In the dry dock of Dalian Shipbuilding Factory No. 1, a steam iron-hulled ship is almost completed. The 94-meter-long steel hull can only accommodate the side dock.

Many shipwrecks conducted final inspections on steamboats. Some of these shipwrecks came from southern Liaoning and local Shandong, and some hired cheaper Korean and Japanese workers.

More than a dozen ship engineers walked out of the cabin of the steam armored ship with a design blueprint in hand, introducing to the Secretary of the Navy Nelson the third steamship built by the Dalian Shipyard.

The first steamship, the Yongchang, a small and medium-sized ship worth hundreds of tons, is now used to serve as a passenger ship between Japan and the mainland.

The second steamship, Oriental, has expanded a lot in size, with a full load displacement of nearly 10,000 tons, and is used to lay submarine cables on the west coast of the Pacific.

This steam iron armored ship was a huge breakthrough and spent a lot of time on the shipbuilding factory to conduct research.

On the surface, the Western trading company paid money to entrust a shipbuilding factory to build the first steamship for war, but in fact, after construction, it was "leased" to the Admiralty, which was the first steam armored ship owned by the Admiralty.

"The steam engines and coal-fired boilers weighing dozens of tons or hundreds of tons are really amazing. Such warships are already above any wooden battleship." After Nelson came out of the coal-fired room, he was very satisfied with the "test-grade" steam armored ship that was about to be completed.

As a naval general in the era of wooden sail battleships, Nelson had never seen a steam warship specially used for war. If the cost is not considered, steel warships are undoubtedly more suitable for combat.

"In the design process, we considered using three propulsion methods: sail, paddle wheel and propeller, just like the Oriental steamer, but the paddle wheel occupies too much of the ship's side position, which will reduce the space for the cannon and easily become the first target for enemy artillery to attack. Therefore, we gave up paddle wheel propulsion and used hybrid power such as sail and propeller. In terms of steam power, a horizontal reciprocating steamer is used, and the maximum speed is expected to reach between 13 knots and 14 knots, which is faster than ordinary sail battleships."

"Compared with the two steam armored ships in front, steam engines, iron hulls, and propellers are not unique to this ship's technology. Even the technology of this ship is improved on the two non-military ships in front. The uniqueness of this ship may be the use of 3-inch thick iron armor to protect the artillery on the main deck. We believe that these armors are enough to withstand the concentrated fire strikes of wooden double-layer and three-layer battleships."

The ship engineer continued to walk and introduced the situation of the "test-grade" steam iron armored warship to Nelson.

The Navy is the only customer of the Steam Iron Armored Warship. If the Minister of the Navy can satisfy the Secretary, the Navy may place orders one after another within a few years to allow the "test-grade" Steam Iron Armored Warship to join the construction sequence.

"On the side of each ship, 10 40-pound front-mounted smoothbore cannons, one 68-pound cannon on the front and tail decks, and several salutes. Although the Imperial Arsenal has not yet provided a stable rear-mounted rifled cannon, such artillery alone is enough to destroy any enemy ship that dares to oppose the test-class steam iron armored warship." The director of Shipbuilding Factory No. 1 said confidently.

The original plan was to equip 20 artillery pieces, but later it was changed to 22 combat artillery pieces.

"40-pound cannon, 68-pound cannon." Nelson saw the 68-pound smoothbore cannon on the deck, and a heat showed in his eyes.

In the most glorious era of sail battleships, the 32-pound, 24-pound, and 12-pound smoothbore guns were commonly used, with an average pound of about 20 pounds, while the average weight of shells used by this "test-grade" steam ironclad ship exceeded 40 pounds.

The most important thing is this kind of iron armored ship with cooked iron armor. In this era of sail battleships, solid bullets propelled by black gunpowder could not penetrate such armor at all!

"Originally, when we designed this level of frigate could withstand 110 pounds of artillery recoil. The Imperial Arsenal seemed to think that it should wait until the rear-mounted rifled gun technology is mature before equipping the ironclad ships. After the rear-mounted rifled guns began to equip the army, it only needed to come to our dock for a while to modify it." The factory director said.

"It is said that mature rear-mounted rifled gun technology can greatly improve the range and hit rate of the gun. With the 110-pound gun, once the sail warship hits, it is very likely that it will directly penetrate the opponent's hull." Nelson was full of expectations for more advanced warship cannons.

"That kind of artillery costs thousands of taels of silver, and it also requires the cultivation of talents who can operate artillery. The subsequent shells are also big. I don't think the empire has so much financial resources to support the construction and update of the current front-mounted smoothbore cannon. It may take millions of taels of silver for a comprehensive upgrade of the arms..." the captain speculated.

At the critical moment, the number of artillery in the Jiuzhou Army has exceeded that of other empires and kingdoms in this era. It is also located in the most glorious era of sail battleships and front-mounted smoothbore artillery. Without many competitors, it is difficult to be determined to sacrifice other projects to invest in the renewal of artillery.

Having a rear-mounted rifled gun is the world's number one, and not one, but it takes huge amounts of money to completely replace the rear-mounted rifled gun.

Perhaps the only place where the military technology needs to be improved is foreign wars. Especially due to geographical restrictions, there should not be too many troops sent to Europe, and at this time, the elite fleets that are crushed are needed.

Nelson shook his head: "You are wrong. The military is crazy about the pursuit of new technology. This time I came to Dalian Port not only to receive this upcoming "secret class" steam iron armored ship, but also brought new orders."

"New order?" A light burst out from the factory manager's eyes.

Their Shipbuilding Factory was still thinking that the shipyard would fall into a short rest period after the construction of this steam ironclad ship. Unexpectedly, when Nelson received the "secret class" steam ironclad ship, he directly brought new steamship orders!

"Although our Navy is equipped with sailing gunships now, after seeing the secret class steam iron armored ship, I have to admit that the steam iron armored ship is a new generation of naval ships that completely crush wooden sailing ships. It is not as good as pursuing large-caliber giant cannons."
Chapter completed!