Since this class of giant ships, equipped with 12 400 mm guns, will be the absolute main force of the German Navy to outperform the King class in the next thirty years, it is obvious that Qingying will have to take into account as much as possible future combat needs when designing protection. Considering the gap between the current armor material and the products twenty years later, Qingying arranged the main armor belt with a thickness of 350 mm and an inward inclination of 20 degrees for the Bavarian class; In the case that the warring parties have a certain heading angle, it is enough to ensure the defensive capability of this armor. In order to prevent the internal spall caused by the main armor being hit by shells, there is also a 16 mm anti-spoil back plate behind it; When the main armor is distorted by the impact kinetic energy of an incoming shell and the surface explosion, this backplate absorbs the internal deformation of the armor well.

In terms of defense against underwater bullets, Qingying also took great pains: after all, the probability of such a fatal blow is definitely not low, and this class of large ships that will continue to be used decades later obviously cannot only pursue short-term benefits like early cannon fodder ships. After some thought, Qingying, who was standing on the shoulders of the giant, once again made an armor layout that was sufficient to deal with everything.

Underneath the 4.5-meter-high main armor, a 1.8-meter-high piece of hardened armor with a thickness of 350 mm to 245 mm is firmly attached to the main armor at the same 20-degree inclination: as a continuation of the underwater part of the main armor belt, it is enough to gain defensive power comparable to the former with the help of "seawater armor". Further down, there are two underwater TDS doors that go straight to the bottom of the ship: on the outer side is a vertical downward 60 mm highly elastic homogeneous steel, supplemented by a 4.2-meter lightning depth and an air-liquid-air three-layer layout, which has the ability to withstand underwater blasting of 400kg equivalent TNT. The inner layer is a gradient of armor from 120 mm to 20 mm arranged at a 20-degree inclination. As the last layer of insurance to protect the core module: when high-powered torpedoes and powerful underwater projectiles break through the outer 60 mm TDS. This layer of internal armor ensures that water ingress and shells are kept out of the core compartment.

In order to cope with the increasing distance of engagement. As well as against future bomb threats from the air, the Bavarian-class horizontal protection has also been strengthened. Its main horizontal armor is 150 mm thick, and 18 mm of structural steel is attached to it to prevent spalling. Even after thirty years, this level of armor can still protect against most attacks; The ship can also be thickened after a large-scale refit if it is required.

After achieving a strong attack and defense, Qingying turned its attention to speed and endurance - giving priority to ensuring firepower and protection, which has always been Qingying's orthodox BB design idea that has never been easier. However, too much weight was consumed due to offense and defense. As a result, the total tonnage of the new warships has begun to grow uncontrollably; If the traditional power such as that of the King class is arranged, the displacement of the battleship will inevitably exceed the upper limit of the risk that the current German shipbuilding community can bear. In order to change this situation, Qingying made drastic innovations in the power system of the new ship, and for the first time, oil-fired boilers were applied to the capital ship on a large scale.

As a kind of power machinery that has been announced since the 90s of the 19th century, the oil-fired boiler after more than 20 years of development is no longer a new equipment in the navies of various countries: compared with the traditional coal-fired boiler, the oil-fired boiler is comprehensively leading in weight, thermal efficiency, floor space, and even cost. For this reason, the navies of various countries have put it on their warships: starting with the first experimental torpedo boats, to today's first-class capital ships, they all use heavy oil as the main source of power.

For this superior equipment, the German Navy was far less effective than its American and British counterparts: for no other reason, Germany did not have enough oil sources. Although starting with the De Fringer class battle tour. The boilers of the capital ships of the German Navy were converted to kerosene mixed firing, but this was still the main form of coal-fired boilers. Improvements in areas such as weight and footprint are still limited. From the point of view of the war, the German navy should use coal as the main power for the battleship in the absence of sufficient oil sources: however, after careful weighing, Qingying gritted his teeth and equipped the new battleship with the latest heavy oil boiler. Because in the field of controlling the tonnage, which needs to be solved urgently, the advantages of oil-fired boilers over coal-fired boilers are too great.

It is worth noting that there is not much difference in the weight of the powertrain itself, whether it is coal or fuel oil. At present, the coal-fired power used by Germany on capital ships can reach 25 horsepower per ton, and the fuel power is only 33 horsepower per ton at most; This means that even for a warship with an output of up to 100,000 horsepower, a battleship with an oil-fired boiler can save 1,000 tons in the weight of the power itself. In fact, the real opening of fuel power is the drastic reduction in the required area of the boiler compartment.

Different from the pulverized coal boilers in later power plants, the current marine coal-fired boilers are all burned by piling coal on top of the grate, and this two-dimensional combustion method makes the output of the boiler directly linked to the area. Even with the current German power technology, which is far superior to that of the British, the rated output of the coal-fired boiler compartment on its capital ship can only reach 75 horsepower per square meter (in fact, the boiler does not produce power, this is just a visual illustration). If you want to achieve an output of 100,000 horsepower with coal-fired power, then it means that it needs at least 1,300 square meters of core cabin space: based on the 20-meter width of the core cabin inside the capital ship, the boiler room alone will take up 65 meters long!

Oil-fired boilers are a different story. Since this type of boiler burns heavy oil from the top, it is completely burned out before it falls to the bottom; This three-dimensional combustion method undoubtedly makes a qualitative leap in the unit area output of the boiler compared with the coal-fired boiler with simple plane combustion. Even the oil-fired boilers of German capital ships, which are only three floors high, can produce 150 horsepower per square meter; And if the height of the boiler room is increased to 4 floors, this figure can even exceed 200 horsepower per square meter! This means that under the same power output, the length of the core cabin that the oil-fired boiler needs to occupy is only 37%~50% of that of the coal-fired boiler; This reduction in the length of the core compartment and the consequent significant reduction in the weight of the armor are the core secrets of the fuel-powered ability to truly control the tonnage of the warship!

"Although the main boiler compartment of this class of battleships is only 410 square meters, which is less than half the size of the previous King, please rest assured that it has a surging core that is even better than the latter. Thanks to the armor box design, the height of its boiler compartment reached 10 meters without pressure; In the case of rated output, 12 heavy oil boilers can provide it with an output of 85,000 horsepower. On the flat and high viewing platform, Qingying said proudly to Tirpitz beside him, "In order to reduce the cost of service, I also laid two coal-fired boilers in the middle of the two high-pressure steam turbines to provide the power needed for the battleship's cruising and daily mechanical operation. When all 14 boilers are operational, its four steam turbines will have a maximum output of 91,500 horsepower, which is enough to make the ship almost as fast as the 25-knots King. ”

Tirpitz nodded slightly, his gaze already filled with fascination as he looked at the giant ship below. With epic and fantastic firepower, indestructible armor, and excellent speed, the three elements of the battleship once again achieved a perfect unity under the opening of the young man next to him. Even in terms of seaworthiness and endurance, which the German Navy had not paid much attention to before, this class of warships has made a significant leap forward compared with its predecessors. With a bow freeboard of 9.3 meters and a midship body of 6.5 meters, its wind and wave resistance is absolutely the best in the horizontal comparison of its counterparts in various countries, and its endurance is as high as 9,400 nautical miles per 12 knots at a full load displacement of 3,700 tons of heavy oil and 600 tons of coal, which is enough to realize long-distance travel from Wilhelmshaven to German East Africa.

"If it weren't for His Highness's decisive adoption of heavy oil as the main power of the warship, and thus the length of the core cabin was reduced to 119 meters; Even if we had reduced the width of the water section as before, we would never have been able to complete this class of warships with a standard displacement of 37,000 tons. And once its tonnage exceeds the 35,000-ton limit of the Washington Naval Treaty, even if the caliber of the main gun is only 400 mm due to the metric system, it will be difficult to escape the fate of being demolished like the British Hood class. Tirpitz sighed softly, his words full of admiration and rejoicing, "In the next 20 years, I am afraid that no country will be able to build a capital ship comparable to it." Originally, I was bemoaning the imminent obsolescence of the Nassau and Helgoland classes, but now it seems that the best way to fulfill their mission is to free up tonnage for these four Bavarian classes. ”

As they were talking, the crowd below suddenly erupted in earth-shattering cheers; Qingying turned her head to look, but saw that Emperor William, who was dressed in fancy clothes, had already appeared on the viewing platform, waving to the black and oppressive subjects below. Qingying and Tirpitz also stood up and bowed slightly, as a sign of respect and awe for the Hohenzollern imperial power. Beside William, a kind-faced middle-aged man was staring at the massive steel hull below with amazement and excitement on his face. As if feeling Qing Ying's gaze, he turned his head and smiled at Qing Ying, his movements and demeanor all showed the calm and grace of a thousand-year-old royal family in the blood.

"Dear Franz? Archduke Ferdinand, we haven't seen each other for years. Qingying stepped forward with a smile and held the middle-aged man's hand tightly. (To be continued......)

PS: Thank you for the monthly ticket support of book friend Haichaoer, and the reward of Shaojiang and zhouyu1976~~~

Line drawings and detailed parameters of the new battleship, the author has already released them in the group. Interested book friends may wish to add it to see.,The author is still working the overhead BB~~~.