The two industrial revolutions were initiated by Western countries, and the local industrial base of Han was also established with the assistance of scientific researchers and personnel from Germany, France, and Austria-Hungary.

"In the current world, Western countries occupy a mainstream position in the field of science and technology, and their own countries still have to learn from the West in major industrial fields such as iron and steel, ship building, etc., but in some emerging fields, the local countries should also use the technological foundation laid by the country's development for more than 20 years, catch up, and strive to gain technological advantages in the competition with Western countries."

At the end of the court, unrelated government officials were sent away, and the remaining dozens of people were all high-level members of the local military and political core.

"For example, underwater warfare technology, in my opinion, is a military field with great prospects for development, and it is completely worthy of the government to invest a certain amount of money in actual combat research."

Li Mingyuan looked at Minister of the Navy Chen Sen as he spoke, and the meaning of the inquiry was self-evident.

"In accordance with His Majesty's instructions, in 1882 the Admiralty invested funds and transferred dozens of scientific and technological personnel to form a submarine research department, and began to engage in submarine technical verification research.

At present, after seven years of research and experimentation, the construction of the first generation of indigenous submarines has been completed on the basis of drawing on and absorbing the technology of the French "diver" submarine and the British "Nordfeldt" submarine. ”

Because of his position as chief of the navy, Chen Sen, who had just been promoted to vice admiral, was very concerned about all internal affairs of the navy, for fear that there would be omissions or negligence in his work, which would leave an incompetent impression on Li Mingyuan and many colleagues in the army and navy, and then lose his position as chief of the navy.

"What is the technical performance of a locally built submarine? How long is it possible to sail underwater? ”

"A total of two first-generation submarines were built, using a dual power system of batteries and compressed air engines, with a depth of 16 meters, an underwater speed of 6 knots, and a cruising range of 70 nautical miles.

The water engine has a power of 58 kilowatts, a speed of 7 knots, and a cruising range of 300 nautical miles.

Each submarine is equipped with an underwater torpedo tube and a Jianye six-year heavy machine gun, and theoretically has the ability to launch attacks on enemy warships at sea underwater. ”

"The speed is too slow, the range is too short, and it is impossible for the enemy's warships to float motionless on the surface of the sea, waiting for the submarine to attack."

Li Mingyuan was not satisfied with the performance of the submarines built by the mainland.

"Engine power is the main factor limiting the speed and endurance of submarines, you should communicate and exchange more with scientific researchers engaged in the field of internal combustion engine research, the power system problems encountered in the experimental process, more to the scientific researchers, try to improve the mechanical power of submarine engines, at the same time, in the process of submarine construction, that is, we must take the initiative to learn from, absorb the reasonable technical experience of Western countries, but also dare to boldly try new designs, new solutions, such as the description of submarines in French writer Nelson's "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea", I think Nelson's idea is very new and bold, you can all read this book, and then follow the description of the double-hull structure in the book, and conduct a confirmatory experiment to see if the performance of a submarine with a double-hull structure is better than that of a single-decker submarine. ”

"Yes, Your Majesty, when the minister returns, he will have Verne's "Twenty Thousand Leagues of Haiti" translated, and then send a copy to each scientific researcher."

Chen Sen replied respectfully.

"There's no need to be so troublesome, there are a batch of translated books in the library of Chang'an University, and after today's meeting, you can directly send someone to Chang'an University to be seconded."

At the end of the 19th century, France and the United States were both at the leading level in the field of submarines, and before the successful development of the Holland III submarine, French folk scientists generally made more advanced performance than the United States and Britain.

In 1863, the French built the submarine "Diver", which was powered by a 58.8 kilowatt (80 hp) compressed air engine with a speed of 2.4 knots, capable of diving for three hours and at a depth of 12 meters.

In 1886, Britain built the submarine "Nautilus", which used battery-powered propulsion, with a speed of 6 knots and a range of about 80 nautical miles.

The weapons used in early submarines were mainly timed detonating packets or mines on the hull. In 1866, the first torpedo was made by the Englishman R. Whitehead. In 1881, the submarine "Nordfeldt", built by T. Nordfeldt and G. Garrett, was equipped with torpedo tubes for the first time; In the same year, the American-built submarine "Holland" II was equipped with torpedo tubes capable of launching torpedoes underwater, which was an important development in the history of submarine development.

It was also after a cursory understanding of the current situation of the development of submarines in Western countries that Li Mingyuan accidentally thought of the double-layer structure of submarines when he was reading Nelson's "Twenty Thousand Leagues of Haiti".

The double-decker structure of the submarine was first designed by the French scientist Laubeff, and the time was pushed back ten years, and in 1899, the first submarine with a double-deck structure, the submarine "Navier", was launched in France. The Neville differs from other submarines in that it has an additional hull in addition to its inner shell. As a result, the Neville had both a torpedo boat-like hull and an inner hull designed to meet the requirements of the submarine, in which the crew and all equipment were encased. The space between the inner shells is used as a ballast tank, which controls the submarine's descent and ascent. When the water in the ballast tank is removed, the boat can have good seaworthiness like a torpedo boat, so that it can sail at a speed of 11 knots per hour and a cruising range of 500 nautical miles; When the ballast tanks are filled, the Neville will be able to reach a speed of 8 knots per hour for short distances, and up to 5 knots per hour, even after hours underwater.

The Neville submarine has the basic prototype of a modern submarine, but due to the limitation of engine power, the actual combat performance of the submarine is greatly reduced.

However, if in accordance with the ideal scientific research progress of the Han Kingdom, with the guidance of Li Mingyuan and the practical ability of Tesla and other great bulls, some advanced theories will be applied to the field of internal combustion engines in the next ten years, then it is not impossible to raise the speed and endurance of diving to another level, so that it has the combat capability to launch attacks in offshore waters.

"In the future, submarines will develop in the direction of ocean-going actual combat, and several or even dozens of submarines will be grouped into a strategic unit, using radio as a communication channel to communicate with each other, and underwater torpedoes as an attack weapon against enemy warships, so as to encircle and strike together to crush the enemy's naval fleet from underwater."

Li Mingyuan described the future combat mode of submarines to the officials and generals in a positive tone, and then continued: "Of course, based on the current technology, the focus of the navy's research is still on the aspect of coastal assault operations, using submarines as short-range assault weapons, and trying its best to achieve the target of severely damaging enemy warships anchored in the harbor in World War I.

In cooperation with the Navy Department and the Navy General Staff, outstanding officers and graduates are selected from the Navy's active fleet and the Naval Officer Academy to be trained as submarine reserve officers. ”

"How to solve the problem of positioning the submarine forces? Will it be included in the regular combat fleet of the Navy? ”

Chief of the Navy Chen Sen asked a realistic question.

"The submarine unit is an experimental unit and is not included in the regular combat fleet of the Navy for the time being, but the officers serving in the submarine unit are appointed and used in accordance with the standards of the regular fleet of the Navy, and the treatment is the same as that of officers of the same rank in the main fleet at sea."

Li Mingyuan pondered for a while and gave a clear answer to the other party.

"In addition, the submarine unit will be temporarily organized in accordance with the standards of the sub-fleet, and the rank of the chief officer of the submarine formation will be equal to the level of the commander of the three major sub-fleets of the Navy, and in the first stage, a submarine simulation exercise group will be formed, under the jurisdiction of six first-generation submarines, and then after the technical performance of the submarines is improved, a certain degree of formation reorganization and expansion will be made."

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