With excitement, Marin boarded the thousand-ton battleship, which had just completed testing. The bottom of the battleship is covered with anti-corrosion stainless steel iron sheets. Since the discovery of the small chromite in Cuba, Marin has been able to make stainless steel iron sheets of chromium-nickel alloys to replace the previous nickel steel scales. The effect is naturally much better.

Of course, the appearance of stainless steel iron sheet is painted with dark paint. Otherwise, the bright white appearance of stainless steel is too ostentatious.

In addition, the battleship, on the side of the ship, was also covered with stainless steel iron sheets, which were also painted. In this way, the side side is not afraid of the smashing of iron ball shells.

Even, the iron sheet on the side side is thicker than the bottom of the ship, and it is estimated that it is more appropriate to describe it as a steel plate. With such protection, it is difficult for ordinary shells to break through. Unless, it is a conical shell like the one of later generations, which can easily break the protection of the side side.

Moreover, this design is difficult to imitate. Because, other countries simply do not have anti-corrosion steel plates available. If it is replaced by copper skin, it can also achieve a certain effect. However, this cost ...... You must know that the price of copper in Europe in recent years is several times more expensive than that of the Ming Dynasty......

If it is really covered with copper skin, the average European country will not be able to equip a few ships at all, so how can we talk about maritime hegemony?

Therefore, Marlin is simply relying on the technology tree to bully other countries - I can, you can't!

If someone asked, Marlin would tell him with a grin - this is tinplate! That is, the iron sheet is made of tin, and you can imitate it......

But the tinplate does not mention the cost, if there is a scratch, causing the tin sheet to fall off, the whole iron sheet will soon be finished. Moreover, tinplate is not so resistant to corrosion in seawater. Even, when nailing nails, the exposed part of the hole of the nail can cause the entire tinplate sheet to rust off......

Outwardly, there were no problems with the battleship. Its appearance is simply an enlarged version of a 500-ton warship. Or rather, a smaller version of the "Constitution".

Like the USS Constitution, the battleship had only a double gun deck. That is, the topmost open deck and the lower deck are two layers, but the open deck is installed with rainproof shelters on the gun positions according to Marin's requirements to avoid gunpowder moisture. Then the rain shelter was also covered with steel plates to protect the gunners inside from enemy shells.

In order to resist the recoil moment, the ship's heavy guns were arranged on the lower deck, while the upper deck was basically arranged with 6-pounder and 12-pounder light guns, with only four 18-pounder Kofeilin cannons, that is, Hongyi cannons.

These four Hongyi cannons were mainly used to bombard targets on the shore. The reason why it is arranged on the upper deck is because the guns can be placed higher and can be farther away. After all, shells are parabolas. The same iron ball, standing on a higher place, with the same force, will naturally be thrown farther......

The reason why only 4 doors are arranged is because I am afraid that the recoil will be too large, which will cause the hull to tilt sharply. However, some designers pointed out - previously on a 500-ton battleship, it was enough to arrange four doors. But the resistance of the thousand-ton battleship to the recoil moment is stronger, and it can be completely increased to 8 doors......

This was the arrangement of the top open-air deck, and next, Marin, guided by the ship's crew, entered the lower artillery deck......

"Hey, why isn't it a watertight compartment?" Marin saw the problem at a glance. Because, the lower artillery deck was not the watertight compartment he imagined.

The watertight compartment is divided into rooms on the same floor, and each space is enclosed so that it can be used as an independent boat. To put it more specifically, watertight compartments are similar to bamboo, section by section. Each section of bamboo is a sealed air tank that floats independently......

However, the lower artillery deck that Marin saw was a structure that was connected to each other throughout the floor, and it was no different from before. So, he cast a suspicious gaze on the captain Hobbit standing next to him.

Hobbit came from the New York shipyard and naturally knew the details, he explained:

"Grand Duke, the watertight compartment is on the bottom floor, not on this level......"

"Why?" Marin frowned and asked, he needed an explanation. Because, he said before that he would try to use the watertight compartment design, did the people at the New York shipyard take their words as wind in their ears?

The hobbit hastened to explain:

"Master Tirpit, the chief designer, believed that the use of watertight compartments on the lower artillery deck would affect the interaction between the gunners. You know, the gunners had to go back and forth, and they had to move powder kegs and shells. Most importantly, it was not conducive to the command of the artillery commander to the gunner. If it is separated into relatively closed rooms, the commander will not be able to direct the gunners to fire a salvo, and will have to inform the gunners one by one......"

This reason is very reasonable, in the era of broadside salvos, if the gunners are really separated in different rooms, it is really not conducive to directing the fire. Later warships were able to use watertight compartments because the main guns of later warships were on the upper deck. Moreover, there is also a communication system between the commander and gunner on the ship, so it is not difficult to give orders.

And in this era when command is basically by roaring, it is indeed necessary to gather the gunners and shout and command. If you really make it a watertight compartment, you won't be able to play it......

Marin nodded, agreeing with Hobbit's explanation.

The Hobbit goes on to explain:

"As for the watertight compartment, Master Tirpitt believes that its main purpose is to prevent sinking. And the sinking of the ship was mainly due to the leakage of the bilge. As for the lower artillery deck, it is usually above the waterline, and there is no need for watertight compartments. So, just design the watertight bulkhead in the bilge section of the lower deck......"

Afterwards, Captain Hobbit and Marlin opened several doors to the bilge on the lower artillery deck, and led Marin down the stairs into the bilge.

The bilge, which was supposed to be one, was divided into seven compartments due to the design of the watertight compartment. Each cabin has a closed-door design at the top. When a compartment leaks, the soldiers on the lower gun deck will first plug it, then pump up the leaking compartment and drain it through the gun door...... As long as more than half of the cabins are not leaking, the average ship will not sink...... If a hole in a compartment is too difficult to fill, but the ship can't be sunk, you can also choose to seal the door above that compartment. Then, dragging the wounded, the ship insisted on reaching the nearest deliberately repaired port......

In normal times, when there is no accident, the bilge is generally used for loading, and part of the bilge is used to live in people, mainly for sailors. But because there is no sunlight in the bilge, it is dark, so the sailors do not go down until the rest time.

Moreover, the officers did not live in the bilge, where the air was not very well circulated, but in the rooms of the lower artillery deck......

However, because the North Sea Country is very strict about the hygiene management of ships, the bilge is usually cleaned very clean, and there is no peculiar smell. Even the cabins with toilets were relatively clean. Unlike ships from other countries in this era, the bilge was full of foul odor and there were many rats living in it......