Chapter 49 Battlecruiser

"Father, Marshal, this is the blueprint of the battlecruiser I designed for the empire." Qin Tian spread the blueprint of the battlecruiser he designed on the desk as he said.

Both Wilhelm II and Marshal Count Tirpitz were taken aback for a moment. Obviously, neither of them expected that Qin Tian had already designed it.

"Oscar, you have already prepared!" William II laughed.

"Yes, His Royal Highness has already prepared everything, and it was just to convince us before!" Earl Tirpitz and Marshal also had a smile on his face.

"Of course, this is called preparing in advance." Qin Tian said with a smile.

"However, Father, Your Excellency the Marshal. The battlecruiser was not damaged by me. The British may have completed the design drawings of the first-tier battlecruiser. The construction work should also start soon. Therefore, we must speed up the progress." Qin Tian said with a serious face.

Qin Tian clearly remembered that the construction of the British Navy's first-class battlecruiser, the "Invincible-class" battlecruiser, started in 1906. It's just that, apart from being fast, the 'Invincible' battleship is rubbish. Although the power of the four double-mounted 305mm main guns is good, but because of the performance of the British artillery, its power is really not flattering. In another time and space, the battlecruiser formation of the German Navy led by General Hipper exploded the battlecruiser formation of the British Navy. The thin-skinned battlecruisers of the British Navy are completely vulnerable to the battlecruisers with powerful firepower and amazing defense.

"Are the British going to build battlecruisers?" William II and Marshal Count Tirpitz exclaimed.

If they had more or less doubts about building battlecruisers before, now they have no doubts at all. How could the battleship that even the British have to start building be inferior? Although both William II and Marshal Count Tirpitz aimed to surpass the British Navy. However, they have to admit that the foresight of the British Navy is simply not comparable to that of the German Navy. If Qin Tian hadn't proposed his own design at a critical moment, the German navy would have been left far behind in this round of arms race. At that time, it will be even more difficult for the German navy to catch up with the British navy.

"Yes, Father. The British are also very aware of where their weaknesses lie. They are also eager to build a powerful and fast warship to protect their sea transportation lines and avoid their sea transportation lines. It was hit by us. That's why the British designed the 'Invincible' battlecruiser." Qin Tian said.

"Oscar, can the battlecruiser you designed outperform the British 'Invincible' battlecruiser in terms of performance?" William II asked. Since the British also want to build battlecruisers. Well, William II certainly hoped that their battlecruisers could outperform those of the British. In this way, the advantage of the German navy can be guaranteed.

"Of course, Father. The British Navy's 'Invincible' battlecruiser has a full load displacement of 20,700 tons and a maximum speed of 25.5 knots. It is armed with four twin 305mm main guns and sixteen 102mm single guns. And five 450 mm underwater torpedo tubes. Defensively, the armor of the main armor belt is 102 to 152 mm thick. The deck armor is 38 mm to 64 mm thick. The turret armor is 178 mm. The conning tower armor is 254 mm, the torpedo compartment The armor thickness of the wall is 64 millimeters." Qin Tian introduced.

Both William II and Marshal Count Tirpitz couldn't help but frowned.

"From this point of view, the defense of the 'Invincible' battlecruiser is indeed not very good. With such a thickness of armor, even the medium-caliber main guns cannot be defended, let alone the large-caliber main guns of the battleship." Tyr Marshal Earl Pitts shook his head.

"This is the consequence of excessive pursuit of firepower and speed. The top speed of 25.5 knots and the four dual-mounted 305mm main guns are indeed very strong." William II said.

"The British design concept is also not to use battlecruisers for duels on the battle line, but to deal with enemy cruisers. To put it bluntly, they are afraid that we will send cruisers to destroy their sea transportation lines. Based on this In terms of design concept, their overall design is not wrong. However, compared with our battlecruisers, in terms of overall strength, it is a bit far behind." Qin Tian shook his head.

If Qin Tian was not a traverser, he would naturally have no way to know the development direction of the British navy in advance, so he would not be able to make targeted deployments in advance. This undoubtedly gave the German Navy a very large advantage in this regard.

"Your Highness, please introduce your design plan to us!" said Marshal Earl Tirpitz.

"Okay, Marshal." Qin Tian nodded.

"The battlecruiser of this class I designed has a length of 165 meters, a width of 26.6 meters, a draft of 8.9 meters, and a full-load displacement of 26,000 tons. It is armed with three triple-mounted 305 mm 50-caliber main guns, and 10 150mm single secondary gun, 12 120mm rapid-fire guns and 4 88mm rapid-fire guns. Powered by 18 improved Sulzer oil-fired boilers and four steam turbines, four-shaft propulsion, with a maximum power of 48,000 horsepower, The maximum speed is 26 knots. In terms of armor defense, the defense of the main armor belt is 305 mm, the deck armor is 45 mm, the frontal armor of the turret is 305 mm, and the armor of the conning tower is 305 mm.” Qin Tian introduced.

Both William II and Marshal Count Tirpitz nodded repeatedly. At least from the data on paper, the battlecruiser designed by Qin Tian completely crushed the British 'Invincible' battlecruiser. Especially in terms of defense, the British 305mm naval guns may not be able to penetrate the 305mm armor of the German Navy's battlecruisers due to performance reasons. However, the armor of the "Invincible" battlecruiser is like paper in front of the 305mm main gun of the German Navy's battlecruiser. If it is hit twice, the armor will be torn apart and then destroyed.

"Oscar, we are very satisfied with this battlecruiser," William II said.

"Father, what do you mean, the navy has decided to order it." Qin Tian couldn't help laughing.

"Your Highness, of course we will order such a good warship. However, the specific order quantity needs to be discussed again." Marshal Earl Tirpitz said.

For Marshal Count Tirpitz, today is really happy. Not only received four "Nassau-class" battleships, but also ordered the construction of five "Helgoland-class" battleships. Next, battlecruisers were also ordered. This is undoubtedly a great improvement in the strength of the German Navy.