My Italian: Chapter 456 Preface to the Age of Dreadnoughts

The Quirinale Palace, located in the Old City of Rome, is the political center of the Kingdom of Italy.

Of course, the scenery here is also good. There is a Gemini fountain in the center of the square in front of the palace, and an obelisk moved from the Mausoleum of Augustus. On both sides of the obelisk, there are two giant stone statues 5.6 meters high, with fine carvings and different expressions, and two lifelike horses beside them.

After entering the palace, its garden is also unique, surrounded by elegant corridors, which looks harmonious and solemn.

And all of this seemed so fascinating to Vittorio Cuniberti, so a sneak peek was inevitable. After all, it was the first time I came to the palace, what was new.

And the attendant responsible for guiding him was also very considerate, and introduced him from time to time.

When Kunibati was led to a door, the attendant made a gesture for him to wait for a while, and then knocked on the door. Immediately, the majestic voice that Kunibodi had heard came from the room.

"What's up?"

"Your Majesty, Mr. Cuniberti has arrived."

"Invite him in now."

As soon as Cunibody came in, he saw that there were only two people in the room and he knew them both. One is Admiral Argyle, the Minister of the Navy, and the other is His Majesty Carlo, the monarch who summoned him.

"I have seen Your Majesty, and Your Excellency the Admiral."

Although Kunibetti didn't know why the king and the admiral had summoned him, he still had the proper etiquette, and immediately made a curtsy.

After Kuniberti finished his salute, Admiral Yagier said. "Cuniberti, come and tell His Majesty the plan for your new warship in detail."

Admiral Yagier's remarks shocked Kunibatti, because he finally knew why the king had summoned him. Of course, this is also an opportunity for him. As long as he can convince His Majesty, then it will be a sure thing to develop a new battleship by himself.

Thinking of this, Kuniberti was full of fighting spirit, and I saw him speak. "Your Majesty, I have a little opinion on the new battleships. At present, battleships of various countries use two-level main guns, a tradition that comes from the era of sailing battleships. Of course, the setting of two-level main guns is more considering the amount of projection. The problem."

What Cuniberti said is also the consideration of the current warship design and the actual needs of the user navy for naval warfare.

Because the battleship type originated in the era of sailing warships, the battleships had three artillery decks on each side of the battleship at that time. The gun is also lighter.

This is a compromise to keep the center of gravity of the battleship as low as possible while allowing the battleship to have some heavy artillery.

After entering the era of ironclad ships, the navies of various countries have continued this tradition. At this time, the battleship began to **** for the way of fighting. Of course, at this time, a group of demons danced wildly. But this kind of exploration waited until the emergence of the Turin class in Italy, and the countries basically reached a consensus.

The Turin class also marked the return of the battleships, so most admirals believed that the steel battleships could resume the artillery shelling of the main fleet's battle lines. The artillery mounted in the cannons on both sides are also decisive weapons, or they are the most important decisive weapons.

Starting from Turin, the development of the battleship was to continuously increase the caliber of the artillery arrays on both sides, from 120mm to 152mm, from 152mm to 178mm, to 203mm, and the name was gradually changed from the secondary gun to the secondary main gun.

Of course, the second-level main gun is also due to the slow rate of fire of the first-level main gun, and it takes 1-2 minutes to fire one shot. At this time, the armor and structure of the battleships of various countries are also thicker and thicker, and the chances of the battleships of various countries wanting to shoot into the soul are also more and more slim. So the existence of the secondary main gun is very meaningful.

With the development of the times and the application of new technologies, Kuniberti has keenly observed the insufficiency of the current secondary main gun, that is, the lack of armor-piercing ability. However, the rate of fire and armor-piercing ability of the first-level main guns are gradually improving. At this time, it is possible to fully equip the first-level main guns.

"As for now, I think the secondary main guns can be cancelled, because although they have a higher projection volume than the primary guns, they lack the means to hit the opponent hard. I think after the cancellation of the secondary main guns, the new battleships can be used Adding two main turrets and four first-class main guns. Relying on the salvo power of the eight main guns, the firepower of the first-class main guns can be doubled. Moreover, the first-class main guns are more powerful than the two-class main guns. It can also achieve unified firepower. It adopts a unified shooting director, which can have higher accuracy at a longer distance. I believe that Garibaldi-level patrol has explained it very well.”

As for what Cuniberti said, Admiral Yagier immediately helped. "It is indeed the case. On the Garibaldi-level patrol, the eight 254mm main guns, with the assistance of the unified firing commander, have greatly improved the accuracy of long-range shooting. It can be completely achieved at a distance of 6000-9000 The distance of meters, accurate artillery fire on the enemy."

Admiral Yagier made this assist, and Cuniberti cast a grateful look.

In the face of the cooperation between the two, can't Carlo see it?

However, since Cuniberti, the chief Italian ship designer, was recruited to Rome, of course he had his own considerations.

After hearing from Admiral Yagier that the chief designer, Cuniberti, had a bold battleship plan, Carlo had a hunch. Sure enough, after listening to Admiral Yagier's remarks, it was really Dingding. The daimyo all heavy artillery battleship, in this case, how could Carlo miss it.

For Italy, the importance of the navy cannot be overstated. After securing a certain number of armies to defend both sides of the Alps, more threats to Italy came from the sea.

"Go on."

While no specific signal was given, the phrase itself represented an endorsement.

And Cuniberti, who got the signal, went on to speak. "About the new battleship, I have an idea. That is to integrate the various advanced technologies we have at present and put it into a battleship. At present, I think the new 305mm 45 times naval gun is very suitable as the main gun.

As for armor, carburized case hardened nichrome steel is still the best armor steel available (Krupp armor steel) and I think it will continue to be used. According to the actual needs, I think the armor of the new battleship needs to reach a thickness of 300 mm at key points such as the midship, the battery, the engine room, the ammunition depot, and the command tower.

As for power, I recognize the steam turbines and oil-fired boilers that are currently available. Steam turbines can provide warships with full speed for up to thirteen or four hours, which is a crucial advantage for naval engagements. As for oil-fired boilers, the same is true. Oil-fired boilers are more efficient, which can free up more space for warships, or allow longer maximum range. In addition, the staffing can be reduced, at least the coal shovelers can be eliminated. "

Hearing this, Carlo already understood Kunibatti's train of thought, and he still had a question.

"Then what about the specific data of your battleship?"

"The specific data of the ship is that the length of the ship is 158.3 meters, the width is 25.1 meters, the draft is 9 meters, the standard displacement is 19,100 tons, and the full-load displacement is 22,500 tons. The firepower is 8 305mm 45-caliber main guns, and 14 105mm single guns. Tube secondary gun. The thickest armor is 300 mm, and the ship is equipped with 18 oil-fired boilers and 4 steam turbines with a power of 26,000 horsepower and a maximum speed of 22 knots. The endurance is 6800 nautical miles at 10 knots or 4500 nautical miles at 14 knots …”

Facing Cuniberti's remarkably familiar report of the battleship data, Carlo's eyes became brighter and brighter.

"Then what about the cost, it's impossible that you haven't calculated the cost, right?"

In the face of Carlo's inquiry, of course Kunibetti couldn't hide it. Although this ship is a bit expensive, he can guarantee that it is definitely worth the money.

"The cost of the ship is about 40 million lire. Of course, if more are built, the price will be lower."

After Cuniberti said this, he looked at Carlo a little uneasy. Because this price is really expensive, take the Garibaldi class tour, which is currently the most expensive in Italy.

At present, due to the hot sale of the Garibaldi class, the cost of the shipyard's Garibaldi class has dropped from 33 million lire at the beginning to the current 30.9 million lire. Such a high drop is also due to the fact that enough Garibaldi were built. So far, a total of 8 Garibalga-class ships have been built, including 3 in the United States, 2 in Spain, 2 in Japan, and 1 in Italy (there are two more in line~www.mtlnovel.com~ Yes, build one first, Let the Navy verify it first."

Carlo's words made Kunibetti relieved, and Admiral Yagier was relieved as well.

He was not afraid that the king would refuse to build it, and it was worth building just based on the performance of the new battleship that Kunibati came up with. What he was afraid of was that the king was fascinated by the performance of the new warships, and he would build several ships as soon as he opened his mouth. After all, this new warship uses too many new technologies, and sometimes new technologies also represent unreliability, so it is definitely a wise decision to build one first.

"But the ship needs to be built in secret, and I don't want to be agitated before it's launched."

At this time, Carlo made a new request.

"Your Majesty, this is easy to handle. Our navy can use the name of the fourth ship Garibal to start construction of the ship. At the same time, there is no problem with strengthening supervision." Admiral Yagier patted his chest and assured.

"I believe in the capabilities of your navy. The funds for this ship should be paid out of the more than 80 million lire that you have saved."

"..."