Chapter 427: Prince Hermann
After arranging the destination of the troops, Ernst's first stop in Trieste was the Royal Dockyard, where he met Archduke Ferdinand.
"Ernst! Why did you suddenly come to Trieste?" Archduke Ferdinand was still a little surprised by Ernst's arrival.
"Father-in-law, I am preparing for the wedding in advance! Of course, I will also come to Europe to buy factories and machines before the wedding."
"Haha!" Archduke Ferdinand sneered. The second half of the sentence was the truth. As for preparing for the wedding, it would be fine to do it in a few months.
"Forget it. I won't bother with you. Since you are here, you can also take a look at the ship we built."
As Ernst had predicted a few months ago, due to the impact of the Great Depression, many orders were defaulted, leaving vacancies.
"The ironclad ship being built in the dock in front of me is the one I carefully selected from many plans. It has not yet been named. Its displacement is over 6,990 tons. However, I did not build it to over 7,000 tons according to your request."
This made Ernst laugh and cry. He had said at the time that he would build two ships with a displacement of 5,000 tons or more, and would not consider ships with a displacement of 7,000 tons or more. However, Ferdinand actually pressed the limit and built a battleship with a displacement of more than 6,990 tons.
"In fact, if you can build a warship of 7,000 tons or more with the same price, I personally have no objection, as long as it does not exceed the budget. However, if other countries see this ship, it may trigger a naval competition," said Ernst.
The displacement of this ship is almost the same as that of the 7,000-ton class. Together with the Archduke Ferdinand which is currently being tested, they make up two top-level battleships. People who don't understand the situation might suspect that the Austro-Hungarian Empire has some designs on the Mediterranean!
"Why didn't you say so earlier? If that's the case, this budget can barely afford a 7,000-ton ironclad ship. The price of shipbuilding has dropped a lot compared to before. Unfortunately, this is a warship. A civilian ship would be cheaper."
Ernst said directly: "In fact, this ship is already not much different from 7,000 tons. If we add some weapons, will it exceed the limit?"
"Almost, almost," Archduke Ferdinand said perfunctorily, "The design of this ship was based on the British's latest ironclad warship, the Destroyer. However, the displacement of the Destroyer was more than 13,000 tons, and the displacement of our ironclad warship was only about half of it. Alas, the British are indeed rich and powerful."
HMS Destroyer was the first fully steam-powered ironclad ship in Britain. Other ironclad ships at that time had several tall masts with huge sails hanging on them and densely packed broadside muzzle-mounted guns arranged inside the deck, but HMS Destroyer had only two chimneys. Archduke Ferdinand, for example, was powered by both sails and steam.
So Ernst asked: "Is this ironclad ship also fully steam-powered like the British Devastation?"
Archduke Ferdinand replied: "Of course not. We are not as advanced as the British in the research of steam engines, so for the sake of safety we still use the traditional dual power."
The British are indeed good at this. Not to mention the HMS Destroyer, even the main battleship Archduke Ferdinand in East Africa is one or two thousand tons less than other British ironclad ships in service.
"Ernst, don't be fooled by the fact that it still uses traditional power. In fact, its speed can be faster than the British ship HMS Destroyer, and it is also less technically difficult," said Archduke Ferdinand.
"Well, it's not even in the dock right now, so how do we determine its speed?"
"Of course, this is based on the 7,200-ton ironclad ship that Austria had just built. It is also a traditional dual-powered ship. It was tested half a month ago and provided the parameters for our ironclad ship. Both use the same type of steam boiler."
"Oh! I see. You are talking about the ironclad ship Archduke Ferdinand, which was indeed launched just last month." Ernst said meaningfully.
This sentence is a bit harsh to Archduke Ferdinand. What is Archduke Ferdinand? Isn't it his own name? Of course, there are many Archduke Ferdinands in Austrian history. It is possible that the name is just to commemorate someone with the same name.
But after thinking about it, Archduke Ferdinand felt that something was wrong. How did Ernst know the name of the Austrian Navy ship?
"Are you talking about the ironclad ship of the Austrian Navy?"
Seeing Archduke Ferdinand still not understanding, Ernst smiled somewhat unkindly and said to his father-in-law, "Of course it is Archduke Ferdinand, the first ironclad ship of our East African Kingdom Navy, which was launched just last month at the Trieste Royal Shipyard."
What is a surprise? No, it would be more appropriate to describe it as a shock.
At this moment, Archduke Ferdinand's brain was working rapidly, time went back, and then he suddenly realized that he had been fooled?
A few months ago, Ernst hinted, or mentioned inadvertently, that a month earlier, when the so-called "Archduke Ferdinand" was launched, he, the commander-in-chief of the East African Navy, also went on board the Archduke Ferdinand for observation.
Archduke Ferdinand was puzzled at the time. When the Austrian Navy's new ship was launched, there were no other important figures present except Tegetthoff, the Commander-in-Chief of the Austrian Navy. Also, why this ironclad ship had no name? After all, this was the most advanced "Austrian" warship that exceeded Lissa in tonnage. He recalled the strange look in Tegetthoff's face when he looked at him.
"Okay? I'm the only clown!"
Hahaha……
"What are you laughing at?"
Ernst held back his words and said, "Huh, um... Father-in-law, there's nothing strange about this. The main reason is that you are the soul of our East African Navy after all, so you can't be shabby!"
Archduke Ferdinand: "You wouldn't have kept it from me. To be honest, I was very surprised to learn that the ironclad ship was ours. If you had told me in advance, I would have been even happier."
"No, I still feel a little unwilling. When the 'Archduke Ferdinand' comes back, I must experience it again, and this time I must experience it as the protagonist." Archduke Ferdinand said somewhat unwillingly.
Last month, Archduke Ferdinand was quite envious of the ironclad ship Archduke Ferdinand. Now looking back, it turns out that he was the one who envied himself.
Ernst said on the side: "Yes, only a top-level warship like Archduke Ferdinand is worthy of your position as the Commander-in-Chief of the East African Navy."
"Well, now the Archduke Ferdinand hasn't returned to port yet, so I can't go on board even if I want to. Let's continue talking about the name of this armored ship under construction!" Ferdinand interrupted.
Ernst thought for a moment and said, "Why not name it after a famous person in Germany?"
"Whose name do you think is good?"
Ernst said: "Prince Hermann."
"Your grandfather?"
"Yes, after all, my great-grandfather fought against Napoleon under the command of Marshal Alvinzi during the Second Battle of Bassano."
In fact, both the French and Austrian armies suffered heavy losses in the Second Battle of Bassano. This battle took place two months after the more famous First Battle of Bassano, and it is worth mentioning that this was also the first battle defeat suffered by Napoleon in his military career.
Ernst's grandfather, Prince Hermann of Hohenzollern-Hechingen, was actually one of the former Austrian military commanders and served as the Austrian Army Marshal.
Earlier, Prince Joseph Friedrich Wilhelm of Hohenzollern-Hechingen, Ernst's grandfather's uncle (the title was inherited by his nephew), was also a field marshal during the Holy Roman Empire.
Generally speaking, the Hechingen royal family once served the Habsburgs, but this tradition ended after they were incorporated into Prussia.
(End of this chapter)
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