(Thanks to the book club for the reward, and thanks to the book club for the monthly pass!)
"Commander, Consul Lucas wants to see you!" Wang Yuze was resting in a villa in the dormitory area of Beihai Shipyard. Accompanied by Wei Han, director of the shipyard, Wang Yuze visited the construction progress of the shipyard. Now, it has been completed
Ten thousand-ton shipyards and another 10,000-ton shipyard are still under construction. It is expected to be completed by the end of the year. The current shipyard
, except for the two first ship "Leshan" and the second ship "Qijiang" used to build the "Leshan" class light cruiser, the rest of the shipyards are building merchant ships. As for the 10,000-ton battleship, shipbuilding
The factory is still in the design stage. However, due to the lack of relevant experience and technology, it will take a long time to design its own 10,000-ton battleship.
"Invite him in!" Wang Yuze said. This time, Wang Yuze also took the initiative to invite Lucas to attend the new ship's keel installation ceremony. After all, almost all the large equipment in the Beihai Shipyard came from Germany. Without Germany
With support, Western Sichuan wanted to build its own warships.
That is quite difficult. For example, heavy steam hammers and hydraulic presses, etc., are high-tech equipment from Western powers. Under normal circumstances, they will not be exported to other countries at all. Because Germany exports these equipment to western Sichuan,
It also aroused criticism from the Western powers and put great pressure on it.
"Uncle Lucas, welcome. Hello, sir!" Wang Yuze said with a smile on his face. Lucas did not come alone. There was also a middle-aged German man wearing glasses, and Wang Yuze also came.
Don't know each other.
"Your Excellency, the cruiser you designed is very good, and its performance is definitely world-class!" Lucas praised.
"Thank you Uncle Lucas. We still have a lot to learn from Germany in the design and construction of battleships. We cannot do without Germany's help. For example, Uncle Lucas, we still need two 10,000-ton hydraulic presses.
, can Germany export it to us?" Wang Yuze said with a smile. To build a 10,000-ton battleship, high-strength steel plates must be used, and a larger hydraulic press is required.
"Your Excellency, Marshal, our country has just developed a 10,000-ton hydraulic press. I'm afraid it will take some time to export it. However, given the relationship between Western Sichuan and our country, I will lobby the government, and I believe it will be possible soon.
The exit is for you!" Lucas said with a smile.
Germany has no interests in the Far East. The rise of western Sichuan will definitely threaten Britain, France and even Russia. Among the traditional powers, it will create an enemy, a powerful enemy, in the east of the world. This is what Germany likes to do most.
"Thank you, Uncle Lucas!" Hearing what Lucas said, Wang Yuze breathed a sigh of relief. Although Germany has agreed to export, Western Sichuan cannot relax. These large-scale equipment must be built by themselves.
So as not to be choked by others. Now, the heavy equipment manufacturing factory in Chengdu has started to imitate the large hydraulic presses imported from Germany, and has made good progress. I believe that it will not be long before western Sichuan can build it on its own.
"Uncle Lucas, who is this gentleman?" Wang Yuze asked proactively.
"This is Mr. Backhaus Smit, my good friend and a famous German battleship designer." Consul Lucas introduced.
"Welcome to the East!" Wang Yuze said quickly. He asked Lucas to find a battleship designer for him. Could it be that this is the person?
"Thank you, Marshal!" Barclays Smith nodded. Like most designers, he seemed a little taciturn.
"Your Excellency, Marshal, Backhaus is Germany's first-class battleship designer. He once worked at Wessel Shipyard in Bremen, Germany. The cruiser he designed has become the main battleship of the German Navy. Moreover, he is also a very good man.
A designer with ideas, he has also designed submarines. It’s just that the Navy did not adopt his opinions!” Lucas introduced.
"Ah! Submarine?" Wang Yuze was shocked. What a talent! Although the current submarines are still in the preliminary stage of exploration and have not been used in actual combat. But Wang Yuze, who has traveled through time, does not know this kind of underwater
What is the use of sharp weapons? Now there is a very big gap between the Western Sichuan Navy and the great powers, and it can only be made up for in other aspects. If the Western Sichuan Navy can have a huge underwater fleet, then Western Sichuan Navy may have the ability to compete with the great powers' navies.
strength.
"What? Does the Marshal also know about this kind of warship?" Barclays Smit asked in surprise. Before coming to China, his impression of China had always been in the barbaric and backward stage. In fact, when
After he got off the ship from Shanghai and boarded the river ship from Shanghai to Chongqing, the scenes he saw along the way were indeed very backward. However, after entering Hubei, he saw that
What he saw in front of him was a scene of vigorous development. Especially Chongqing, this city was no less inferior to many Western cities. Originally, he was just invited by Lucas to come to the East to have a look. But now, in
After living in western Sichuan for a period of time, he has decided to stay. Although the shipbuilding industry here is still relatively basic, it also means huge opportunities.
"Yes, Mr. Smit, I firmly believe that warships such as submarines will change the way the navy operates to a great extent. Mr. Smit, on behalf of Western Sichuan, I formally hire you as a designer at Beihai Shipyard, with an annual salary of 20
Wanmark, specially designed submarines for the Western Sichuan Navy!" Wang Yuze said immediately. It was not easy to meet a talent in this field, and he would not give up just like that.
"Two hundred thousand marks, Marshal, you are really generous!" Lucas said with envy. For a young man, two hundred thousand marks is considered a very high salary in Germany today.
Wang Yuze waited for Barclays Smit to make his choice with a smile on his face. However, although Barclays Smit was a little shocked, a trace of disappointment flashed in his eyes.
"Your Majesty, Marshal, my main direction of attack is the design of main battleships, not submarines. If Your Majesty, Marshal, wants to hire a submarine designer, it will be difficult for me to do the job!" Barclays Smit said.
.The current sea surface is still dominated by large surface warships. He does not believe that small and extremely slow submarines with only tens or hundreds of tons can play such a big role in naval battles.
Wang Yuze was stunned, but he didn't expect to be directly rejected by the other party.
"Your Excellency, Marshal, you may not know that the reason why Barclays Smit came to the East is because an excellent battleship he designed was not adopted by the German Navy, so he came to the East out of luck!"
Lucas explained.
"That's right! So, Mr. Barclays Smit, can you first introduce to me the battleship you designed?" Wang Yuze said. It doesn't matter if we focus on the design of battleships, as long as we design one for Western Sichuan from time to time.
Submarines, or instructing Western Sichuan's own designers to design in this area, that would be enough.
"Okay, Your Excellency, Marshal!" Barclays Smit said.
Barclays Smit was obviously well prepared. He took out a design drawing from the bag he carried with him, showed it in front of Wang Yuze, and then began to explain.
"This is a sub-capital ship with a displacement of 8,000 tons, a length of 102 meters, and armaments of two twin 280mm 40-caliber naval guns, six 105mm single-mounted guns, and six 88mm single-mounted guns.
It has 12 circular boilers, two piston steam engines, a main engine power of 9,000 horsepower, two shaft propulsion, and a maximum speed of 16 knots. The armor is 400 mm at the waterline; 60 mm on the deck; 50 mm main gun turret (120 mm on the front side)
mm); command tower 300 mm," Barclays Smit said.
"Mr. Schmidt, this is a very good battleship. However, compared with the 'Brandenburg-class' battleships currently being built in Germany, its firepower is at a disadvantage, and its armor and speed are not superior." Wang Yuze said.
"That's right, that's why the German Navy did not adopt my design!" Barclays Schmidt said sincerely.
Wang Yuze frowned. Western Sichuan has also ordered two "Brandenburg-class" battleships, which have been improved according to Wang Xiao's requirements and are more powerful than the "Brandenburg-class" equipped by the Germans themselves.
Battleships are even more powerful. Therefore, there is no need for the navy in western Sichuan to build such useless battleships.
"Your Excellency, Marshal, I have seen the two battleships built for you by the Volcan Shipyard. I have to admit that both in terms of firepower and speed, they are more powerful than the 'Brandenburg-class' battleships of the German Navy. This also gives
This gave me new ideas. Plus today, I learned about the parameters of the light cruiser designed by Sichuan West, and I have new ideas. I can do it on this battleship I designed.
Change. My initial idea is that the displacement of the new battleship is still more than 8,000 tons, the armament is reduced and the secondary guns are strengthened, and the power is increased, so that the speed of the battleship reaches more than 23 knots. In this case, this battleship will have a speed second only to the battleship
The firepower far exceeds the speed of a battleship and will become the nemesis of all battleships below the battleship!" Barclays Smit said excitedly.
"The nemesis of the cruiser? Battlecruiser? Perhaps, a heavy cruiser is more appropriate." Wang Yuze said secretly. However, the current situation of the Western Sichuan Navy makes it very necessary to have a heavy cruiser. After all, the current Far East
In the region, the most powerful ones are the two ironclads of the Beiyang Fleet. The battleships in Western Sichuan have not yet returned home, and the British battleships have not yet been deployed in the Far East. The heavy cruisers will play a very important role.
PS: The second update is here! Please subscribe and vote monthly! (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to come to (this site) to subscribe and reward. Your support is my biggest motivation.)