I'm playing whack-a-mole in Siberia

Chapter 334 I’m scared when I hear it

If the Kuril Islands were regarded as an island chain, the Russian Empire would be locked in the Sea of ​​Okhotsk.

This is also understandable. When Russia signed the contract with Japan, it sold Alaska to the United States, perhaps with the idea of ​​using Japan as a buffer zone.

Now times have changed, and taking back the Thousand Islands is not Ye Luoxin’s wish alone.

After the Tenth Russo-Turkish War, Russia wanted to upgrade the Siberian Fleet to the Pacific Fleet, and by the way, upgrade the equipment level of the Siberian Fleet to the same level as the Baltic Fleet and the Black Sea Fleet.

Since the Kuril Islands were all given to Japan, the renamed Pacific Fleet cannot even enter the Pacific Ocean, which would be a joke.

The Sino-Japanese War completely changed the ecology of East Asia. In the past, it was unprofitable to go to war with Japan. Now, Japan has become rich overnight through the war. This has set a very bad example for all countries.

In the final analysis, it is the 2 million that is to blame.

George still has great ideas about Hokkaido fishing grounds.

Among the four largest fishing grounds in the world, Hokkaido ranks first.

The armor steel commonly used in various countries now is Harvey armor, and its protection capability is 50% higher than that of traditional armor steel.

The aquatic products of Vladivostok not only provide rich nutrition for Amur, but are also exported to the Qing Empire and Central Asia in large quantities, becoming the most popular commodity in Vladivostok.

After the signing of the "Chunfan Tower Treaty", Japan became rich overnight. The shipbuilding plan that had been shelved many times due to lack of funds was restarted. The news received by George was that Japan was seeking to build four ships with a displacement of about 15000 tons. battleship.

Don't look at George's disdain for the "Yuryev".

To seize the Kuril Islands, it is necessary to significantly increase the strength of the Siberian fleet.

As a cruiser, the "Yuriyev" is not much faster than a battleship, which becomes the fatal weakness of the "Yuriyev".

Looking at the number of artillery pieces alone, the "Yuriyev" also has a lot, but the layout of the "Yuriyev"'s artillery is unreasonable. When dealing with the same target, only two can be used, and the other two cannot participate, which is a serious waste.

Amur's fishing capabilities are now getting stronger and stronger. In Vladivostok alone, there are hundreds of large and small fishing companies, and the total number of fishing boats exceeds 1000.

Now St. Petersburg finally feels the threat from Japan. It is against this background that the "Yuryev" was transferred to the Siberian Fleet.

But aquatic products and animal skins.

But if Japan's threat had not become more and more obvious, even the "Yuriyev" would not have had the Siberian Fleet's turn.

Japan continues to expand its navy, who is its next target?
George used to advocate the Japanese threat theory, but St. Petersburg did not take it seriously.

George regarded Japan's military expansion as Japan's initiative to provoke an arms race in East Asia.

The largest export product from Vladivostok is not cars or cosmetics.

What surprised George was that the Vladivostok Steel Plant developed nickel-chromium alloy steel earlier this year and improved the armor surface carburizing process. Compared with traditional armor steel, this new armor steel has greatly enhanced protective performance. 6 inches (152 mm) thick new armor steel with defensive capabilities equivalent to 12.5 inches (317.5 mm) of traditional armor steel.

The Vladivostok Shipyard can now build destroyers. Although the maximum tonnage is only 800 tons, in theory, there are no technical obstacles to building a light armored cruiser of about 3000 tons in Vladivostok.

The "Yuryev" just acquired by the Siberian Fleet is the first 11700-ton armored cruiser of the Russian Empire. It has a displacement of 18.7 tons and a top speed of 4 knots. It is equipped with 203 single-barreled 16mm main guns and 152 single-barreled guns. mm rapid-fire gun.

Japan ordered two new battleships with a displacement of 12000 tons from the United Kingdom last year. These two battleships have not yet been completed and did not have time to participate in the Sino-Japanese War.

The Beiyang Navy was completely wiped out in the Sino-Japanese War, and the Qing Imperial Navy was no longer able to pose a threat to Japan.

George no longer advocates the Japanese threat theory, but pays more and more attention to the British threat.

Ye Luoxin also has ideas about warships.

This is Hong Guoguo's conspiracy, and the Russian Empire has to accept it.

The Siberian Fleet has not added new ships for nearly 20 years and owes too much debt. If it wants to forcibly increase the strength of the Siberian Fleet to the level of the Baltic Sea Fleet and the Black Sea Fleet in a short period of time, then the Baltic Sea Fleet and the Black Sea Fleet will be affected.

If this situation continues, the consequence may be that the three major fleets will not gain advantages in their respective waters due to insufficient strength.

However, if resources are not allocated to the Siberian fleet, the safety of the Amur waterway cannot be guaranteed.

So George had a headache for Nicholas.

"Build it. Build a light cruiser first. If it doesn't work, sell it to Aceh."

George still practices with Aceh.

Before George left St. Petersburg, Nicholas promised George that he would equip more newly built battleships and cruisers with the Siberian Fleet.

One problem I have to say is that these new battleships and cruisers built by the Russian Empire are actually not suitable for the Siberian Fleet.

When the Imperial Navy designed new ships, they never considered the sea conditions in Siberia. They designed them entirely based on the conditions of the Baltic Sea and the Black Sea.

The Baltic Sea and the Black Sea are both inland seas with less wind and waves. Therefore, although the battleships and cruisers built by the empire have fairly good firepower, they sacrifice seaworthiness to a certain extent, and their wind and wave resistance and endurance are relatively weak.

These are not problems in the Baltic and Black Seas. But if you put it in East Asia, the problem will be bigger.

For example, the battleship "Navarin" under construction in Russia has two twin-mounted 305mm main guns and eight single-barreled 8mm secondary guns, but its displacement is only 152 tons, which is only suitable for low wind and wave offshore waters such as the Baltic Sea. used, dubbed the "overturned table" by the Russian military.

Just such a ship, construction started in 1889, has not yet been completed, and is not expected to enter service until next year.

George really has nothing to say about the efficiency of Russian shipyards.

Therefore, if the Vladivostok Shipyard wants to build warships, if it adopts the St. Petersburg plan, neither the design drawings nor the work efficiency will satisfy George.

This meant that Vladivostok Shipyard had to start from scratch.

Fortunately, this is not a big problem, there is no shortage of design talents in Vladivostok.

At the end of the 19th century, the flow of personnel between countries was very frequent. Bai Yiyi, who once designed the three-view warship for Japan, is currently in Vladivostok. The destroyers produced at the Vladivostok Shipyard were designed by Bai Yiyi.

Bai Laoyi's trip to Japan was not successful, and the Sanjing ship performed poorly in the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-88, but this was not Bai Laoyi's problem.

The Japanese are very happy about their success. The stronger the performance of the warships, the better, and the lower the cost, the better. This is impossible to achieve in itself.

The first warship designed by Bai Laoyi for Japan had excellent performance, but it failed in the end because it did not meet the requirements of the Japanese.

Unlike the Japanese, Vladivostok took a pragmatic route. The role of destroyers was patrolling, and whether naval guns could be used was irrelevant. Bai Laoyi's capabilities were finally fully demonstrated in Vladivostok.

"The Japanese ask for the most powerful firepower with the least money. What can I do? They can only forcefully install 305-caliber artillery on a hull that is only suitable for 254-caliber artillery. As for the actual combat capability, as long as the Japanese are happy Just-"

Bai Laoyi gritted his teeth with hatred when he mentioned the Japanese.

There is no doubt about Bai Yi's design ability. The French Navy's first protected cruiser "Sfax" was written by Bai Yi.

In Japan, Bai Laoyi suffered a tragic disaster.

What made Bai Laiyi the most angry was that because of the poor performance of the Sanjing ship in the Sino-Japanese War (the 320-meter main gun failed to fire a single shot), Bai Laiyi was wildly ridiculed by his French colleagues after returning to France, and he could no longer accept it. to work related to warship design.

So Bai Laoyi had to return to the Far East.

"Come on, let's start with your best protected cruiser and design the most powerful cruiser for Vladivostok."

George's words made Bai Laoyi's eyes dull, and now he felt fear when he heard the words "the most powerful".

"Don't worry, there is no limit on cost."

This is the biggest difference between George and the Japanese.

You get what you pay for, and this is true at all times.

The cruisers in Vladivostok are for personal use and not for export, so there is no need for gimmicks.

"Then there's no problem!"

Bai Laoyi was in great spirits. Designers were most afraid of being both independent and independent, and they liked employers like George the most.

Although George also wants performance, he is not afraid of spending money.

What else is there to say?

"However, protected cruisers have lagged behind. We need cruisers that are not so strong in protection and firepower, have higher endurance, and are faster."

Bai Laoyi designed the "Sfax" more than ten years ago, and the design ideas now are completely different from those then.

When France built the "Sfax", the more than 7000-ton "Dingyuan" and "Zhenyuan" were called battleships. Now they are not even as good as armored cruisers.

The "Sfax" designed by Bai Laoyi for the French Navy is now an iron bastard with slow speed, weak firepower and short legs.

The displacement of the "Sfax" is only 4500 tons. This weight, even with all the armor, cannot withstand the main guns of current battleships or torpedo attacks.

If this is the case, then simply abandon the comprehensive route, greatly strengthen the speed advantage, and focus on "patrol".

"This is just the beginning. After the destroyers are completed, the cruisers will be next. After a while, the Vladivostok Shipyard will start building battleships. You have plenty of opportunities."

George's next step was to expand the Vladivostok shipyard.

There are only 5 shipyards in the Russian Empire that can build -ton warships.

Now these five shipyards are all occupied. If you want to build new ships, you have to order them from foreign countries.

The Vladivostok Shipyard has two docks that can build giant ships of 10,000 tons, so whether Alexei is willing or not, the Vladivostok Shipyard will undertake more and more shipbuilding tasks.

(End of this chapter)