Ever since submarine power moved away from artificial hand-cranking, scientists have been exploring what kind of power to replace artificial power to propel such a thing forward. The French were the first to make the attempt, and in the belief that submarines were also part of the Navy's warships, the French installed steam power plants used in surface ships on their submarine "Diver", which they built in 1863. In order to accommodate this set of power machinery, the tonnage of the submarine was enlarged to 420 tons, and with 80 horsepower, it could crawl at a speed of 2.4 knots. However, the results were limited to this, as the boiler operation required a large amount of air, which was completely impossible to achieve underwater, and the submarine test ended in failure.

After the failure of the steam engine as a power source for submarines, submarine designers had to find a better power plant for the submarine. Twenty-three years later, with the development of electric motor technology, the British built a submarine with battery-powered propulsion; This kind of power composed of batteries as the core does not need air during the working process, and can operate normally both on and under water. The trials of the new submarine were also successful, and when underwater, the speed of the submarine was able to reach speeds of up to 6 knots, and a new page was turned in the power of the submarine.

However, despite the success of the British in their experiments with underwater navigation, there was still one thing they could not solve, and that was the range of submarines. Since the battery could only store very little electricity, even if the British had installed batteries in all the empty spaces of the submarine, its range would only be a pitiful 80 nautical miles, and it would not be possible to go to sea for even a small voyage. In the years since, no matter how hard designers have worked on the energy storage of batteries, they have not been able to change the established fact that batteries are caused by their own physical laws.

A truly revolutionary innovation in submarine power was a pioneering work made by the American inventor Holland in 1897. "Since submarines need to navigate both on the water and maneuver underwater, submarines should also be driven by two sets of power plants." Guided by this philosophy, the submarine built by Holland was a great success. When it sails on the surface, it is powered by a gasoline engine, with a speed of 7 knots and a range of 1,000 nautical miles; When diving underwater, it is driven by an electric motor, with a speed of 5 knots and a range of 50 nautical miles. The most commendable thing is that this submarine is not just a ship that can move underwater like the previous submarines, but is equipped with cannons and torpedoes, which can be directly put into battle! Although the American military community dismisses and scoffs at the scientist's masterpiece, his idea of dual dynamics has been greatly promoted in Europe; The navies of the great powers followed suit, and a number of submarines that could really be used in combat appeared on the stage of history.

Now, for the development of German submarines, Qingying directly plagiarized the scientist's patent. With the addition of this concept, he believed that the development of the German Navy in submarines would definitely achieve a degree that was several years ahead of history. Because in many cases, the most important factor in improving the performance of weapons is not the technique, but the cutting of the thinking concept.

This is best illustrated in the design of warships. Of the 17 dreadnoughts of the 4th class in German history, 8 battleships adopted a hexagonal main gun layout. This layout makes it possible for only 8 of its 12 main guns to be used in actual combat; And the other 4 main guns, which take up a lot of cost and drainage, will not have the time to exert their power in battle! The Battle of Tsushima in 1905 has proved that the battle line is the royal formation in the main decisive battle; And the brainless designers had the whimsical idea that the German battleships would fall into the encirclement of the British fleet, so they arranged a whole 4 main guns on the other side that could not be fired at the same side! They also did not want to think that if the German battleships were encircled by the British fleet, then there would be only one dead word; Are there these main guns on the other side, and what is the difference?

Guided by this bizarre philosophy, the Nassau and Helgolan 2-class ships were undoubtedly the failures of the dreadnought era. Armed with 12 305-mm guns, the Helgolan class even surpassed the cost of the King's class; And in terms of firepower, armor, and speed, Helgolan was completely destroyed by the king with the same kind of artillery and boiler! To say that the German designers are all brain-dead in the design concept is not necessarily true, the same "Von der Tann", which was also started in 1908, used 8 main guns to achieve the effectiveness of 12 main guns of these two ships. If these two levels of battleships were changed to the Von der Tann's main gun layout, it would be possible to save 2 main gun turrets with the same actual firepower; That's a lot of weight, enough to increase their speed to 24 knots, or make them invincible!

In the case of tanks, the design concept is even more important. In the years before World War II, France's tank-building skills were completely destroyed in Germany under the confinement of the Versailles Peace Treaty, but it was because of its obsession with using tanks for infantry support that it clicked on the wrong technology tree, so that it created a lot of completely incomprehensible strange goods, which were quickly pushed and exploded by German tanks II and III equipped with 20mm machine guns and 37mm bean sprout guns. On the other hand, Mao Zi is based on the idea that "tanks are cruisers on land", imitating the monster of warships with multiple turrets, wasting a lot of resources and skills. If it weren't for the classic T-34 mainstay, it is still unknown what the Soviet-German war would have been.

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Hearing Qingying's words, Khedira's heart was stirred, surprised, remorseful, impressed, and admired...... All kinds of emotions were mixed in his heart, and it was difficult to say for a long time. After a while, he said with amazement: "It turns out that the power system of the submarine can be designed like this!" The introduction of a certain power gasoline engine can not only solve the problem of surface speed of submarines, but also directly connect with the generator, and recharge the battery unit at sea! As a result, the problem of the submarine's range on the water was solved, and the underwater maneuvering range was greatly increased; Its combat effectiveness has been almost increased several times! ”

"Gasoline engines have been around for 10 years since cars were built. With the strength of Benz and Daimler, it is definitely not a difficult task to develop a gasoline engine with a power of 30-40 horsepower that can be used on submarines. The battery power has been used for a long time, and even I can design a set of first-class high-power battery and motor units; Little Khedira, you've been immersed in the submarine field for many years, you must be much better than me, right? Frick, who hadn't spoken for a long time, added.

The corners of Khedira's mouth grinned, and he said hesitantly: "Batteries have been widely used on warships and submarines, how can I not do it?" Regarding the power of the submarine, I already understand how to get it. However, even if the maneuver of the submarine is solved, the torpedo problem is still an unavoidable flaw; After all, the effective range of 1,200 meters is too close, and it is difficult for submarines to find an opportunity to attack in the vast sea. ”

Qing Ying smiled slightly when she heard this, and said, "Mr. Khedira, the technique has developed with the progress of the times. The 450-mm torpedo, which we successfully developed in 1891, could only achieve a range of 26 meters at a speed of 800 knots; However, just one year later, the range of the new 450-mm torpedo in service has reached 1200 meters, and the speed of the torpedo has increased to 27 knots. At this rate, is there any need to worry about the range of torpedoes? This year, the newer 450-mm torpedo has been developed along with the new naval gun; It is designed to be able to effectively attack targets at a distance of 3,000 meters at a speed of 26 knots, which should be enough for submarines, right? The two problems you just pointed out can almost be properly solved now! ”

Khedira and Frick glanced at each other, both reading a look of surprise in each other's eyes. If the new torpedoes can reach a range of 3,000 meters, then submarines can pose a real threat to surface ships. Khedira happily said, "If that's the case, then I have nothing to worry about." The dual-powered underwater weapon with torpedo tubes that Your Highness needs, I can come up with the most perfect design in a year and a half! However, it is necessary to bother His Highness to add a pocket slipway dedicated to the construction of submarines in the second phase of the project; At present, we have received a large number of orders for merchant ships, and there is no spare slipway for the construction of submarines. ”

Qingying nodded and said, "It's natural. Not only did it take an additional place to build submarines, but it was also necessary to deploy enough skilled workers to complete the work. If this epoch-making weapon can be successfully developed, not only will you get a lot of revenue from the Admiralty's order, but your name, Mr. Herac, will be passed down from generation to generation! The German Empire has always rewarded inventors for their achievements in military science! ”

"Passed down from generation to generation?" Khedira was stunned. After a moment, he waved his hand and smiled, "Your Highness, I have never had such a high pursuit. When I first researched it, it was for drug trafficking to get rich; If I can make money for 1 pocket torpedo boat with this, I will be very satisfied! ”