The Naval Artillery Factory, located in Taranto, Italy, is the main R&D and manufacturing unit for Italian heavy artillery.

Most of the guns installed on the warships of the Italian Navy were developed and manufactured at this plant. For example, the famous Italian 10-inch rapid-fire naval gun is the masterpiece of the factory.

Therefore, as the only heavy artillery development factory in Italy, the naval artillery factory has also become the main Italian developer of heavy artillery jointly developed by the three countries.

As a priority project for the joint development of the three countries, the development of the 305-mm heavy gun is also under the responsibility of the naval artillery factory.

And today, it is a big day for naval artillery factories. After arduous research work, the 305-mm 45-caliber heavy gun was finally successfully developed.

A new and mighty cannon appeared in front of everyone.

"Your Excellency, this is a new 305-mm 45-fold naval gun jointly developed by our Naval Artillery Factory and the Naval Institute of New Technology, Krupp of Germany, and Skoda of Austria-Hungary."

Led by Admiral Yagill, the Minister of the Navy, a group of naval officers were looking at the huge cannon in front of them. And Lieutenant Colonel Guillermo Bielsa, who is the technical director of the naval artillery factory and the head of the Italian side of the new 305-mm 45-fold gun, is introducing the masterpiece he has developed with his German and Austrian counterparts.

"The gun weighs 61 tons, has a total length of 14.57 meters, a barrel length of 13.72 meters (45 times the diameter), uses an intermittent spiral bolt, the shell weighs 389 kilograms, and the maximum firing range is 21,700 meters."

Director Bielsa, when briefly introducing the data of this artillery, I saw that the officers present were constantly writing in their notebooks with pens.

It's too normal to write down the data on this artillery, after all, this is a great masterpiece. That's right, it's a masterpiece, and Bielsa is about to let them know what makes this gun so good.

"We used the latest technology in the manufacture of this gun, and its muzzle velocity can reach 823 meters per second. In addition, the gun is capable of firing four shells, of which 457 mm of armor can be penetrated at a distance of 3,000 meters, 381 mm at a distance of 7,000 meters, and 337 mm at a distance of 12,000 meters. ”

As soon as Director Bielsa introduced the armor-piercing ability of the gun, he immediately caused all the officers present to gasp. Because everyone is knowledgeable, of course they know the superiority of the armor-piercing ability of this artillery. Although this data is definitely laboratory data, it is good to have 80% of the data in real combat, but it still shows its strong armor-piercing ability.

"What kind of armor did you use for this experiment?"

An officer immediately asked.

"Carburized case-hardened nickel alloy steel."

Faced with the officer's questioning, Bielsa immediately said the name of the experimental armor steel, well, this is Harvey steel.

Although it didn't use the latest carburized case-hardened nichrome steel, it was still so good that some warship designers frowned.

Because ordinary warships need to be equipped with armor that can protect their own guns, then according to the power of this new 305 mm 45 times diameter heavy gun, the new warships need to use Krupp armor steel to reach the maximum armor thickness of 365 mm, which is also impossible to do.

However, according to the needs of actual combat, then the maximum armor of 300 mm is also a must. Of course, all of this needs to be talked about after going back, and now we need to listen to others continue to introduce the ship's gun.

Bielsa then went on to explain the other features of the new 305 mm naval gun, which of course required special attention for any naval officer.

Especially after Bielsa said that the cost of each gun was 420,000 lire, it caused the officers present to gasp. This cannon can build a torpedo boat, and it is really a guy with amazing power and price.

You must know that the purchase price of 254-mm naval guns is only 210,000 lira, and it has directly doubled here.

However, Admiral Yagill, as the Minister of the Admiralty, did not say anything about the price mentioned by Bielsa, but continued to ask other questions about the performance of the gun.

It was only after Bielsa had finished speaking that Admiral Yagill spoke to Kuniberti, who was also in attendance. "How's the cannon performing?"

Faced with the admiral's inquiry, Kuniberti replied truthfully. "The performance is definitely not said, because it is the strongest 305mm gun I know, as the main gun of the next generation of battleships, it is definitely more than rubbing."

Hearing the words of Kuniberti, Admiral Yagill captured a noun with precision. "The next generation of battleships?"

In response to the admiral's inquiry, Kuniberti nodded in reply. "Yes, Your Excellency Admiral, it is the next generation of battleships, and I already have a preliminary plan."

"Tell me about it."

How could Admiral Yagill not be interested in the battleship of the absolute king of naval warfare, and immediately offered to let Kuniberti talk about his thoughts.

Faced with the invitation of the head of the navy, Kuniberti was also very interested, because he also knew that this was about the choice of the next generation of battleships.

"Your Excellency, I believe that the battleship is positioned as the decisive king in naval battles, and it is also the core of a fleet............"

Kuniberti talked about the positioning of the battleship, and then talked about his own concept of an all-heavy artillery battleship. "Because I designed the Garibo class, which was a test of the all-heavy artillery concept. The result is not bad, under the coordination of the unified shooting commander, its performance on the battlefield is much better than other types of warships, both in terms of hit rate and projection. So after the advent of the new main gun, I think it will be time to work on the next generation of battleships. ”

For Kuniberti's words, if it were a different person, Yagil would definitely turn around and leave. Who do you think you are, you said that you will start the development of the next generation of battleships, and without discussion and consultation, this battleship will start to be developed?

However, this is called Vittorio Cuniberti, which is another way.

"Do you have any ideas?"

"Yes." As soon as he heard Admiral Yagill's words, Kuniberti took out a thick notebook, which seemed to be read from time to time, and the sharp-eyed Admiral also found that on the cover was written a few large words about the battleship design plan of the new era.

Well, it seems that this confident battleship is called a new era.

But then, after Kuniberti stated his requirements for the design of the battleship, he realized that it was really well deserved.

"First of all, the warships of this class should use a new main gun of 305 mm and 45 times the diameter, with a double layout on the central axis of the front two and two after the second. The use of a twin layout allows the ship to achieve the most rational accuracy and firepower investment.

In addition, in terms of armor protection, I think we should use the full protection armor mode, especially in the areas where the most vulnerable to bullets, such as amidships, turrets, and command towers, can be equipped with maximum 300 mm Krupp armor steel.

In terms of speed, the current battleships of various countries generally have a speed of 18-19 knots, and if the new battleships have stronger performance, then speed is also a trump card. I think 21 knots or more is a very reasonable speed. As for the choice of power, there is no doubt about the superiority of a steam turbine that can guarantee full power output for a long time. In addition, I think the use of oil-fired boilers with higher efficiency is also the best choice. ”

In Kuniberti's mouth, new guns, steam turbines, oil-fired boilers and other new equipment appeared in his next generation of battleships.

This made Admiral Yagill listen to it with great pleasure, and of course he did not forget the side effects of the new technology.

"Kuniberti, I heard you say that a lot of this equipment is brand new, and the reliability of these equipment must be carefully considered by the Navy."

For Yagil's words, Kuniberti was also prepared, because he also knew that too many new technologies would bring doubts to the navy, so he replied, "Your Excellency, in fact, I think there is a feasible way to this point, that is, to build a new battleship first, and let's test its performance first." ”

Well, in Kuniberti's mouth, the new battleship has already been decided, and he has not considered the problem of funding at all.

"Let me think about it."

Yagil didn't dare to agree now, although the navy still had a sum of money, but it couldn't be used casually, and it needed to be carefully considered.

"Admiral, I have calculated this new warship, it only needs 40 million lire."

As if it were an illusion, Kuniberti felt that after his words, Admiral Yagill was in a hurry.