Chapter 99: Alternatives of the German Navy
"This prince just came back from the United States and sat on the boat for 2 weeks. Just let your brother take care of things when your feet stick to the ground? Is there any reason for this? Are you the boss or I’m the boss? It’s OK, something is wrong. What do you subordinates do? Did you know that your behavior was dereliction of duty? Your year-end award is dangerous! Baron!" When the armored cruiser Munich just arrived in Hamburg and the prince disembarked, Baron Vittorio immediately stated that the Russian representative had already waited. It's been more than a month, you have to decide what to do with this!
And this matter please make the prince very upset, the prince is a human, not a machine! "Let them wait for another 5 days. They have been waiting for a month anyway. What if you wait a few more days? If you don't want to buy the **** off, I'm afraid that no one will buy the ship?" Ruprecht said angrily.
Ruprecht's temper tantrum is not just because his subordinates do not understand the leadership's hard work. This hard work is a bird in front of millions of pounds? The fundamental reason is still the attitude and thinking of the Russians. During these two weeks of wandering at sea, Ruprecht carefully sorted out the context based on the information he received, and finally understood what was going on.
The Russians still hesitate, on the one hand because the French are behind pressure, and on the other hand because they want to build their own ships. These two problems caused them to vacillate on this order. The Russians like pirated copies. Historically, the Borodino-class battleship was a copy of the French battleship Prince Edward built for the Russians. The suggestion that he only sell the boats and not the drawings made the Russians very unhappy. Coupled with the threat of the French, it brought huge financial pressure to the sale. It is natural for the Russians to hesitate.
But even so, Ruprecht still has no idea of selling technology to retain customers... In line with the principle that the money I can make is a loss, Ruprecht has not given up on key matters. Ruprecht had already thought about it. When he came back, he would go to Berlin first to solve the problem of the future first, and then talk to the Russians. If the Russians broke the contract by then, the prince would not be afraid at all.
So, after Ruprecht returned to Germany, he immediately took the train ahead of Berlin to discuss some things with Prince William and even the Prime Minister. As for the Russians? Wait slowly! And Ruprecht's obvious prevarication attitude also made the Russians feel...a little nervous! Yes, it's tension, not dissatisfaction! In other words, I am very dissatisfied and dare not show it!
In Makanov's opinion, since the third meeting between himself and Baron Vittorio, who is in charge of the daily affairs of the Design Bureau, the attitude of the other party has changed immediately, and the opposite is the strategic issue in the negotiation process. Baron Vittorio is now refusing to give in, and even intends to overturn the original concession, making the expression of buying or not buying fucking, making the Russians very nervous.
Later, Makanov also specifically investigated the situation at the Brof-Foss Shipyard. The Russians found that the Germans seemed to be really in no hurry. Now the berth is almost full of ships or ready to be put on board. Give the Russian man-made ship, that is to give you face, don’t want someone else’s ship to be on board! Is it a seller's market now? You should learn to be grateful!
"What should we do?" Makanov asked Palokin anxiously.
"Let's take a look at the situation first, the Germans will not just give up this order." Palokin said.
And when the Russians were anxious, Ruprecht had already arrived in Berlin. In Sanssouci Palace, Ruprecht finally saw his "comrade-in-arms" Prince William. His Royal Highness is thinking about the upcoming naval construction. Although it does not have much effect, His Royal Highness is still very excited. As a person who wants to raise a battleship without SPS assistance, there is this This kind of enthusiasm is normal.
"To be honest, I'm a little dissatisfied with some of the actions of your design bureau. How can such an advanced warship be given priority to the Russians?" William II looked slightly dissatisfied, pointing to the model of the Russian armored cruiser on the table. Said. There are quite a few meanings that Ruprecht has made wicked money.
"This warship is more powerful and more complicated than the Munich-class armored cruiser. In fact, the standard displacement I set is more than 13,000 tons, and the hull length is close to 150 meters. In fact, I am very interested in whether the Imperial Shipyard can successfully complete this battleship. There are certain doubts about construction, and in order to ensure that all the empire gets qualified warships, we need to find a test product! Russia is this test product. "Who is Ruprecht? Just coaxing a bear child, two lives together are over 50 years old. Listen to this, how righteous is! Let no one fault it!
"For the future cruiser plan, I have two versions. The first version can be regarded as an enhanced version of the Russian, with a displacement of 13,500 tons, a length of 151 meters, and a width of 23 meters. The main guns are eight 260MM guns, and the arrangement is There are two double-mounted 260MM artillery turrets fore and aft, and a single 260MM turret is arranged at the four corners of the hull. The secondary guns are 14 105MM artillery. The thickness of the side chord armor belt is 7 inches. The upper armor belt is 6 inches. The hull armor belt is 3 inches. Up to 4 inches. The front of the turret armor is 10 inches. The sides are 7 inches! The command tower armor is 12 inches. The dome armor of the battleship is 3 inches and the horizontal part is 2.5 inches. The maximum output power is tentatively set at 20,000 horsepower, using a new type Water tube boiler and steam engine. The maximum speed is about 21 knots!"
"This plan is equivalent to canceling the second-level guns and replacing them with first-level guns? This is a good idea~www.wuxiaspot.com~ how do you think about it?" Prince William asked.
"The power of an 8-inch artillery is still too small. A round of about 100KG is too light. In the case of unable to penetrate the armor, the heavy artillery must rely on a strong impact to destroy the back plate and damage the warship. The 260mm artillery is heavy. It should be around 220KG. This weight has a great advantage, and with a single main gun, logistical supplies will be more convenient." Ruprecht just said that the caliber is justice, and the bullet weight is the core!
"If that is the case, we need to develop a new artillery. Our 240MM artillery shell weighs only 140KG, and the 280MM artillery shell weighs enough, but the artillery weight is too large. This matter will be very troublesome." William II as One of the navy enthusiasts and Krupp shareholders, naturally, is very clear about the current situation of Germany's naval heavy artillery. He has even guessed some of Ruprecht's ideas. After all, the Bavarian-Austrian arms complex is no secret.
"The navy serves the empire, not some arms dealers." Ruprecht said as he looked at Prince William with some hesitation.
"I can understand your thoughts. If Krupp still doesn't grow up so much, I think the Admiralty will have other options. The key is that your products must be positive and good enough!" Now William is not the emperor, he naturally Not emboldened to participate in the Bavarian-Austrian arms complex. And Ruprecht's words do have some truth, and it is not a good thing for the empire to dominate a domestic enterprise.
Thanks to the book friends, Happy Heroes, and SK Wolves for their rewards~~~. This afternoon, there will be 100 chapters. The 100 chapters are directly on the shelves. I continue to struggle with the 100 chapters--!
