Great warships

Chapter 744 Only Dongfang can make a 1-ton gantry crane

After finishing his trip in Asan, Mitchell returned to China and went to report to Masfield.

Masefield said happily: "Come on, Mitchell, let's report to Sir Benjamin again!"

Mitchell didn't know why, so he was taken to the Navy's conference room.

"Mitchell, I heard that you went to visit Ah San, how was the itinerary?"

"Ah San still has concerns. They should be scared by Da Mao, so they don't want to buy our warships directly, but want to buy our design drawings and build them in their shipyard." Mi Chell said.

He couldn't say that his itinerary had failed, he had to put all the responsibility on Da Mao, and blamed Da Mao for cheating people, which made Ah San wary.

"Purchase our design drawings?" Benjamin thought for a while: "This is also possible. How much money our design will cost, then how much design fee will be charged to them. This is equivalent to Ah San helping us to pay for the design fee, damn it , Brown has been holding us back, a guy who, like the man before him, is most concerned with how to reduce our military, and has no regard for how to develop our national defense."

"Okay." Mitchell nodded. It would be great if Ah San could pay for the design.

After all, Britain really has no money. Although it was stimulated to build an aircraft carrier quickly, this thing is definitely not done overnight, and the budget is the biggest problem.

"Sir, you said that there is new news, you want to tell us about the changes in the design plan, what exactly is it?" Masefield is more concerned about this.

"Well, those guys in London are considering a new plan. According to this plan, our aircraft carrier will be divided into six sections, built in six different shipyards, and then assembled together. So, what you are designing At that time, it is best to follow the modular design. Each module can be completed independently, including cutting steel plates, component assembly, segment assembly, overall segment closure, outfitting, and even power-on debugging of units that have formed a system. In my opinion, it is necessary I want to tell you this news in advance, so that you don’t have to modify the design drawings at the end.”

Divided into six sections, built in six different shipyards?Hearing this, Masefield became anxious immediately: "Why? We don't have so many shipyards!"

At the beginning, there were mainly two teams in the bidding. The Thales Group won. The most important thing they owned was the Swan-Hunter Shipyard. They could build in this shipyard, but now they are divided among six shipyards?
"This is the coordination of certain interests, Maisfield, don't pay attention to these, what you have to do is to design it as a modular system, fortunately, we use the integrated power system of the whole ship, which brings great benefits to the modular design. the benefits of."

If it is the previous construction method, it is absolutely impossible to engage in this kind of module. Even if the Mingzhou Group in the East builds an aircraft carrier, it is built in sections. It is just the hull. installed during the outfitting phase.

Now, the British aircraft carrier has to be divided into six sections, not only the construction of the hull is six sections, in addition to welding steel plates, the outfitting work will be completed in advance in each section, and even power on for debugging!

This can only be done by the integrated power of the whole ship. Each segment is independent, as long as there is a cable to transmit the current, it will be fine!This is very beneficial. The equipment inside many sections is huge. If they are all welded and then outfitted, they may have to cut holes. This kind of section construction has openings on both sides, and the equipment can be directly Tucked in, the build is more like a submarine.

However, the six-stage construction is not to reduce costs, but to distribute benefits to other shipyards!
"No, it can't be done like this. Our Thales Group won the bidding, and now we have to distribute the construction work to other shipyards? BAE obviously failed. As a result, they can also get a lot of benefits from the construction? Isn't that right? fair!"

Benjamin sighed: "I know, this is a bit unfair to you, but you should know that our shipbuilding industry is not in a good mood now, and all shipyards in the country are waiting for this business. Politicians have to consider Overall, do you understand?"

It must be unfair. The Thales Group won the bidding. When it was finally built, only one-third of the workload was shared, and BAE, which failed to bid, took up most of it!But what can they do?
Those people in London have already begun to think about how to divide up the benefits.

"Nowadays, advanced weapons and equipment are becoming more and more expensive. Even the teams that fail to bid will join in the research and development. Bidding is just a process. You can look at the fourth-generation aircraft bidding in the United States, isn't it the same? "Benjamin comforted each other.

He doesn't care who builds it. What he cares about is that the construction can be completed as soon as possible. Divided into six shipyards, built separately and even outfitted into a giant general section, and then connected together, the construction progress will definitely be greatly accelerated, and the navy will be better. Get your carrier fast!

As for whose pocket the profit goes into, it is not for Benjamin to consider, but now, he also needs to appease the people in front of him, so that they cannot resist too much.

"This kind of construction method is not feasible." At this moment, Mitchell spoke up. Like last time, at this juncture, he once again displayed his ingenuity.

"Why?" Benjamin became curious: "Among the world's shipbuilding trends, segmented construction has become very popular. Isn't the Oriental man-made aircraft carrier also built in segments?"

"That's right, the Easterners are building ships in sections. However, the largest section they build is only two to three thousand tons, and then the completed section is lifted by a giant gantry crane. What about us? We If the entire warship is to be divided into six sections, it will be considered as an average division, and each section must be about six to seven thousand tons, and if we want to install electromagnetic catapults, it will put a high demand on the flatness of the deck. It is best to use a whole segment, so that our largest segment will weigh more than [-] tons. Mr. Benjamin, with all due respect, the largest gantry crane in the world is in Mingzhou in the east. Group, their gantry cranes are only [-]-ton or [-]-ton gantry cranes? It’s crazy enough to think about it, it’s impossible!”

Without a giant gantry crane, how to move those huge sections and how to connect them?This is simply an impossible task!
Maisfield nodded with satisfaction, Mitchell is too good, this time explain the problem to them from a technical point of view, let's see how these people refute!

No, no, no, you have to consider the benefits, and we also have to consider the difficulty of construction. You have created sections, and we can't assemble them!There is no place in the world where it can be assembled!

Benjamin was stunned, yes, he only thought about distributing benefits to various shipyards, and didn't think about how to connect them. These politicians really can't do it, laymen lead experts!
this afternoon.

Benjamin returned to London and met some familiar people.

"Brown, I have already talked with Thales Group. Our construction method divided into six general sections is not advisable, because there is no gantry crane, and a [-]-ton gantry crane can only be done by God." Benjamin pointed forward people said.

"God? Sir Benjamin, please don't exalt the Orientals." Brown said.

Benjamin was taken aback: "What does this have to do with Orientals?"

"Let Steve in and let him talk."

So, Steve, an expert from BAE's Websbury Shipyard, which failed to bid, came in.

"We have conducted research on the scheme of segmented construction. According to the plan of the Thales team, the largest segment will reach a weight of more than 1 tons. Therefore, if we use this huge total segment The construction plan, then we need a [-]-ton gantry crane." Steve said.

They came up with the construction plan of the giant general section. Although the bidding failed, the money still had to be earned, and they also got a piece of the pie. They encouraged other shipyards to fool Jimmy Brown and demand benefits. At the same time, they also Gotta solve technical problems.

What about the gantry cranes that are needed when the giant general section is closing?
At this time, they got good news from the East.

"God bless, we just got news recently that Mingzhou Group has decided to purchase a giant gantry crane from Zhenhua Heavy Industries in order to further improve its shipbuilding capacity. The lifting capacity of this gantry crane will reach 1 tons! It is simply for us Made to measure."

Hearing his words, Benjamin frowned immediately: "Is there any problem?"

Is this news too timely?Since they started the aircraft carrier project, the Orientals have been making troubles and slandering their project. Now, the Orientals want to purchase gantry cranes, which are still 1 tons. Will there be any problems?
"Our segmented construction plan has just been conceived, how can the Easterners know." Brown said: "We have studied it carefully, and there is no possibility of leaking, so this matter has nothing to do with the Easterners, they are just trying to satisfy them." own needs."

"So, what do you mean to buy gantry cranes from the East? What about the dignity of our empire?" Benjamin said.

They want to build a new aircraft carrier because of the stimulus from the east, and they want to restore their former glory. What about now?It is ironic that the gantry cranes used in the construction of aircraft carriers should be purchased from the East.

"Can't we produce it ourselves? Even if other countries in Europe can produce it." Benjamin continued.

"The best gantry crane in our country is the Goliath brand. The maximum lifting capacity of this gantry crane is only 1 tons. No matter how high the lifting capacity is, it is impossible to do it. In our Europe, the largest gantry crane production The company is Konecranes of Finland. The maximum lifting capacity of the gantry cranes they can produce is 1 tons. We have already asked, and they can increase the lifting capacity to [-] tons at most. In this way, even if we purchase two gantry cranes, It can only meet the lifting capacity of [-] tons at most, and Dongfang has achieved a single lifting capacity of [-] tons. If two machines are used together, that is [-] tons. Therefore, even if there is no such [-] tons For a gantry crane with a lifting capacity of [-] tons, we have to purchase two [-]-ton gantry cranes from the East, and there is no other choice."

The lifting weight of the gantry crane is an important indicator. The higher the development, the more difficult it is. European technology has been limited to [-] tons, and it is difficult to achieve even [-] tons.

Finland’s Konecranes already has the strongest technical strength in this area. When the Red Empire wanted to build the Kiev-class heavy-duty aircraft cruiser, it purchased two gantry cranes with a lifting capacity of 2 tons from Konecranes. With a length of 900 meters and a span of 110 meters, the joint operation of the two units can hoist a 150-ton large hull section onto the berth, which meets the needs of the advanced mode of modular and segmented production.

But now, the sections they want to build are tens of thousands of tons, which is absolutely unprecedented in history.

"Damn it, why do the Orientals have things that we don't have?" Benjamin murmured.

"Because we have to take care of our environment." Brown said: "Gantry cranes actually have no technical content. In our area, they are regarded as backward industries, and the production of gantry cranes consumes a lot of steel. For us, this is definitely a Inappropriate. What we need to develop are industries such as finance and tourism, which will not pollute the environment. This is a major event for the benefit of our future generations. If the Orientals want to produce, let them produce, and their environment will gradually deteriorate.”

"Fucking care for the environment, we even have to buy the tools for building aircraft carriers from the East, and what are you talking about here to care for the environment." Benjamin complained.

Not just gantry cranes, but many industries are the same.

Europe is the first place to carry out the industrial revolution. The industry here is already very developed. An ordinary worker will earn enough wages. If they encounter unfair treatment, there will be trade unions to help them out, so , They already have a higher spiritual pursuit, they want the blue sky and clear rivers, so the polluting industries have to be transferred.

As a result, after the transfer, many of their industries were abolished, and gantry cranes were one of them. Not only was their lifting capacity poor, but their prices were also quite high, so purchasing from the East was the cheapest.

Although Benjamin was full of complaints, he had no other choice but to purchase from the East.

"However, this money cannot be paid by the navy. This is the basic construction of the shipyard, so it should be purchased by the shipyard." Brown said.

Steve was taken aback for a moment. He was the one who came up with this idea. He always thought that it must be funded by the state. Now, let the shipyard purchase it?How much does it cost?

Certainly no shipyard is willing to do it!

"Which shipyard is willing to purchase this kind of gantry crane, we will hand over the task of final assembly to that shipyard." Brown continued.

Of course, Brown knew that it would be meaningless to rely only on administrative orders, and the shipyard had to be given some benefits.

The construction of the aircraft carrier is planned to be carried out by six shipyards. This is the result of the distribution of benefits. However, it has not been determined which shipyard will be responsible for the final assembly. The final assembly is the most commemorative, because whoever does the final assembly will be responsible. Can become an aircraft carrier factory on the surface.

When it is announced to the public, it will definitely not say which part is built by which shipyard, but only that a certain shipyard is an aircraft carrier shipyard, and this shipyard is the one that is finally assembled.

Brown had benefited the shipyards, but he did not expect that these shipyards would still not buy it.

"The price of buying a 1-ton gantry crane is absolutely astronomical. We spent a huge amount of money just to build two aircraft carriers, which is not worth it at all."

"Our shipyard doesn't have the funds. After buying it, it can be used twice. It will definitely become a laughing stock."

"Segmented construction is inherently unreliable. We only need to strive to build the largest segment. We don't have to worry about the final assembly."

All the shipyards expressed their views, and when the news reached London, Brown's face was ugly.

These shipyards are actually not on the road?Let them purchase gantry cranes by themselves, this is also to enhance their aircraft carrier construction capabilities!Now, they are so inactive?
Brown was very annoyed, should he continue to increase the bargaining chip, which shipyard produces the largest cabin, and which shipyard is responsible for the final assembly?

Just as he was hesitating, people from Rosyth Shipyard came.

"Mr. Brown, we are willing to undertake the final assembly of the aircraft carrier, and our shipyard is willing to raise funds to purchase gantry cranes." Lambert, the person in charge of the shipyard, said: "I hope the government will hand over the final assembly of the aircraft carrier to us."

"Of course." Brown was overjoyed: "Are you really willing to raise funds to purchase gantry cranes?"

"Yes, for the strength of our country and for our navy to have a modern aircraft carrier, we are willing to make contributions. Even if the business will lose money, we will do it!" Lambert said. Brown was very happy that someone had such a high level of awareness. He thought of the 80s. After the war broke out, the domestic scene was also like this: everyone is contributing to the country!

Those cargo merchant ships sailed on the Atlantic Ocean to provide supplies for the ocean-going fleet. Those cruise ships and containers were transformed into warships, which could take off and land Sea Harrier fighter jets. Countless people donated money and materials to support the war.

The situation now is the same as that time.

"The country will not treat you badly, and the funds allocated to you will not be small." Brown said, he almost said that he would hand over the construction task of one of the segments to them, thinking that the benefits have already been distributed, He didn't say much, and let them Rosyth Shipyard just focus on the final assembly, but when dividing the funds, he could give them more, which was regarded as compensation.

"As long as the agreement is signed, we will go to the east to purchase gantry cranes immediately." Lambert continued.

Coming out of it, facing the sunset, Lambert was very excited.

"Mr. Lambert, I'm a little strange, can this really be in our interests?" Lambert's deputy Strauss said to him.

"Of course, with this construction, our Rosyth shipyard will become the most advanced aircraft carrier shipyard in Europe. We cannot miss this opportunity," Lambert said.

Soon, there will be a ranking list of aircraft carrier shipyards in the world. Those small aircraft carriers with [-] to [-] tons will not be ranked, and the Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier with [-] tons will not be ranked. Now, if we re-rank If the United States is first and the United Kingdom is second, their Rosyth Shipyard will become the second largest aircraft carrier shipyard in the world!That's right, that's how it was announced.

Rosyth Shipyard is a shipyard with a history of one hundred years. It first appeared in 1872. However, in the history of one hundred years, they have been unknown. After all, the area of ​​this shipyard is too small, and there is no The main warships of the empire that have built the sun never sets for a hundred years are not well-known at all. After this construction work, they will be famous all over the world.

"However, the gantry cranes to be purchased will also cost a lot of money." Strath said.

"Everyone knows that it will cost a lot of money to buy a gantry crane, so they are reluctant to spend money on it due to various concerns, but they ignore one problem." Lambert said: "We are just building Use it on the aircraft carrier, and we can sell it after the construction is completed. This level of gantry crane is the only one in the world, and other shipyards will definitely come to purchase it. After we sell it, You might even make some money.”

Strass was still worried: "Mr. Lambert, if customers want to purchase, why don't they go directly to Dongfang to purchase, but come to purchase our second-hand gantry cranes?"

Even more money?This is not scientific!
"In our country, many shipyards are ashamed to purchase gantry cranes from the East, and feel that it is detrimental to the dignity of our empire on which the sun never sets." Lambert said: "There is more than one country that thinks this way. For example, Ah San is one of them. .”

Asan?

Strath seemed to understand Lambert's thoughts, his eyes lit up.

"In order to reduce research and development costs, people from the Thales Group went to Ah San and invited Ah San to purchase our aircraft carrier, but Ah San did not plan to purchase directly for various reasons, but wanted to purchase our design. Figure, produce by themselves, so they also need gantry cranes, I have already investigated, their largest gantry crane is only [-] tons, it can't meet our needs for building aircraft carriers in stages, and, Ah San We are still building the [-]-ton aircraft carrier. We will definitely not build a new aircraft carrier until the construction is completed. During this period of time, we can just finish the construction work. So, at that time, Ah San came to purchase ours The gantry crane is the best choice."

Ah San has needs, and Ah San will not buy from the East, so Ah San is the best buyer. If you run out of gantry cranes, you can resell them to Ah San!

Great idea!

"Now let's go to the east to negotiate the purchase of gantry cranes."

(End of this chapter)