"General Makanov, why can't our new warships be built into dreadnought warships like in the Beiyang, and continue to keep the construction plan of armored cruisers? Even with tonnage limitations, my principle is to prefer shortage to abundance. With the same displacement of 30,000 tons, the combat effectiveness of two 15,000-ton warships is higher than that of three 10,000-ton warships. Looking at the new armored cruiser that was being intensified in front of him, Essen's eyes were not satisfied, but full of complaints and unwillingness.

"The reason is simple, we don't have enough large slipways, and in the Far East, the Dutch can't provide enough support for so many 20,000-ton ships. And from the point of view of fleet composition, the Huaxia Navy still has 7 main armored cruisers and 3 light armored cruisers, which is enough to cover the main fleet operations, and what do we have? The Azov-type armored cruisers and armored cruiser leaders that had been accumulated were all wiped out with the naval battles, and we did not have the reliable strength to deal with the mine-striking ships and armored cruisers of the Chinese Navy, of course, the cost was also a very important factor. Makanov said calmly.

"Thankfully, though, our enemies aren't necessarily in any better shape than we are. In fact, Mr. Xu Jie, the founder of the Chinese Navy, who made the Beiyang Navy Division reborn from a coastal defense fleet into a first-class fleet in the world, knows very well what the best ship type should look like, but because of various problems, his new fleet is actually full of 4 ship types, the battleships built in Italy and the battlecruisers built with the help of the British are actually the products of compromise between funding and performance! Makanov said with a smile.

"You mean to say that the Huaxia Navy was originally going to be fully equipped with Longxing-class battleships and 9 fast battleships with 12-inch guns? But under economic pressure. So you can only settle for the next best thing and equip 4 ships with defective products? However, it is said that there were also quite a few opinions about the Longxing level in Huaxia back then. Essen said with some confusion.

"Actually. As long as Xu Jie insists, the opposition within the navy is actually not a big deal, he has enough ability to convince his opponent, and he has enough prestige to carry out his plan! This control is unmatched, so he has no insurmountable obstacles other than funding. Makanov said.

"Stop dwelling on what has already been decided. Let's do what is in front of us, judging from the current situation, our ship is actually quite good. Our armored cruisers have a total of 2 ranks. One of them is called the Rurik 2 battleship, which is used to commemorate the leader of the Rurik armored cruiser who participated in two major wars, and the other class is called the Bayan class. Just know for yourself, after all, you will be the commander of the Russian Rapid Fleet. It is necessary for you to have a full understanding of the battleship in your hands. Makanov said with a smile.

"Rurik Type 2 armored cruiser. There were two of them, the first ship was Rurik, and the second battleship was named Varyag. It is equipped with 8 10-inch 50L main guns, divided into 4 turrets arranged in the central axis, and 16 120MM guns as secondary guns to deal with mine-striking ships. All that remains is a detachable machine gun, the number to be determined. In the bow there are 2 18-inch torpedo tubes, but in general do not expect anything useful. The thickness of the main armor belt is 6 inches. The height reached 3 meters, and the thickness of the upper armor was 5 inches. The protection can only be described as average, but there is also a 2-inch dome armor with an inclination of about 45 degrees behind the main armor. The entire length of the armor belt is more than 60% of the hull. The frontal part of the turret is 7 inches, the gun mount is 6 inches. ”

"The power of the whole battleship is provided by four steam engines, two-shaft propulsion, the maximum output horsepower is 30,000 horsepower, it can run at a speed of about 23 knots, and the displacement of the whole battleship is as high as 16,000 tons, and it can reach about 17,000 tons when fully loaded. Overall, the firepower of this battleship is still very good. And it uses an oil-fired mixed boiler. The 10-inch 50L main gun could pose a certain threat to the battle cruisers of the Huaxia. Of course, the performance in terms of protection is still poor. Makanov introduced.

"The second-class armored cruiser is a little worse, we can see it as a copy of the Chinese Navy PISA, but the protection is a little worse, but the speed and range have increased, and the main armor belt is also 6 inches, but the height is only 2.4 meters. The top is 5-inch armor, and this one has not changed. The turret is 7 inches in front, and the turret is 6 inches, which is the same as in the Rurik 2. The length of the main armor belt coverage is also 60%. IN TERMS OF FIREPOWER LAYOUT, THE TWO TWIN 10-INCH 50L MAIN GUNS IN THE BOW ARE KNAPSACK-LIKE WITH A BETTER FIRING RANGE, AND THE SECONDARY GUNS ARE 10 120MM RAPID-FIRE GUNS. Makanov said, taking out a drawing and handing it to Essen.

"WHY DO WE NOW HAVE A LARGE NUMBER OF 120MM GUNS ON OUR CRUISERS? Is this level of firepower OK? Essen said with some displeasure.

"ON THE ONE HAND, IT IS BECAUSE OF THE PROBLEM OF FUNDS, AND ON THE OTHER HAND, IT IS FOR PRACTICAL CONSIDERATIONS, ALTHOUGH THE POWER OF THE 6-INCH GUN IS LARGE, BUT IT IS OF LITTLE USE TO THE BATTLESHIP OF THE CAPITAL SHIP LEVEL, AND THE SPEED OF ROTATION AND THE PROJECTION PER UNIT TIME ARE NOT ADVANTAGEOUS, SO THE ADMIRALTY BELIEVES THAT THE ARMORED CRUISER IS ENOUGH TO BE EQUIPPED WITH 120MM GUNS, AND THERE IS NO NEED TO EQUIP 6-INCH GUNS." Makanov explained.

"In terms of speed, the Bayan-class armored cruiser can reach a speed of more than 23 knots, basically except for the battle cruiser, the speed will not be weaker than other warships, and in terms of endurance, it can also reach a speed of 10 knots and 4400 nautical miles. In general, it is decent, and because of the use of 2 hardened armor, its protection ability is not weaker than that of the PISA type, and in general, it is stronger than the PISA in terms of combat effectiveness. At least that's what I think. Makanov continued his presentation.

"What happened to our fast battleships? I hope these ships will at least resist some fighting. "Essen is most concerned about the fast battleships that are the pillars of the fast fleet, after all, no matter how strong the armored cruiser is, the battle ship is not enough. If you want to fight the fast fleet of the Huaxia Republic, you still have to rely on the fast battleships of the Russian-Dutch combined fleet.

"Basically, the 4 turrets of the 4 Borodino-class dreadnought battleships were replaced with 3, and then the remaining space and weight were used to install boilers, and the protection performance was basically the same as that of the battleships, that is, the sidechord armor was weakened by 1 inch, and the empty compartment in the underwater protection was also smaller, because we needed a higher high-speed endurance."

"Basically, the main armor belt is 9 inches and 3 meters high, the upper armor belt is 6 inches, the front of the turret is 12 inches, and the gun mount is 10 inches. The length of the main armor belt coverage is 65%. Horizontal armor is 2 to 3 inches. It is equipped with 6 12-inch 45L main guns and 12 6-inch guns. It is equipped with 16 boilers, with a maximum output of 34,000 horsepower, 4-shaft propulsion, and a speed of about 22 knots. That's all for the basics, and the specific situation will not be determined until the more credible documents are delivered. Makanov confessed.

"This firepower is a bit big compared with the warships of the Huaxia Navy." Essen muttered to himself. "By the way, General, it is said that the two armored cruisers of the Dutch have good performance and are a little more advanced than ours, is that true?"

"That's right, the two armored cruisers of the Dutch, Rotterdam and Amsterdam, can basically be regarded as a smaller version of the seven provincial armored cruisers, and the armor protection is similar to that of our fast battleships, except that the turret and upper armor belt are slightly weaker, the front of the turret is only about 10 inches, and the upper armor is 4 inches. It was armed with 8 10-inch 50L Armstrong guns with a central axle gyback layout, and 12 6-inch guns and 10 12-pounder guns on the side chord. There are two 18-inch torpedo tubes in the bow, the underwater protection of the hull is not bad, there is a 4-meter mine protection body, there are empty compartments and liquid tanks. It's a very nice boat. ”

"The most impressive thing is the power system, which is 30 percent lighter than ours at the same power after using 16 new water-tube boilers and steam turbines. The normal output is 35,000 horsepower. Coupled with a better ship design, the 16,000-ton battleship can reach a top speed of more than 23.5 knots, which may be faster if overloaded. And because it mainly burns fuel, its endurance is much stronger than ours. In a way, this is actually a small battlecruiser. The overall performance is very good. Represents the highest level in France. Makanov's tone was full of admiration.

"It's a pity that such a ship is not under our direct control, and the Dutch cherish this fleet that they have been building up for decades. Once the war starts, I don't have hope in their will to fight. Essen said with a sigh. Isn't this something obvious, from the very beginning the Dutch demanded a certain autonomy to choose whether to participate in the battle or not. Moreover, the warships are biased towards speed and protection, which is obviously the idea of protecting ships. If the Dutch fleet is passive and slackens, simply relying on the 6 warships of the Russian fast fleet, it will not make the fast fleet of the Chinese Navy slag!

"Child, things are far from being so pessimistic, this time we don't have much disadvantage in the quality of the warships, although our 4 fast battleships are not as good as the 4 fast battleships of the Huaxia Navy, but in the armored cruisers, we have an absolute advantage, we have 6 brand new armored cruisers, and although the Huaxia Navy still has 7, but the earliest is already a battleship during the Sino-Japanese War, there has been a great decline in performance, in addition to the 3 newly built King-class and the power of a war, The rest of the battleships of either the PISA type or the old armored cruisers of the Garibaldi type are not enough to match our new ones. ”

"And more importantly, our speed can reach an average of more than 22 knots, which is already higher than the speed of the Huaxia armored cruisers, as long as we can concentrate our forces, there is no problem at all in fighting the Huaxia fast fleet. In addition, we have home field advantage and supply advantage, we can always maintain a high speed, while the Huaxia fleet is limited by fuel, as long as there is a chance, we can inflict heavy damage on the opponent, don't forget, there are 2 battlecruisers in the Huaxia fleet that are not very well protected. Makanov enlightened.

Thank you to the book friend Dramekyo for the monthly pass support ~~~~. (To be continued......)