Reborn South Africa as a police officer

Chapter 674

The Netherlands is the only country in the world where the colonial army is stronger than the native army, which shows the importance of the East India to the Netherlands.

Since the Fourth Anglo-Dutch War, the Dutch Navy has been in a slump and has been falling behind in the naval construction of European countries. At the end of the last century, due to lack of manpower, the Dutch Navy had to recruit colonial soldiers to serve in the army. Can break through ten thousand people.

Even the naval force of just over [-] people is divided into two parts: the local fleet and the colonial fleet. The warships of the Dutch native navy are mainly offshore gunboats. Although the Far East Fleet has cruisers, they are all built in the last century. Since the beginning of the new century, the Dutch Navy has not had any new ships for ten years. Most of the warships are old-style wooden sail warships, and some warships have even been unable to move.

The decade of the new century is precisely the decade of rapid technological development. In 1905, the main battleship during the Russo-Japanese War was still an armored ship. In the second year, Britain began to build a new class of "Dreadnought" battleships. It has become a symbol of the strength of the navies of various countries, but the Dutch don't even have heavy cruisers.

Affected by the arms race in Europe, the Dutch government proposed a shipbuilding plan two years ago, hoping to build new warships to enhance naval strength, but because of the opposition of the Minister of the Navy, this plan was ultimately not implemented.

The reason for the Minister of the Navy's opposition is simple. The shipbuilding plan proposed by the government not only does not include dreadnought ships, but also does not even have heavy cruisers. It only intends to build offshore gunboats to enhance its strength, which cannot meet the needs of the local fleet and the Far East fleet at all.

What's more terrible is that the Netherlands has lost the ability to design warships because it has not built warships for many years. Even the design of warships has to be entrusted to other countries, which is really unacceptable to the Minister of the Navy.

This is also where Rock's confidence lies. No matter how big the crisis in East India is, the Netherlands cannot provide effective support at all, and the offshore defense gunboats in the Netherlands simply do not have the ability to sail in the ocean.

Of course, the problem is not without it. The biggest problem with the Umbrella Company is that it doesn’t even have an offshore gunboat. The Nile Crocodile is only equipped with four army-type 75mm rapid-fire guns, and its combat effectiveness is about the same as that of an armed merchant ship. No matter how old the model is, its combat effectiveness is a level higher than that of an armed merchant ship.

Fortunately, the Dutch are still pinning their hopes on the regulation of the British government, and have not dispatched a fleet to block Medan Port.

Landing is impossible. The colonial forces in the East India are not the opponents of mercenaries. The East India Governor's Office is very clear about this, but it can still be done by dispatching a fleet to block Medan Port. As long as the mercenaries' logistical support is cut off, Medan Port Sooner or later the mercenaries will fall apart.

This is the benefit of a single colonial economy. In order to better control the East India, the Netherlands implemented a forced supply system and land rent in kind in the East India, forced plantations to grow coffee, rubber, sugar cane, and spices, and implemented a trade monopoly policy. Without an industrial base, even gunpowder cannot be produced.

Rock had already prepared for this situation. Although the mercenaries did not have cruisers, they had aircraft. Pilots in southern Africa would not serve Italy and the Ottoman Empire, so there would be no pressure to accept the employment of the umbrella company.

At the same time that the Far East Fleet left the port, the transport ship "Phoenix Flower" of Nyasaran Ocean Shipping Company arrived at Medan Port. In addition to six "Strong Wind" fighter jets, there were also twelve "Albatross" on board. torpedo bomber.

It was also at this time that Benson Tauherty knew what the purpose of the airport built next to the Port of Medan was.

Don't be surprised, the Dutch in the Dutch East Indies are so ignorant. Before that, Benson Tauherty had never even seen an airplane, and only saw reports about air performances in newspapers.

Benson Toherty never expected that the plane, which was originally similar to a circus, could be used to deal with cruisers in the hands of mercenaries.

"The albatross was successfully developed two years ago. This time it was put into use for the first time to deal with Dutch talents. The albatross can carry a 350 kg torpedo and has a combat radius of 180 kilometers. We have offices in Batavia port and Lion City. Observatory, as long as the Dutch fleet leaves the port, we have enough warning time.” Ethan, the captain of the team, can’t wait, as long as the Dutch dare to come, Ethan will teach the Dutch a profound lesson.

"Is this the best aircraft we have now?" Benson Tauherty was curious. Nyasaland always has new weapons emerging one after another. Even David didn't know how deep Nyasaland's military potential was. .

"I hope the Dutch will act quickly. Our cruiser will be launched next month. Is your umbrella company considering buying one?" Ethan kept silent, with a strong sense of secrecy.

With the help of the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, the southern African navy has made rapid progress. In any case, the United Kingdom in this era is the most powerful navy in the world. As long as Rock makes a request, the Portsmouth Navy will Engineers at shipyards can come up with corresponding designs.

Originally, Viscount Gladstone wanted Edward Dockyard to try out the dreadnought ship, but after careful consideration, Rock gave up this unrealistic idea.

Let alone whether Edward Shipyard has the ability to build dreadnoughts, with the help of Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, Edward Shipyard will probably still be able to build it.

The key is that the southern African navy does not have the need for dreadnoughts. In the whole of Africa, except for southern Africa, the colonies of other countries cannot even build a single destroyer. Even if southern Africa builds a dreadnought, it is useless.

Therefore, cruisers became Rock's first choice, and they were not the kind of heavy cruisers comparable to battleships. A light cruiser of about 5000 tons was enough.

As a result, Viscount Gladstone still looked down upon it, saying that he wanted to build an armored cruiser similar to the British Invincible-class battlecruiser. The 5000-ton class was a little bigger than a destroyer, and it would be useless once a world war broke out.

Rock also looked down on battlecruisers. This kind of armored cruiser, which was later called a fast battleship, was not armored enough compared to a battleship, and not fast enough compared to a destroyer. During the Battle of Jutland in Japan, it was hit by shells from the German fleet. As a result, it sank due to the explosion of the ammunition depot, and the shortcomings of weak armor protection were exposed.

What Southern Africa needs is a light cruiser, because it does not need to face a strong opponent. The light cruiser in Southern Africa does not need thick armor or heavy firepower. What it needs is fast speed, quick response, and certain anti-submarine capabilities. It can also have a certain firepower strike capability, so light cruisers best meet the actual needs of southern Africa.

In the end, Portsmouth Naval Shipyard and Edward Shipyard jointly designed a new type of light cruiser. This cruiser has a displacement of 6500 tons and is equipped with six 152mm fifty times naval guns. Because it uses the latest engine, the highest The speed can reach an astonishing 32 knots, and the ship can also carry two seaplanes at the same time, which can be used for reconnaissance and fire correction. The Edward Shipyard was launched and is expected to be completed by the end of the year.

"No, what we want to buy is a destroyer, but it's a pity that the Lord doesn't sell it." David is still a little regretful. Don't think that destroyers are not good. In the terrain of the Strait of Malacca, destroyers are the most suitable ones.

In order to cooperate with the use of the Cape Town-class cruisers, the Port Edward Shipyard and the Bella Shipyard are building new destroyers equipped with torpedoes.

Compared with the previous Beihai, the biggest improvement of the new Salisbury-class destroyer is that it has finally installed a 533mm torpedo, making it capable of attacking large battleships. At the same time, the firepower of the new destroyer is not weak. The 125mm naval gun was installed, and a large number of anti-air weapons were installed at the same time, which are all prepared for future aircraft carriers.

The destroyers produced in southern Africa use the latest steam engines, and can run at a top speed of 35 knots. In terms of artillery caliber, the destroyers in southern Africa may not be as good as the cruisers of the Dutch Far East Fleet. Narrow waters pose a greater threat to cruisers.

It doesn't need much, as long as David now has two Salisbury-class destroyers in his hands, it is enough to deal with the threat of the Dutch Far East Fleet.

Naval warships of the Southern African Navy are named after cities in Southern Africa. For example, the highest-ranking cruiser is named after the three capitals of Cape Town, Bloemfontein, and Pretoria.

The name of the destroyer is also the same. Salisbury does not refer to the former British Prime Minister, the Marquess of Salisbury, but the capital of Rhodesia, Salisbury, so there may be Little Rock, Johannesburg, etc. level, this is normal.

As for the future aircraft carrier, it must be named after the state. Cape, Transvaal, and Nyasaland are all options.

The arrival of the Flying Brigade indicates that the Port of Medan has initially possessed defensive capabilities. In fact, there is still more work to be done. Only 3000 mercenaries will definitely not be able to drive away the Dutch, so the Umbrella Company will also form the East The servant army dominated by Indian natives launched a full-scale attack on the Dutch.

On Langkawi Island, just across the strait, a large base of the umbrella company is under construction, which will become the headquarters of the Far East branch of the protection delivery company in the future.

Langkawi Island is the main island of the Langkawi Islands. This archipelago consists of 99 islands with an area of ​​526 square kilometers. The straight-line distance from Medan Island is less than [-] kilometers.

Langkawi Island is a British territory, and the Dutch have no right to interfere, so the base construction on Langkawi Island is progressing smoothly, and British Malaya has provided a lot of help in this regard.

Therefore, it is not Roque who wants the Dutch to go away the most, but the British Empire.

(End of this chapter)