The Rise of the Empire

The three pure-blooded battlecruisers can be regarded as power-enhanced versions of the Helgeland-class fast battleships. They have the same firepower configuration, but the defense is slightly weakened. The height of the armor belt has dropped to 3.8 meters, and the upper armor belt has also been slightly weakened. The main horizontal armor is 75MM, and the front and rear armor belts have also been adjusted appropriately. The hull has been slightly elongated, reaching a length of 210 meters and a width of 29 meters.

The power system is 18 small water tube boilers and 4 steam engines. The maximum output power is expected to exceed 80,000 horsepower, and the standard displacement is about 28,500 tons. It is estimated that the speed in deep water areas can reach more than 28 knots! From the appearance point of view, this class of warships is not much different from the Helgeland-class battleships except for being slightly longer. If it is a little farther away, then it is really hard to tell the difference between the two classes of battleships... ... On the whole, the 7 warships built in this batch should actually be regarded as a standardized battleship!

For these warships, Ruprecht is quite satisfied. They can be called the defense of the sky-defying level, good speed, strong firepower, moderate displacement and construction period, and safe design. If the prince wants to be top-notch If you want to design a better battleship in theory, but if you consider the time and funds comprehensively, the current Helgeland-class battleship is undoubtedly the best choice for Germany at present, similar to the Americans equipped with 12 14-inch guns in history. It is not impossible to build a standardized battleship, but the risk is too high and the cost is too high. If you still require high speed, the cost and tonnage are simply astronomical! What Germany needs now is cost-effective mass-produced warships, not for launching satellites.

"Prince, the Admiralty also wants to know how the 15-inch artillery and turret developed by the Kingdom of Bavaria are progressing now? If possible, the Minister of State for the Navy hopes to start building ships with 15-inch artillery at the end of 1907." The representative said respectfully.

"He's quite anxious." **** smiled, and motioned to Earl Schelling next to him to introduce the development progress of the 15-inch artillery system. The prince just came back and hadn't had time to listen to Skoda's report. Now it's time to listen .

"Skoda has two sets of plans. Both plans are 380MML45 artillery, but the shells used are different. The first plan uses heavy 750KG light shells. The muzzle velocity is more than 800 meters per second. It is about 82 tons. The design of this artillery has been basically completed, and if you are lucky, the prototype will be ready by the end of this year. The characteristic of this artillery is its high muzzle velocity, and it performs very well at a distance of about 10KM.”

"The other artillery uses 870KG heavy-duty shells with a muzzle velocity of about 780 meters. The gun weight is expected to be around 95 tons. The trajectory of this artillery is more curved, and it has a better strike effect on horizontal armor. In terms of close combat There is not much difference from the former, but the long-distance performance is better than the former. It is said that the heavier shells have better storage speed. However, the design of this artillery may be more complicated. The design can be completed in the second half of this year, and the earliest next year Prototypes were produced in China," replied Earl Schelling.

"So what happened to the turret and servos?" **** asked next.

"Most of the subsystems of the double-mounted turret have been designed. As long as the artillery is not a problem, mass production can be done by the end of 1907. However, the weight of the triple-mounted turret is too large, and the weight is almost 50% larger than that of the double-mounted turret! The weight of our double-mounted turret is close to 900 tons, and the weight of the triple-mounted turret is at least about 1300 tons. The design, construction and outfitting pressure are very high.

According to the analysis of the technicians, if we want to complete the triple turret, it will be in mid-1909 at the earliest. "

"Hehe, this is really a difficult decision." The prince said helplessly. The choice of artillery is not a difficult problem, because these two artillery have historical prototypes. The former is the German 380MMSKL45 artillery, and the latter The latter is closer to the 15-inch L42 family heirloom of the British in history. To say that this artillery is quite famous, a large-caliber artillery has produced more than 100 pieces. Although this is not necessarily a record, it can definitely be called NB. Even if it is used in World War II and equipped with new shells The power is still terrifying. Good precision, good life, good performance, what else are you dissatisfied with? Although due to various reasons, the German 15-inch gun failed to shine, but based on the principle of taking history as a mirror and reducing risks as much as possible, the prince still prefers this product similar to the British 15-inch L42MK1 artillery.

The choice of the turret is what really makes the prince feel awkward. As a traverser, the 3*3 main gun layout of the prince's natural way is the future development direction and the representative of advanced productivity, but the future is not equal to the present, and the future NB does not represent the present It works just fine. Shipbuilding needs to be considered comprehensively, not only the theoretical performance, but also the possible risks, economic and time pressures. Finally make the right choice.

What are the benefits of a 3*3 turret layout? The most direct benefit is that there is one more artillery.... Then there is one less turret, which may reduce the length of the armor belt. But there are also many problems. First of all, the triple-mounted turret is bigger and heavier, which makes the construction more difficult. Moreover, because the gun circle becomes larger, the lower part also becomes larger, so the underwater defense of the artillery turret position is caused. The depth of the system will not be enough.

Of course, if you move the turret position to the back, it is also possible. The second is the problem of fire control. The distance between the artillery of the triple turret is small, and it will cause disturbance when firing. Of course, if you fire half salvo or install the artillery delay launch device, you can stagger it by a few tenths of a second, but the problem is , there is no such device yet.... Moreover, the stability of the triple-mounted turret is also a question mark, **** doesn't know much about this, and dare not draw conclusions.

Of course, these problems can be solved, otherwise, there will not be so many warships with a 3*3 layout in future generations, but there is one problem that cannot be ignored, which is the impact of turret changes on the construction plan of the entire fleet! The new-generation 15-inch artillery ship can actually be an enlarged version of the Helgeland-class battleship. To put it bluntly, it can be understood that the tonnage has been expanded to a certain extent, and the power has been slightly increased, so that the gun ring can accommodate the dual 15-inch artillery. , the defense may increase. Then the tonnage of the battleship is about 30,000 tons. Because of the mother copy, the design and modification work is actually not too much, and it can be completed soon. This is why the Secretary of the Navy can start construction of the 15-inch artillery ship in 1907.

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