After the end of the Battle of the Baltic, the German Navy entered a period of recuperation, and on the North Sea front, the British fleet suffered huge losses in the decisive battle in the Mediterranean, and had no interest and lack of strength to find trouble with the other side. In the Baltic, the Russian Navy was completely destroyed, and the Germans could not find an opponent if they wanted to. The German General Staff believed that the German army had won victory on the entire Eastern Front, that a large number of troops could be withdrawn from cold Russia, that the new Russian government had a group of capitalists and lower-level officers and soldiers as supporters, although the absolute number was not large, but it was much better than the nobles and landlords who were still loyal to the Tsar, and that the Germans had handed over some of the captured supplies, even if the Provisional Government could not control Russia soon, but at least it could suppress the old Russian army.

On November 7, 1916, Scheer and others went by sea to the Naval Shipyard and the Baltic Shipyard in St. Petersburg, where two battleships of his dreams were waiting for him! By this time, two huge ships at the two shipyards had been completed and placed under the control of the German Navy under the agreement reached with the Russian Provisional Government. And Scheer and the others are ready to inspect these two super monsters that the Russians call the strongest warship in the world, this battleship is not only a collection of Russian naval techniques, but also incorporates the skills of the British and Americans, and the Russian work is enough to be called excellent even in the eyes of the discerning Germans!

In later generations, there has always been a debate about the top warships of various countries that appeared in World War I, which is the same as Xu Jie's plane. There is a lot of discussion about rankings. The Queen Elizabeth-class battleships and revenge-class battleships of the British, the Bismarck-class battleships of the Germans, and the Longwu-class fast battleships of the Chinese became the representatives of the super battleships of this era. All of them have proven their toughness and worth through many battles on the battlefield. They became the brightest stars of the First World War. Generally speaking, the first position is contested by these three battleships.

However, the evaluation of other warships, such as the Tennessee-class and New Mexico-class battleships of the United States, is not high, not that there were no bright spots in their battle, but because of various factors in the battle on Saipan that year, the performance of the US Navy really made the impression of these two warships greatly reduced. In addition, although there are a little more artillery. But the 14-inch caliber always makes people feel that some firepower is not enough. Although Tennessee and other battleships were originally equipped with 14-inch L50 main guns, the accuracy was seriously affected because the ablation of the gun chamber was too serious. The resulting walk was surprisingly large and was called a shotgun by the Americans themselves. So it was forced to replace the original 14-inch 45L main gun. This led to a general lag in the power of artillery.

But Izmail is an exception, incorporating the most powerful skills of the British Empire, with 12 14-inch L52 guns giving a penetration depth close to that of a 15-inch gun. The power of artillery threw off the American line. Plus the number of 12 doors. Let him stabilize the average battleship in terms of projection. At the same time, because of the new ammunition feeding system and servo, the ship's rate of fire is also good, with a rate of fire of 2 rounds per minute in actual combat, and an amazing performance of 2.5 rounds per minute in the test. As for the other aspects, it is also quite good.

"The Izmail-class battleship is definitely the culmination of our shipbuilding industry, and it is no less than any active warship in the world. Whether it's the queens of the British, the Ryumu-class battleships that beat their rivals in Saipan and the Mediterranean, or your country's Bismarck. The high muzzle velocity of our new guns with heavy ammunition has a good stock rate at medium and long ranges, and the penetration depth at long distances may even exceed that of your country's 15-inch guns. ”

"IN TERMS OF PROTECTION, THE BATTLESHIP ALSO HAS SOMETHING COMMENDABLE, WITH A 340MM INCLINED ARMOR INCLINATION ANGLE OF UP TO 18 DEGREES. The height of the main armor belt is 4.4 meters. Under the main armor belt. IT IS A LAYER OF ARMOR THAT GRADUALLY THINS FROM 5 INCHES TO 60 MM. This part of the armor will serve as a backbone against underwater attacks. The entire underwater protection system uses the American 5-layer structure, and the ships of this class completely abandon coal. All heavy fuel oil is used as fuel. The tank in the underwater part can form a one-meter-thick protective layer when filled with fuel, and in the event of a torpedo, it can effectively absorb the energy generated by the explosion. And in order to cope with the occurrence of underwater bullets on the battlefield, we have also deliberately increased the thickness of the armored bulkheads in some areas. ”

"Also because of the fighting on Saipan, we have increased the horizontal protection of the battleship. ON THE UPPER EDGE OF THE MAIN ARMOR ON THE SIDE CHORD, THERE IS A LAYER OF HORIZONTAL ARMOR WITH A THICKNESS OF 120MM, AND ON THE UPPER DECK WE USE SHIPBUILDING STEEL WITH A THICKNESS OF 40MM AS AN AUXILIARY DEFENSE, AND THEORETICALLY THIS BATTLESHIP CAN WITHSTAND HORIZONTAL HITS FROM 20KM AWAY BY 15-INCH GUNS FROM A DISTANCE OF 20 KM. AT THE SAME TIME, IN ORDER TO ENSURE THE IMBALANCE CAUSED BY THE LARGE AMOUNT OF WATER INGRESS CAUSED BY THE HIT OF THE HEAD AND TAIL, WE HAVE RE-OPTIMIZED THE COMPARTMENT AND RETAINED THE 100MM HEAD AND TAIL ARMOR BELT. The drainage system has been strengthened. THE SHIP'S TURRET WAS ALMOST INDESTRUCTIBLE, AND THE 450MM TURRET FRONTAL AND 420MM TURRET ARMOR ALMOST AVOIDED THE POSSIBILITY OF THE TURRET BEING DESTROYED. Of course, in order to prevent the incapacitation caused by the vibration of the turret bullet, we also took it into account in the design. ”

"Don't think that this steel behemoth is a slow-moving fortress, our new Parsons steam turbine and all-oil boiler can give it a rated output of around 50,000 horsepower, and possibly 70,000 horsepower if overloaded. Coupled with the right spacing, the battleship could have a top speed of 23 knots with a displacement of 34,000 tons. This battleship is a perfect artifact, and although we can no longer have it, its value cannot be denied. The Russian engineer who was in charge of receiving Scheer and others spoke with pride and loss, yes, very contradictory! Pride is because they have finally built the most powerful warship in the world, and they are lost because this warship no longer belongs to the Russian Empire! They and the accessories to which they belonged were to be handed over to the Germans as part of the war reparations!

"Very nice battleship." Scheer said with great satisfaction. "I think this will be the beginning of a new history for our two countries." Standing on the side of the Izmail-class battleship, Scheer felt the enormity of the battleship, which was even a little longer than the Bismarck-class. The knife-like flying scissors pointed forward like a sharp sword, heavy armor, a thick cannon, four huge propellers at the stern of the ship, and three rudders. It makes people feel its power!

"There will also be 500 former Russian naval officers and technicians on board for Germany, and I believe that with their cooperation, after a period of training, the battleship will be ready for battle." Hipper said.

"The Russians will help us to form combat power?" Scheer was a little unconvinced by his ears, judging by the performance of Essen and others, he always believed that even in the event of defeat, they would not cooperate with the enemy, and Essen did not leave his flagship in the end, sinking to the bottom of the sea with the Sevastopol. Just like his predecessor, Admiral Makanov. The remaining prisoners of war were also very dishonest. Not to mention cooperation.

"The Russians who were able to sail with Admiral Essen were die-hards, and naturally these people would not cooperate with us, so their value was nothing more than labor. There will be some such hard bones in any country in any era, but after all, they are a minority, and many of the Russian troops have taken the initiative to surrender. As for the technical staff? It would be better for us to provide them with security and enough bread than to remain in Russia, which is still in turmoil, even though the Provisional Government has been formed. And supplies are also very scarce. An officer next to him explained.

As the saying goes, a few happy and a few sad, just as the Germans were happily celebrating the defeat of Russia, just as Schell inspected the two strongest warships of the Russian Navy, and when the Kaiser directly named the two warships Mackensen and York with a stroke of his pen, the British also got the coup d'état in Russia, the Russian fleet was completely annihilated, and Admiral Essen sank with the ship. Intelligence that two Russian battleships undermined the attempted sabotage accepted by the Germans. At this time, the British Navy was disgusted enough by its own actions! The British have put a lot of effort into the construction of these two capital ships! Not only did it provide a lot of technical and material aid, but it also took into account the inconvenient communication between the Allied countries in wartime and left enough parts and materials! Although a third Izmail-class battleship seemed impossible, the two ships still made the British Admiralty feel threatened.

"The results of a year of hard work in our Navy are gone! I really don't know what the Russian side is doing, didn't Essen promise us that these warships would be destroyed? A British vice admiral said angrily.

"I didn't expect the Germans to move so quickly in Russia. Wilhelm II planted a bomb on his cousin, which instantly destroyed the Normanov dynasty that had lasted for hundreds of years. Admiral Essen is right about this matter, it can only be said that those traitors did it too thoroughly, and directly transferred Kolchak's troops to the front, and the rear is full of their people, and General Essen can't do anything. Jericho's face was full of frustration. The greatest achievement of the British Royal Navy in the North Sea was to sink two super-dreadnoughts, but now, the Germans immediately added two more powerful ones from the Russians! That's what a mess! Coupled with the 4 Bismarck-class super dreadnoughts that have just been commissioned, the Germans have 6 in their hands that can rival the existence of the Queen Elizabeth-class fast battleships and the Revenge-class battleships! And according to the estimates of the Royal Navy, the combat effectiveness of these six warships is actually higher than that of the Royal Navy's 15-inch artillery warships, which means that the actual combat effectiveness of the two sides will be closer than 3 to 5 on paper! And this situation is absolutely unacceptable to the Royal Navy!

Thanks to the book friend zhouyu1976, hukaikaka for the reward, and the book friend jhb315 for the monthly pass support ~~~. (To be continued......)