I want to be emperor

Chapter 1121 Science Fiction Fleet

On July 16, the 52nd year of Chengshun, a warship commissioning ceremony was taking place in the Wusong Naval Base, which was not too large in scale but of very high standards.

The scale is not large because there are not many people participating.

The standards were high because not only many senior generals of the navy attended the commissioning ceremony, but also Prince Luo Li.

This is because the protagonist of this commissioning ceremony is the Yongding, the first ship of the Yongding-class offshore frigate.

If you want to say how powerful the Yongding offshore frigate is, you can't even talk about it... because this thing is actually a very typical non-main combat ship in terms of tonnage and cost.

The ship's full-load displacement is only 1,200 tons... In the contemporary era, where the ocean-going frigates of the contemporary navy are all over 1,500 tons, and the larger ones are even close to 2,000 tons, the full-load displacement of 1,200 tons It's nothing. If it is according to the standards of the contemporary navy, it will be the standard of a light frigate.

In terms of cost, this kind of warship also adheres to the low-cost concept of the Navy in the past ten years. The cost of the whole ship is only more than 200,000 yuan...

More than 200,000 Chu Yuan, if this was placed in other military equipment, it would definitely be a sky-high price, but for the navy's combat ships, this is already a low-end bargain!

You must know that the cost of several frigates built in the 1940s, even for miscellaneous purposes, was more than 300,000 yuan.

As for the new generation fleet frigate that focuses on performance, that is, the Changle-class frigate, the successor model of the Bangkok-class fleet frigate, it is even more expensive, reaching more than 400,000 yuan.

It has a full load displacement of 1,800 tons, adopts a dome armor design, and has a maximum speed of 24 knots. It is equipped with six of the latest single-mounted 120 mm 45-caliber rapid-fire cannons, and is equipped with new optics. The sighting system greatly improves the long-distance bombardment hit rate of naval guns.

At the same time, it is equipped with a lot of seemingly novel gadgets, such as a telephone communication system inside the ship... At the same time, after the successful development of radio, this class of ships will be gradually modified and installed with radio equipment... These configurations This will further push up the cost of the frigate.

A frigate costs more than 400,000 yuan, and cruisers that serve as battleships are even more expensive.

It is of the same generation as the Changle-class frigate, which uses a new rapid-fire gun system, a mature and advanced steam engine power system, an optical sighting system, and the armored belt design for the first time on the cruiser type, which is used to serve as the broadside of the cruiser type. The Xin-class cruiser has a full load displacement of more than 4,000 tons, but its cost is an astonishing more than 800,000 yuan.

The reason why Changle-class frigates and Guangxin-class cruisers are so expensive is because these two battleships are very typical battleships that prioritize performance.

Since the 1930s, the Imperial Navy of the Chu Empire has been leaning heavily towards low-cost and cost-effective warships in shipbuilding, and has built a large number of warships with poor performance, but still sufficient to support the invincibility of the Imperial Navy of the Chu Empire.

However, in the late 1940s, as the smokeless drug technology matured, the corresponding rapid-fire gun technology also achieved breakthroughs, and the cost was reduced. In addition, with the rapid advancement of electrification, a large number of military electrification technologies emerged, such as ship-borne Telephone communication system, shipboard optical sighting system, etc.

At the same time, steam engine technology can be said to have reached a peak period of development. Even the reciprocating steam engine is quite powerful... The navy cannot afford the steam turbine, but the new reciprocating steam engine can still be used.

With so many new technologies, the Navy, in addition to applying these new technologies on battleships, also wants to spend some money from time to time to acquire a batch of advanced cruisers and frigates, and form a true team with the top battleships. Top-notch advanced, even a fleet of sci-fi nature.

The quantity doesn’t need to be large, but it must be there.

There are Changle-class frigates and Guangxin-class cruisers.

There is not much to say about the Changle-class frigate... This is a fleet-type frigate that uses new technologies and focuses on performance advantages.

But the Guangxin-class cruiser is different, because it is the first armored cruiser built in the Dachu Empire Navy.

Well, this armored cruiser in the Chu Army is not the same concept as the armored cruiser positioned as a battleship in the original time and space. Generally speaking, when people talk about armored cruisers, they refer to seven or eight thousand tons or even tens of thousands of tons. A ton big thing, a battleship that can be used to participate in battle line bombardments... To be precise, it should be a heavy armored cruiser.

And this thing actually exists in the Da Chu Empire Navy...that is, a second-class battleship!

The second-class battleships in the Dachu Empire's navy are actually similar to the armored cruisers in the original time and space, and they both attach great importance to the application of rapid-fire cannons.

The Guangxin-class armored cruiser now in the Da Chu Empire Navy is, to be precise, a light armored cruiser... because its tonnage is relatively small, only more than 4,000 tons.

As for this ship, it actually means that the Imperial Navy is once again building a performance-first cruiser after a lapse of more than ten years... After more than ten years of building a cost-effective cruiser, many people in the navy say that there is no point in using too many cheap goods. I'm excited, can I build an advanced cruiser for fun? Even if I build a few of them, they can be used as embellishments...

In recent years, the army bandits next door have been laughing at their navy’s patrol fleet for days and nights as scavengers... and what the hell they use...

Well, the same people from the Army also said that building battleships for the Navy was a prodigal act. The battleships spent millions of dollars were useless.

In short, no matter what the navy does, the army will do it...

But even if they are criticized, the Navy would rather be criticized as a prodigal than let the Army laugh at them as a rag picker.

So the Guangxin-class light armored cruiser appeared. All kinds of new technologies were added to it, and then the cost also skyrocketed. The cost of more than 800,000 yuan was a conservative price...

Because the research and development expenses for many new technologies are not included, but are instead calculated on the research and development of other battleships, mainly battleships. If you really include a lot of research and development expenses, it will easily exceed one million.

There are more than 800,000 cruisers and more than 400,000 frigates!

This is the price for the Chu Empire to build non-main battleships with high performance after entering the 1950s... As for the main battleships, the price is even higher.

Chengshun entered service in the 49th year. It was the first Colombo-class second-class battleship equipped with a 200 mm 40-caliber rapid-fire main gun and a 150-mm 40-caliber rapid-fire gun. In the words of later generations, it was an armored cruiser.

The ship's full load displacement is only 8,500 tons, but the single-ship cost of the ship has reached an astonishing 1.8 million yuan...

The North Africa-class second-class battleships under construction use new 250mm 45-caliber rapid-fire cannons, and they still use a four-seat twin-mounted main gun layout... This means that eight guns are too expensive to die. Expensive rapid-fire main gun.

Rapid-fire cannons are very expensive these days, and large-caliber rapid-fire cannons are even more expensive.

Therefore, this class of ships is conservatively estimated to cost more than three million Chu Yuan...

As for Chengshun's top-notch battleship that was commissioned in 1952, the North American-class battleship, its single-ship cost reached an astonishing five million yuan...

As for the future top-level battleships, the price is hard to say, but if it uses full heavy artillery, the price will be absolutely terrifying, and it will be a low price of several million.

Because although the 300mm rapid-fire cannon has not yet come out, the price can be roughly estimated. A single gun costs at least two to three hundred thousand. If a new warship has ten main guns, the cost of the main gun alone will be Two to three million!

A second-class battleship costs more than three million, a first-class battleship costs five to six million or more, even a cruiser costs seven to eight million or even nearly one million, and a frigate costs four to five million yuan. era...

Of course...the above mentioned are all high-performance warships. There are actually not many such performance-focused warships even in the navy of the Da Chu Empire, which has a large family business.

Not to mention battleships, only one top-tier battleship has been built at the same time for many years... basically only one new first-tier battleship enters service in a four-year construction cycle.

Second-class battleships are better, but basically there are only two in a four-year cycle.

Guangxin-class cruisers, such expensive things, naturally the navy will not build too many, and only six orders have been arranged... There are not many Changle-class frigates, with only twelve orders.

Such so-called high-performance battleships are naturally unable to meet the needs of the Chu Empire Navy to control global sea areas, lakes, and rivers!

Therefore, the Da Chu Empire Navy actually still has a lot of low-cost warships that are not eye-catching and pursue cost-effectiveness. When the construction of the Guangxin-class light armored cruiser started, the navy actually also started construction of a low-cost cruiser, the Tangshan-class cruiser. Mature and old dome armor design, using old and mature artillery, the number of artillery is not large, mature and old steam engine system, and other things are just enough. The only thing worthy of praise is that the tonnage is 3,500 tons, and The firepower, protection and power system do not occupy much space, so the crew's living space is very good, the seaworthiness is also good, and the endurance is also very good.

But the three major elements of firepower, protection and speed are all very average... But these so-called shortcomings are not worth mentioning in the face of its mere fifty-three yuan cost!

If this kind of Tangshan-class cruiser costs 700,000 to 800,000 Yuan, the Navy will not even look at it, but if it only costs 530,000 Chu Yuan, the Navy will swallow its saliva.

So the Navy directly placed a generous order for two dozen... to replace the early cruisers that were in service in the 1930s and whose service life was gradually expiring.

At the same time, the Navy has another low-cost cruiser plan... namely the Gaozhou-class offshore armored ship.

The same is true for frigates. The Navy is taking three paths at the same time. It designs and builds very outstanding frigates such as the Changle-class frigates, but it also designs and builds Wanwan frigates with mediocre performance, no need for anything, and no advantages except being cheap. County-class frigates, in addition, there are Yongding-class offshore frigates.

On non-main warships, walking on three legs is also a change in the navy's shipbuilding thinking in recent years.

Performance warships continue to be developed, but because they are too expensive, only a small number are built to maintain performance advantages and promote the continued development of technology.

A large number of low-cost and cost-effective warships are used to maintain the huge scale of the navy and maintain military presence in major sea areas.

The offshore combat ship explores a new development direction of using the sea to control the land... At the same time, it adopts a low-cost model and can also be used to replace some traditional frigates and larger-tonnage offshore patrol ships to achieve overall cost control and further highlight the use of Sea-to-land strategy.

The first two represent the navy's need to continue to maintain its performance and scale advantages, while the last one represents a gradual shift to a new strategy.

After all, even if we want to transform into using the sea to control the land, we must not forget the navy's old profession: seizing and controlling sea power.

The prerequisite for using the sea to control the land is to control the sea, so the two cannot put the cart before the horse.

As a high-ranking member of the empire, Crown Prince Luo Li has little interest in the navy's traditional battleships... let alone cruisers and frigates. However, he would pay more attention to the main battleships.

However, Prince Luo Li was more concerned about the offshore combat ship, which represented the use of sea to control land. After all, this thing represented a major change in naval strategy. As a high-ranking official in the empire, he naturally needed to pay attention.

This is why he came over to attend the commissioning ceremony of the Yongding littoral combat ship.

During the commissioning ceremony, senior navy personnel also explained to him in detail the situation of this offshore combat ship. It has a displacement of 1,200 tons and a cost of only more than 200,000 yuan...

In an era when the price of high-performance battleships has skyrocketed, the so-called littoral combat ships costing more than 200,000 yuan are just cabbage prices... and this also means that a large number of mature and cheap technologies must be used.

For example, in the power system, don’t even expect to use the latest reciprocating steam engines. They are all products of the previous generation that are said to be technologically mature at best, but at worst said to be technologically backward. There is nothing else. The only advantage is that it is cheap, which also makes The ship's maximum speed is only sixteen knots.

In terms of ship design, a low freeboard design is adopted. This is because the ship needs to cover armor at the same time and ensure the protection ability of the artillery. Therefore, it adopts a turret layout that is very rare on small-tonnage warships.

The one with the best cost control should belong to the naval gun system. The ship uses two twin mounts, with a total of four 120 mm 40 times rapid-fire naval guns... Although this is also a rapid-fire gun, in fact This gun is the first-generation rapid-fire gun, and the second-generation 120 mm 45-caliber rapid-fire gun is in service in the new warships of the Navy at the same time. As for the new warships being designed and built, it is expected to be equipped with The third generation rapid fire cannon.

What are the advantages of the first-generation rapid-fire cannon? Cheap!

The secondary guns are equipped with a number of single-mounted 75mm rapid-fire cannons and 40mm rapid-fire cannons, all of which have been mass-produced in the past.

By the way, a large number of low-cost frigates built and put into service in the navy also use these cheap materials.

Whether it is the power system or naval guns, they are all old and mature models whose costs have been diluted to the extreme.

Because of the use of turrets, a low freeboard design was adopted in order to prevent the ship's center of gravity from being too high and the ship's draft not being too deep to facilitate offshore activities and even entry into rivers.

However, even though it is a low freeboard design, it is not too low... After all, although this thing is used for offshore operations, due to the needs of mobile deployment, it also needs to maintain a certain degree of ocean navigation capability and endurance.

Therefore, the offshore combat ships of the Dachu Empire are different from traditional offshore battleships, offshore patrol ships, shallow water gunboats, etc., and they are also different from ocean-going battleships.

The ship design is rather special, and the strategic positioning is also special.

Prince Luo Li also knows a little bit about battleships. Although he is a layman, he still thinks this thing is strange...

How should I put it? At first glance, this thing looks a bit like the offshore battleships that the Navy and the Guards Fleet liked to build in the early years, but the tonnage is too small, and at the same time, this thing is not completely close to the sea, and it still retains a certain degree of It has ocean-going navigation capabilities and pretty good battery life... but the prince doubts whether this thing really has ocean-going navigation capabilities.

But it doesn't matter if it looks strange, as long as it's cheap and easy to use... According to the tactical concept given by the Navy, this thing and subsequent models will be built on a large scale and deployed to the main overseas fleet on a large scale.

It can go out to the coastal waters and even river entrances of indigenous countries at any time, and can carry the enemy's coastal defense artillery fire to get close to shell the enemy's turrets and port cities. If necessary, venture into the river and go up the river to provide direct and direct support for ground troops. Powerful firepower.

Because the naval guns equipped on this thing are all rapid-fire cannons... Don't look at the fact that there are only four 120mm naval guns, they are still old 120mm 40-caliber rapid-fire cannons.

But the rate of fire is still quite fast. If there is a real fight, the firepower of these four rapid-fire cannons is more fierce than the firepower of an Army 120mm cannon battalion equipped with more than ten artillery pieces.

It also has a long range and high accuracy.

In addition, a batch of single-mounted 75mm and 40mm rapid-fire guns can also provide the enemy with all-round fire coverage.

According to the Navy's concept, only one offshore combat ship is needed to directly push up and open up, enough to provide direct fire support for more than 10,000 ground troops. If it fights alone, it can destroy an ordinary indigenous port city.

This kind of combat capability is not comparable to that of ordinary offshore patrol ships and shallow water gunboats.

This is only a 1,200-ton Yongding-class offshore frigate/combat ship. If it is a more than 4,000-ton Gaozhou-class offshore combat ship, its combat effectiveness will be even more powerful.

However, the current Gaozhou-class littoral combat ship and the first ship are still under construction and will be invisible for a while.

After listening to the introduction by the naval general, Prince Luo Jian then presided over the commissioning ceremony and delivered a speech, in which he expressed good expectations for the navy's strategic concept of using the sea to control the land.

Just after the Yongding offshore combat ship was officially put into service, its No. 2 ship, No. 3 ship and No. 4 ship were also put into service one after another... This kind of 1,200-ton, non-main battleship using a lot of mature technology, for the Chu Empire It is not difficult for the national defense industry and shipbuilding industry. Even its construction tasks are not undertaken by super large and technically powerful shipyards such as Wusong Naval Shipyard, Guangzhou Shipyard, and Lishi Shipyard, but by some second-rate medium-sized shipyards. borne.

The first four ships were built at the Huangpu River Shipyard. They started construction almost at the same time, were completed, outfitted and tested one after another, and were officially put into service in July and August.

After these four littoral combat ships officially enter service, according to the plan, they will first conduct adaptive training for about three months in their home waters. After completing the adaptive training, they will be sent to Europe to perform combat readiness missions. No surprises If so, these four offshore combat ships will exist in Europe for a long time and fight for the overseas interests of the Chu Empire!

As for whether the four subsequent littoral combat ships are as useful as the navy envisioned... that will depend on the actual subsequent situation.

But even if there are any problems, it cannot change the navy's strategic thinking of using the sea to control the land, and its determination to develop offshore combat ships under this idea.

Strategy cannot be changed by simply changing it... Unless a powerful opponent suddenly appears, don't expect the navy to change its strategic thinking of using the sea to control the land!