Chapter 572: Bigger tonnage, stronger fire.

Battlecruisers of 28 knots or more have a huge advantage in dealing with light cruisers approaching and reconnaissance and providing reconnaissance for the main fleet. If the main fleet emphasizes that high speed is required to be able to transfer smoothly in the case of large fleets, Then the high speed of the pure blood battlecruiser is to avoid the occurrence of the above situation, and can more effectively catch the British such as the lion, tiger and other ultra-fast warships.

The current attitude of the prince is that thoroughbred battlecruisers can be built, but it is definitely not now, at least until the small water tube boilers can be produced stably in large numbers, because the current power system is still heavy, and it is necessary to pay for higher output. The weight and space costs are still too great. The overall weight of the battleship is certain. The prince means that the tonnage of the later battleship is below 32,000 tons. No matter how big it is, there will be problems with the difficulty of construction and the construction period. After all, if the battleship can't be completed before most of the battle begins, then whether it can be completed during the war will be a question mark. A large number of outstanding warships of the German High Seas Fleet, such as the Saxon-class battleships and the Markenson-class battlecruisers, were not ultimately served?

"Then the second question now is, how do we formulate the next stage of the naval capital ship construction plan? How many ships will be built and what is the tonnage? Our first batch of plans is proceeding smoothly. It is expected that all of them will be launched in the middle of 1905. All the former are in service. In other words, we will start building the second batch of warships next year.” The Secretary of the Navy raised the second question.

"I have considered this issue with the Kaiser. All warships must use new 350MM artillery. These artillery will be provided by Krupp. If the artillery is deployed, I recommend using three triple-mounted turrets. The speed is still the same as mine. In the previous plan, all warships maintained a speed of 25 knots or more, with a tonnage between 25,000 and 28,000 tons, and a total cost of about 50 million marks." The prince said his plan.

"Three triple-mounted turrets? This is probably not a better choice. Our naval artillery experts believe that 5 double-mounted 350MM artillery turrets can have the best walking. If it is more economical, 4 double-mounted turrets The turret can also be used for a good walk. The actual power is not worse than the nine 350MM guns, and the most important thing is that we can’t replace the 350MM gun turrets. The 9 350MM guns are actually almost the same as the 6 380MM guns. And if you want to change the 400MM-class artillery, the artillery research and development is a big problem." This time, Admiral Ball stood on the opposite side of the prince.

  “There is also the fact that the circle of the 3-gang 350MM artillery is too large, and the depth of the underwater defense system at the A turret in front of the hull will be relatively small. This hidden danger must attract our attention.” Tirpitz added.

What the two said is indeed reasonable. In fact, the reason why His Royal Highness proposed the 3*3 layout was greatly influenced by later generations, and in terms of efficiency, from the perspective of a battle environment, 2*2 and 2*4 layouts In fact, it’s almost the same. The 2*5 layout is better, but the weight and cost are probably not optimistic, and the conditions for launching the 3-unit 12-inch turret back then don’t have to be able to be used on the 350MM artillery this time, because the artillery is real. Can't change....

"You can discuss the layout of the artillery in the future. I agree in principle with His Royal Highness Ruprecht's suggestions on tonnage, cost, and speed. Let's talk about the construction plan." The Kaiser temporarily suppressed this issue and let the Secretary of State of the Navy enter. The next link.

"We started construction of this batch of warships before 1905, and it is expected to build 6 ships, 2 ships in 1905, and 3 to 4 ships in 1906. The construction period is between two and a half to three years. If according to the recently adopted navy According to the bill, we will start construction of 2 to 3 battleships every year. In this case, by 1910 we will have about 18 battleships available for use, and by 1912 this number will increase to about 24!" Tirpitz said .

   "This plan is simply stronger than the previous year." His Highness sighed in his heart. In fact, in terms of shipbuilding speed, this is not historically German crazy. Although the cost of a single ship has increased, because of the limited number, the annual expenditure will not exceed the historical level. The fundamental reason is that Germany started early. In history, Germany did not have a Dreadnought in 1906, and in this plane, Germany has 6 ships. It is almost the fearless money that was used to make it.

The prince did not want to interfere with the specific budget and quantity of shipbuilding. On the one hand, the money was paid by the German central government and people were willing to build it. The prince could not control it. On the other hand, Bavaria was one of Germany’s largest naval equipment suppliers. One, there is no need for the prince to throw out the money he earned in his pocket... If the army's expansion is really short of money, there is a lawsuit between Xiao Moqi and Tirpitz, why should the prince come out as the target?

   "I agree to this plan in principle, but starting from 1907, I hope that the warships we will start construction can be equipped with larger artillery!" said the prince.

  "Bigger artillery? The 400mm or the 380mm?" Tirpitz was surprised. He didn't expect the prince to be so obsessed with the increase in the caliber of naval guns. "This technology span is a bit too big? I can hardly believe that our artillery factory can provide such artillery."

"The span is not large. We still have enough practicality. Think about it. Our new batch of warships started in 1905 and only entered service in 1908. From now on, the Krupp gun factory has at least 5 years of research and development. This artillery. We will not participate in the development of 14-inch artillery. Bavaria will directly develop 15-inch artillery on the basis of 14-inch artillery. Can only serve in 1910. We have enough time to complete this task!" The prince said calmly.

  It is true that the timetable launched by the prince was much earlier than the renewal time of the artillery in history. For example, the British 13.5-inch L45 artillery was designed in 1908 and entered service in 1912. Note that it is in service, not the time for the artillery finalization. Considering the artillery and other battleships, the artillery finalization time is actually earlier. In fact, the time when the British Navy proposed to build a 13.5-inch gun was October 28, 1908, and the first prototype was released on November 19, 1909. The real development time was only one year!

  The 15-inch artillery was designed in 1912 and entered service in 1915. But don’t forget, the technology line of this era is much earlier than in history! The British fearless may serve in 1904. Technically, countries are about 3 to 5 years ahead of history. For countries like the United Kingdom, the advancement may be relatively small, but for Germany, which has relatively backward design concepts and requirements, the advancement may be large!

From a technical point of view, it is quite successful for Germany to directly leap from a 12-inch artillery to a 15-inch artillery. It took only three years for the German 15-inch L45 artillery to be designed and put into service. Moreover, according to the plan of the prince, it is impossible to let The battleship waited for the artillery...

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