Chapter 344 The Dream of War Patrol
"Yes."
In the Hall of Hanyuan, Master Li wrapped himself comfortably in a soft sofa, squinting his eyes and nodding secretly. After a large number of miscellaneous military experiences and lessons written by himself, coupled with these years of experience**, Chief of Staff Chen really exercised and saw through what happened in Natuna at a glance. The size of the field is not the biggest problem in the sea battle.
Judging from the naval battle, whether it is the quality of officers and soldiers or the quality of equipment, it is no less than those old naval countries with hundreds of years of years, and even slightly exceeded the equipment. However, two Vladivostok-class heavy patrols and two Jinghai-class light patrols have only achieved the results of sinking a Dutch cruiser, and It's not very satisfying.
Ye Zugui's tactics at that time were against each other. After the two British cruisers broke away from the flanking tactics, he responded correctly with the two faster Jinghai-class tremblings. In addition to political factors, the naval battle was not carried out by everyone stopping you, but in the continuous movement of the two sides, especially the cruisers. In addition to competing for cannons, they also need to compare speed and mobile surnames. In this regard, the dominant Jinghai class is obviously correct to entangle the strongest British [***] ship in the Anglo-Dutch fleet.
The only regret is that he knew that the gangster was about to arrive, but he did not take the initiative to pretend to retreat, narrow the distance from the gangster, give the enemy a sudden attack, and strive to annihi out the Dutch cruisers.
This is just a small flaw, which is related to his eagerness for meritorious service. It can't be said that it is a big mistake. After all, he was not sure how long the mixed formation would arrive at that time. It was right to forcibly press the distance and sink a ship first.
It's just that although he envisioned it and was ready to quickly sink at least one of the other party's cruisers as planned from the beginning, he finally relied on the arrival of the special gang formation to launch the last wave of attack by the Chinese ship, and finally solved the Camacho.
The main reason for this kind of lively battle, but with little results, is that the navy lacks a warship that has the ability to set the sound and can accompany the cruisers at high speed.
Battleships are still the absolute main force in the navies of various countries at present. Unless the factors restricting the aircraft such as engines, structure and materials are solved ten years later, the battleships will still be a fixed sea needle of a country. This is an indisputable fact, but the biggest disadvantage of battleships with hammering ability is that the speed is too slow, even if Li Mo has the world's leading combination of fuel and steam turbines, but it is not realistic to raise a 20,000-ton battleship to the speed of the cruiser at once, because the displacement of the battleship must first give way to armor and firepower.
And in order to make the main gun more accurate, it can reduce the shaking under high sea conditions, and the type of the battleship is also shorter and thicker. Take the Chinese ship as an example, the experiment has been completed and the thick main armor has been installed. When the combat requirements are met, the length of the hull is only less than ten meters longer than that of the Jinghai class, which is limited in itself. The speed has been improved.
Li Mo has calculated that to increase the speed of the wide, thick and short Chinese ship to the level of Jinghai class, it is necessary to at least increase the current boiler and steam turbine power by four times!
This is an unrealistic fantasy under technical conditions at this moment.
But the problem is that the 203mm main gun firepower commonly equipped by large armored cruisers in various countries is already insufficient. Because with the study of the naval battle of the Daxia Islands by various countries, it is an indisputable fact that armored cruisers are getting larger and larger. At this time, unless a large number of 203mm naval guns are used as in the Daxia Islands, it is impossible to achieve too much war results.
However, from the perspective of the naval battle of Natuna, the scale of battles between cruisers in the future will not be very large, and it is often a battle between several ships.
The pursuit of speed, maneuver, and the concept of long-range strike began to prevail, resulting in a decline in shooting accuracy. In this way, even if the 203mm naval gun can hit a few rounds, it could not cause fatal damage. For example, the number of hits observed by the ships Wusuri and Manchuria reached eleven, but in the end The Chinese ship is also needed to finally solve the problem.
The sea area currently controlled by Xinhua is too vast, so the construction of cruisers is even more important than battleships. Moreover, as the Russian navy begins to move, Britain has also regarded itself as a thorn in its side. In the future, it may face many problems such as maritime transport warfare, attack warfare and so on. It urgently needs a navy that can It has the ability to set the sound of a battleship, but also has high speed and high mobility like a cruiser.
Historically, Sir Fisher encountered the same problem after designing the dreadnought, so he finally came up with the battlecruiser, which he called the Perfect Cruiser, a new type of ship that changed the equipment structure of cruisers in various countries.
Some military fans of later generations believe that the war patrol is the product of a specific time and conditions, but the glory also fails, while Li Mo believes that the reason why the battlecruisers are eventually abandoned is not because of design problems, but because of deviations in tactical ideas.
The problem still comes from the word "Battle" in the front!
Because when the commanders of the navies of various countries need a decisive battle, they often think of heavy guns of the same caliber as the battleships on the battlecruiser first, and add them to the main formation to bombard the battleships, which is particularly obvious in the Battle of Deland. Fisher originally designed the battlecruiser, but he was just ready to put it into the attack, and Strike the other cruiser.
Therefore, there is no mistake in the design idea of the battle patrol, but the executor pursued the number of heavy artillery too much, trying to suppress the enemy's blind use, which caused the battle patrol to fall rapidly.
The biggest problem restricting the war patrol is its structure and speed. How to install a large number of heavy artillery is the most troublesome thing. However, after the birth of the Chinese ship and a year of torture, the Naval Design Department has mastered a large amount of data and information. According to McKinson's famous words not long ago, they already have the design. And the ability to build a new generation of capital ships!
Power is the second problem. Since the small water pipe boiler technology was sold from Master Li, it has been popular in various countries, but the steam turbine and the new generation of fuel boiler technology are still top secret.
He and later Sir Fisher used steam turbines, and stuffed 31 coal-fired boilers in the stomach of the first generation of war patrol invincible, and finally got 41,000 horsepower, making the invincible battlecruiser with a standard displacement of 17,000 tons barely reach 26 knots. The power that Master Li has at this moment. The combination is at the dream level in any country.
According to the invincible standard, the third-generation oil-fired boiler, which has entered the end of the design, only needs 20 units, plus four more powerful steam turbines, so that the speed has initially met the requirements of the battle patrol.
But the biggest problem is stuck in the naval gun!
The name of the battlecruiser is because it is equipped with heavy artillery for battleships, but at present, the 305mm gun in his hand is still a replica of Italy. The range and accuracy are not bad, but the speed cannot be improved.
For cruisers, the speed of the gun is crucial. Many people will notice the caliber, number, range and other data of the cruiser's main gun, but often ignore the key to the rate of fire!
From the perspective of the Battle of Natuna, the battle between cruisers will not follow the strict line-name tactics of battleships. Everyone often fights in high-speed movement, which requires strong and intensive firepower output.
Because no matter what kind of naval gun, unless Master Li immediately gets the artillery radar at this moment, the accuracy will be greatly reduced with the increase of speed. Therefore, if you want to win the speed battle, you must first solve the speed of the naval gun and cover the other party with dense projectiles, which is one of the reasons why he got the Jinghai class first. .
But now the armored cruisers in various countries are getting bigger and bigger. Whether it is the 152mm gun known as a water pipe or the 203mm gun, the power is not enough, and Li Mo has already "predicted" this result, so he ordered the development of a new 305mm gun a few years ago, but the results are not ideal.
Although the sample gun came out, the speed can reach two rounds per minute, but the accuracy and life of the body medicine room are terrible, which is mainly caused by processing technology and materials, which led to his indefinite determination to build battleships and war patrols.
Master Li's golden finger, coupled with the development model riding on the shoulders of various countries, and the recognized requirements are much smaller after adopting the assembly line production method, so he quickly came up with a heavy industry system comparable to Europe, but it is only comparable. At this moment, Europe's top 305mm naval gun is also Trapped in materials and other issues, not to mention that the foundation is still a little empty.
However, after listening to Li Mo's lament and dissatisfaction with the heavy naval gun, Chen Ping also frowned. The new cruiser just proposed, which is comparable to the Jinghai-class speed of the main heavy artillery, is indeed the best way to solve the weak combat effectiveness of the cruiser, but he has little to do about the naval gun problem, which is not much with industrial processing. Ability and material research are related. You can't get it out in a day or two, and sometimes you even need a little luck.
Tang Xiao had thought about using the body tube and medicine room of the Italian naval gun before, but there was still a problem in compatibility. What's more, the Italian naval gun was already much weak in these two items, so he quickly gave up.
Large-caliber naval guns have become the biggest problem plaguing Xinhua's construction of a new generation of battleships. In addition, Master Li did not want to waste money in the wave of steel frenzy in the previous fearless era, so he has been suppressing the voice of the navy asking for the construction of new battleships.
But now, I didn't expect that the cruiser also encountered this problem!
"Your Majesty, I also asked Pierre and McKinson about the progress of the 305mm naval gun before, but they gave me a compromise suggestion."
"Oh? What advice?" Li Mo immediately pricked up his ears.
"Pierre suggested that a ten-inch, or 254mm naval gun, could be used first." Chen Pingxu told the current chief artillery expert of Xinhua and said, "He said that when developing the 305mm naval gun, they also promoted the development of the 254mm naval gun together. At present, the progress is much faster than that of the 305mm naval gun, and because the projectile is a little smaller, the speed reaches two rounds per minute. The problem is that it is even possible to break through three times per minute!"
"And he also said that from a European point of view, the 254mm naval gun already belongs to the level of 250 to 300 naval guns. Although its power is still a little different from that of the main 305mm naval gun, it is much stronger than the 203mm naval gun, and if the body tube is lengthened to 50 times, plus I Our exclusive armor-piercing shells and new propellant technology can completely tear apart any large armored cruiser in various countries at present, and even control any battleship at the level of Polaris and Roofi!"
"And McKinson also confirmed this, so he also suggested that we consider using a 254mm gun when building a new cruiser."
"Really!"
As soon as Chen Ping finished speaking, Li Mo suddenly stood up excitedly. He had been focusing on the 305mm main naval gun before. He really didn't care much about the 254mm naval gun, which was rarely used in the memory of later generations. At this moment, after listening to the words of the two designers brought by Chen Ping, he was immediately happy. As long as the speed, The three items of accuracy and life meet the requirements, even if the bullet is slightly less powerful!
Thinking of this, Li Mo immediately rushed to the table and began to write down some data and requirements about the war patrol. Of course, Master Li would not charge Sir Scheer to install a perverted six-door double main gun to the invincible level. He chose the three three three-way guns popular in later generations, the layout of the first two and the first one, and the first one for the first time. The water reconnaissance plane left enough space.
Nine 254mm main guns, even if the power is only 70% of the 305mm naval gun, the power is also extremely terrible. With its own fire control system, it is enough to ensure accuracy. If the speed can reach three rounds per minute, then any cruiser will be slaughtered in front of it.
And the weight of the 254mm gun itself is light, and the triple 305mm gun is only a little heavier, so more weight can be used for armor. The 230mm main armor requirements are much weaker than that of battleships, but it can make all 203mm guns desperate, without Like the invincible level, there is only a thin layer of 152mm main armor, which can be penetrated even closer to the Jinghai level.
In order to ensure the speed of the cruiser, Li Mo chose to add two boilers, using 22 boilers with four steam turbines, which not only left a lot of space to load fuel and increase the cruising distance, but also made the layout more compact.
The minimum speed requirement is 25 knots, and it is also ready to adopt the layout of four paddles and two rudders proposed by McKinson today. Let this envisaged warship have the absolutely perfect maneuvering and speed ability these days.
Of course, all this is still an idea. Whether it can combine so many new tactical requirements and new equipment will also test the ability of McKinson and other designers.
But Chen Ping, who stood on the side and looked at the listed data and suggestions, as well as the design concept, tactical requirements and combat use of the warship, had already opened his eyes and was eager to rush to the Naval Design Department to supervise the follow-up design work in person.
Time passed little by little under the continuous communication between Li Mo and Chen Ping and a line of data. Finally, when the two summed up all the naval experience and needs, they were densely filled with a few pieces of paper to determine the type of this innovative warship, Li Mo still used the unique system of the Xinhua Royal Navy after thinking about it. .
"Heavy cruiser."
Because according to the new naval regulations, whether it is a heavy patrol or a light patrol, it is not a capital ship, and there is no need to be involved in the decisive battle of the capital ship, so as to avoid the use of naval generals as battleships in the future to the greatest extent.
But these words are another scene in Chen Ping's eyes, because Master Li is obviously pretending to be a pig and eating a tiger, and patrolling again!
If the L50/254mm naval gun can really meet the design targets mentioned by Pierre, in addition to the lack of armor, the firepower is stronger than any of the main battleships in various countries at present.
Even if the Chinese ship meets it, it can only watch it soar in front of it without any temper.
"Yeah? It's getting dark, and it's been a day before I know it. After Li Mo put down the pen and checked it several times that there was nothing to modify, he found that it was dark outside. He quickly folded the paper and stretched out: "That way, where is McKinson? In a while, I have to ask Da Zhuang to send it to him in person, and let their design department study it first, so as not to hold on it at the moment.
"It's on Huludao." Chen Ping quickly said, "The comprehensive ship design experimental base there is about to be built. He is taking people there for acceptance. I heard that he is reluctant to leave."
"That's good." Li Mo patted his stomach and found that it was already cooing. He smiled and said, "Yuanshou, we haven't had two drinks for a long time, have we? Let's go. It's just right today. I'll ask someone to call Li Enfu and Yan Fu again. Let's have a good drink.
After Li Mo got up with a smile, he found that Chen Ping didn't even say polite words. He couldn't help but be surprised and said, "Well, Yuanshou, you just..., you're welcome?"
"The emperor invited me to dinner. It's too late for me to be a minister. How can I refuse?" General Staff Officer Chen rubbed his hands, licked his face and asked, "Your Majesty, is Qiao Xi Niang cooking today? Or does Luo Niangniang make seafood?
"Shameless!" Master Li directly threw out a middle finger. It was a waste to invite you to dinner, and he was going to let the Empress cook in person!
"How come this guy is getting more and more shameless!"
Master Li hung his head full of black lines and grabbed the watch on the table to check the time. He was about to say a few more sarcasm. Suddenly, there was a rapid sound of footsteps outside the hall. Before he could speak, Du Dazhuang rushed in with red eyes.
"Your Majesty!"
"What's wrong!"
"The extension of the oil well was attacked at two o'clock this afternoon, and all two hundred people who protected the oil well died, and." Du Dazhuang clenched his fists, gritted his teeth and said word by word, "They have all been skinned!"
"Bang!"
Li Mo smashed his beloved watch
(to be continued)