The British took a closer look: Hey, there really isn't a "big endurance" article, but-

Without "great endurance", can it still be considered a serious "cruiser"?

"Prince Guan" despised in his heart: The British are really elm pimple heads!

That's what it says: "cruiser" is a name, and I'll put a suitable qualifier in front of it - besides, I don't go out to rob the colonies, so why do I want such a long endurance?

The latter sentence has played a very subtle political effect. Between talking and laughing, "Prince Guan" gave the British a big reassurance: Well, Chinese don't have any intention of competing with us head-on, it's really ...... Best Partner!

Without the requirement of large endurance, the coal tank can be reduced, and "large firepower, heavy protection, and high mobility" will be possible.

Guan Zhuofan further proposed: There can be two ways to lay armor.

The first is to protect only the key parts.

In this scheme, the increase in hull weight is limited and has little impact on speed.

What is the most important part of a ship? The engine, of course.

The British gathered the elite of ship design, and soon came up with the first plan: on the roof of the engine room, a flat layer of armored deck; Below the armored deck, coal tanks were set up on either side of the engine room, near the sides of the board. In this way, the armored deck at the top and the coal tanks on both sides jointly protect the engine room from three directions - the coal tanks filled with coal cannot be pierced by shells.

Kwan praised the design, but pointed out two problems:

First, to protect the armored deck of the engine room. Located four feet below the waterline. Uh, this, what if, the waterline is pierced? Then, the sea will inevitably take advantage of the situation. The entire upper part of the armored deck will be flooded, and eventually ...... Will guide the warship to capsize, right?

Second, high speed requires a large engine room, and the armored deck is so low that it will definitely compress the space of the cabin, and I can't add a boiler. It's also very cramped to operate, which is really not very convenient.

When these two articles were mentioned, the British looked at each other: how can it be said that His Royal Highness the Prince is a "layman"? These are two problems that even the best engineers may not be able to see!

How can it be improved?

The British are racking their brains. "Prince Guan" said: I have an idea, let's see, will it work?

Well, here's what I thought: let's change the flat armored deck to a dome armor that is flat in the middle and oblique on both sides - let's call it "dome armor". The flat armor in the middle of the "dome armor" is mentioned above the waterline; The oblique armor on both sides fell four feet below the waterline. In this way, because the flat armor in the middle is above the waterline. Even if the waterline is pierced, the sea water will not be able to flood the armored deck above the waterline. The warship was still able to maintain a large amount of buoyancy and not capsize.

In this way, in addition to the fact that the warship cannot enter much water even if it is damaged, the oblique armor on both sides falls below the waterline, which can play a good role in protecting the engine room.

Also, everyone knows: inclined planes with a certain inclination. It can dissipate a considerable part of the kinetic energy of the cannonball.

This time, the British were dumbfounded.

It makes so much sense. We were speechless.

I never thought of it, His Royal Highness. In addition to the two identities of political and military commander, he is also a genius of engineering design!

The design team came up with the final plan according to Guan Zhuofan's vision, and the "Dome Cruiser" was born - more than ten years earlier than the original time and space.

It should be noted that the relevant patents of the "Dome Cruiser" were shared by Kwan Zhuofan and the British design team.

The Xuan Navy ordered two "dome cruisers", one for "mine drive" and one for "electrification", and the technical parameters were exactly the same: displacement of 2,400 tons, length of 68 meters, width of 14 meters, draft of nearly 6 meters, steam sail hybrid, equipped with two 8-inch rear-loading smoothbore guns, two six-inch rear-loading smoothbore guns, and eight 64-pound front-loading rifled guns.

The maximum speed is seventeen knots, which is almost as fast as the "Champion", which is not slow at all.

The second scheme of armor laying is to imitate the "Champion" and "Shooting Sound", from the bow to the stern, and add waterline armor on the gunwale, that is, vertical armor. This plan, in fact, turned the "cruiser" into a "small ironclad ship", which can be called an "armored cruiser".

The amount of armor laid by the "armored cruisers" far exceeded that of the "dome cruisers". Therefore, inevitably, the speed of the "armored cruiser" will not be comparable to that of the "dome cruiser".

However, when it comes to protection, the "armored cruiser" far surpasses the "dome cruiser", and both have their own merits. Guan Zhuofan did not distinguish between Xuan Xuan, and like the "Dome Armored Cruiser", the "Armored Cruiser" also ordered two, one "Long Xiang" and one "Tiger Ben".

The technical parameters of the "Longxiang" and "Tiger Ben" are also the same: displacement of 2,900 tons, length of 71 meters, width of 13 meters, draft of 6 and a half meters, steam sail hybrid, waterline armor 5 to 6 inches thick, equipped with two 8-inch rear-loading smoothbore guns, four six-inch rear-loading smoothbore guns, and six 64-pound front-loading rifled guns.

The maximum speed is fifteen knots, although it is not as good as the "dome cruiser", but it is quite passable.

The British government attaches great importance to the design and manufacture of "dome cruisers" and "armored cruisers", the prime minister personally inquires, and the secretary of the navy is in charge of the affairs.

The British were so attentive to it that they saw that starting with the "King Umberto" and the "Durio," Chinese orders were coming in one after another, and there was no end in sight -- what a big cake was the entire Chinese military and civilian ship market? Seeing that most of them have fallen into the hands of our British, can you not care?

In addition, there is another very important reason: this is to use Chinese funds to develop new technologies and test new products. If it really works, the British will be able to follow it immediately; If it is not useful, the British will not lose a single pound - how can such a good thing not be cared for?

In the original time and space, the Germans designed and manufactured the "Jiyuan" and "Jingyuan" for the Beiyang Naval Division, which is quite similar to the above situation.

The "Jiyuan" was the first "dome cruiser" designed and manufactured by the Germans, and the "Jingyuan" was the first "armored cruiser" designed and manufactured by the Germans -- both of these orders came from China.

To tell the truth, as a test of the waters of the Germans, whether it is "Jiyuan" or "Jingyuan", the level is really limited.

In particular, the "Jiyuan", which is called a "dome cruiser", but is actually a "flat armor cruiser", which is what Guan Zhuofan criticized: the armored deck covering the roof of the engine room is located below the waterline. It's just that this armored deck is not flat, but curved - barely "dome armor".

"Jiyuan" has countless problems, "its dome armor is four feet low in water, there is almost no buoyancy, the water is blocked for a long time, the divergence is inevitable, the cannon is heavy, the driving is extremely difficult, and the danger is very great." ”

Also, "the cabin is cramped, there is no gap, only walking on the side, and there is still a fear of touching it by mistake." The day before yesterday, there were already tentacles who were invalid! ”

As for "boiling in the summer and rushing to war", in comparison, it is already a minor problem.

At that time, the "dome cruiser" had already been created by the British, and the Germans painted tigers like cats, but tigers and dogs.

It's not that the Germans don't care, and there is no doubt about the professionalism of the Germans. However, the shipbuilding industry is the first class of "high-tech" at that time, for the collection of new technologies, new processes, Germany's rising star, machinery manufacturing has caught up, and the accumulation of shipbuilding is still very limited, the first trial cry, it is inevitable to go out of tune.

The Chinese had to eat this loss - but there is nothing to complain about, who told you not to consult the teacher, but to provoke a new apprentice?

The Germans made a lot of money in these two businesses. This is not so much about how much the Germans made in the business itself, but that with the money of the Chinese, enough experiments, enough trials, enough mistakes, and enough experience points, the Germans began to build "dome cruisers" and "armored cruisers" for themselves. On this basis, the German shipbuilding industry quickly climbed to a completely new level.

Well, because of the wisdom and wisdom of King Xuan, the world's shipbuilding industry has been able to avoid a long detour, and overnight, the relevant technology and craftsmanship have advanced for more than ten years - hehe, should this be regarded as the great contribution of King Xuan to human civilization?

As for the two "standard cruisers" of "Fubo" and "Chaohai", they are actually traditional "unprotected cruisers". Guan Zhuofan felt that the three words "unprotected" were too ugly, and after thinking about it, he finally invented the name "standard cruiser".

"Fubo" and "Chaohai" are both iron-ribbed wooden shells, that is, the keel is iron, the hull is wood, and the displacement is 1,450 tons.

A cruiser of this class is not the main lineup for Guan Zhuofan to face off against the fleet of the "world's second naval power" in the future. Their main role is reconnaissance and communications, as well as operations in Haikou and inland rivers -- that is, operations in shallow waters. If a warship for this purpose insists on adding armor, it is both perverted and cumbersome, and it is really not enough necessary.

Guan Zhuofan thought about it, forget it, so be it.

However, taking "Fubo" and "Chaohai" to "Zhou Li's subordinate departments", for example, to Japan and Vietnam, the displacement of 1,450 tons is still overwhelming.

The "Aspen Fleet" of that year, the largest flagship "Zhenwu", 1,300 tons; The largest warship of the Japanese shogunate fleet and the flagship of the "Mt. Fuji" -- is 1,200 tons.

The firepower of "Fubo" and "Chaohai" is also considerable. There is one eight-inch front-loading rifled gun in the bow and six five-inch rear-loading smoothbore guns on either side of the ship.

In short, suppressing rebellions, purging pirates, and bullying weak and small countries, the "standard cruisers" of 1,000 or several hundred tons are still first-class and good.

Finally, there are the "all-armor gunboats".

Among several new ships, the one that best reflects the strange creativity of King Xuanjun is about this kind of "all-armor gunboat" with a displacement of only 250 tons.

*(To be continued)