On July 8, 1903, on a rare sunny day over the North Sea, two groups of light warships galloped on the sea. In addition to their own national flags, red and blue signal flags were hoisted on the two warships to distinguish them. The red team is the newly built Bremen-type light cruisers of the German Navy, while the blue team is the old German Dresden-type light cruisers.

Unlike the main ships built by Germany, the Bremen light cruiser does not have the imprint of the Chinese Navy, and is a real German bloody front ship. With a displacement of 4,000 tons, a length of 125 meters, a width of 14 meters, and a draft of 5.2 meters, this light cruiser is so unusual in the fleets of the countries of the world today.

First of all, due to the influence of the First Sino-Japanese War, the Spanish-American War and the Sino-Russian Naval War, the perception of cruisers in various countries has changed greatly. According to experience, all countries believe that the tonnage of cruisers should either reach about 10,000 tons, as a kind of warship that can be both on the battle line and avant-garde, or simply build 2,000-ton boats and equip a large number of 4.7-inch or even smaller naval guns to counter lightning strikes. A 4,000-ton cruiser like this is a bit high or low in the eyes of various countries.

But the Germans have their own ideas, first of all, with the increase in the speed requirements for light warships, the battleships must be equipped with more boilers to provide more power, the original light cruiser 20 knots even if the passing speed is far from enough in future naval battles, you must know that the capital ships are now more than 20 knots, and the light cruiser is less than 25 knots, is it worthy of the audience? Secondly, the issue of cruiser protection, what can be done with 2000 tons of cruiser protection? In the case of ensuring power, it is estimated that even the dome armor is not paved! And it's as brittle as a piece of paper. THIS KIND OF PROTECTION IS NOT TO MENTION THE ARTILLERY ABOVE 100MM, EVEN THE 88 ANTI-LIGHTNING GUN CAN BE EASILY PENETRATED. So in order to ensure adequate protection, the thickness of the dome armor must be sufficient. AT LEAST IT HAS TO BE ABLE TO WITHSTAND 105MM GUNS, RIGHT?

The third point is the ship's sinking resistance and sea trials. In the case of similar ship types, it is common sense that the larger the ship, the better the sea trial, although the Germans do not need to go far into the ocean, but the North Sea at their own doorstep is very faceless, and the degree of fury is comparable to that of the Atlantic, so the German warships, especially light warships, must take into account the sea trials. As for the anti-sinking properties, the Germans also had ideas. In addition to the ship's ability to resist more shells, the Germans had a lot of experience in how to ensure that the ammunition depot was not caught in the soul and how to ensure that there was as much buoyancy as possible. So the battleship, albeit without waterline armor. But the dome armor and arson were very well done, and the bridge was still a large compartment.

Some people may ask, is it beneficial to use large compartments for bridges? A single shell hit, and the entire compartment was useless. Why don't you use a small compartment bridge? Its use of small compartments to reduce losses is just the subjective assumption of some people who have no real combat experience. Can a small compartment reduce the loss of high-explosive shells? Apparently not! You must know that you have explosives in the shells, and when they are explosives, they will explode!

It is important to know that a 6-inch high-explosive shell weighs 45.2KG, and the picric acid explosive in it is 6 to 7KG. The fragments produced by such a large charge once exploded are extremely lethal, and ordinary ship boards cannot stop them at all, even if a small compartment is used, after the hull superstructure is penetrated, several compartments can still be damaged, and because the compartment is broken. It can bring more shrapnel, and the effect of secondary damage will be more powerful!

You have to say that it is all added with a certain amount of protection. That's fine, but if the small compartment needs to add a bunch of protection, the weight is too much! So the Germans simply made a big compartment, and then the bulkhead was thicker! Of course, there is a large compartment above the waterline, but below the waterline is a small compartment, which cannot be changed because of the principle!

At the same time, another feature of the new Bremen light cruiser of the Germans is that it continued to retain the 6-inch guns, and abandoned the layout of the two twin installations at the beginning and the end, and all of them were replaced with single installations, from beginning to end were 6 single-mounted gun gallery guns along the central axis division! Two on each of the bow and stern, two more on the amidships, and the remaining 2 in the left and right earrings at the front of the bow! 8 6-inch guns for one ship. AT THE SAME TIME, IT IS ALSO EQUIPPED WITH A LARGE NUMBER OF 88MM OR 50MM RAPID-FIRE GUNS, AND THERE ARE A TOTAL OF THREE BATTLESHIPS IN THE BREMEN CLASS, TWO OF WHICH ARE 88MM GUNS, AND THE OTHER TWO ARE 50MM GUNS. Since the result is not clear, bet on both sides!

ON THE OTHER HAND, THE LIGHT CRUISERS OF OTHER COUNTRIES, INCLUDING THE JILU ROWING SHIP OF THE REPUBLIC OF CHINA, USED 120MM NAVAL GUNS OR EVEN SMALLER 105MM NAVAL GUNS AS WEAPONS, BECAUSE IN THE EYES OF OTHER COUNTRIES, IN THE FACE OF LIGHT CRUISERS WITH ALMOST NO PROTECTION, WHETHER IT IS A 6-INCH GUN, A 4.7-INCH GUN, OR A SMALLER 105MM GUN, A LIGHT CRUISER CAN BE BEATEN TO A PULP, PROVIDED THAT THERE ARE ENOUGH SHELLS, AND THE CRITERION FOR ENOUGH SHELLS IS THAT THE PROJECTION AMOUNT IS SUFFICIENT, OBVIOUSLY THE 4.7-INCH GUNS AND 105MM GUNS HAVE LIGHTER SHELLS, AND THEY ARE IN A FASTER STATE.

But is this really the case? CAN 4.7-INCH GUNS AND 105MM GUNS REALLY GAIN A GREATER ADVANTAGE THROUGH PROJECTION? When Liu Buyun asked why the Germans still chose 6-inch guns, the Germans said: "The explosive amount of the 4.7-inch gun is only less than half of the 6-inch gun, and the 4.7-inch gun cannot be more than twice as fast as the 6-inch gun in terms of rate of fire. ”

There is also a reason why the Germans abandoned the twin 6-inch guns and took the trouble to use the single-mounted 6-inch, so much so that they made 6 gun galleries on the center line of the ship. First, the speed of the twin 6-inch guns was too slow, and as a small battleship, it could not be equipped with a well-equipped sighting and fire control system like a dreadnought. WHEN TWO SMALL FLEETS FOUGHT, TO PUT IT BLUNTLY, THEY USED DIRECT SIGHTS TO DROP SHELLS AT EACH OTHER AT A DISTANCE OF LESS THAN 5 KM. In addition, the speed is extremely fast, so the rotation of the guns must keep up with the enemy ships, and the rotation speed of the twin guns is very problematic. Historically, many of the destroyers of the 2nd World War of the United States used 5 single-mounted turrets. It is to ensure that the rotational speed is conducive to air defense.

And the second point is adhering to the theory of not throwing all your eggs into one basket, a 4000-ton battleship is too difficult for you to use artillery to protect the opponent's 4.7-inch shells or 6-inch shells, and the turret should not be considered. If you get a double-mounted gun gallery, then the opponent will lose 2 guns with one shot, and if it is a single gun gallery, it will be 1 gun, and because the hull is long enough, there is no problem at all with 6 guns in the central axis.

And with the exception of light cruisers of the Bremen type. OTHER CRUISERS, INCLUDING THE GERMAN Dresden light cruisers, were armed with 8 to 10 105mm or 120mm rapid-fire guns. It also comes with a certain amount of mine installations, ranging from two two-pack 18-inch torpedo tubes to three two-pack 18-inch torpedo tubes. In the design of the navies, these light cruisers were not only to deal with the opposing torpedo boats, but also to carry out lightning strikes if necessary. And the Germans only had 2 single-mounted torpedo tubes in the underwater part of the hull. According to the design of the Germans, the role of this battleship was to comprehensively suppress the opponent's avant-garde warships and lightning strike warships to provide protection for their own capital ships. As for lightning strikes or something. It's still handed over to professional destroyers and lightning strikers of the multiple-ton class!

ALTHOUGH THE GERMANS HAD A VERY GOOD IDEA, THE ACTUAL SITUATION ON THE GROUND STILL NEEDS TO BE TESTED IN ACTUAL COMBAT, CONSIDERING THAT THE POWER OF THE 6-INCH GUN SHELL IS MUCH GREATER THAN THAT OF THE 4.7-INCH GUN AND THE 105MM GUN, SO IN THE SETTING, THE POWER OF THE 6-INCH GUN SHELL IS 2.5 TIMES THAT OF THE 4.7-INCH SHELL. MORE THAN 105MM SHELLS. BOTH WARSHIPS USED 50MM HAND-LOADED CANNONS TO SIMULATE BALLISTICS, AND IN ORDER TO REFLECT THE RATE OF FIRE, A REFEREE WOULD STAND AT THE GUN POSITION TO SUPERVISE IT, ONLY AFTER ONE GUN HAD FINISHED LOADING. THE 50MM CANNON, WHICH IS USED FOR THE ACTUAL DESIGN, CAN BE FIRED.

Shells, on the other hand, were shelled with a thin layer of soft iron, which was then filled with dye. When a gun is hit, it is considered a loss, and the power compartment and other parts are divided into several levels according to the protection situation. As for the loss of the hull, it is most likely to be assessed by settlement. And in order to make this contest relatively fair, the Bremen-type light cruisers are on the red side, with a total of 3 ships. And the blue side is 4 light cruisers of the Dresden type. The two sides will conduct a simulated combat battle at sea to verify which of the two designs is better in the case of close to actual combat.

As an ally of the German Empire, the navy of the Republic of China also participated in the exercise, and the commander of the red side was Hipper, and the observer of the Chinese side was Deng Shichang. The commander of the blue side is Scheer, and the observer of the Chinese side is Liu Buchan. The two sides first drove side by side to the exercise area, then opened up a distance of about 10 kilometers, and then engaged in battles in imitation of conventional combat situations.

"General Scheer's fleet is coming, 8,500 meters from us." The adjutant said.

"Remember, we are the enemy now, and our title should also be that the enemy army is 8,500 meters away from our army." Hipper said solemnly. For the result of this battle, Hipper is also fifteen buckets, seven up and eight down, although in the early argument, he used three warships to fight the opponent's four warships, which should be a big advantage, but what is the actual situation? But maybe it is, after all, the rate of fire of the 105MM cannon is very amazing as high as more than a dozen in a minute!

"Prepare to engage the enemy, the first ship will attack the opponent's flagship, and the second and third ships will be responsible for suppressing the three enemy ships behind." In the face of the local fleet that occupies a numerical advantage, Scheer thought for a long time or decided to evenly distribute the firepower as the mainstay, supplemented by key strikes, everyone is a light warship, except for the key area, the protection of other areas is not the same, if the opponent's warship is undisturbed to pour bullets and rain of bullets on him, then with the high rate of fire of high-explosive shells, when the final settlement is the same, this battleship is likely to be judged to be too injured and sunk. After all, high-explosive shells are still very powerful against unprotected warships.

At the same time, Scheer also decided to use the first and second ships against Hipper's flagship, leaving the two warships to contain the other two in order to gain an advantage as soon as possible. The arrangements are different, but the guiding principles are the same.

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