tang-style layout is a classic scheme, mainly manifested in the design of the main guns at the front and rear of the hull, and the design of the secondary guns on both sides of the midship. This is a safe scheme that has withstood the test of war.

but in the UK

The design of the central gun room appeared and quickly stood out, becoming the technical standard for the new ironclad ships of the Royal Navy, and has been put into the hot construction of the Royal Portsmouth Naval Shipyard.

Then why can't it adopt the artillery layout plan that the Datang Empire has proven to be very effective?
After all

It's still the British's arrogant ocean overlord who is in trouble. Although the Royal Navy of the Tang Empire has proved that the layout of this artillery is reasonable, the strike power is extraordinary, and the artillery has fewer dead spots, which is conducive to the full use of the firepower of the entire ship.

But the British just disdain to adopt it, and have to hold out a "central gun room" design plan to show the advanced and superior technology of the British navy. This is really no one!
The so-called central gun room refers to several main naval guns equipped by the ship, all of which are set in the armor protection belt amidships.

The main naval guns of this era are all open-air turrets, and due to the backward level of hydraulic technology, there is no way to rotate the tens of tons of turrets as a whole, so only the main gun can be rotated in battle.

This kind of situation happens frequently in international affairs. The British are like this, so why not the French?

The glorious naval tradition and arrogant national pride made Britain and France and other world naval powers unable to accept the excellence of the Royal Navy of the Tang Empire, so each of them came up with some new plans for artillery layout.

For example, France has developed a layout scheme called diagonal artillery.

As the name suggests
The four main guns are in groups of two, one set is located at the right front of the middle of the ship, and the other is located at the left rear of the middle of the ship, forming a diagonal layout, so that when firing on the side, the full range of the main ship can also be used. artillery fire.

Actually

This is also a layout plan for the central gun room, but it has been blended with French wisdom and turned into a French thing.

The Prussian Navy also developed its own artillery layout scheme. The Saxon-class ironclad ship adopted the design of the front exposed turret and the central gun room.

This is equivalent to adopting half of the Tang layout and half of the British layout, and evolving into its own German layout. While satisfying the strong national pride, it also feels much more comfortable.

Back to the topic
Li Cha looked at the admirals present with piercing eyes, and said softly;

"...

Therefore, the next step in the development of naval ships is still to improve the "Gust" class armored cruiser. The direction of improvement is to further enhance the performance of oceangoing navigation, further enhance the performance of turbine equipment and artillery, and give full play to its power.

The artillery should be fired more accurately and the firepower stronger, the turbine and boiler equipment should be improved in reliability and performance, and the naval officers and soldiers should be trained strictly to keep improving their skills.

Equipped with the same type of ironclad warships, the Royal Navy can react faster than the enemy, fight more accurately, have a higher level of ship control, have a stronger desire to fight, and defeat the opponent with better military quality.

"Training elite soldiers and winning battles" should be the primary goal of the current Royal Navy, and it should be maintained unremittingly. "

Speaking of here
Li Cha habitually used the tricks of the superiors, slapped him and then gave a sweet date. With a smile on his face, he said encouragingly; "I have approved the new development plan proposed by the Royal Navy. It is at the "Gust" level. Continue to build 6 new ships on the basis of the above, and gradually complete them in three years.

Thus

It is estimated that by the end of 1866, the Royal Navy will have 12 powerful ironclad cruisers as its main force, and its strength will be the best in the entire Americas, which can already meet the needs of the future maritime expansion of the Datang Empire. "

"The ministers will follow the sacred will, and must adhere to the purpose of "training elite soldiers and winning battles" to build an army, and earnestly urge all naval soldiers to unite as one, fearless of hardships and dangers, and complete the sacred mission entrusted by His Majesty." Marshal Pan Hengchen answered unequivocally, It's really loud.

"Great kindness." Li Cha nodded approvingly, and said to everyone; "The Army Staff Headquarters has just stopped for a long time, and has started to fiddle with the expedition to South America. The Navy has a duty to do so, and I allow The navy has taken over an organic field division from the Ministry of the Army and reorganized it into a marine division to participate in the expedition to South America. The specific matters can only be discussed in private by the staff headquarters of the army and navy, and a comprehensive plan will be discussed and submitted to the imperial court.”

"I would like to thank Your Majesty Long En!"

This big pie that was thrown out suddenly made all the admirals dizzy, and their expressions of excitement were hard to restrain.Everyone knows that expanding the territory is the easiest way to make meritorious deeds, and one bite will be full of oil.

The Royal Navy was able to participate in the Argentine expedition, which is tantamount to taking food from the always stingy Army Staff Headquarters!
Without His Majesty's support, I really dare not even think about it.

(End of this chapter)