The cold northerly winds of December could not dampen the enthusiasm of the people of Portsmouth Harbour in England, and the news of the launch of the superbattleship here 10 months ago has not been forgotten, and 10 months later, the news of the completion of this megaship has excited everyone, and everyone wants to see the much-hyped giant ship for themselves.

Although the completion ceremony has not yet begun, the docks of the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard are already bustling with people, and unlike the last high-profile and secret launching ceremony, this time the completion ceremony is completely open to the public, because the completed battleship will sail, and the people on the shore of the harbor will be able to see the majestic posture of the Intrepid, so there is no need to hide it now.

The people who came to participate in the ceremony pointed at the big guy docked next to the pier, and although they found that the battleship was very different from the posters advertised in the newspapers at the time, people were still impressed by the majesty of the battleship, and their faces were full of trust and pride in the strength of the Royal Navy.

The battleship had an unprecedented appearance among Royal Navy battleships, the first battleship in the Royal Navy to have no secondary guns or secondary guns, and the five twin 12-inch Vickers BVIII turrets gave her a majestic look and unrivalled firepower.

In the front row of the public attending the ceremony, cameras and cameras were all focused on the new warship, flashing lights and smoke wafting through the air.

Looking at the crowd in front of him, the smile on the corner of Fisher's mouth became bigger and bigger, and the former Minister of the Navy, the Earl of Selborne, who was a strong supporter of Fisher, stood beside Fisher and also looked at the lively scene with a smile on his face: "John, the new battleship you led was built in only 12 months, and this efficiency is amazing." ”

Fisher turned his head and nodded, "It's all thanks to Your Excellency's full support at that time. Although Fisher has a tough personality, he is still grateful to his former boss who supported him.

The Earl of Selborne nodded. Then he looked at the Intrepid and sighed to himself: "Although I have seen the design sketches and models proposed by the committee, and I have imagined what she looks like, but when I really see her with my own eyes, I will still be impressed by the majesty of this battleship, this is a great work of art!" ”

Fisher's voice, who was deeply impressed by the praise of the Earl of Selborn, was a little fanatical: "She will change the technical standards of battleships!" She will change the way naval battles are played! She will change an era! She'll make all the ships in the construction phase and the drawing board go to the battlefield survivability before they have time to launch or start construction! She will sweep all the current battleships into the garbage! And once again, the Royal Navy has absolute superiority in technology! ”

"Do you know that the Germans were preparing to build a new battleship after hearing the news of the Dreadnought?" Although he knew that as the Minister of the Sea, he must know, but the Earl of Selborn still asked knowingly. The words were full of sarcasm.

"Of course!" Fisher was excited at the mention of this: "Those stupid Germans actually believed our propaganda and were ready to build a battleship of 18,000 tons, with a speed of 21 knots, armed with 6 11-inch guns and 12 6.7-inch secondary guns. ”

"6.7-inch secondary gun!" Fisher's tone was full of mockery: "What can that stuff do?" Even if the Germans gave up their useless insistence, it would be much more useful to use the 8.2-inch naval gun or 9.4-inch naval gun from their armored cruiser as the secondary main gun than the 6.7-inch main gun! ”

"However, the Germans have always insisted on using the main guns of the same caliber, and after the exposure of our Dreadnought, it is clear that they will also build the same type of battleship, which is not a difficult task for them." The Earl of Selborn was a little worried.

"It's normal that when I first proposed to build the Intrepid, the old and stubborn nations of the Admiralty would have followed suit and built similar ships to contradict my plans. Your Excellency, you also know, remember how I answered them? Fisher replied unapprehensively.

"'If we don't build such ships, others won't build them?' Rather than waiting for someone else to build such a battleship before we react in a panic, it is better for the Royal Navy to stand on the leading edge of technology and calmly deal with it. I remember your attitude, and that's not what a gentleman should be. The Earl of Selborn said with a smile.

"I was meant to be just a civilian." Fisher said indifferently: "And it is clear that we are now ahead in technology, and the Germans are going to overturn the original design after knowing what the Dreadnought looks like, even if they use smaller caliber 11-inch guns to make the original 18,000-ton hull design basically sufficient, but the structural adjustments involved still require a lot of work." So it will take at least 6 months for the Germans to re-design the new battleship, and they will start construction until at least the second half of next year.

And we will start construction of new battleships in 4 days. The other two will also be laid in January and February next year, and we will have a four-ship lead over the Germans, which is what I said, once we have the lead, it is absolutely impossible for anyone else to catch up with us! ”

"Then we should build more battleships than armored cruisers." The Earl of Selborn laughed. Because he also heard that Fisher wanted to replace the battleships with the new armored cruisers being built, he had a very unpleasant quarrel with many people.

"No, such ships with 12-inch guns can be placed on the battle line when necessary, and the Japanese are also building this type of battleship, they are actually camouflaged battleships. It's just that the Japanese still design their warships according to the old armored cruiser ideas. And ours is completely different, so she should not be an armored cruiser with increased firepower, but a kind of fast battleship! And at long distances, battleships will not be able to match her.

More importantly, the earlier type of warships could save a lot of money, and the Japanese began to build this kind of armored cruiser for the decisive battle of the fleet because they did not have enough funds to equip two warships at the same time! ”

In order to convince the cabinet and parliamentarians, Fisher began to deliberately describe the Invincible class, which had already begun, as a combination of battleships and armored cruisers, and deliberately blurred the distinction between Invincible and Dreadnought, hoping to create the impression that relying on only one type of battleship to replace the two could greatly reduce the Navy's budget and increase the number of warships. The armored cruisers used in the decisive battles of the Japanese fleet became an excellent example.

However, although the Earl of Selborn is no longer the Minister of the Navy, he is still clear about the reaction within the Navy, so he said with a smile: "It's a pity that your theory is only supported by Sir Kelvin alone, isn't it?" You told me that none of this would change the Admiralty's mind, so next year's Navy budget will be spent entirely on battleships. And I think the Admiralty is right, 3 new armored cruisers are already able to meet the needs of the Navy.

Didn't the Germans again take the bait and prepare to build armored cruisers armed with 10 9.4-inch naval guns? Our new armored cruisers are able to easily deal with their Scharnhorst-class and new armored cruisers, and there is really no need to continue to build more of them. ”

"But after the completion of our new armored cruisers, the Germans will build ships of the same type." The Fisher grumbled indignantly.

"Then we also have a three-ship lead, don't we? If the Germans really built warships of the same class. I'm sure the Admiralty will respond too, but right now, what the Royal Navy needs is battleships, John. The Earl of Selburn smiled and comforted the strong-tempered former subordinate. 、

Fisher was ready to continue to refute, but the Lord of the Admiralty, Baron Edward of Edward, Baron of Demouth? Marchbanks stepped onto the podium, the ceremony was about to begin, and Fisher had to be quiet.

The smoke slowly rising from the chimney of the Intrepid by the docks meant that the ship's boilers had begun to burn and were about to be ready to sail, a scene that once again made all the reporters murder a large amount of film.

"Ladies and gentlemen. Today I have good news to announce to you. Marchbanks stood on the podium and smiled, a confident smile that infected everyone present: "Today is the day when the Intrepid is completed and put into service, and this battleship is unveiled to us after 12 months of construction, thanks to the joint efforts of Sir Fisher of First Sea, the naval designers of the Design Committee, and the shipwrights of the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard.

Ladies and gentlemen, she will be the new hope of the Royal Navy, and her completion marks our reoccupation of the pinnacle of the world's navies! She will make the Royal Navy an unshakable force once again! ”

Marchbanks' words caused a commotion at the scene, and the eyes of the people at the scene were once again focused on the ship. Although it is understood that this battleship has unparalleled firepower, why does her presence make the Royal Navy unshakable?

As if aware of everyone's doubts, Marchbanks continued: "This battleship is not just a few more 12-inch guns. Her combat power is not as simple as the sum of 2 old battleships! This 21-knots battleship can quickly approach the enemy at the speed of an armored cruiser, concentrate fire on one enemy ship, destroy it, quickly transfer fire to attack another, and then hit the third ship unscathed!

All the old warships will be defenseless in front of her! She will be a nightmare for all the old battleships of all countries! She will be the sharpest sword in the Royal Navy! She will help the Royal Navy become invincible! She's the Dreadnought! A symbol of the fearless spirit of the Royal Navy! ”

Marchbanks' words were full of confidence and pride, infecting everyone present, and everyone was excited. Every Englishman was fascinated by the scene he described, and every Englishman wanted the sea power of the British Empire to stand forever, and this battleship in front of them was their pillar!

As the Intrepid slowly left the docks and was about to begin her sea trials, all the reporters wrote in their notebooks: "She is the Intrepid." (To be continued.) If you like this work. You are welcome to come to the starting point (biquge.info) to vote for recommendation and monthly passes, your support is my biggest motivation ......)

PS: Many friends in the book review area are guessing what the prototype of the assault gun is

In fact, a friend guessed it

It is an M40 type 75/18 assault gun of the Italian Army

The word cannon fighting is the girl and the chariot OVA, the 1V1 close-quarters combat between the III assault gun F and the M40 in the battle of Angio, yes, the melee battle between two assault guns, so we jokingly call it artillery fighting