The situation in Crete is now temporarily stabilized. Of course, if the two sides want to separate the winners and losers, it depends on what the supporters behind them think.

However, for Italy, this is a kind of compensation after suffering a dark loss, at least Crete did not completely fall into the hands of Britain and Greece. It can be regarded as a great blessing in misfortune.

Of course, what happened in Crete will not affect Italy's preparations.

As a symbol of Italy's influence in the Mediterranean, the navy is constantly replenishing its armament.

As the most skilled Venetian naval shipyard in Italy, it has always been the preferred construction base for battleships of all classes in the Italian Navy. Italian battleships of all classes were built in the Venetian naval shipyards, and were often built as the lead ship of that class.

The large number of orders also made the Venetian naval shipyard more and more skilled, and its shipwrights with experience in battleship construction were also increasing.

And today, it is also a big day for the Venetian naval shipyard, because it is a good day for Venice to build the largest tonnage battleship, the Roma, which is currently being launched.

Speaking of which, the construction of this Roma, the Venetian naval shipyard did not make much money at all. Because of the urgency of the time given by the navy, the Venetian shipyard had to work overtime to carry out the construction work. This led to an increase in workers' wages and electricity bills, which also led to a higher cost of construction for the Venetian naval shipyard.

However, for a shipyard that did not aim to make a profit, the Venetian Naval Shipyard did a great job of fulfilling the requirements of the navy, and the Roma was launched ten days earlier than originally planned.

Of course, the Italian Navy attached great importance to the launching of the Roma, and in addition to the participation of normal admirals, even King Carlo was invited by the Navy to attend the launching ceremony.

"It's a huge battleship."

At the dock, Carlo, accompanied by a group of admirals, watched the Roma as it prepared to be launched.

Carlo was right, the Roma had a standard displacement of 30,000 tons, and it was the first battleship to use a 380 mm gun, making it a veritable number one battleship in the world. Even the Queen Elizabeth class of the United Kingdom and the Bavarian class of Germany are in service, but they still cannot shake the status of the Roman class.

Because they have a significant gap in performance compared to the Roman class.

The first is the German Bavarian class, although this class uses the same main gun as the Roman class, but in terms of speed it is 2.5 knots lower than the Roman class (due to the influence of Italy, the German wooden head is finally willing to increase the power, and the Bavarian class is affected by this, and the design speed is increased from 22 knots to 23 knots). Of course, this also has a lot to do with the use of more oil-fired boilers. ）

Although the Bavaria adopts comprehensive protection, which is better than the key protection effect of the Roma class (both are up to 350 mm armor), the speed difference of 2.5 knots is enough to put the Bavarian class at a disadvantage in actual combat (grab T).

As for the British Queen Elizabeth class, according to the understanding of Italian intelligence. The ships of this class are about the same speed as the Romans (one 25 knots, one 25.5 knots), but they show a gap in armor and firepower.

Both classes of warships are heavily protected, but the Elizabeth-class ships have 330 mm of amidships and turrets at the thickest point, which is 20 mm lower than the 350 mm of the Roma class, and its protection is slightly lower than that of the Roma class. The problem of firepower is even greater, because the Elizabeth class is armed with a 381 mm 42 times caliber main gun.

As we all know, when the caliber of the main gun is the same, the weight of the bullet and the propellant are not very different, the higher the multiple, the more advantageous. The 380-mm 45-caliber naval gun jointly developed by the three countries is certainly much more powerful than the 381-mm 42-caliber naval gun.

The 380-mm naval gun jointly developed by the three countries uses 854 kg of armor-piercing shells, and the new propellant used in it weighs 254 kg, and the muzzle velocity is 820 meters per second, and the gun has a rate of fire of about 2.5 rounds per minute. In terms of armor-piercing ability and rate of fire, the 380-mm 45-caliber naval guns jointly developed by the three countries are much stronger than the British 381-mm 42-caliber main guns.

The British Empire was actually very aware of the inferior performance of its own artillery. The British Navy made two preparations, developing a larger 16-inch (406 mm) main gun, and improving the propellant and shells. As for the study of higher multiples of the main gun, the landlord's family has no surplus food, so give priority to the caliber.

It is necessary to say more here, because the Austro-Hungarian Navy is not in great demand, and the Vienna side has already stated that it is no longer ready to pay for the research of the next generation of naval guns.

Although Germany and Italy were very reluctant to deal with the Austrians' approach (one less wrongdoer), Vienna was resolute and had no choice but to give up. Therefore, the current research work on 410 mm naval guns is supported by Germany and Italy.

At present, the research and development work of Germany and Italy on the 410-mm main gun can be described in one word, that is, it is difficult. Because larger caliber guns have higher requirements for material performance, German and Italian R&D technicians need to compare a large number of materials every day. Try to find the best option.

According to the estimates of artillery researchers in the two countries, it will take at least next year to come up with a prototype, and the finished product will need to wait for the results of the sample cannon experiments, and if it goes well, then the development will be completed in 1915.

The slow development of new guns made the Italian Navy hesitate to build new battleships with 410 mm guns.

True, the Italian Navy, which had sufficient funds, could not sit still, and they could not wait to start construction of new battleships.

Carlo had also heard of the idea of the Navy. But he knew it, but he didn't have any good way to stop the Italian navy's desire for a new ship.

Yes, Carlo could take advantage of the well-known historical trends and order the Navy to suspend preparations for the construction of new battleships. Then, how does Carlo need to explain to the Navy what he's doing this?

And at present, history has been changed a lot by Carlo, whether the First World War can break out according to the original history, it is still unknown, what he said to the navy. The requirement of imposing pressure on the navy is by no means what a worthy monarch should do.

At present, the Italian Navy has completed the design of the new ship, which has a total length of 211 meters, a width of 31.4 meters and a draft of 9.6 meters.

The ship has a standard displacement of about 34,000 tons and a full load displacement of about 39,000 tons.

In terms of power, the stage is designed with 14 Navy Type IV oil-fired boilers (which are more efficient than Type III, but also larger), 4 steam turbines, 4-shaft three-bladed propeller propulsion, and a maximum power of 90,000 horsepower. The design maximum speed is 26.5 knots. The endurance is 7500 nautical miles at 15 knots and 4200 nautical miles at 21 knots.

In terms of protection, the class is designed for key protection, with 350 mm of the main armor belt of the amidship waterline, 380 mm on the front of the turret, 300 mm on the sides, and 180 mm on the top. The conning tower is 350 mm, the deck armor is 75-130 mm, the waterproof compartment armor is 100-130 mm, and the expected armor weight is 13500 tons.

As for the choice of firepower, this was the most difficult for the Italian Navy, but after some thought, the Navy intended to prepare for both. First, the new 410 mm main gun was developed smoothly and could be taken out in 1915, so the navy adopted the gun as the main gun. If the gun is difficult to develop and cannot keep up with the pace of construction of new ships, then the 380-mm gun will become the only option.

That's why the word about needs to be used in the displacement category, because the artillery has not yet been determined.

Of course, the hesitation in the choice of artillery, which will lead to the absolute inability to build this level quickly. Being able to go into the water in 1916 is very suitable.

Of course, if there are various difficulties in the middle of the new main gun and need to be postponed, then the navy cannot wait, and it is inevitable to speed up the construction of this class of warships.

Of course, no matter how you look at the arrival of the navy, if the 410 mm gun can't catch up, then this Roman-class strengthened version is still very powerful, not to mention becoming the world's first after the construction is completed, but at least it will not fall into the top three.

If the 410mm gun catches up with the progress, then it is needless to say, it is another powerful battleship in the world (at least when it is in service), of course, this is off-topic.

The most important thing for the current Italian Navy is to keep His Majesty the King attached importance to the Navy.

Therefore, how to make the king have a strong interest in the navy, and try to show the importance of the navy to the kingdom, is the most important thing.

"Your Majesty, please see, the Roma, which is currently about to be launched, will become the largest tonnage warship in the navy. And the possession of such a powerful warship is also the result of His Majesty's emphasis on the navy. ”

Regarding Admiral Yagill's sycophant, Carlo looked at the other party and shook his head with a smile. "You, everything is fine, but this habit can't be broken."

Later, under the leadership of the navy, Carlo watched and listened to various introductions along the way, which gave Carlo a general understanding of the Venetian shipyards.

"Your Majesty, the launching ceremony is ready."

His Excellency Horn, the head of the shipyard, reminded him in a whisper after looking at the time.

"Looks like the time is up, so let's go."

Following Carlo's words, a group of people came to the dock to participate in the launching ceremony.

After Carlo slammed the champagne into the bow, the huge Roma, with the cooperation of the shipwrights, slowly slid into the sea, and the battleship came to a steady stop in the sea with a huge pop.

This marked the completion of the launching ceremony of the Roma, followed by intense outfitting work and the advance familiarization of the officers and men of the ship.

As for Carlo, after attending the launching ceremony of the Roma, he did not return to Rome, but intended to stay here for two more days in Venice. After all, Venice is also the 8th largest city in Italy, and in addition to shipbuilding, glass manufacturing and optical products are also very good.

------Off topic------

Ask for a ticket, today's update is very giving.