Chapter 1202: The Arms Race is also a Bleeding Machine (First Update, Please Subscribe)
Globally speaking, no country's naval force is as radical in adopting new technologies as the Imperial Navy. Of course, this radicalism has allowed the Imperial Navy to reap technological dividends while also coming at a price.
The most typical example is the water tube boiler.
Water tube boilers not only have much higher heating efficiency and steam raising speed than fire tube boilers, but also have a smaller volume weight per unit power than fire tube boilers, which is more convenient to maintain. However, due to the structure of water tube boilers, there are high requirements for structural design and material technology, especially the strength and life of the connection parts connecting various pressure components.
Therefore, the early water tube boilers either had poor performance or a short lifespan, and actually had little practical value. After the American Stephen Wilcox introduced the land-based water tube boiler in 1867, this was also the origin of the Babcock-Wilcox boiler commonly seen in the US Navy in another world.
That year, Nanhua Power Company introduced this technology and designed a marine boiler based on it. Compared with land-based boilers and even marine boilers, they are more sensitive to size, volume and weight, have a harsher working environment and higher requirements for safety and reliability. The technical difficulty of redesigning and transforming naturally increased many times. However, after several years of hard work, they were successfully designed.
In the early days of use, the navy lacked experience in the use of water-tube boilers. For example, in the first few years of using water-tube boilers, there was not even a formal instruction manual. The water-tube boilers suffered from various leaks, and coal consumption seriously exceeded the standard.
However, after several years of running-in, in the eighth year of Shengde, the Imperial Navy finally obtained the world's best shipbuilding kerosene dual-purpose boiler. But before that, the Navy had been tossed around with water tube boilers for more than eight years, but even so, the excellent performance of water tube boilers still conquered the Navy, making the Imperial Navy unswervingly choose water tube boilers.
However, when the Navy Department raised their concerns, steam turbine designer Li Dekun spoke directly.
"Don't worry, there will be no problems! Our steam turbine was put into use in the power plant six years ago, and its performance is guaranteed."
If he hadn't said that, the Navy probably wouldn't have been so worried. But after he said that, the Navy was a little worried, because the shipbuilding boiler was originally used in power plants...
Of course, for the Imperial Navy, which is eager to regain its technological leadership, it is worth taking some risks.
“High risk means high reward.”
In the palace's restaurant, while enjoying the food prepared by the royal chef, Lin Yuehu, the admiral of the imperial navy, said with a smile.
"Compared to reciprocating steam engines, steam turbines do not have reciprocating components such as pistons and connecting rods, so their movement is smoother, and the vibration and noise, especially when running at high speed, are much smaller than those of reciprocating steam engines. They are also more likely to withstand greater steam pressures, and their power-to-weight ratio and space size are much better than those of reciprocating steam engines. In the practice of power generation, it is found that the thermal efficiency of steam turbines is also greatly improved compared to reciprocating steam engines. These advantages are simply made for marine power. Therefore, the Navy's technical department believes that steam turbines are the future of naval power!"
Emperor Zhu nodded slightly as Lin Yuehu explained the Navy's choice of steam turbines.
"Since the technical department has confirmed it, let's implement it. Striving to stay at the forefront of technology is not only important for the Imperial Navy, but also for the Imperial industry."
How could Emperor Zhu not know that steam turbines were the development direction of warship power facilities? In fact, the steam turbine was invented under his "guidance" and was first used in thermal power plants six years ago. Subsequently, steam turbine generator sets immediately replaced reciprocating steam engines with their excellent performance, contributing to the electrification of the Ming Empire.
However, in the view of Emperor Zhu, after conquering steam turbine power generation, the next goal turned to steam turbine units for ship use. After all, in the future, both battleships and aircraft carriers will need steam turbine units.
However, the application of steam turbines on ships will encounter a series of problems. For example, the thrust reduction caused by propeller cavitation caused by the high speed of the steam turbine is a problem that needs to be overcome. Emperor Zhu certainly needs to be reminded of this.
However, it was just a reminder of "the problem of reduced efficiency caused by the mismatch between the speed of the steam turbine and the propeller." As for other things, Emperor Zhu was not willing to interfere too much. For example, in the research process of the steam turbine, he just proposed an idea and then handed it over to the technical department for research, instead of intervening directly, or even taking out a technical manual of the steam turbine and letting them study it.
The Ming Dynasty's technological field will one day need to throw away its crutches. Even the occasional
"Flash of inspiration" also needs to be gotten rid of. After all, what the Ming Dynasty needs is the ability to innovate itself, rather than relying on the "flash of inspiration" crutch to develop. So in many cases, Emperor Zhu was even willing to sacrifice time and wait for the empire's scientists to invent.
In fact, the reason for this is that the technological level of the Ming Dynasty is far ahead of other countries, which gives it the "capital to wait."
"So it seems that the Imperial Navy has already finalized the selection of its new capital ship, and it is no longer the Huizhou class?"
In fact, when the model of the "Huizhou-class" battleship came out, Emperor Zhu naturally thought of the "dreadnought". After all, the difference between it and the dreadnought is the secondary main gun. As long as the secondary main gun is replaced with the first-level main gun, it will be a dreadnought.
But Emperor Zhu did not remind them, but let them try it. However, who would have thought that the navy would change so quickly. The former sweet girl became Mrs. Niu overnight, and they even disliked the "Huizhou class". Except for the "Huizhou" which was under construction, all ships of the same class were cancelled.
"Yes, Your Majesty. The preliminary plan is to use four twin 356mm turrets as the main guns, with a displacement of 27,000 tons and a speed of no less than 25 knots. It will combine the advantages of a battleship and a cruiser..."
While Lin Yuehu was explaining the navy's concept for the new battleship, the characteristics of dreadnoughts from other countries in the world emerged in Emperor Zhu's mind.
For example, British warships pursue high speed and firepower, and ignore protection to a certain extent. The British do this because of the need to cruise in their vast overseas colonies, so speed and firepower are the first choice for Britain. This also leads to British warships becoming thin-skinned and large-filled, with strong attack power and speed, but slightly inferior protection.
The Germans prioritized protection, that is, heavy armor, and speed and firepower were secondary. What about the Americans? They focused on firepower and protection, which was almost a combination of the advantages of British and German warships.
In fact, the warships of the three countries all have their own advantages.
So what was the “dreadnought” era of the Imperial Navy like?
Is it British style?
Or the German style?
Or is it American style?
None of this matters. The most important thing is that the Empire will become the pioneer of the dreadnought era in this world. When he is in service, the naval fleets of countries around the world will be eliminated overnight.
Well, by then the British will be in tears, and the "two-power navy" they spent a lot of money to build will become a joke.
It's more than a joke!
The Royal Navy, a money-eating beast, finally regained its advantage in maritime power, but faced elimination overnight. If they want to regain their advantage in maritime power again, they must invest more money.
No one knows whether the Royal Navy will be the pride of the British Empire by then, but what is certain is that once the Royal Navy joins this arms race, it will definitely exhaust the last pound of Britain.
Well, the British Empire was bled dry again without realizing it.
Emperor Zhu couldn't help but be full of expectations...
(End of this chapter)
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