I'm the Dauphin in France

Chapter 592 From Frigate to Dreadnought
1 million pounds is roughly equivalent to 2 million francs.

This amount of money may not be a big deal for the Royal Navy.

After all, the cost of a 74-gun ship, which is a third-class battleship, as the core combat force, is 6 to 7 pounds. Including training costs, military salaries, dock fees, maintenance costs, etc., it is about 9 pounds. If you go out to sea for a battle, the cost will rise sharply.

So 1 million pounds can only build 10 third-level battleships, which may not be enough.

This may not be intuitive enough. For example, during the Seven Years' War, the British built 32 third-class battleships in one go, as well as a large number of first- and second-class ships.

Millions of pounds were just a drop in the bucket.

But what Joseph wants to build now is just a frigate, which is the lowest level among the serious warships.

An ordinary 28-gun light frigate costs less than 1 pounds. Even a heavy frigate, or what the British call a level 1 frigate, costs only about 8 pounds.

Of course, although "Light of the Mediterranean" is also a light protection vessel, its cost has skyrocketed due to the use of new technologies.

Sanet estimated the cost to be close to 40 francs per boat, or £1.

After all, the price of an LJ52 steam engine is as high as 5 francs - there is no way around it, it uses the most advanced technology, but the production volume is very low, so the price cannot be lowered at all.

Even the main shaft and propeller, because they are made using ultra-high precision processing technology, the cost of a set is 6 francs.

However, the total cost of building 20 "Mediterranean Light" class ships is only 32 pounds.

The subsequent heavy frigates with three steam engines would cost 3 pounds, or 12 pounds for 36 ships.

The construction cost of the two-level frigates is a total of 68 pounds. With the subsequent training and use costs, it will cost about 85 pounds.

Kalona even had more than 100,000 pounds left from the "fundraising funds" he raised in the UK.

Joseph planned to invest all the money in the navy this time, and even add another sum. After all, history has proven that it is impossible to completely defeat the British without a strong fleet.

Joseph knew very well that the frigates alone could only harass the British Navy in the "bathtub" of the Mediterranean and drive it away using tactics.

But if you want to engage in a fleet decisive battle, you still have to rely on the powerful third-level battleships.

The displacement of the third-level battleships is over 1600 tons, and they require at least a 400-horsepower steam engine to barely drive them.

The later Napoleon had a displacement of 1870 tons, but was equipped with a 960-horsepower steam engine.

However, the Napoleon can reach a speed of 14 knots, which is not necessary in the current naval battle. Therefore, Joseph plans to use 400 horsepower in the early stage, which can reach a speed of 12 knots.

After all, the current third-level ships can't even run at 10 knots. 12 knots is a 20% to 30% increase in speed, which can be called a crushing victory.

Joseph patted the Minister of the Navy who was still in ecstasy and had not yet recovered: "This is nothing. In the future, we will have 'dreadnoughts'. They are warships that can defeat the British head-on."

Yes, he planned to name the future steam-powered third-class ship "Dreadnought".

The main point is to follow the British path and leave them with no way to go. And compared with the overwhelming advantage of the dreadnoughts before World War I over the battleships of the same era, the advantages of the steam-powered third-class ships over the sailing warships are not inferior at all.

The Marquis of Castries nodded excitedly again and again. Although he didn't know what the "dreadnought" was, but His Royal Highness the Crown Prince said it could defeat the British fleet, then it must be able to do so!

After all, His Highness had just created such a magical battleship as the "Light of the Mediterranean", and now he is completely like the Crown Prince's "little fanboy".

However, Joseph is also well aware that France’s current technological capabilities are still a long way from being a “dreadnought”.

At the very least, the power of the steam engine must reach about 200 horsepower, so using two of them can barely drive the huge body of the third-level ship.

It is definitely a very daunting challenge to increase the power from the current 50 horsepower to 200 horsepower. It is estimated that it will have to start with a completely new steam engine structure design and overcome a series of technical difficulties such as metal smelting, forging, finishing, and testing.

This depends on the efforts of the "Three Masters of Steam Engines" in France. All we can do is to provide them with research and development funding. After all, Murdoch has already been told the theoretical aspects.

However, once a breakthrough is made in the 200-horsepower steam engine, it can be directly used to develop trains. That is the biggest explosion point of the Industrial Revolution!

It was almost noon when the Marquis of Castries and a group of officers and designers surrounded Joseph and went to the restaurant.

In order to build the new warship, Joseph had been eating with them almost every day so that they could discuss the matter at any time.

The laboratory was still some distance away from the officers' mess. Joseph said to Marquis de Castries beside him, "Although the new battleship has not been built yet, you must start crew training as soon as possible. After all, this kind of ship is completely different from any previous one."

Although the Navy General Staff has been established, due to the special nature of the Navy - a ship is almost an independent small society, especially when it is at sea, the captain is the king, and the cohesion is very strong - it is difficult for the General Staff to influence the Navy. Currently, the recruitment and training of sailors are still led by the Navy Minister.

Marquis de Castries immediately bowed and said, "Yes, Your Highness, I promise to recruit enough crew members within three months. After another year of training, we should be able to go into battle."

"Four months?" Joseph frowned slightly. "Why does it take so long? Doesn't the Navy have any sailors available?"

Marquis de Castries explained: "Your Highness, even a light frigate requires 150 sailors. Twenty ships means more than 20 people, which is difficult to recruit all at once."

Joseph asked in more detail and finally understood the current operating model of the navy.

It can be said that the naval soldiers and merchant sailors of this era were not interchangeable.

The navy does not usually maintain a redundant crew team. When manpower is needed, it recruits from merchant ships and fishing boats.

Of course, sailors usually gathered in places like taverns waiting for news.

The "bohemian and freedom-loving" character of French sailors made it difficult for the navy to recruit enough people.

In comparison, the British Navy on the other side was more experienced. They usually sent out spies to find out the basic information of the sailors on merchant ships and fishing boats.

Once they needed men, they would send soldiers to capture them. Once the sailors boarded the warships, they could not go home.

This resulted in the British Navy's mobilization efficiency being much higher than that of the French Navy every time a major naval battle occurred.

(End of this chapter)