Wild North America 1846

Chapter 628 Duke-Class Ironclad Ship
Due to the urgent changes in the country, the mission led by Emperor Meiji bid farewell and left in a hurry. The trip did not meet expectations.

The only consolation is that
The top officials of the Datang Empire government revealed that they should be cautious about Fusang’s national policy of going north to the Korean peninsula. At present, they neither agree nor strongly oppose it, and are still on the sidelines...

Anyway, what do you mean by saying ambiguous words and doing ambiguous things... Go back and experience it for yourself!

Since the invasion of Ganghwa Island, the Japanese country, which has tasted the sweetness, can't stop. The northward policy has become a consensus between the government and the opposition, and no matter who is in power, it cannot be changed.

After entering 1875, the domestic and foreign situation of the Ottoman Empire, which straddled the Eurasian and African continents, deteriorated rapidly, attracting the attention of world powers, and the Tang Empire was no exception.

In view of the situation in Europe, the Datang Empire government successively held several important seminars to determine the policy towards Europe.

After repeated discussions

The Tang Empire decided to uphold the policy of neutrality, always pay attention to the changes in the situation of the Ottoman Empire, and look for opportunities that can be used to expand the power of the new colonial area of ​​Yunzhong Province to the Arabian Peninsula.

The Ottoman Empire was once a great empire that frightened Europe. By the second half of the 19th century, the Ottoman Empire had declined sharply and became a big fat sheep for the powers of various countries to intervene.

In order to save the empire, people of insight led by Mustafa Reshid Pasha and Midhat Pasha launched a series of national salvation campaigns and carried out democratic reforms, but the results were not obvious.

In 1875, the situation at home and abroad in the Ottoman Empire deteriorated rapidly. There were famines in the northern and central parts of Asia Minor, the finances were on the verge of collapse, and the shadow of foreign powers' interference shrouded the empire.

The ruler of the Ottoman Empire was the insane Sultan Murad, who issued contradictory decrees, sometimes even absurd, completely unable to deal with the current complicated situation;
Within the empire, ethnic conflicts spread rapidly under the banner of democracy, and uprisings broke out in Bosnia, Herzegovina, and Bulgaria one after another, and soon spread to Serbia and Montenegro, the two Turkish vassal states, and the situation further deteriorated.

The Ottoman army brutally suppressed the rebels, but failed to control the deterioration of the situation. Its rule in the Balkans began to waver...

It has been half a year since the Spring Festival, and it was September 1875, which was the early autumn season when melons and fruits were fragrant.

Salem, an important industrial city in the north
A huge warship docked quietly at the wharf of the Salem Royal Naval Shipyard. This is the first ship of the 11-ton "Duke" class ironclad ship under outfitting, namely the "Duke of Hawaii".

not far away
It is also an improved version of the 8600-ton "Zhenyang" class iron-clad ship that is also being outfitted in the water, that is, the 9200-ton "Zhendong"-class iron-clad ship. There are 4 main armored ships of this class, namely Zhendong, Zhennan, and Zhenxi No. and Zhenbei No.

in the huge dock

The second ship of the "Duke" class, the "Duke of Panama", has more than 2% of its construction progress. It is expected to be launched in July next year.

3号舰“阿拉斯加公爵”号将于11月份进坞切割第1块钢板，下水舾装，估计得后年3~4月份了。

Thanks to the change in imperial policy, the main fleet of the Royal Navy of the Tang Dynasty took advantage of this shareholder wind and vigorously developed. With sufficient budgetary funds, the main fleet was built about two years ahead of schedule.

The main armored fleet of the Royal Navy, which was originally planned to be roughly formed in 1880, could basically be formed by the end of 1878, and the naval equipment reached the world-class level.

Then
大唐帝国皇家海军主力铁甲舰队将拥有8600吨“镇洋”级铁甲舰三艘，9200吨“镇东”级铁甲舰4艘，11200吨“公爵”级铁甲舰8艘，共计拥有一级铁甲舰15艘。

at the same time
The Royal Navy also has 4980 16-ton "Gust"-class ironclad ships, which belong to the third-tier ironclad ship sequence and are also one of the main ships of the Royal Navy.

The Emperor Richard, who was dressed in a white general uniform and surrounded by his ministers, came to the broad bow of the Duke of Hawaii, which was being installed, and listened with great interest to the explanation given by the chief designer of the ship, Sir Mike Morat.

The wide bow position has not yet installed the main gun, and it looks very empty, but there are two huge steel openings and a turret seat on the main gun position.You can see a solid well that runs through several decks, with a depth of more than ten meters, and an armor plate as thick as a fist.

A turret seat in front is flush with the deck, only about half the height of a person.And the steel fortress at the back is as high as two people, and it is arranged in steps.

This is the most innovative 305mm dual-tube main naval gun layout scheme of the "Duke" class ironclad ship, known as the "piggyback layout", which is a cutting-edge innovation in this era.

To clearly understand the differences between the three main armored ships of the Royal Navy of the Tang Dynasty, one only needs to listen to the introduction of the chief designer of the ship, Sir Mike Morat.

"Your Majesty the Emperor, gentlemen;
The three main types of iron-clad ships of the Royal Navy, I call them the three brothers, the most important of which is the steam iron-clad battleship "Zhenyang", which has many pioneering designs and uses the cutting-edge technology of today's world .

say without hesitation
This class of ship is at the forefront of the world's naval technology development trend, and many of its design concepts are being used for reference by naval powers such as Britain and France, making it a model.

In the "Zhenyang" steam ironclad battleship, we were the first to equip two Colt 305mm double main naval guns, one at the bow and one at the stern.

This Colt 305mm double-door main naval gun represents the most cutting-edge technology of naval firepower in the world today. It uses a motor-driven hydraulic ammunition loading device and can reach a rate of fire of 3 minutes.

Moreover, the Colt 305mm double-door main naval guns adopt self-aligning mounts. After the main guns are fired, under the action of huge recoil, the main mounts recede as a whole to offset the impact.

The entire main gun mount is located at the lower end of a 17-degree upward slope. After firing shells and retreating, it will return to alignment according to inertia to prepare for the next round of shelling. This is called self-aligning mount.

Relevant technologies have specific applications on the British "Infletcher" and the German "Saxony" which has just been put into construction.

proud to say
The "Zhenyang" steam iron-clad battleship is a first-class main iron-clad ship with advanced performance and mature technology designed and built by the Datang Empire itself, and its level ranks among the top in the world.

The 9200-ton "Zhendong" class ironclad ship can be regarded as a long-range version of the "Zhenyang" class, with the same main gun configuration, the same power configuration, and similar navigation and combat performance.

The increased tonnage is mostly used for coal storage bunkers and two oil-fired boilers, which are mainly used to enhance the capability of ocean cruising and improve the living conditions of officers and soldiers on board to a certain extent.

The 11200-ton "Duke" class ironclad ship can be regarded as the enhanced firepower type of the basic version.

Colt's 305mm double-door breech-fired main naval guns. In the first two types of warships, one is arranged on the bow and one on the stern. There are a total of four 4mm main guns.

However, on the "Duke" class ironclad ship, an innovative humpback design was adopted, with two seats on the bow and one on the stern, with a total of six 6mm main guns.

The two main guns on the bow are in a stepped layout with the front low and the rear high, which looks like an old man carrying a child on his back, so it is also called the "humpback" layout.

The biggest advantage of the "back camel" layout is its compact structure. Both the front and rear main turrets have a wide range of fire without affecting each other, and can maximize the firepower advantage.

This novel ship layout was first adopted by the "Duke" class iron-clad ships of the Datang Empire, and it was the first of its kind in the world's naval ship layout, which is of groundbreaking significance.

Besides
The "Duke" class ironclad ship uses 4 horizontal three-cylinder reciprocating steam engines manufactured by Chang'an Heavy Industry, 16 round coal-fired and fuel-fired dual-purpose boilers, with a power of 15500 horsepower.

It can propel huge warships to cruise at a speed of 12.5~13 knots, with a maximum speed of 18.5. Compared with the previous two classes of ironclad ships, it is faster, has stronger firepower, and stronger protection. It is indeed the pinnacle of the shipbuilding industry of the Datang Empire. . "

Chief designer Sir Mike Morat's wonderful introduction won warm applause from everyone.

Emperor Li Cha deliberately climbed onto the huge gun mount that was two people high, and looked at the hard well more than ten meters deep. The thick cables, wire ropes and electrical equipment inside were densely packed, all the way to the ammunition depot in the bottom cabin.

in the 19s
The technology of the advanced naval guns of the Datang Empire is at the same world leading level as that of the United Kingdom. The 305mm caliber main guns attached to the ironclad ships are powerful and advanced in performance.

Germany and France are developing their own 305mm main guns. It is said that the German Krupp Industries Company took the lead in developing a prototype gun, which will soon be equipped on the new "Saxony" ironclad ship.

If so
Then the German Royal Navy is the third fleet equipped with such a large-caliber advanced main gun after the British and Tang Royal Navy, which means that it is among the world's first-class.

With all the conditions met, the Royal Navy of the Tang Empire has no reason to restrain itself, and now is the golden period for the development of the Royal Navy.

Emperor Li Cha was very serious when listening to the report, and even went deep into the engine room to check the power arrangement of this class of ironclad ships and asked many questions.

If it weren't for Sir Mike Morat, the chief designer of the ship, he followed the explanation all the way and elaborated on the design concept of the ship.It is estimated that the generals of the Royal Navy are all sweating.

to the end

His Majesty the Emperor also personally asked about the design of the iron-clad castle adopted by the "Duke" class iron-clad ship,
The iron armored fort of this class of ships is 63.8 meters long. From the superstructure to the side waterline and below the waterline, the Harvey bulletproof steel belt with a thickness of 335 to 405 mm tightly wraps the entire hull of the warship except the bow and tail. The key parts such as the ammunition depot and the power department are all under the protection of the iron fort.

Such a layout of iron armor is enough to deal with the most violent artillery strikes.

Such a high-end warship is expensive to build. In the case of ordering 8 ships at one time, the cost of a single ship reaches 285 million Tang Yuan, and the investment in the entire Duke-class ironclad ship development plan reaches 3800 million Tang Yuan.

In addition to the purchase cost of the ship, there are also the technical improvement expenditures of the major supporting manufacturers, the purchase of equipment at the Salem Royal Naval Shipyard, staff training and other expenses.

Therefore, the development of the navy is really a gold swallowing beast!
(End of this chapter)