Chapter 150: 150Save steel to do big things
Chapter 150 150 Save steel and do great things
But this is not a real train gun, but a beggar version of a prototype train gun. In fact, these C80 howitzers are towed artillery, and they have wheels.
Tang Mo just produced some flat train carriages, and then simply fixed these artillery pieces on these flat carriages.
This ensures Tang Mo's flexibility in using these artillery to the greatest extent, but it sacrifices the protective performance of the train gun.
Theoretically, Tang Mo could build an armored train and install artillery and various weapons on it to surprise the enemy.
But you must know that armored trains do not consume a lot of steel, and their use is also very limited. In fact, Tang Mo was not able to fully utilize the advantages of armored trains.
Comparatively, the method of saving steel is more in line with Tang Mo’s current situation. After all, he now wants to put the limited steel production capacity into more useful places.
Because Tang Mo is now officially considering whether he should get involved in the distant oil-rich Black Dragon Island.
After all, oil, as the blood of modern industry, is very precious and the most important. Being able to grasp an oil producing area in advance is absolutely crucial to Tang Mo's planning and layout.
Now that he knows that there is a place like Black Dragon Island, he naturally hopes to take this island into his own hands.
In his plan to conquer and control Black Dragon Island, the navy is definitely the core combat force. With only his dozen or so sailing ships, it is tantamount to wishful thinking to dominate Black Dragon Island.
Even if he really occupied Black Dragon Island, those dozen small boats would not be able to support his maritime transportation, let alone defend his island assets!
So, in Tang Mo's plan, expanding maritime power is actually very important and urgent.
In this context, Tang Mo did not spend all his limited steel on the armored train option. Instead, he saved whatever he could and turned his train cannon into a simple model.
Where is the saved steel used? It was used on a brand new ship in the dock - it was a truly new steel battleship, using steam power.
The design of this battleship is based on the famous cruiser Zhiyuan, but some minor modifications were made due to the era and Tang Mo's existing capabilities.
The first is the protective capability of the battleships. Due to the lack of steel, a large number of cuts have been made. The original more dense watertight cabins have been greatly simplified.
At the same time, the famous German dome armor horizontal defense was completely cancelled, and only a layer of steel plates below the deck was deployed for defense.
After all, maritime battleships of this era still use muzzle-loading guns, and basically all use solid bullets. Under this general premise, increasing the armor of the steel battleship itself has no meaning.
After canceling the horizontal armor and reducing the internal defensive armor, the length of Tang Mo's battleship was increased by 10 meters, reaching an astonishing 89 meters long and 11.5 meters wide.
The main reason for such modification is to save materials. In addition to ensuring the strength of the hull, the defensive design was eventually reduced.
Even the bridge, which could have defended itself against direct attacks from large-caliber artillery, was reduced to half its original armor thickness.
Because so much less steel was used, the ship's dead weight was reduced and the center of gravity of the design was unstable. Therefore, some of the hulls could only be expanded and the reserves of self-sustaining drinking water and coal mines inside were added to be used as ballast.
For this series of improvements, Tang Mo also deliberately hired nine master craftsmen who designed ships at a high price, and used the computer in his mind to conduct simulation calculations before completing the ultimate improvement of the ship.
So the self-sustainability of this improved Zhiyuan battleship at sea has been greatly improved, and its speed has also increased to a terrifying 40 kilometers per hour.
For the convenience of calculation, Tang Mo did not stubbornly use the unit of calculation "knot", but still used the unit of length on land, kilometer, at sea.
40 kilometers per hour is roughly equal to a speed of about 22 knots. This is an advantage brought about by the weight reduction of the new warship and the use of more mature steam engines.
In order to deal with the problems of more advanced boilers and greater heat generation of steam engines, this battleship installed another chimney in the middle of the growing hull.
Since there is no need to design so many watertight tanks, there is enough coal, and there is enough fresh water, the living standard on the battleship has also improved a lot, it can carry more food, and there are more spacious living conditions.
In terms of weapons, this improved battleship Zhiyuan, or a severely reduced battleship, has eliminated many novel things.
Tang Mo didn’t have that many novel things to add to this battleship, so all the torpedoes originally designed to be used on the battleship were cancelled.
There is no way, Tang Mo doesn’t even have a production workshop for torpedoes anymore, let alone torpedoes. He also had no way to start the production of so many weapons, and his workers didn't even know what a torpedo was.
Torpedoes cannot be manufactured, so the torpedo-related compartments can also be moved out and used as crew quarters.
At the same time, Tang Mo, the large number of Hotchkiss rapid-fire cannons equipped on the Zhiyuan, could not be used at all.
The original Zhiyuan ship had 8 Hotchkiss 57mm single-barreled guns and 6 37mm caliber rapid-fire guns... Such a bunch of things Tang Mo couldn't directly equip the warship with. Whether they are useful or garbage, Tang Mo is not going to pursue them, because after all, he has not seen their combat scenes, but it is true that he does not have a production line for these weapons.
It was also a last resort, and it was impossible for Tang Mo to deliberately reopen the production lines of two special weapons for one battleship.
Every production line he has now is precious, and he must take care of the army's use needs as much as possible, and at the same time, he must take into account subsequent sales promotion, so it is impossible for him to get some useless 37 mm caliber naval gun.
Hence, this battleship ultimately used 10 75mm rear-loading field guns that Tangmo could produce...
The firing range of these artillery pieces is very limited, and they are all deployed on the sides. They are unable to provide any firepower to the bow of the ship.
However, relying on the terrifying speed of this battleship, it can calmly adjust its attitude beyond the range of enemy battleships and use its side with the most powerful firepower to meet the enemy.
The artillery used on the bow and stern of the ship is actually not the 210mm large-caliber main gun of the Zhiyuan ship, which has insufficient fire rate. Instead, the 120 mm caliber field gun was directly improved and used as a makeshift.
After all, these days, there are no naval guns that can shoot more than 5 kilometers. A 120 mm caliber cannon that can shoot high-explosive shells is completely crushed at sea.
What's more, the advantages brought by the reduction in caliber are even more obvious. This improved battleship is equipped with a triple turret on the bow and a twin turret on the stern!
Therefore, the overall design of this new ship has five 120 mm caliber guns and 12 75 mm caliber secondary guns as its main weapons. The number of guns alone is much more powerful than that of a destroyer.
However, because the searchlight technology was not yet mature, Tang Mo had no choice but to cancel the searchlight design. Therefore, this giant ship, like other naval warships, does not have the ability to fight at night.
In addition, the dozen old-fashioned Gatling guns originally equipped on the Zhiyuan ship were also canceled by Tang Mo. Replaced by 6 Maxim water-cooled heavy machine guns with more powerful firepower.
Because the development of machine guns has not yet been completed, when the new ship was built, only the bases of these weapons were retained and not installed.
Also because there is no need for focused ammunition protection, most of the ammunition depots are designed to be dispersed near the artillery positions, so the total weight of the overall firepower system is reduced, and the speed of retrieving artillery shells is also increased accordingly.
The lack of defense is actually offset by today's high-hip opponents. Those solid shells that can only hit less than one kilometer are impossible to penetrate the thin side armor and smash into the ammunition bay of the ironclad.
In fact, this giant ship with a displacement of 3,700 tons is definitely the most advanced and powerful warship in the world. Today's sailing battleships from various countries are not its opponents at all.
Although it still has many imperfections, its birth will still be recorded in the annals of history, and its appearance will still rewrite the naval battles of the entire world.
Tang Mo is very confident that after the battleship is launched, he will be able to maintain his maritime transportation line.
At that time, starting the construction of Black Dragon Island became a top priority. Therefore, it was necessary for him to inspect Black Dragon Island first and let the sailors master the skills of long-distance navigation.
So, he looked at Roger and others and asked about the activities of his fleet: "What's the situation over there with the fleet?"
Roger immediately answered his question: "We sent two ships south with 1,000 K1 guns and 50,000 rounds of ammunition. If everything goes well, they can sell these weapons."
Leo also added: "They have only been south for more than a month, and there is no news back."
“If we can sell the needle gun, we can get all the ships going south together next time,” Roger continued.
“This is good news.” Tang Mo nodded.
After half a year of training, his fleet finally began its ocean-going activities. On the one hand, this can train sailors, and on the other hand, it can also bring more profits to Tang Mo.
Just tossing around in the Kingdom of Wright obviously cannot satisfy Tang Mo's expansion ambitions. What he needs is to control more trade routes and sell more things.
"Before they come back, this is not good news." John on the side reminded: "Sea trade is a very dangerous thing."
He looked at Tang Mo and frowned: "You look more like a man. On this trip to Beiling, are you..."
“Don’t make blind guesses!” Tang Mo glanced at John with a smile and explained, “It’s good news that our sailors have the courage to fight on the ocean.”
“If we don’t send them out, they may die of obesity in the port.” Bernard, who was in charge of the navy, told a joke.
“Hahahaha!” Everyone laughed.
(End of this chapter)