"I'm so anxious that I can't eat the hot pot!"

Wang Chenhao smiled mysteriously and answered very implicitly, but his expression was captured by the generals.

All the generals smiled at each other and had a deep heart in their hearts.

After the internal meeting, there were more than two hours before the dinner time. Wang Chenhao, accompanied by Wei Han, inspected Shanghai Shipbuilding Heavy Industry.

After nearly a year of departure, Shanghai Shipbuilding Industry Corporation has successively built many super-large docks above 10,000 tons and a series of small and medium-sized ship platforms. The overall design annual shipbuilding tonnage can reach 100,000 tons: a thousand-ton gantry crane up to 100 meters, tens of thousands of staff, and a top technical team with the strong support of Wang Chenhao, a largest ship research and development and construction base in the Far East has been formed.

Seeing that Wang Chenhao was full of joy and was in a good mood, Wei Han took the opportunity to say, "Sir, you see that our four large docks of 10,000 tons have been built. I wonder when we can try to build large warships of 10,000 tons?"

Wei Han focused on the design and construction of warships in the shipyard. At this time, two 5,000-ton docks of Shipbuilding Heavy Industry were building two Haiqi-class warships. The other four large docks had been completed. Wei Han hoped not to leave the docks empty. At the same time, he personally hoped to build large warships as soon as possible. That was his lifelong dream.

Wang Chenhao could feel Wei Han's huge desire in building a ship, and secretly asked Wei Han to pick back the time, so he smiled and said, "We can design and improve it based on the drawings of Dengyun-class battleships and Haiqi-class cruiser wells, and come up with a plan first. If it is feasible, I strongly support you."

"Thank you, sir! In fact, the ship design department has already started the relevant project establishment and design, and now we have a preliminary idea. "I'm waiting for you to speak."

Wei Han has begun to establish a project to study the construction related projects of the large ship, which was expected by Wang Chenhao, so he was not surprised.

"Let me tell you about Mr. Wei's plan."

"Please, sir!"

Wei Han led Wang Chenhao to the ship design department and introduced some of the main leaders of the technical team to Wang Chenhao, such as Lu Wenjing, Cai Haoyuan, He Jialan, Lu Diaoge, Lin Guoxi, etc., as well as more than a dozen technical engineers sent by the UK. Wei Han asked Wang Chenhao to visit their latest battleship design plan and briefly reported to Wang Chenhao on related projects.

As the British Navy Shipbuilding Headquarters established a close cooperative relationship with Wang Chenhao's Shanghai Shipbuilding Heavy Industry, the UK's advanced shipbuilding technology was opened to China and introduced to Shanghai Shipbuilding Heavy Industry. Wei Han led a large number of the best engineers and technicians in China to study and research for more than half a year, and have basically understood the relevant technologies of Dengyun-class battleships. What they lack now is experience in self-design and construction.

"Weizhi knew that we could not eat a fat man in one go, so in a gradual way, we planned to try to upgrade and transform the Dengyun-class battleship to strengthen its combat effectiveness. This is our design blueprint report."

As he said that, Wei Han handed over a report on the design blueprint and related data of the new warship to Wang Chenhao for review.

The new warship increased the displacement of 18,000 tons on the basis of the Dengyun class. The first-class main gun has not changed. It is still two dual-mounted 305mm main guns, but the caliber of the second-class main gun has increased, from the original 152mm to 203mm, and the number of rapid-fire guns has also increased by four. The additional armor weight of the second-class main gun has been increased by an additional 1,000 tons. At the same time, Wei Han strengthened his armor protection, waterline belt, commander tower and turret front armor increased to 280mm. However, he still used a reciprocating steam engine, so that the ship speed could only be maintained at the level of 16 knots.

Wang Chenhao read it roughly and knew that Wei Han's design ideas were influenced by the current mainstream ideas of the naval forces of various countries. "There are too many restrictions from the times, and they are still on the output of large firepower and full armor protection.

As one of the few naval shipbuilding operations in modern history, Wei Han's wisdom is unquestionable, and all he lacks is his foresight for the future naval development. Therefore, Wang Chenhao decided to vigorously cultivate Wei Han. It was time to instill some advanced ideas of the future navy in him.

"Mr. Wei, do you want to hear my views on the future direction of the navy?"

Wei Han hurriedly said, "Please make it clear that you are humble and listen carefully!"

Wang Chenhao smiled faintly and said, "The three major elements of the warship, firepower, armor and speed. These three are a discordant body, and it is very difficult to unify them. To improve any one, you will inevitably sacrifice the other two items. Take this new ship design blueprint for example. If you increase the caliber of the second-level main gun, you will bring more than a thousand tons of additional armor weight. And you will use turret protection to affect the overall armor coverage and strength of the warship, and also reduce the structural safety factor of the warship. It will increase the additional displacement of the warship, and also reduce the speed."

Wei Han explained: "What the Lord said is very true! It's just that since I learned about the torpedo boat destroyer project that the Lord cooperated with the British, I knew that the speed of the torpedo boat will be increased to 30 to 35 knots. In the future naval battle, the torpedo boat will become a huge threat to the main battleship. Therefore, I increased the caliber of the second-level main gun and the number of rapid-fired guns."

Wang Chenhao nodded. Wei Han's concerns were correct, and his response strategy was understandable. The second-class main gun and rapid-fire gun of the battleship were used to deal with high-speed cruisers and torpedo boats.

With the emergence of steam turbines, the threat of high-speed torpedo boats to battleships has become increasingly serious.

"That's right! The British Navy is building a torpedo boat destroyer with a speed of more than 35 knots, which I call a destroyer. According to the current speed of the main ships generally below 19 knots, the speed of this new type of destroyer makes it easy for her to get close to the main ship and launch a deadly torpedo before the main ship has no time to destroy it."

Wang Chenhao paused and continued: "The key to making this hunting ship reach such a terrifying speed lies in the use of the new power system steam turbine. Currently, Parsons, a steam turbine manufacturing company in the UK, has been acquired by me, and we have obtained the turbine technology patent."

Wei Han knew about this matter. Wang Chenhao and Fisher cooperated with the development of the torpedo boat destroyer. The first two Feiyu-class destroyers were built by the UK, and the remaining four were manufactured by Shanghai Shipbuilding Heavy Industry. Two months ago, the key components of these four Feiyu-class destroyers had been transported to Shanghai Shipbuilding Heavy Industry by the UK.

"Four flying fish-class hunting ships are currently being allocated and sorted, and will be sent to the platform in a few days to start assembly. Bei Zhi studied the steam turbine components transported by him. He felt that it was very advanced, but he had not yet seen what a highway of more than thirty knots would look like!"

"It takes less than half a year for the assembly of the flying fish-class destroyers, and you will be able to see it soon." Wang Chenhao smiled.

Then he said: "The main designers and key technologies of Parsons have been transferred to Beiyang Technology, and we have the technical ability to develop advanced steam turbines. Moreover, it won't take long for the British Navy to install bloated steam turbine equipment on the battleships. By then, the speed of the battleships will be increased to more than 21 knots. With the continuous maturity of steam turbine technology, there will be no problem to reach 30 knots in the future."

Wei Han was full of surprise. As an expert in this field, there is no need for Wang Chenhao to remind him again, "He also understood the huge impact it brought.

"Why didn't Beizhi expect that since the steam turbine can be installed on a torpedo boat, it can also be installed on a battleship. If the battleship can also reach the ultra-high speed of a torpedo boat, then don't worry about the approaching attack of the torpedo boat."

Wang Chenhao laughed and said, "So, soon our main warships will no longer have to be afraid of the threat of torpedo boats, so the setting of the second-level main gun becomes redundant, that is, it affects the overall defense of the warship and increases the tonnage."

Wei Han asked: "What sir means is that our battleships do not need to install a second-level main gun system?"

Wang Chenhao nodded, not commenting.

Wei Han said with a question: "But even if the battleship is not afraid of the threat of torpedo boats."

But the second-level main gun can still increase firepower output, and it can give a huge threat to the enemy ship in the main decisive battle, and there is no need to be cut, right?"

"This question is good!" Wang Chenhao smiled and continued to instill new ideas in Wei Han, saying: "You have increased the caliber of the second-level main gun in the new ship to 203 mm." But this caliber cannon cannot severely damage the enemy's main ship during the battle between the main ships, because it cannot penetrate the opponent's main ship armor at all. In the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895, although the rapid-fire gun of the Japanese Navy was powerful, it could not sink our iron armored ship. Using this second-level main gun to attack the main ship is futile, and fighting a torpedo boat is really a waste. What do you think?"

Wang Chenhao's rhetorical question made Wei Han fall into thinking. Although Wei Han has a strong ability to accept new ideas, it also requires time to digest. Wang Chenhao gave him time to think, and sat down and tasted tea and waited.

Soon, Wei Han raised questions again.

"What the lord said is, I understand. However, except that the silly gun system has a great impact on the overall firepower of the battleship."

"You are constantly increasing the firepower of the dim gun, isn't it just to increase the overall firepower? But why do you have to install a second-level main gun? Why not increase the caliber and number of the first-level main gun?"

Wang Chenhao's series of rhetorical questions made Wei Han suddenly realize.

"What do you mean is to increase the number and caliber of the main gun? However, the number of main guns installed is limited. At present, the mainstream countries in various countries are four single-equipped or two double-equipped. It is already the limit to installing six. The number of artillery is too small. "It will definitely bring about a low hit rate, which will be very unfavorable for naval battles."

What Wei Han said is exactly what military strategists in all countries are worried about. After all, the current fire control system and observation system are not yet developed, and the hit rate in naval battles is extremely low, and it needs to be compensated by the number of artillery and the rate of fire. This is another reason why the main ships are equipped with a large number of artillery.

Wang Chenhao knew that Wei Han, like others, had not yet broken out of this thinking limit, so he told him directly: "If you want to increase the hit rate of the main gun, you only need to unify the caliber of the main gun to facilitate fire control command: arrange all the main guns on the central axis, and point the rotating turret to the side of the ship to increase the number of artillery in the same direction."

Wei Han understood as soon as he heard it, and immediately praised excitedly: "My master is very insightful, and he is humble and has a clear understanding of his guidance. This main gun layout method, coupled with the installation of the steam turbine, will have strong combat power."

"This will be a naval life! Once this new ship appears, all existing battleships from countries around the world will be eliminated. Can you imagine its power?"

Wei Han looked at Wang Chenhao in great surprise. Of course, he could not imagine this situation.

"What do you mean by sir?"

Wang Chenhao smiled mysteriously. He already had a plan in his mind, but there was no need to tell Wei Han.

So he answered the question irrelevantly: "This new concept warship requires experience. The British will help us solve the problem of installing steam turbines on battleships. The remaining methods of unifying the main gun caliber and the central line layout require relevant tests."

Wei Han nodded and said, "We understand! We should first conduct trial experiments, and then combine them until the technology is mature to build epoch-making warships."

"clever!"

Wang Chenhao was very satisfied with Wei Han's reaction ability and continued: "Before trying to build an epoch-making warship, we need to prepare all the links she needs. The first is the new main gun with a large caliber and a long diameter: the second is the new optical aiming and measurement system: the third is the stability of the steam turbine, and it is necessary to test its long-term operation safety: the fourth is to improve the new artillery charge and develop powerful gunpowder. The fifth is that the oil-fired boiler system must be the mainstream in the future, and will sooner or later replace the coal-fired boiler. We must conduct research on these key components, and can be installed directly on the warship when the technology is mature."

Wei Han nodded quickly and said yes, surprised that Wang Chenhao was extremely knowledgeable about this area, and he admired him even more.

Wang Chenhao knew that it was not a wise move to build large battleships if it was immature. After all, even Britain, which had the best shipbuilding technology, would continue to have failed warship models. A large battleship was expensive, and Wang Chenhao was unwilling to spend money in vain. It would take at least three years for the steam turbine technology to be installed on the battleship. During this period, if a new battleship without the Brother Cannon system is built, it would not be able to resist the threat of torpedo boats. However, if a dumb gun is installed, it would not be able to install a unified caliber main gun. Based on this problem, Wang Chenhao believed that it was impossible to build a battleship for testing now, so he decided to build a large armored cruiser with a unified caliber, which would satisfy Shanghai Shipbuilding Heavy Industry's desire to learn to build a large battleship, and the advantages of a unified caliber can be tested. The speed of the cruiser can also avoid the threat of torpedo boats.

This is the best solution to kill three birds with one stone, so Wang Chenhao said: "It will take at least three years for the steam turbine to be installed on the battleship. If this is the case, you should first design a large armored cruiser, install and test the layout of all-heavy artillery on it, and accumulate experience."
Chapter completed!