Opening game, American Tycoon

Chapter 387 Central Iron Fortress (First update, please subscribe)
It is the lifeblood of Nanhua!
The future is here!
Seeing the agitated Luanda, Zhu Xianhai could only applaud. At this moment, he saw hope in this young man.

Not because of his knowledge, but because they really saw the future.

Looking directly at him, Zhu Xianhai couldn't help applauding for him.

"Very well, then tell me what you think!"

"In order to ensure the safety of this lifeline, we must have a series of strongholds in the Pacific Ocean, just like the company's current layout in the Pacific Islands. I believe the commander-in-chief has long been prepared for this. These islands are like It is like a necklace, connecting Nanhua and Huaxia together, and now what is before Nanhua is, how can we ensure that this thread will not be cut off!"

How to guarantee?

It must be to build a powerful navy!
There is no doubt about this point. In fact, Zhu Xianhai has already planned for this. In the past few years, 300 students have graduated from the Naval Academy every year. In fact, he is preparing for the expansion of the Navy.

In fact, compared with shipbuilding, Zhu Xianhai values ​​talent pool more.Why was it impossible to build a powerful navy in the late Qing Dynasty?

Even if it is the Beiyang Navy, it is also weak in succession?This kind of weakness is essentially a shortage of talents. Although there are two naval academies in Mawei and Beiyang, there are only a few dozen officers who graduate each year, and less than 20% of them study navigation.

Is it possible to achieve the expansion of the navy just by relying on this person?

Although the Beiyang Navy became an army in 1883, the Beiyang Navy did not establish a modern talent supplement training mechanism until the Sino-Japanese War in 1894, and did not establish this mechanism until the fall of the Qing Dynasty.

In comparison, what about Eta Island?As early as the 1880s, more than [-] naval officers graduated every year. Relying on the seniority ranking of the "Etajima Hammock" linked to their grades, the Japanese Navy established a system of employment regardless of origin and background. Accumulation, the Japanese navy surpassed the Manchu and Qing navy, which is simply normal.

In the expansion of the Japanese navy, people are always waiting for ships, not ships. Accumulation of talents.

It is also relying on the accumulation of this kind of talent and continuous investment.Let them have a second-class navy in the world, second only to the United States and Britain.

It is also because of this that Zhu Xianhai attaches great importance to the cultivation of reserve talents. From the Naval Academy to the Merchant Marine Rotary School, and the training of naval crews to merchant mariners, they are essentially preparations for the expansion of the Navy.

Ten years ago, Nanhua did not have a merchant ship of its own, but now Nanhua has more than 370 merchant ships and ocean-going fishing vessels, with a gross tonnage of more than 20 tons, hundreds of captains, and tens of thousands of crew members. What is it?All are developing naval potential.

"We need to build a powerful sea force. The capital ship of this sea power is completely different from the capital ships of various countries today. It should have the same firepower and defense as battleships, and it should also have the ability to meet cruisers. Speed ​​and seaworthiness, this is because limited by the size of the fleet, our warships need to be used for naval duels, and also need to have better ocean-going capabilities. In peacetime, under the protection of important sea traffic, and to ensure sufficient The firepower to attack the opponent who "covets" its own maritime interests..."

At present, the main ships of the Nanhua Coast Guard are six cruisers. The establishment of this cruiser itself is also for the maintenance of Nanhua's overseas interests and to protect the sea line of communication.

But how can a cruiser stand against a battleship?

There is no possibility at all.

"What kind of warship do we need? A warship with a displacement of about 7000 tons, a speed of 16-18 knots, a warship with 200mm armor and at least four 254mm naval guns. If possible, we should design a 280mm gun for enhanced firepower. to 305mm naval guns."

Pointing to the sketches on the shelf, Luanda expressed his thoughts one by one.His idea is undoubtedly extremely advanced in this era, because in this era, there is a clear distinction between battleships and cruisers, but he can adjust some requirements for warships according to actual needs. This concept is undoubtedly extremely advanced of.

"Powerful firepower, high speed, and thicker armor than a cruiser, but slightly inferior to a battleship armor, they end up being..."

"Battlecruiser."

Zhu Xianhai laughed.

Isn't his idea a battlecruiser?However, unlike the battlecruisers of later generations, its two twin turrets are located amidships, which is a bit similar to the "Tianlong class", in fact, from the 1600-ton "Fubo class" to two 2800-ton "Shanxi class" , all fully borrowed from the "Dragon Class" purchased from the UK, but the turret and ship structure were further improved.

Zhu Xianhai has never intervened in the navy's warship design, but now facing this sketch, he raised some targeted questions, from the arrangement of artillery to the distribution of armor belts.After learning that due to the limited tonnage, only 200mm armor can be used, he asked directly.

"We need a warship that is difficult for the enemy to hit. Its anti-sinkability must be good enough to withstand the largest artillery now!"

"In this case, the tonnage of the warship will increase by at least 3000 tons, the speed will be reduced, and the manufacturing difficulty will be further increased."

Although I have full confidence in Nanhua's shipbuilding capabilities, will it be a big step to build warships of tens of thousands of tons?

"Do you know the castle?"

Zhu Xianhai picked up a pen casually and drew a sketch in a corner of the drawing.

"You are currently using the full-length side armor belt. In order to ensure the thickness of the armor, it has to be reduced in size. If it is thickened, the heavy armor belt will affect its seaworthiness. We can completely replace it. One idea is to design an armored fort!"

Then Zhu Xianhai drew an armor belt on paper.

"We shortened the side armor defense area to about two-thirds of its length, and the central part formed a central armored fort. The main parts of our turret, ammunition compartment, boiler compartment, and main engine compartment are covered by this rectangular iron armor. Fort protection, the fore and stern parts at both ends of the armored fort are protected by horizontal armored decks. By adding watertight cabins, a certain degree of anti-sinkability is obtained, but the key is the central iron fort. As long as it is not penetrated, the warship will Impossible to sink, and by shortening the length of the armor belt, we can get even thicker armor!"

This is the most popular "Central Iron Fortress" in the 80s and 152s. In another world, "Zhenyuan" and "Dingyuan" adopted this design. They both showed excellent protection performance in naval battles. After being hit by shells below [-] mm, none of them were penetrated. The main facilities in the ship remained in good condition, and the damage was basically limited to the deck. Facts have proved that the design of the "Central Iron Fortress" has achieved their purpose.

This is also the reason why Zhu Xianhai proposed this idea. On the one hand, it is because it is successful, and on the other hand, it is because of technology—this technology itself is the technology of this era. He doesn't understand techniques such as "key defense".

The technology of "Central Iron Fortress" is relatively simple and straightforward, and there is no technical difficulty.Even Zhu Xianhai took over the oblique turret layout for the installation of the large-mouth artillery.Its main gun layout, including its appearance, is very similar to the "Dingyuan" class ironclad ship of the Beiyang Navy. It is equipped with two twin 254mm main guns at an oblique angle, a bit like the slightly smaller "Dingyuan".

After briefly drawing its main structure concept on the sketch, Zhu Xianhai said with a smile.

"In this way, we should be able to obtain a battlecruiser with heavy armor, advanced defense capabilities, and faster speed, what do you think?"

(End of this chapter)