Chapter 19: The cruiser is king!

　　 Maybe someone asked, if the prince raises the firepower of the High Seas Fleet, is there a chance to change this situation? This can only be said. The situation on the battlefield will be better, but the strategic disadvantages are difficult to make up. From a purely maritime perspective, shortly after the war began, Italy, as a member of the Allied Power, suddenly turned back! This made the Confederate navy that had the advantage in the Mediterranean immediately become a disadvantage! Italy and the Austro-Hungarian fleet are enough to suppress the French. If Italy does not turn back, Britain will have to split some forces to take care of the Mediterranean. The overall strategic situation will be much better. But the result? Can't say.

　　 Another issue is the involvement of the United States. If the United States does not intervene, after Germany has settled the Eastern Front, let alone whether it can be pushed to Paris, at least there should be a chance for peace talks while maintaining the same conditions as before the Western Front. It depends on whether the top German leaders can afford it! But if the United States intervenes, the Germans really have nothing to jump! Whether on land or at sea! It is a foolish dream to rely solely on Germany and Austria to defeat the four navies of Britain, the United States, France and Italy!

　　Because the maritime environment of the First World War is so desperate, the prince hopes that Germany will try to compete with other countries as soon as possible and delay the naval competition. Then I hope that Russia and Japan will fight harder, so that Russia will be finished earlier in the first war. At the same time, the most hopeful thing is that the German Emperor and his group of generals can see the situation clearly early, don't stimulate the American imperialism, and earn some on the eastern front is enough, just accept it when you see it! The only thing the prince can think of is this.

Prince Ruprecht firmly believes that the future admiral will not abandon the high seas fleet in his mind because of a few words of his own, and there is actually no need to give up. The traveler believes that at least the scale of the future high seas fleet should be at least stable. While suppressing Russia, ensure the safety of its own coastline. After the era of fearlessness is coming, it is certain that it will be built. If it is fearless before, it will be enough to suppress Maozi and France at the same time. If you want to win the first battle, you still have to look at the army. The money you save is to develop the army, get more reserves, first dry up the hair, and then tie the western front is the king!

　　 Although he could not persuade his opponent, but at the same time, he did not say his words for nothing. After all, there are many issues worthy of Tirpitz's consideration. For example, what if the world is besieging Germany? For another example, if there is a war, how can the German Navy play its role? If it doesn't help, at least consider how the German navy will fight if the British do not come. Stop being a family, okay? If it weren't for the lack of time, the traversers would definitely encourage the Secretary of the Navy to build more fast battleships and submarines. The former could at least increase the strategic mobility of the German fleet, while the latter would be a deadly noose on the British throat!

　　 The atmosphere is a bit solemn, and it seems that the meeting between himself and Tirpitz may be unhappy. For this reason, the prince needs to change the topic, and no longer entangle the question of whether the navy needs to start major construction now. No longer entangled with the issue of practicality and deterrence. Everyone talks about something that everyone is concerned about, such as the issue of ships, such as the tactics of naval engagement. Ok.

"I always think that being too entangled with cruisers and battleships is actually a very meaningless thing! Because with the development of technology, the boundary between cruisers and battleships has begun to blur. It turned out that 14-inch or even 18-inch armor must be used to block it. The large-caliber artillery shells can now be defended with 7-inch to 9-inch hardened armor. I think you should have seen the Admiralty test. You should understand it very well."

　　 The prince pointed to the model in the living room and said. "I can guarantee that the 6-inch hardened armor of the new battleship, the back bunker, and the innermost 3-inch slanted dome can completely block all current naval gun attacks! Then tell me that the battleship’s defensive advantage lies in the cruiser. How much can there be in front of you?"

"What you mean is that the times have changed, so the design ideas should also change. Being too entangled in the thickness of the armor of the warship is actually of limited significance. Your design should consider the needs of fleet decisive battles and ocean-going colonial cruises at the same time?" Tyre Pitts' eyes brightened. Although Tirpitz believed that battleships were more important, he also attached importance to cruisers. After all, a powerful fleet is also a balanced fleet! If there is a battleship that can replace battleships and cruisers at the same time, it is naturally the best!

"Yes, the 11-inch gun can penetrate the armor of most old battleships. With the use of new mechanical loading equipment, the maximum rate of fire of this gun reached 2 rounds per minute! Even with only 2 guns, its unit The number of shells fired in this time is still not weaker than those of battleships equipped with four main guns! Coupled with a large number of rapid-fire guns, the amount of firepower projected is not weaker than those of battleships with larger tonnage than them!" The prince was full of face. I'm proud, this is a battleship that has brought together the great achievements of the times. Are you no longer exaggerating and justified?

　　 "But it's still a bit smaller. It would be better if you can get 4 11-inch guns!" Tirpitz's regret broke the atmosphere again, making the prince very dissatisfied!

"We also have better plans, equipped with more main guns, larger caliber secondary guns, better protection, and larger tonnage. You will definitely be satisfied with it, but the Admiralty will not pay for it!" Lu Precht also has regrets in his heart, my Rurik 2, my second-level gun! That's it!

"This is really a sad thing. But if you can, your design can be used as an alternative to the next level of warships. The ideas you show through this level of warships are really impressive, this The thinking is conducive to us doing the most things with the least money!" Tirpitz affirmed the prince's words. Can do more with as little money as possible, no one doesn't like this!

"So in the future, we should not be entangled in the terms of battleships and cruisers. The most important thing is to see whether these battleships can bear their responsibilities. If they can fight against the opposing capital ships, then we have completed the battleship mission, and if we can catch up. Cruiser, suitable for ocean-going activities, then complete the mission of the cruiser. We need a large-scale cruiser to perform two tasks at the same time! Munich is just the beginning! "The prince began to look to the future!

This is not a flicker. The pre-dreadnought period was when the role of armored cruisers and battleships was the least clear. Warships equipped with 240MM artillery can be called battleships (for example, the German Caesar-class pre-fearless) . And the 10-inch gun can be called a cruiser (such as Garibaldi and Rurik 2)! The tonnage of battleships may be smaller than cruisers. For example, the cruiser Qiangsheng, started in 1894, has a displacement of 14,000 tons! The second-class Centurion battleship of the same period had a displacement of just over 10,000! The dignity level is as heavy as it!

　　 There is indeed a difference in the thickness of the armor, but it is not useful. The difference between your 14-inch hardened armor and 9-inch hardened armor is not big in actual combat, and it will hardly be penetrated. Didn't Japan's 10,000-ton patrol destroy the Russian battleship on the battle line? And the cruiser itself has a speed advantage.

　　 It can be said that as long as the cap-piercing projectile is not mature, the armored cruiser can take on all the tasks of the battleships of the same period. The pre-fearless era a large number of violent cruisers is king! A speed of 20 knots is a bar! It can't be lower! By the time of World War I, if there are overseas ports, you can still break the relationship. What can you do without fear? When cannon fodder, I run slowly!

　　 In fact, this trend is still the same until the fearlessness before World War 1. As far as the quality of the British cannonballs is concerned, you can basically survive World War 1 with a 10-inch steel plate and an 18-degree tilt! (The premise is that the green bullets do not come out in advance.) If you use key defense and inclined armor, it is also possible to make a fast battleship as soon as possible in the fearless period, as long as the speed is not so BT, 27 knots is too high, 24 to 25 knots is enough. Then the full-speed German fleet will definitely be more difficult than in history! Betty invades like fire, and Jericho turns into wind. Just think about it!

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