October 9, 1910. On the slipway of the Dalian shipyard, the commander of the German Far East Fleet, Count Spee, officially received the super-dreadnought battleship named Scharnhorst on behalf of the German Far East Fleet. This behemoth with a standard displacement of 26,000 tons and a full load displacement of nearly 30,000 tons will serve as the new flagship of the German Far East Fleet, with 9 350mm heavy guns, 12 150mm secondary guns and 24 guns of various calibers, making this battleship one of the most terrifying warships in the world. THE MAIN ARMOR BELT WITH A 15-DEGREE INCLINATION AND A HEIGHT OF 4.8 METERS THICK AND A MAIN HORIZONTAL ARMOR THICKNESS OF UP TO 100 MM, PLUS A TURRET WITH A FRONTAL ARMOR THICKNESS OF 406 MM, MAKES THIS BATTLESHIP THE MOST PROTECTED IN THE WORLD, AT LEAST FOR NOW. The theoretical output of up to 62,000 horsepower also allows the battleship to run at a high speed of 25 knots under light load conditions.

"This battleship is very powerful, very good, I will love this battleship as if it were my own life. At the same time, on behalf of the Imperial Government of Germany and on behalf of the High Seas Fleet of the German Empire, I would like to express my gratitude to your country for your efforts and my sincere admiration for your country's ability to complete a powerful warship as scheduled. Earl Spee said to Vice Admiral Deng Shichang of the Chinese Navy who came to carry out the handover procedures.

Count Spee then boarded the ship with his men and began to take over the ship completely. According to the plans of both parties, this handover ceremony is very simple, after the completion of the handover. The German Navy can also stay in the waters of northern China for a period of time to test and familiarize itself with the battleship, and then the battleship will officially join the German Navy's combat sequence. Leave China and enter the German East Asian colonies.

Why was the handover ceremony of such an important warship so low-key? If it weren't for the arrival of the two vice admirals, Deng Shichang and Spee, the outside world might have thought that it was a handover ceremony for a civilian ship, not a fast battleship with a full load displacement of nearly 30,000 tons. The reason is very simple, when the handover of the battleship Scharnhorst was taking place in the port of Dalian, another ship of the same type was also being handed over in distant Shanghai. And this battleship was handed over to Australia!

At about the same time, Australian naval officers led by Betty also took over ownership of the Superdreadnought Australia from the Huaxia Navy, which was almost identical in design to the Scharnhorst. However, the artillery used Vickers' new 14-inch 45L main gun. (I was going to use a 13.5-inch gun.) However, the Australian Navy decided to use the better 14-inch naval gun. The armor was Vickers's hardened armor, and the steam turbine was Parsons's. AND THE BATTLESHIPS OF THE GERMANS WERE 350MM SKODA GUNS, KRUPP ARMOR AND BREMEN STEAM TURBINES. Both sides look almost identical in appearance. But in reality, the main internal components are much worse. Plus two battleships were commissioned on the same day. So it's not bad that the two battleships are called twin brothers.

"If the Scharnhorst and the Australia are put together, ordinary people can't tell the difference between them, they are like twin brothers, appearing in this world at the same time, and being built by the same country at the same time. But at the time of their birth, they were branded as the German Empire and the British Empire, respectively. From the beginning of service, they will be mortal enemies who will never stop fighting! We have to say that it is really a trick. The British newspaper The Times said of the two warships.

"Mortal enemy! A real mortal enemy. Although Count Spee did not see the Times at this time, he already felt what the German Far East Fleet would face in the future. In peacetime, HMS Australia will be stationed in Australia. It is not known which port it is. But Earl Spee knew that the station of the Australia must not be far from his Far East Fleet anchorage! Maybe you can even run into each other as soon as you get out!

"The purpose of the Australia is to destroy us. And isn't our goal to destroy the Australia? At the beginning of the war, the British fleet in the entire Pacific Ocean would not be very strong, and this was an opportunity for us. Colonel Luffy on the side said with a smile.

"It's going to be a close fight, and although the design of the two ships is basically similar, the specific parts are from their respective countries, and I think the German Empire is still better than the British. We have a better chance of winning. Lieutenant Colonel Mueller continued.

"I've always thought that Germany and the UK, as the first industrial powers, are actually not much different in all aspects of the subsystem, our small boilers are more efficient, and the British have more stable steam turbines and higher output. After testing, the Krupp armor and the Vickers armor are actually very close, and each side has different areas of advantage. It is difficult to say who is more advanced. AS FOR THE ARTILLERY, OUR 350MM GUNS SHOULD BE SOMEWHAT STRONGER THAN THE BRITISH 13.5-INCH GUNS, BUT IT IS NOT CLEAR WHETHER THEY EXCEED THE 14-INCH GUNS. Count Spee paused and continued.

"Therefore, the Australia will be our greatest enemy, and our task is to contain the Royal Navy so that it cannot concentrate on the High Seas Fleet. And once our ships are badly damaged, even to the point where the port of Faw cannot be repaired, this diversion will disappear, so I mean try to avoid a war with an opponent of equal strength, because our logistical maintenance is always unknown. Of course, if the British's own crispy crust comes, I'd be interested in sending them to the bottom of the sea! The Earl of Spee said half-jokingly.

"Don't forget about us, if the German Far East Fleet can successfully reach Turkey, we will have 4 super dreadnought warships, we will have a numerical advantage over these two ships of the same type in Australia and New Zealand, and we can even take the initiative to find them in a decisive battle, 4 to 2 has no reason to lose." At that moment, a slightly muffled voice sounded. A Turkish officer said loudly.

"Well, hopefully we can work together to achieve this result. Major General Al Basha. Count Spee encouraged the Turkish rear admiral, despite the strange glances of the German officers around him. But in fact, through this period of communication, Spee did not hold out much hope for the combat effectiveness of the Turkish fleet. In Count Spee's opinion, if the two sides have the same warships, the Turks will not be able to beat the British, and if the same two or two formations, the German side dares to PK with the British fleet, and the two sides will have mixed victories, but if it is the Turks, Spee suggested that the Turkish fleet should talk about it first. Although it was very much the case that the Count Spee had placed the two Turkish warships under his control, it was impossible for the German government to make such a request, given the political implications, unless it was the Turks themselves.

However, the Turkish rear admiral seems to have put forward a seemingly feasible plan, that is, if necessary, the German-Turkish combined fleet can unite to make a big vote, as long as the British fleet in the Indian Ocean can be defeated, the most dazzling jewel in the crown of the British Empire, the coastline of India will not be completely opened. At that time, the German-Turkish fleet will not only be able to cut off the lines of communication, but also include all the important ports of India in its own strike range! This is much more powerful than simply breaking a relationship!

While the Germans and Turks were discussing the future of the battle aboard the Scharnhorst, Betty and the Australian naval officers were also commenting on the Australia. "It will be the pride of the British Empire, and it will be the best patron saint of the seas in Australia, with thick armor, powerful guns, and good speed, which is truly the perfect battleship. IMHO, I think this battleship is superior to the battlecruiser Lion, which is being built in England. An Australian naval officer said with apparent smugness. Of course he didn't know that Rear Admiral Betty across the road would be the commander of the future British Rapid Fleet, otherwise he would not have uttered the phrase that the Australia was more advanced than the Lion, even if it was true.

However, Betty didn't seem to mind this, because he knew too much that in wartime, the Australia and New Zealand would later be incorporated into the British Empire's Grand Fleet, and as the future commander of the fast fleet, he thought he could get these two warships under his command. What's more, after a series of comparisons and studies, Betty also had a lot of criticism about the British Empire's most cutting-edge battlecruiser, the Lion. The speed of this battleship is really good, and it can run at a speed of up to 27.5 knots during sea trials. THE SPEED IS ENOUGH, AND THE 343MM HEAVY GUN IS OKAY, BUT THE PROTECTION IS TOO RUBBISH. Even if you count the protection on paper, the Lion is at least 2 notches worse than the Australian-class battleships! The side defense is only 9 inches of armor, which is unbearable! And that's not counting underwater protection, which can't be reflected on paper. Whether from the perspective of his own life or the safety of the fleet, Betty believes that the Australia should be his flagship.

In her report, Betty praised the performance of the Australia and wanted it to serve as a benchmark for the fast warships of the British fleet in the future. Of course, the most important and most important thing is to hope to take it under his command in wartime. But unexpectedly, Sir Fisher rejected Betty's request, believing that the speed of the Australia was still a little slow, and there was a certain gap between the speed of the Tiger, the Lion and the Queen Mary, which was not conducive to the formation and would lead to a decrease in the overall speed of the fast fleet. So much so that the fighter plane was delayed. And hinted that in order to fight the German Far East Fleet, these two warships will always be deployed in the Far East, and unless the German Far East Fleet and the Turkish fleet are destroyed, they will not join the British Empire's home fleet! And this made Betty very dissatisfied!

Thanks to the book friend zhouyu1976 for the reward, and the book friend IKhai for the monthly pass support ~~~~. (To be continued......)