Opening game, American Tycoon

Chapter 1202 The arms race is also a bloodletting machine (first update, please subscribe)
As far as the world is concerned, no sea power of any country will adopt new technologies as aggressively as the Imperial Navy. Of course, while this radicality allows the Imperial Navy to reap technological dividends, it also pays a price.

The most typical example is the water tube boiler.

Not only the heating efficiency and steam rising speed of water tube boilers are far higher than those of fire tube boilers, but for the precious ship space and load capacity, the volume and weight per unit power of water tube boilers are smaller than those of fire tube boilers, and the maintenance is also more convenient.However, due to the structure of the water tube boiler, there are high requirements for structural design and material technology, especially the strength and life of the connection parts connecting various pressure components.

Therefore, the early water tube boilers were either poor in performance or had a short lifespan. In fact, they did not have much practical value.After the land-based water tube boiler introduced by American Stephen Wilcox in 1867, this is also the origin of the Babcock-Wilcox boiler common to the US Navy in another world.

It was also that year that Nanhua Power Company introduced this technology and designed a marine boiler based on it. Compared with land-use boilers and even marine boilers, it is more sensitive to size, volume and weight, and the working environment is harsher, but it has a greater impact on safety. and higher reliability requirements.Naturally, the technical difficulty of redesign and transformation has increased many times.However, after several years of hard work, it was successfully designed.

At the initial stage of use, the Navy lacked experience in using water tube boilers. For example, in the first few years of using water tube boilers, there was not even a formal user manual. Seriously exceeded the standard and other issues.

However, after several years of running-in, the Imperial Navy finally obtained the world's best - naval and government-style kerosene dual-purpose boiler in Sidley for eight years.But before that, the navy was tossed by water tube boilers for more than eight years, but even so, the excellent performance of water tube boilers still conquered the navy, making the imperial navy unswervingly choose water tube boilers.

However, when the Ministry of the Navy raised their concerns, Li Dekun, a steam turbine designer, said it directly.

"Don't worry, there will definitely be no problems! Our steam turbines have been put into use in power plants six years ago, and their performance can definitely be guaranteed."

If he didn't say that, I guess the navy wouldn't be worried, but if he said that, the navy would be a little worried, because the naval boilers were originally used in power plants...

Of course, for the Imperial Navy, which is eager to regain its technological leadership, it is worth taking some risks.

"High risk means high reward."

In the restaurant of the palace, enjoying the food cooked by the royal chef, Lin Yuehu, the admiral of the imperial navy, said with a smile.

"Compared with reciprocating steam engines, steam turbines have no reciprocating components such as pistons and connecting rods, and their movement is smoother. The vibration and noise, especially at high speeds, are far less than those of reciprocating steam engines, and they are easier to withstand larger forces. Steam pressure, power-to-weight ratio and space size are far stronger than reciprocating steam engines, and in the practice of power generation, it is found that the thermal efficiency of steam turbines is also greatly improved compared with reciprocating steam engines. These advantages are simply for marine power. It was designed in heaven. Therefore, the naval technology department believes that the steam turbine is the future of naval power!"

When Lin Yuehu explained the navy's choice of steam turbines, Emperor Zhu nodded slightly.

"Since the technology department has identified it, let's implement it. Efforts to seize the forefront of technology are not only important to the Imperial Navy, but also to the Imperial industry."

How could Emperor Zhu not know that steam turbines are the development direction of warship power facilities, and even steam turbines were invented under his "guidance". The excellent performance replaced the reciprocating steam engine and contributed to the electrification of the Ming Empire.

However, in Emperor Zhu's opinion, after conquering the steam turbine power generation, the next goal turned to the steam turbine unit used as a ship. After all, in the future, no matter whether it is a battleship or an aircraft carrier, a steam turbine unit will be needed.

However, the application of steam turbines on ships will encounter a series of problems. For example, the thrust drop caused by propeller cavitation caused by the high speed of steam turbines is a problem that needs to be overcome. Of course, Emperor Zhu needs to remind.

However, it is only a reminder of "the problem of reduced efficiency caused by the incompatibility between the speed of the steam turbine and the propeller". As for other things, Emperor Zhu is not willing to interfere too much, just like during the research process of the steam turbine, he also proposed An idea was then handed over to the technical department for research, instead of directly intervening, and even took out a steam turbine technical manual for them to study.

Daming's technical field will one day need to throw off the crutches.Even Emperor Zhu's occasional

"A flash of inspiration" also needs to be thrown away. After all, what Da Ming needs is self-innovation ability, rather than relying on the crutch of "a flash of inspiration" to develop, so in many cases, Emperor Zhu is even willing to sacrifice time, and then Waiting for the scientists of the empire to invent.

In fact, the reason for this is that Daming's technological level is far ahead of other countries, which also gives him the "capital to wait".

"It seems that the new capital ship of the Imperial Navy has been selected, isn't it the "Huizhou class"?"

In fact, when the model of the "Huizhou-class" battleship came out, Emperor Zhu naturally thought of the "dreadnought ship". After all, the difference between it and the dreadnought ship is the second-level main gun. It's not a dreadnought.

But Emperor Zhu didn't remind them, but let them try it, but who would have thought that the change of the navy would be so fast, the former Britney turned into Mrs. Niu overnight, and she actually disliked the "Huizhou class" , except for the "Huizhou" under construction, all warships of the same level have been cancelled.

"Yes, Your Majesty, the preliminary plan is to use four twin 356mm turrets as the main gun, with a displacement of 27000 tons and a speed of no less than 25 knots. It will combine the advantages of a battleship and a cruiser..."

While Lin Yuehu was explaining the navy's vision for the new capital ship, another characteristic of dreadnought ships from various countries in the world emerged in Emperor Zhu's mind.

For example, British warships will pursue high speed and firepower, ignoring protection to a certain extent. The British will do this because of the cruising needs of the vast overseas colonies, so speed and firepower are the first choice of the UK.This also caused the British warships to become thin-skinned and stuffed, with strong attack power and speed, but a slightly weaker defense.

The Germans preferred protection, that is, heavy armor, followed by speed and firepower.And what about the Americans?It focuses on firepower and protection, which almost combines the advantages of British and German warships.

In fact, the warships of the three countries have their own strengths and weaknesses.

So what does the "dreadnought" era of the Imperial Navy look like?

Is it British?
Or German?

Or is it American?

This is not important, the most important thing is that the empire will become the pioneer of the era of dreadnoughts in this world.By the time he serves, the naval fleets of all countries in the world will be eliminated overnight.

Well, the British will really want to cry by then, and the "two powerful navies" they spent a lot of money on will become a joke.

More than a joke!
After the Royal Navy, as a gold swallowing beast, finally regained its advantage in sea power, it faced the situation of being eliminated overnight.If they want to regain the advantage of sea power again, they must invest more money.

By that time, the Royal Navy was not the pride of the British Empire.No one knows for sure, but what is certain is that the Royal Navy, once it joins the arms race, will surely drain Britain's last pound.

Well, inadvertently, the British Empire was bled again.

In this regard, Emperor Zhu could not help but be full of expectations...

(End of this chapter)