Chapter 304: Submarine, Assassin on the Sea (Third update, please subscribe)
After dinner, Ma Guorong took Liu Tiannian to the dock.
There were small boats moored in the bay, one next to the other.
"Is this a torpedo boat?"
“That’s right!”
Ma Guorong pointed at the twelve torpedo boats and said.
"The Jingke-type torpedo boat is the first torpedo boat built by the navy. It has a displacement of 90 tons, a length of 39.01 meters, a width of 3.81 meters, and a draft of 1.91 meters. The power system uses a triple-expansion steam turbine and a boiler, single-shaft propulsion, a power of 1,000 horsepower, a speed of 23.8 knots, a standard coal load of 12 tons in the coal bunker, and a maximum coal load of 20 tons. The torpedo boat is equipped with three torpedo tubes. The front two are installed at a 7-degree water entry angle, and the rear one can rotate 360 degrees to fire. In addition, it is equipped with four 20mm six-barrel rapid-fire guns. The entire boat has a crew of 25 people..."
On the surface, there is nothing worth seeing in these small boats. They are just a few small boats. However, Liu Tiannian, an instructor at the Naval Academy, is very clear about how deadly the torpedoes carried on these small boats are to warships!
"In naval tactics, when the weather is right, such as gloomy and dark weather, or at night, the torpedo boat brigade can use the "wolf pack tactics" against the British fleet under the cover of dusk, which means they attack like a pack of wolves. Torpedoes are their fangs. Once a warship of the British fleet is hit, it will definitely die. This is why it is called "Jing Ke"."
"Jing Ke assassinated the King of Qin!"
Any educated Chinese will know this story. Of course, they also know what the name "Jing Ke" represents?
It's the death squad!
The sea water was beating against the cliff. Looking at these small boats and the sailors on duty there, Liu Tiannian felt a little heavy.
Lightning war!
We must launch the attack with the belief that we will die. Using a small boat like that to attack a large fleet is a one-way trip!
"Sailors, it's pretty much the same thing!"
Pursing his lips, Ma Guorong smiled.
"There are no flowers on the sailors' graves. It is a blessing from God to have a warship as a grave!"
"Yes! There are no flowers on the graves of sailors..."
Liu Tiannian nodded slightly, his heart was a little touched. Finally, he just took a serious look at these small torpedo boats. They were Nanhua's hope to defeat the British Navy!
Then, Ma Guorong took Liu Tiannian into the mysterious dock. The lights were bright inside, the electric lights on the roof were dazzling, the sound of hammering and riveting was particularly harsh in the dock, many technicians were working there nervously, no one paid any attention to the visitor. Ma Guorong and his team had to be careful to give way to others.
After entering the dock, Liu Tiannian immediately recognized the submarine that Ma Guorong had been talking about for a long time lying in the dry dock. It was only about 30 meters long and looked so small and delicate, like a fish or a cigar.
“This is a submarine!”
Liu Tiannian couldn't help but exclaim in admiration.
“It looks really inconspicuous, but it’s very beautiful.”
"Yes, that's it. In the future, you will form the first submarine force in South China."
"I?"
Liu Tiannian said in surprise.
"You haven't received the order yet, but it will be issued soon, my captain."
Ma Guorong patted his shoulder.
"This submarine was designed by us. After Simon Bourgeois built the 'Diver' submarine in 1863, I happened to be studying in France. Since then, I have always wanted to build Nanhua's own submarine. Major, let's go in and take a look. Based on your experience, find out its problems..."
Who is the real designer of this submarine?
It was Zhu Xianhai who drew the sketch of the submarine and carefully planned its cabin structure.
Although this submarine looks very primitive, its structure is actually very modern. After all, when he was designing the submarine and drawing the sketch, he borrowed the structural principles of submarines from another world. It's just that it is simpler and more primitive.
"Let's go in and take a look!"
Liu Tiannian couldn't wait to get into the cabin of the unfinished submarine, looking around, gesturing and touching. Sometimes he would walk through the narrow cabin, asking what these things were as he walked.
The engine compartment, the battery compartment, etc. I stayed there for more than an hour.
When they reached the torpedo boat, Ma Guorong asked him with a smile:
"How's it going, man?"
“It’s just perfect.”
Liu Tiannian praised.
"This is the torpedo tube, right? Torpedoes are launched from here!"
"Yes, that's right. This is the 550mm torpedo tube. The torpedoes are launched from here. The boat can carry three long torpedoes or five short torpedoes."
Ma Guorong began to introduce.
"Its displacement above water is about 115 tons, and its displacement underwater is 124 tons. It is 19.5 meters long and 3.58 meters wide. It uses a 160-horsepower gasoline engine when sailing on the surface, and a 75-horsepower electric motor when diving underwater. Its speed is 7.5 nautical miles per hour on the water and 5 nautical miles per hour underwater. It has a crew of 8 people..."
Submarines need electric motors to navigate, which is a bit new, but Liu Tiannian has seen it before, because a month and a half ago, the first tram line in Nanhua was opened. The electric motor driven by electricity naturally attracted his attention, but he didn't expect it to be applied to submarines so soon.
It is natural to use electric motors in submarines, after all, only electric motors can run without relying on air.
"So how is the electricity supplied?"
"Batteries! The battery packs are divided into two groups and installed in the submarine. It has a miniature bridge, which is where we just landed. There is a tall periscope in the bridge, and this periscope is also specially made..."
Ma Guorong further explained:
"It is to search and attack targets at sea through the periscope."
"I've seen it before when the ship was attacked. Does that mean it will attack from underwater in the future?"
"Yes, it has a small tonnage and can only launch torpedoes. It approaches enemy warships stealthily from underwater, as close to them as possible, and then when it is close enough, it uses torpedoes to give them a fatal blow."
Ma Guorong explained.
"The 550mm torpedo has a charge of over 200 kilograms!"
"The charge is over 200 kilograms!"
Liu Tiannian said in surprise.
“So many!”
"It's a lot. One torpedo carries 200 kilograms of explosives, and they are all high explosives. As long as such a torpedo can explode near the waterline of a warship, no matter what, even if it is a dead ship of tens of thousands of tons, it will take half a year to overhaul if it does not sink."
"I think the power of a 200-kilogram torpedo warhead is extremely strong. No ship can withstand such a blow. Even if they can withstand it, they will eventually sink into the sea. After all, it is impossible for a severely damaged warship to cross the ocean and return to the UK for repairs. In South America, only our shipyard can repair such a large warship. No matter what, as long as their warships are damaged, it is basically a death sentence."
Liu Tiannian smiled, slapped the torpedo tube hard and said.
"With it, we don't have to worry about the British Navy anymore!"
(End of this chapter)
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