Chapter Seventy-Nine: Battleship Modification

Keelung, Taiwan!

"The young master's modification plan has been prepared, this time we have captured a large and six small, seven battleships are all wooden-hulled ships! It can no longer be used as our main warships, so the plan we have prepared is still the same as the two battleships of the Dutch before the transformation! For the 'Timor' that reaches 1,600 tons, we are ready to add a layer of 124mm waterline steel armor to it, and after using our nickel-chromium alloy steel, it can already resist the shelling of 152mm 30 times the diameter of the black powder shell at a distance of 2,500 meters! In addition, we are going to replace the old front-loading guns above with four single-mounted 130mm naval guns, and use our closed turrets to enhance the safety of the crew members! plus we have prepared six twin 37mm machine guns and eighteen nine-seat twin 12.7mm heavy machine guns, as well as two twin 457mm torpedo barrels, thirty black-headed torpedoes and two mine guides, and fifty mines! It can be said that in terms of armament, it is not much worse than the general-class destroyers we are building! Of course, the warships of the same tonnage of Western countries are far inferior to it in terms of firepower!"

Looking at the proud look on Chen Zhaoao's face, Huo Shan couldn't help but smile faintly, no matter how much the wooden warship is modified, it will be difficult to make up for the defects in protection, armor, and design! However, after such a change, its combat power is indeed enough! After all, the navies of various countries are still full of a large number of wooden-hulled warships, and even the British Empire, the world's naval hegemon, still has hundreds of thousands of tons of this kind of old man!

"Has his skill combination changed?" Huo Shan continued to ask.

The original horizontal steam engine was replaced by a three-rise steam engine developed and manufactured by ourselves, but the round boiler on it was not too outdated, so we didn't change it! But even so, it reached 2,135 tons after modification, and with the support of 6,500 horsepower, it can also run an astonishing speed of 19 knots!"

"Well, that's good! It's barely enough, I think it's still the same as before, let's call it Haixun No. 3! Use it as a training ship for the Navy and a sea frigate in peacetime!" In any case, he would not have looked down on these things that were already destined to be eliminated, if it weren't for the fact that the navy really lacked warships to patrol the shipping lanes and protect the sea frontier! He would not have bothered to spend money on renovating a wooden ship like this! After being captured, dismantling the armament and replacing it with a fishing boat would be their best destination!

Looking at the young master's indifferent appearance, the corners of Chen Zhaoao's mouth couldn't help but feel bitter, the battleship that he originally thought was good no longer had its original attraction for a while!

However, he understands that compared to the cutting-edge Admiral-class destroyers, these wooden guys are at least a generation behind!

Immediately, he also realized that he was already in Taiwan, in Keelung, and not in the Mawei Shipyard of the Qing court!

"The rest of the ships are about five or six hundred tons, and we plan to directly change them into frigates! A layer of 50mm thick waterline steel armor has been added to the protection, and in terms of armament, it is a single-mounted 76mm gun, plus two twin-turn 37mm machine guns and eight 12.7mm heavy machine guns, and there are no torpedoes and mines! After replacing the three-rise steam engine, although they have reached a displacement of 800 tons, their speed has still reached 23 knots! However, our positioning of these six warships is a coastal patrol ship and a part-time naval training ship! It is not used as a capital ship, so this level of armament is enough!"

After listening to his words, Huo Shan nodded understandingly! At present, the sea area controlled by the Huo Jiajun is too large, from south to north, from east to west, tens of millions of square kilometers of sea area, tens of thousands of islands and reefs, but there are only a dozen warships, which is really too few! If you want to truly control this huge maritime territory in your hands, you need at least 150 frigates or destroyers! However, the destroyers that are already crowded with slipways and the freighters that the immigrants urgently need have forced the navy's shipbuilding plan to be postponed!

"Is that the new shipyard under construction in the five-year plan?" Huo Shan asked, pointing to the large construction site that was in full swing not far away.

According to the first five-year plan implemented by the Government Council, Keelung Shipyard will build a super shipyard with 2 20,000-ton slipways, 4 15,000-ton slipways, 6 10,000-ton slipways, 8 5,000-ton slipways, 12 2,000-ton slipways, and two 15,000-ton floating docks, with an annual shipbuilding capacity of 250,000 tons! However, nearly half of the slipways are still under construction! I am afraid it will take half a year to put them into use!" Chen Zhaoao couldn't help but reply with some pity while being excited.

Huo Shan nodded understandingly, the construction of large industries is time-consuming and labor-intensive! However, after the expansion of the two shipyards is completed and the other new shipyard is completed, the annual shipbuilding capacity of the Huo Jiajun will certainly be doubled! At that time, the warships of the navy will not be as embarrassed as they are now! But it will take time for all this! The first five-year industrial plan has just begun!

"When will your four general-class destroyers be launched? The navy can't wait!" Huo Shan asked with a smile as he looked at the four streamlined warships that had been basically built and were installing their guns.

"If we go all out to rush the work, we will be able to launch in mid-October at the earliest! Moreover, after the construction of this batch of warships, with the improvement of the technical ability of the workers, the construction speed of the next batch of general-class destroyers will be even faster!"

"Really, then Huo Feng will probably invite everyone in your shipyard to drink!" Huo Shan said with a smile.

"Hehe, he's invited us many times!" Chen Zhaoao said with a smile. As the head of the Admiralty, no one can compare with him when it comes to the level of anticipation for the new warship!

"How are the drawings handed over to you looking, can we build them with our current technical capabilities?" Huo Shan walked for a while, then suddenly turned around and asked.

After hearing his words, Chen Zhaoao quickly reacted, and couldn't help but think of all kinds of technical data of a warship! "Young master, we have now mastered the construction technology of a 10,000-ton freighter, and if we launch a 5,000-ton warship now, the problem is not too big! However, many of the data and related technologies that the young master said have not yet been successfully developed! For example, the technology of the coal-fired boiler with a curved tube and the technology of a triple naval gun! Therefore, if we build it now, it may not meet the requirements mentioned by the young master!"

"Can xìng be very different?" After listening for a while, Huo Shan then asked.

"That's not it, our small water-tube boiler may be a little worse in combustion efficiency and power, and the range may be shorter than originally expected! As for the naval guns, the impact is not too great!" Chen Zhaoao said affirmatively after thinking about it.

"In that case, let's start building, the first four ships, two each in Keelung and Kaohsiung! Our current navy is still too far behind, and I believe that it will be much better after this 'Mingxiang' class light cruiser is put into service!" Huo Shan said with a serious expression as he looked at the slipway that was stepping up construction in the distance.

With the passage of time, the situation in Nanyang has now become more and more severe! Now, Huo Wolf's military intelligence bureau has sent back to Taiwan the news that the Netherlands and Portugal have jointly marched into the East Indies! At the most, by the end of the year, the joint expeditionary force they have sent will reach the Far East. Although Huo Shan is confident that he can defeat these two countries, there is no guarantee that the hungry wolves who are circling around the East Indies will take the opportunity to pounce on Huo Jiajun and bite a few bites!

"If it weren't for the navy, why would I be like this!" Huo Shan sighed in his heart.

At this time, Chen Zhaoao, who had already been filled with joy after the approval of the construction of the new warship, did not notice the change in his young master's expression, and his mind was full of amazing technical data of the general-class light cruiser!

"By the way, Mr. Chen, how is our Seahawk project going?"

Hearing the young master's words, Chen Zhaoao was stunned for a moment, then reacted, and hurriedly replied: "Their tonnage is smaller than that of the famous general-class destroyers, and the requirements for armament are also low, so our construction speed has been very fast, I believe that in another four months, they will be able to launch sea trials!"

"It seems that they can't catch up?" Huo Shan whispered with some regret on his face.

"What did you say, young master?"

Shaking his head, Huo Shan smiled faintly, "It's nothing! I haven't been here for a while, Keelung Shipyard has changed a lot! Mr. Chen, as a landlord, can you take me around and take a look?"

"Okay, young master, come with me!"