Chapter 380 The Imperial Chinese Navy's International Observation Ceremony

In the summer of the 11th year of Shenwu, the second batch of five battleships of the Tornado-class second-class sail battleships of the Imperial Chinese Navy was completed, and according to the established standards and naming rules, the five second-class battleships were named Youdian, Youge, Youdai, Ranger and Bird, and were incorporated into the Fifth Fleet of the Royal Navy of the Chinese Imperial Navy, the Mediterranean Fleet.

In the same month, the Jiangnan Shipyard in Shanghai of the Chinese Empire completed the first first-class sail battleship, the Tianqiong-class first-class sail battleship Tianqiong.

The development and construction of the first-class sail battleship, which had been five years at once, was finally completed, and the Sky Dome-class first-class sail battleship, which was built on the basis of the Tornado-class second-class sail battleship technology, entered the stage of sea trials.

The Tornado-class second-class sail battleship began to be developed and built in the third year of Shenwu, and it took five years to complete the final finalization in the spring of the eighth year of Shenwu.

In accordance with the echelon order of the Chinese Empire's design generation, development generation, construction generation, and service generation, after the Tornado-class was successfully launched in the sixth year of Shenwu, the Imperial Navy's engineering office began the design and development of the first-class sail battleship Tianqiong-class battleship.

The Dingzhen No. 2 ship was returned to China as early as the second year of Shenwu, and the Imperial Admiralty had already thoroughly understood the construction technology of the No. 2 ship. At the same time, after six years of designing and building Tornado-class battleships, the Imperial engineers who returned to China were able to integrate Western shipbuilding technology into the warships of the Chinese Empire.

With the maturity of this technology and the rapid development of the shipbuilding industry in the Imperial Chinese Empire, the Imperial Navy Shipyard has a complete set of shipbuilding processes such as construction, design, development and testing, and all technologies have reached the world's advanced level, among which the world's leading level has been reached in the aspects of warship steel rolling, hull structure, and fluid design.

These advances in technology and craftsmanship have enabled the Chinese Imperial Navy's shipbuilding industry to officially enter the world-class level.

After ten years of exploration, the imperial naval shipbuilding industry finally caught up with the Western naval shipbuilding industry, and the Sky Dome-class first-class sail battleships came into being.

The first-class sail battleship of the Sky Dome class follows the top French shipbuilding technology and the advanced Chinese design technology, which is a combination of the technology of the shipbuilding industry of China and France.

The reason why the British shipbuilding process was not adopted was mainly because the British shipbuilding technology focused on quantity and short-term success, because Britain had money and could use quantity to make up for quality. France's shipbuilding technology focuses on quality and survivability, because while France develops its army, it has no money to develop its navy, and the number of warships is small. Therefore, French shipbuilding technology was as high as possible to improve the quality of the warship and improve the survivability of the warship on the battlefield.

However, the Chinese Empire's recuperation and colonial plunder over the years have made the empire's finances abundant, and money is not a problem. Therefore, the Royal Navy of the Chinese Empire can not only build warships on a large scale, but also ensure the quality of warships and improve the survivability of the battlefield.

The design of the Tianqiong-class first-class sail battleship was completed in the fifth year of Shenwu, and the keel was laid at the Jiangnan Shipyard in Shanghai in the sixth year of Shenwu for development.

With the completion of the Tornado-class second-class battleship and its successful sea trials and service with the Imperial Royal Navy, the Skydome-class first-class sail battleship was finally ready to be built on the basis of the design experience of the Tornado-class second-class battleship.

In the autumn of the seventh year of Shenwu, the Tianqiong, the lead ship of the Tianqiong-class first-class sail battleship, officially started construction at the No. 3 dock of Jiangnan Shipyard.

The Sky Dome class first-class sail battleship, including the bow mast total length of 81.2 meters, width of 15.3 meters, waterline length of 39 meters, draft of 7.8 meters, mainmast height of 57.4 meters, double mainmast design, five-section sail, flying scissor bow, large collision angle design, long hull in line with fluid lì, square stern, double rudder design, no-load displacement of 1,500 tons, standard displacement of 1,800 tons, full load displacement of 2,100 tons, cost 4.75 million silver dollars. It is the largest, largest tonnage, most fierce firepower and highest cost steel-framed wood-hulled sail battleship in the world today.

The ratio of hull length to width of the Sky Dome class first-class sail battleship follows the mature technical design of the Tornado-class second-class battleship. However, the Tornado-class battleship was an over-experimental battleship built as a first-class battleship for the Imperial Navy, so in the final plan, the skeleton design technology of the Sea Sparrow-class all-steel battleship was used, and the three layers of gun decks were separated by strong steel plates to prevent enemy gun shells from penetrating the gun deck.

At the same time, the Sky Dome-class battleships sealed the ammunition depot with steel plates, and the aisles for transporting ammunition were also protected by steel, so that the Sky Dome-class battleships were not afraid of any direct attack from shells, and there was no need to worry about detonation. The waterline belt is protected by steel plates, which can withstand a direct impact of a 32-pound shell from 200 meters away, which greatly increases the survivability of the battlefield.

The Tianqiong-class battleship follows the oriental-style anti-sinking design, and eight watertight compartments are installed on the left and right sides of the ship, which are also isolated by steel plates to prevent a shell from penetrating two watertight compartments at the same time, ensuring that the battleship can still maintain balance after the two watertight compartments enter the water at the same time, which greatly improves the anti-sinking ability of the battleship.

As a firepower output battleship with a three-tier gun deck, the number of naval guns in the Sky Dome class has increased from 86 to 102, reaching the firepower standard of a first-class battleship. It is more than the 100 guns of the Dingzhen 2nd ship.

The problem of the center of gravity of the triple gun deck has been solved, thanks to advances in physics and structural engineering at Imperial University, and with the help of these new technologies, the center of gravity of the Sky Dome-class battleship is very safe, and it is able to maintain sufficient survival and escape ability even in the storm*.

The Sky Dome-class battleships still follow the bottom design of the Tornado-class battleships, and the bottom ballast of the hull is an inverted V-shape, which increases the draft at the bottom of the hull to maintain the stability and balance of the battleship in the deep sea and under strong winds and waves.

The ammunition depot is below the waterline belt, and even if the steel plates protecting the waterline belt are penetrated, the shells have already been filled with seawater before they break through the steel plates of the ammunition depot, as a second line of defense to prevent the ammunition depot from exploding.

The outer hull is still designed with a high freeboard wave protection and a trapezoidal stern. It is equipped with 102 Shenwu cannons, 36 200-mm 20-caliber guns, 36 150-mm 20-caliber guns, and 30 130-mm 20-caliber guns. Symmetrical layout. The battlement building is in the center, with a capacity of 900 people. Under full speed wind, the maximum speed is 13 knots, the standard cruising speed is 8~9 knots, the combat duty speed is 10 knots, and the endurance time is 15 months.

With the mature construction technology of the Tornado-class battleships, the construction period of the Tianqiong-class first-class sail battleships was shortened to three years, and after the Chinese Empire borrowed from France, it obtained a full range of first-class battleships from France The construction technology and equipment made the Tianqiong-class battleship, the lead ship of the Tianqiong-class battleships, officially launched in the summer of the tenth year of Shenwu, and after a year of sea trials, it joined the battle sequence of the Royal Navy of the Chinese Empire in the summer of the eleventh year of Shenwu and served in the First Fleet of the Imperial Royal Navy.

The cost of the battleship Tianqiong was as high as 4.75 million silver dollars, and this money could be used to build two Zhenyuan-type battleships, such a huge construction cost, even if the Chinese Empire had money, it could not withstand this kind of consumption.

However, in order to strengthen the imperial navy, Emperor Shenwu Deng Haonan still stared at the huge pressure of the cabinet and allocated 100 million silver dollars to build an "invincible armada".

In the summer of the 11th year of Shenwu, after strict sea trials, the Tianqiong-class first-class battleships received special funds from the emperor, and the Royal Navy received 100 million silver dollars for the construction of ships, so from June 7, the major shipyards of the empire received orders one after another to build the remaining 19 first-class battleships.

Immediately after receiving the emperor's approval, the Naval Fleet Command named these battleships of the first rank.

As the top battleships of the Chinese Empire, the first ten battleships of the Tianqiong-class battleships were named Tianzi, namely "Tianqiong", "Tianqiao", "Tianyu", "Tianrui", "Tiangang", "Tianyi", "Tianhe", "Tianjiao", "Tianqi", and "Tianji". The second batch of ten battleships were named Douzi, namely "Doumen", "Doujie", "Doufa", "Douqiao", "Doujiao", "Doosan", "Douyu", "Douliang", "Doucai" and "Douyin".

The remaining nineteen first-class battleships were expected to be completed in the next five to seven years and become combat strength around the seventeenth year of Shenwu, by which time the Imperial Chinese Navy would have an invincible armada.

In June of the 11th year of Shenwu, the Royal Navy of the Chinese Empire held an international naval viewing ceremony, inviting embassies, military attachés and consuls from all over the world to participate in the viewing ceremony, and allowing all countries to send warships to participate in the imperial emperor's review ceremony.

The Kingdom of England sent the battleship Sovereign 1st Class to participate in the viewing ceremony, France sent the 2nd class battleship of the French Navy, which had just won the Battle of France and Spain, and the Imperial Russian Navy was poor, but still sent the most advanced 4th class sail battleship in the Baltic Sea to the Far East to participate in the ship viewing ceremony of the Chinese Empire. The Dutch Navy won a great victory in the Spanish-Dutch War, and in order to show off its strength, it sent three royal luxury warships, mainly the Amsterdam, to participate in the viewing ceremony. In addition, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, the Ottoman Turkish Empire, Persia, Ceylon, Vietnam, the Taungoo Dynasty, Siam and other countries also sent representatives to participate in the regular observation ceremony.

As the only enemy of the Chinese Empire at this time, the Spanish Empire also sent the battleship Charles III to participate in the ship-watching ceremony, and the Spanish warships arrived at the Chinese Empire not only to participate in the international ship-viewing ceremony hosted by the Chinese Empire, but also carried the Spanish mission, and came to the East for the purpose of negotiating with the Chinese Empire, hoping to end the Sino-Spanish War as soon as possible.

In addition to the participation of maritime countries, many land-based countries also participated in the observation ceremony. For example, the countries of the Western Regions, several landlocked countries in the Indian subcontinent, or countries without navies, all sent military attaches to attend the international ship viewing ceremony of the Chinese Empire.

All countries came to participate in the Chinese Empire's international ship viewing ceremony for a purpose, and some took the opportunity to check the strength of the Royal Navy of the Chinese Empire, and heard that the Chinese Empire already had first-class sail battleships, and there were more powerful all-steel battleships under development, so they came to inquire about the news. Others, such as Russia, France, and Great Britain, came all the way to the ceremony in the hope of strengthening relations with the Allies in order to strengthen their relations with the Allies and to attend the Seventh Joint Conference of the Allies held in Beijing in August this year to set the tone for the Allies' military operations in the coming year.

Some countries came under the political, economic, and military pressure of the Chinese Empire, among which the vassal states of the Chinese Empire had to come, and the Dutch Navy came to China in a high-profile manner, mainly to support the Dutch East India Company, because in the past few years, the Chinese Empire had bullied the Dutch East India Company. The Dutch East India Company dared not speak out, and now the Dutch Navy has won a great victory, faintly becoming the strongest navy in the world, so they are uncomfortable with the Chinese Empire holding an international ship viewing ceremony, they have come to show off their force to the Chinese Empire, and the other is to touch the old bottom of the Chinese Imperial Navy, and the Dutch Grand Speaker hopes to curb the global expansion of the Royal Navy of the Chinese Empire, and hopes to take advantage of this opportunity to negotiate with the Chinese Empire to redistribute global maritime interests.

On 1 July, the Emperor of the Chinese Empire, Shenwu the Great, rode in Tianjin and inspected the warships of various navies in the Bohai Sea on the transport carrier Shenwu the Great.

At the ceremony, the Royal Navy of the Chinese Empire displayed a variety of new warships, including the largest Nuwa-class transport carrier, the Tianqiong-class first-class battleship with the strongest combat effectiveness, the fastest Sea Sparrow-class communication ship, and other warships of various classes and types, with more than a dozen types of warships, which really feasted the eyes of the naval officers and men of various countries.

The Royal Navy of the Chinese Empire held an international ship-viewing ceremony, mainly to show off the strength of the Royal Navy of the Chinese Empire, and there is no doubt that the Royal Navy of the Chinese Empire has achieved this purpose, because whether it is a first-class battleship of the Tianqiong class with strong combat effectiveness, or a sea sparrow communication ship with the fastest communication speed, or a Nuwa-class transport carrier with super supply capacity, they are all in the leading position in the world, and the navies of various countries dare not match it, and they have marveled at the strength of the Royal Navy of the Chinese Empire.

After the ceremony, the Royal Navy launched a large-scale military exercise in the Bohai Sea, inviting naval attachés from various countries to attend the ceremony.

On the sea, the North Sea Fleet, the home fleet of the First Fleet of the Imperial Chinese Navy, served as the exercise fleet, performing various fleet tactical maneuvers, such as firing fixed target ships when a single ship is moving, mobile target ships when two ships are moving, and multi-target target ships being fired by a fleet combination. In terms of tactics, in terms of the hit rate of artillery bombardment, and in terms of the power of artillery, the Royal Navy of the Chinese Empire gave a deep lesson to the officers and men of the navies of various countries, and made them feel the strength of the Imperial Chinese Navy.

However, although the Imperial Chinese Navy's international observation ceremony successfully demonstrated and flaunted the strength of the Chinese Empire and deterred the navies of all countries in the world, it also aroused the fear of the navies of European countries, who superficially complimented and respected the Imperial Chinese Navy, but secretly began to actively develop their own navy, and listed the Imperial Chinese Navy as a potential threat.

With the Royal Navy of the Imperial Chinese Navy commissioning its first self-built first-class sail battleship, the world's major maritime powers suddenly felt a great threat.

In particular, the Dutch Navy originally wanted to use the opportunity of the total annihilation of the Spanish Armada to deter the Chinese Empire and let the Chinese Empire cede some interests in maritime trade. Now after seeing the strength of the Chinese Imperial Navy, it has caused the Dutch Navy to think deeply.

In particular, Rejouz, who returned to the Netherlands, and Turner, who is now in the East India Fleet, believed that the current Dutch warships were generally composed of fourth-class battleships and cruisers, and could not resist the fleet of the first, second, and third class battleships of the Chinese Empire, so at their instigation, the Dutch Navy quietly underwent reform, transforming its naval structure twenty years before the first Anglo-Dutch war in history, and began to build large battleships to deal with the threat from the Royal Navy of the Chinese Empire.

Similarly, as allies, the British and French navies were not willing to be left behind, and in order to deal with the threat from the Dutch navy under the premise of extreme lack of funds, the navies of the two countries used the only funds to set off a frenzy of construction of first-class battleships.

As early as the first year of Shenwu, when Britain and France built two first-class battleships Dingyuan and Zhenyuan for the Chinese Empire, European countries began to build large battleships. It's just that at that time, all European countries were caught in a melee, and there was not much money to invest in naval shipbuilding projects. Although the navies of various countries have design plans, most of them have been delayed.

However, the Danish Navy had built a formidable fleet of ten second-class battleships and twenty third-class battleships.

Because of this, the Danish Navy has become somewhat formidable.

The war between Sweden and the Holy Roman Empire was at a critical juncture, and with the Spanish army losing ground in France, the Holy Roman Empire was in a disadvantageous position. These Swedish troops began a counteroffensive and occupied large swathes of the German territory of the Holy Roman Empire.

Seeing that Sweden had expanded its territory and was a serious threat to Denmark, the Danish king took the opportunity to attack the rear of the Swedish army, causing the Swedish army to be attacked in front and rear, and was forced to abandon the continuation of the war against the Holy Roman Empire and retreat to the Baltic Sea.

The perennial war has depleted Sweden's national strength, the army has allocated a huge amount, and the development of the Swedish navy has been slow, and the large warships under construction are not comparable to the scale of the Danish navy.

The large warships of the Danish Navy for a time became the first navy in Northern Europe, and Sweden could not resist and was forced to abandon the military campaign to continue the attack on the Holy Roman Empire.

However, although France won a battle and the Spanish army began to be driven out of French territory, France did not allow the Swedish army to withdraw from the battle, as that would lead the Spanish and Holy Roman Empire forces to fight France.

At this time, France did not have enough financial resources, and the navy did not have the energy to attack Denmark in northern Europe, so it did not want to turn against the Danish navy, but it instigated the Dutch navy to intervene.

The Netherlands urgently needed the support of the French Army on land in order to drive out the Spanish Army. The Netherlands was a powerful country and boasted that its navy was the best in the world, so the Dutch navy sent a detachment to the Baltic Sea to join the Swedish navy to form a combined Dutch-Swedish fleet.