The Second World War seemed far away.

However, Hu Chuyuan is not sure whether he will live to that day, and even if he does, it is unknown whether he will be able to control the situation in China, or whether he will have the energy and ability to do so.

So, the preparation starts now.

Through the State Military Commission and the Military Technology Bureau of the Ministry of National Defense, Hu Chuyuan officially and secretly set up three systems engineering research projects in China, codenamed 201, 202 and 203.

201 is an aircraft carrier project, 202 is a missile and rocket artillery project, and 203 is a new aircraft program.

Due to the relatively early end of the First World War, the naval rivalry was not very fierce, and aircraft carriers did not become official weapons, but Britain, Germany, and the United States already had similar plans.

Relatively speaking, the development of domestic aircraft carriers is still relatively early, starting in 1914, but for a long period of time, Hu Chuyuan is not in a hurry to launch a real aircraft carrier, and the 202 and 203 projects also have a lot of pre-research foundations, and if they want to really take shape and become a combat force that is enough to change the situation, it still requires more efforts.

Domestic rocket artillery weapons were already in service, because the advantages in the First World War were very obvious, and these equipment were temporarily withdrawn from the official establishment and continued secret follow-up research.

In addition, the Ministry of National Defense, the Ministry of Industrial Science and Technology, the National Academy of Sciences, and the National Industrial Research Institute launched the National Science and Industry Program at the same time, and set up a special Science, Industry and Technology Committee, referred to as the Science and Technology Commission, which is responsible for investing, supporting and implementing research projects on various new technologies.

These projects cover both civilian and military items, including new tanks (tanks are British terms, in order to distinguish the difference between heavy main gun armored vehicles and conventional armored vehicles in the tactical use, the country re-chose the word tank), new infantry armored vehicles, new battleships, automatic rifles, rocket launchers, automatic pistols, new metal materials, new aviation engines, new steam turbines, high-power radars, airborne radars, shipborne radars...... And so on and so forth.

The First World War ended, and the historic mission of the Browning hand rifle was accomplished.

Unlike other countries, China has always been willing to spend money on the use and replacement of new equipment.

The improved Browning BM10-B semi-automatic rifle completely replaced the traditional rifle and became the official equipment of the Wehrmacht, and the National Guard was expected to complete its replacement in 1923.

According to Hu Chuyuan's plan, starting in 1925, the domestic navy will enter a new round of replacement, and the navy and army will begin to set up aviation units.

Under Hu Chuyuan's suggestion and control, the Air Force became a key construction unit and gradually developed in the direction of the soul of the three armed services.

Helicopter research began to be launched.

The engine power of the new fighter was required to be increased to 550 horsepower, and the long-term goal was to reach 750 horsepower.

…… The naval competition between China, Britain, the United States, and France continued, and the war was over, but the United States began to build new Maryland-class battleships, with a standard displacement of 32,000 tons, eight 16-inch guns, and six are expected to be built, in an attempt to further ensure the United States' global ...... by increasing naval construction when Britain and France were in a weak period Especially in South America.

The Americans have money, it's true, both Britain and France feel powerless.

China also has money.

So, the Sino-US naval struggle for hegemony began.

While intensifying efforts to research new technologies, China's Admiralty has also developed four Yuzhou-class battleships with a displacement of 35,000 tons and nine 380mm guns.

In addition to the smaller caliber of the main gun, the Yuzhou class is already the strongest combination of existing technology of the Chinese Navy.

In terms of overall design, the characteristics of Chinese battleships have always been to give priority to the pursuit of defense, stability and practicality, followed by speed and maneuverability, as well as the stability and unity of the artillery system, and finally the caliber size.

In the choice of the main gun, the 16-inch seems to be only a little larger than the 15-inch, but in fact it is two concepts, the weight of the former triple pack is at least 500 tons more than the latter, and the overall reliable surname may not be able to pass.

Therefore, the Yuzhou-class battleship chooses the 50 times 380mm caliber main gun of the KP50 series of modern heavy industries, which belongs to the medium and high-speed medium shells, and the main gun advantage is concentrated in the middle range, which is the optimal range between 1.2 km and 2.2 km, and at the same time can ensure the power of short-range shooting and the hit rate of long-range shooting as much as possible.

The overall layout of the Yuzhou class is reasonable and practical, and the armor design benefits from the German system, pursues key points and regional defense, and is more solid than that of Britain and France. China, which has fought more large-scale naval battles, is also more prudent in its detailed design, seeking practicality, stability and reliability everywhere.

In terms of ship maneuver and speed, this has always been the specialty of China's naval industry, Britain and Germany cannot compare, and the United States cannot compare, the maximum speed of the Maryland-class battleships is only 21 knots, and the Yuzhou-class is 24.5 knots.

With a more unique variety of protective welding processes, the combination of special types of steel, and surface hardening technology, the defensive effect of the Yuzhou class is actually stronger than that of the Maryland class at the same thickness of steel armor.

During the First World War, the British and French fleets almost exclusively used the sonar equipment provided by the Chinese Navy to effectively control the German submarine forces.

Not only is the radar technology in the exclusive position of the Chinese Navy, but the Yuzhou-class has also fully considered the problem of anti-radar in the design process, and the radar reflectivity is only comparable to that of the 10,000-ton cruiser, which is easy for the opponent to miscalculate.

In the field of radio communication and the overall fire electronic control technology, with the development of leading multi-control relay technology, these two fields are also the absolute advantage of the Chinese Navy.

Although the caliber of the main guns of the Maryland-class battleships is obviously one inch stronger than that of the Yuzhou-class, when it comes to actual fighting, it will definitely be two concepts.

In the Battle of Deland, the 7th Battleship Detachment of the 4th Fleet sent by China met the 7th Detachment of the 3rd German Battleship Formation in the course of cooperating with the British Navy.

In fact, in Hu Chuyuan's inner planning, the Yuzhou-class is likely to be the basic type of battleship of the Chinese Navy in World War II, and it is basically unlikely that a larger tonnage battleship will appear.

The 40,000-ton, 50,000-ton, and 35,000-ton battleships are completely different concepts in terms of cost, and he would rather use the extra money on aircraft carriers.

Even if a larger tonnage battleship is rebuilt, it will basically play a role in confusing the opponent, and the total number will not be too much, and the huge Yuzhou-class battleship group is more suitable.

Of course, the follow-up research that should be done should continue to increase investment, and the main gun of 405mm caliber should also be studied, and if you really want to build a battleship of larger tonnage, it must also be built very beautifully, at least 50,000 tons, to fiercely deter the opponent and force the opponent to unswervingly go on the road of battleships.

Considering the long-term, Yuzhou-level still leaves more room for improvement in the design process, laying the foundation for further modernization and improvement in the later stage.

Due to the improvement of overall construction technology, especially metal materials, metallurgy, welding, anti-rust and other technologies, as long as a battleship is well maintained, it is not a problem to serve for 30 years.

This is a completely different concept from the past.

In the non-war period, when there are not so many orders, shipyards also have more energy and time to strengthen the production process technology.

Therefore, there may be more Yuzhou-class battleships and their improved models of Yuzhou 2 and 3, and the domestic plan is to build an average of one per year, constantly dragging Britain, the United States, France and China to compete for the navy.

The Heroic-class battleships and Kongo-class battlecruisers that matched the Yuzhou-class battleships were also built.

The Valian-class battleships had a standard displacement tonnage of 22,000 tons, and the Congo-class battlecruisers were the first cruisers named after overseas provinces, with a standard displacement tonnage of 18,500 tons, both of which used the 330mm caliber main guns of the KP45 series.

However, the design margin of the Congo-class battlecruisers was very large, leaving a lot of room for modernization, and the possible installation of rocket artillery, high-power radars, helicopters for later periods was possible...... Even the missiles were well prepared.

In fact, the Congo-class battlecruisers were destroyers with greater tonnage, defensive effect and firepower, and even the stern was designed in a way that was adopted.

The new generation of submarines is basically the same idea, they are all preparing for the aircraft carrier formation, the Chinese Navy's submarine force was built the earliest, and the design and surname can also be the most advanced, but so far there have been no good results, but it does not mean that they will never play a powerful role.

There are two classes of destroyers matching this new batch of Chinese Navy warships, which are expected to be Chunwu class and Chunchao class, but there is no need to be too anxious, with the continuous progress of technology, the changes in destroyers will be very large, and the current tide and rain class is enough.

Although the Chaoyu-class destroyer was commissioned in 1906, it can still maintain a service life of more than 25 years after refitting.

The Yizhou-class battleships and Zongyuan-class battlecruisers could no longer keep up with the development of the situation, and they would probably be sold to the Ottoman Empire and the Persian Kingdom after modernization, as well as to Mexico and Brazil, putting a little pressure on the United States.

China's second-hand warships, which have always followed the spirit of Seiko manufacturing, must not worry about buyers and selling prices when they are sold, and basically, it is not a problem to get back 70% of the cost price, and 50% of the cost can be recovered with a preferential clause.

Second-hand warships were also a very reliable diplomatic weapon, and in early 1916, the Chinese Navy sold four second-hand battleships and six battlecruisers to Egypt, which directly laid the foundation for Egypt to read from the British colonial system.

After the end of the First World War, the Chinese Navy will inevitably sell and eliminate old ships on a large scale, and will also give some new orders to domestic shipyards to maintain the basic operating capacity of shipyards.

At this time, Hu Chuyuan's goal was basically to prepare for World War II, and the national navy was expected to complete the elimination of warships before World War I in 1925, which was a metabolic period for basic preparations for World War II, and then it would enter the next stage of preparation for war.

During this period, China will also take advantage of the trend to increase the overall strength of the navies of its allies.

In the event of a war between China and Britain and the United States, Hu Chuyuan did not expect the Ottoman Empire, the Persian Kingdom and Egypt to give as much help as a navy, at least to contain the British navy in the Mediterranean, hold the Suez Canal, and complete the protection of his country and the surrounding waters.

…… Watching China and the United States continue to build larger tonnage battleships, Britain and France are in a hurry, and lack of money has become their most painful shortcoming.

At the end of 1917, China successively reached new warship sales contracts with Mexico, Brazil, and Colombia, and in addition to selling old battleships, it also built new small-tonnage battleships and battlecruisers for Mexico and Brazil on the basis of Jinzhou-class battleships and Weiyuan-class battlecruisers.

(To be continued)