Chapter 1177: Big Cannons and Big Ships (First Update, Please Subscribe)

Every piece of steel contains the secret of a country's rise and fall!

This sentence is undoubtedly extremely appropriate when applied to the Ming Dynasty.

The iron and steel industry has developed almost along with the development of Nanhua, and has also witnessed the rise of the Ming Empire. In the past twenty years, from the application of blast furnace hot blast stoves to the invention of open-hearth steelmaking, from ordinary carbon steel to high-quality alloy steel, the iron and steel industry of the Ming Empire has always been ahead of other countries in the world, especially the latter, which is unique in the world.

Even in 1884, when the world began to adopt converters and open-hearth steelmaking to mass produce steel, the empire's high-quality alloy steel remained its most important export product.

Thanks to the Empire's advanced level in the field of alloy steel, at the end of last year, the Empire's ordnance department finally successfully developed the world's most powerful 356mm naval gun.

The giant turret looked spectacular, with two 45-fold-long barrels pointing straight forward. With a loud bang, in the instant that the tranquility between heaven and earth was broken, shells weighing thousands of pounds whizzed off into the distance.

"Each gun weighs 89,000 kilograms, with a barrel length of 16.469 meters and a rifling length of 13.737 meters. It can fire a 635-kilogram shell at a maximum elevation angle of 25 degrees to a maximum distance of 27,850 meters..."

On the coastal artillery platform, after witnessing the earth-shaking roar of the giant cannon, Lin Yuehu looked a little proud as he listened to the introduction of the technical department. The new large-caliber naval gun was completed under his leadership and promotion. In order to manufacture this giant cannon, the imperial military industry department not only needed to develop a new type of alloy steel, but also a giant hydraulic press. It can be said that this giant cannon embodies almost all the latest industrial technological achievements of the imperial industrial department. It is also thanks to the joint efforts of various departments that the fruits of success are finally reaped.

With it, the Imperial Navy will surely rule the entire ocean. Even if there are other giant cannons that surpass it in the future, the Empire will still develop new giant cannons at that time!

"Commander Lin, our 356mm naval gun is currently the best in the world. Its power is far ahead of other countries in the world. Once the Imperial Navy adopts it, it will definitely give the Imperial Navy an absolute advantage in firepower..."

In addition to introducing the new naval guns to Commander Lin, Ruanda, the director of the Imperial Navy's Ship Administration Department, showed a blueprint.

"Commander Lin, look, this is a new type of battleship we designed. It uses two twin 356mm first-level naval guns, and its secondary main guns are six twin 254mm turrets..."

When talking about the newly designed battleship, Ruanda looked proud and conceited. In his opinion, the new battleship he designed would undoubtedly be the king of the sea in the new era.

"...The new warship with two-stage main guns can fully exert the powerful power of 356mm naval guns and the high firing rate of 254mm naval guns. According to preliminary calculations, the firepower of such a warship is equal to 3.5 Youzhou-class battleships. Even the Huizhou-class battleships that are about to be built cannot compare with it. After all, the Huizhou-class battleship only has 4 second-stage main guns, and the caliber of the main gun is only 305mm."

"Boss Lu's design is really good!"

Lin Yuehu exclaimed as he looked at the sketch in front of him.

"This is truly a formidable warship!"

Apart from anything else, those 356mm giant cannons alone are enough for it to rule the ocean. Moreover, it has a few more secondary main guns. There is no warship in the world more powerful than it.

"Yes, Commander Lin, it not only marks the entry of the Imperial Navy into the era of 14-inch naval guns, but also marks the entry of the Imperial Navy into the era of 20,000 tons. 20,000 tons! It will become a watershed for the battleships of the new era. The battleships before it will all be eliminated..."

Just as Ruanda, the empire's first-class warship designer, was looking forward to the future with pride, someone suddenly muttered beside him.

“Such a design is simply a waste of tonnage.”

What?

Although the voice was not loud, it still reached the ears of Lin Yuehu and others. Lu Anda was also stunned and looked at Wang Zhensheng.

Without waiting for Luanda to speak, Lin Yuehu asked,

"Waste of tonnage? Do you have any new ideas?"

"Commander Lin..."

Without waiting for Luanda to speak, Lin Yuehu reached out to stop him and looked at Wang Zhensheng.

"Tell me your idea."

In response to Chief Lin’s question, Wang Zhensheng spoke directly.

"Commander Lin, a 356mm turret weighs 700 tons, two turrets weigh 1,400 tons, how much do six 254mm twin turrets weigh?"

While asking the question, Wang Zhensheng turned his gaze to Commander Lin and said.

"This is a very simple math problem. Six 254mm twin turrets are not only much more important than two 356mm twin turrets, but also much more expensive. In terms of cost-effectiveness, what is the only advantage of the 254mm naval gun? It is the rate of fire. In addition to the rate of fire, its range and power are far from comparable to those of the 356mm naval gun."

"Major Wang, its firing rate is very fast, three times that of a 356mm naval gun!"

Someone interrupted.

"What's the point of firing at a high rate if it can't penetrate armor?"

"The South Pacific naval battles proved that high-explosive bombs were the future. A faster rate of fire meant more shells could be fired, causing more damage to the enemy ship's superstructure."

This is the experience that the naval battle in the South Pacific gave to the navy - washing the deck!

In this era, the large-caliber main guns at the bow and stern of the ship were few in number, had a slow firing rate and poor accuracy, so using medium-caliber rapid-fire guns to wash the deck became the most effective means of naval warfare.

"To wash the deck, a medium-caliber naval gun can be used. Why use a 254mm gun? Its rate of fire is not as good as a medium-caliber gun, and its power is not as good as a large-caliber gun. It is simply useless. No, that's not right..."

Facing Chief Lin's gaze, Wang Zhensheng said.

"It's just garbage. I'm talking about the secondary main gun! All secondary main guns are garbage!"

Wow!

The word "rubbish" immediately offended many people. After all, the second-level main gun was a groundbreaking innovation of the Imperial Navy. How come it became "rubbish" in his mouth?

"The so-called secondary main guns are neither high nor low. They are not as powerful as medium-caliber rapid-fire guns in terms of deck washing, and they are not as powerful as main guns. Moreover, they are so expensive. The price of four secondary main gun twin guns is far more than that of two main guns, and the weight is also the same. Instead of this, it is better to add two first-level main guns!"

"What!"

Lin Yuehu looked at Wang Zhensheng in astonishment.

"Add one more main gun?"

"Yes, that is, add a first-level main gun, remove all the second-level main guns, and unify the caliber of the main guns. This also has an advantage, which is the advantage of unified fire control. After all, in naval artillery battles, the firing parameters of the first-level main gun and the second-level main gun are different, so a series of problems will arise. But if the main guns are unified, there will be no such problems."

After a pause, Wang Zhensheng looked at Commander Lin who seemed to be thinking about something and said.

"The power of four twin 356mm naval guns is definitely far greater than that of a warship with four 356mm main guns and six 254mm secondary main guns."

"There are six gates there, but there are clearly twelve gates..."

Without waiting for the person who interrupted to finish, Luanda said with a frown on his face,

"It is indeed six guns. This hexagonal layout can only use the secondary main guns on one side..."

Luanda, who was originally smug, was now staring at his sketch with mixed feelings. As the best naval warship engineer in the empire, how could he not know that what Wang Zhensheng said was true?

"Unifying the caliber of the main guns and eliminating the secondary main guns can not only reduce expenditures, but also increase the firepower of the navy exponentially. After all, the so-called naval battle is nothing more than the one with the biggest guns and ships wins!"

Wang Zhensheng said again.

"The one with the biggest guns and ships will win!"

Lin Yuehu nodded and said.

"There is no other way to fight at sea. A big ship is better than a small ship, a big gun is better than a small gun, many ships are better than few ships, and many guns are better than few guns."

(End of this chapter)