Chapter 156 Sea Test

"Both Duke-class armored cruisers are modified from the British Empire's Orlando-class armored cruisers. The length of the ship is 93.5 meters, the width is 17.63 meters, and the height is 7.01 meters. They have 6,500 horsepower and a conventional speed of 18 knots, the highest in a short period of time. The speed can reach more than 19 knots." The Ministry of National Defense official in the audience introduced passionately.

"Whether it is Australia or Duke Arthur, their data are basically the same. They are both equipped with two 234mm main guns and ten 152mm guns as well as some six-pound and three-pound small guns. Such firepower can already be maintained To safeguard the security of our Australian coasts, Australia and Duke Arthur will also be the sharpest blades of the Australian Navy."

Although these two warships are both medium-sized warships, this does not prevent officials from the Ministry of National Defense who have done their homework to introduce them in detail.

Although such an armored cruiser will only be killed instantly against a battleship, if it encounters a small or medium-sized warship, it will gain a great advantage. In other words, it is not enough compared to the previous ones, but more than enough compared to the inferior ones.

These two warships are one of the main warships of the Australian Navy. As the latest new warships launched, they have been docked in the port for the longest time.

Another benefit for the Australians at the scene is that they can board the two warships to watch them on the spot with their identity certificates issued by the Australian government.

Of course, doing so will also extend the docking time of the two warships. By the time the last visitor returns to the port, it will be more than two hours later.

Judging from the expressions and reactions of those who boarded the warships for on-site visits, they were generally satisfied with the two new warships.

At least in terms of small and medium-sized warships, these two Duke-class armored cruisers are already the best. Both armor protection and firepower equipment are first-rate. Their speed is not bad, and they can even be compared with some slower battleships.

There are a total of four places for armored cruisers in this naval parade, so the next two warships are still armored cruisers.

The armored cruisers docked in the port this time were New South Wales and Queensland.

These two warships have been in service for a long time, both of them have been in service for more than ten years.

Because of this, the models of these two warships are the predecessor of the Duke-class armored cruiser, the British Empire Orlando-class armored cruiser.

Although the appearance of the two types of warships is not very different, there are considerable improvements in terms of firepower, armor thickness, and speed.

Because the first two armored cruisers had already left the port, the two new warships did not make people feel any obvious difference.

If it weren't for the introduction by officials of the Ministry of National Defense, people might not even be able to tell the difference between the two warships.

"Gentlemen and ladies, what you are seeing now are HMS New South Wales and HMS Queensland from the Orlando class armored cruiser of the British Empire. The model of these two warships is the predecessor of the Duke class armored cruiser, but the two warships There is basically no difference in appearance. Although they have been in service for more than ten years, these two warships are still the main warships of the Australian Navy, and their performance is only behind Australia and Duke Arthur."

These two warships were also given the opportunity to be visited, but the number of visitors this time was not that large. Only a few hundred people were randomly selected on site to board the warships for a visit.

The New Zealand officials did not miss the two visit opportunities. They also successfully obtained the opportunity to board the warship under Arthur's special authorization.

Under the colonial system of the British Empire, Australia and New Zealand had different garrisons and coastal defense navies of their own sizes.

Yes, Coastal Defense Navy. To put it bluntly, there is a small fleet composed of some backward small and medium-sized warships, and their only role is to patrol the coast.

Even some of the warships were retired from the Royal Navy, and it was a bit reluctant to let them participate in the battle.

After all, Australia is a country with six colonies, while New Zealand is only one colony.

This has also resulted in the current size of the New Zealand colony's navy being very pitiful, even more pitiful than Australia's pitiful navy.

How big is New Zealand's navy? The coastal defense gunboats that even the Australian Navy doesn't like much are even one of the main warships of the New Zealand Navy, and the armored cruisers that the Australian Navy has commonly equipped are not even seen in the New Zealand Navy.

But this really cannot be blamed on the New Zealand colonial government. Before Australia was integrated, the so-called navy of any colony was actually about the same size as New Zealand's navy.

This is why New Zealand officials are envious of the Australian Navy. Obviously, New Zealand and Australia were about the same size before, and the size of their navies was not much different.

But now, the Australian Navy has officially equipped medium-sized warships and even has the technology to build battleships. However, due to various reasons, construction has not started yet.

But all New Zealanders know that it is inevitable for Australia to build and own battleships. Otherwise, it would not be possible to introduce battleship construction technology from the German Empire.

This means that the gap between New Zealand and Australia will become wider and wider, and may even evolve into a gap between New Zealanders and Australians.

You know, these two nations both evolved from immigrants from the British Empire, and there is essentially no difference between them.

New Zealanders are envious of Australia's current changes, as well as Australians' current high welfare and large number of high-paying jobs.

This has also laid a good foundation for the Alliance Party to promote and promote its joint policy with Australia. The Alliance Party is currently the most popular political party in New Zealand.

Under the coalition's hype, New Zealanders have accepted and expected union with Australia.

Even if they can enjoy the treatment that Australians can enjoy, then what's the harm in them becoming Australians?

Also accelerating this process was the action of the Crown Relief Committee in New Zealand. Although the investment in New Zealand is not as high as in Australia, it has indeed provided relief to thousands of extremely poor New Zealanders. The relief operations even included tens of thousands of people. New Zealand has a great reputation. Sheng.

With the combined efforts of the Alliance Party and the Royal Relief Committee, the exchanges between New Zealand and Australia have been visibly strengthened. More and more people are beginning to look forward to joining forces with Australia and allowing Australians to help New Zealand.

After the four armored cruisers, the remaining ones are small warships such as frigates and coastal defense gunboats.

There is nothing worth introducing about the small warship, and there are no activities for people to board the ship to visit.

This also greatly accelerated the speed of the naval review. The first four armored cruisers took nearly four hours in total, and the following six small warships took only one hour in total.

After reviewing all the naval warships on site, the next step is an activity that Australian people are looking forward to very much, which is to randomly select some people to board the warship and watch the navy's strategic fire targets in person on the warship.

In order to avoid accidents and to allow the navy to form a long snake formation to better attack strategic targets, the warships will sail ten nautical miles away from the port and conduct this test on a relatively wide ocean.

In order to ensure safety, there are only four hundred people allowed to board the warship this time, and each armored cruiser has a quota of one hundred people.

Although it is said to be a random draw, in fact it cannot be truly random. Officials can only randomly select some people who seem to be more patriotic, so that they can have the opportunity to board their country's warships in person.

Although there were only 400 people, the entire selection stage still lasted half an hour.

Those who were selected were overjoyed, while those who were not selected were slightly disappointed. But this is normal. There were at least 20,000 onlookers in the shipyard. Among so many people, 400 people were randomly selected, and the chance of being selected was only one-fiftieth.

By the time these four hundred people boarded the warship, it was already past three in the afternoon.

In order to complete the entire test process as early as possible, the fleet set off directly after making some preparations, targeting a test point ten nautical miles away.

The target of the fire this time was an old civilian fishing boat that had been scrapped. It was purchased by the national defense department at a small price specifically for this test.

In order to simulate an enemy warship, the scrapped fishing boat was even modified to a certain extent. The surface was covered with a layer of armor, and its protective power was comparable to that of a medium-sized warship.

The goal of the fleet this time is to successfully destroy the fishing boat after concentrated fire, and then collect all the data and return to the port.

This tests the crew's familiarity with warships. It would be a bit funny if the hit rate on fixed targets is not high.

The main warships in this test are four armored cruisers, or the two Duke-class armored cruisers that have just been launched.

The firepower of these two warships is relatively good. If they can hit the fishing boat at the same time, the mission has basically been completed.

After the fleet arrived at the designated location, they immediately lined up in a line, with all the warships pointing their guns in the direction of the fishing boat and taking aim.

Following the flagship's order, all the warships focused their fire on the fishing boats in the distance. The sound of cannons was deafening.

"Did it hit the target?" This question arises in the minds of all Australians.

As the smoke generated by the burning gunpowder gradually dissipated, people finally saw clearly the current status of the fishing boats in the distance.

Most of the warships still hit their targets, especially the four armored cruisers. Although a layer of armor was temporarily installed, the fishing boat had been blasted into two halves, and both the bow and stern were sinking rapidly.

"Beautiful!" Australian people on the warship cheered, also praising the good performance of the new warship.

"The goal was successfully accomplished and all warships returned in an orderly manner!"

The flagship naturally saw this result and issued an order to return.

All the warships turned their guns around again, then turned around and returned towards Sydney Port.

At the port, although the remaining people could not see the fleet fire scene with their own eyes, officials from the Ministry of National Defense would announce it as soon as they received the news.

Just a few minutes after the fishing boat sank, officials of the Ministry of National Defense had received the news and announced it with great joy.

Similar to the reaction of the people on the warship, bursts of cheers and applause erupted at the port.

This proves that Australia's newly built warships are still very reliable, and the Australian navy is equally reliable.

Subsequently, Arthur and Prime Minister Evan made a few more speeches, and this time the National Day ceremony and the naval parade were officially concluded.

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