Chapter 1098 Shipbuilding Impact
April 14, 1911.
Rhine City.
Because of the agreement with the United Kingdom, it had a huge impact on the industrial development plan originally formulated by the East African government, especially the shipbuilding industry and related industries.
Navy ships from all over the world account for a large proportion of the country's total ships. Take the UK as an example. The total tonnage of British civilian ships is close to 20 million tons, while the total tonnage of the navy is as high as 2 million tons. The total tonnage of naval ships reaches about one-tenth of that of civilian ships.
This is even more true for other countries. For example, the total tonnage of German civilian ships is only a few million tons, while the total tonnage of the German navy is close to one million tons. The ratio is higher than that of the United Kingdom. Other powerful countries, the United States, France, East Africa and Japan, etc. Pretty much the same.
It can be said that the United Kingdom monopolizes most of the world's shipping industry market. The total tonnage of civilian ships in the United Kingdom is more than that of other countries combined, accounting for more than 50% of the world's shipping.
So based on the construction of the most developed civilian ships, the proportion of the British Navy's total tonnage is so high, and other major military powers are only higher.
Take East Africa as an example. In 1910, the total tonnage of East African civilian ships was close to 4 million tons, which was actually about 3.8 million tons. The total tonnage of the navy was 420,000 tons, which was the largest among the world's major powers. The proportion of military and civilian ships is relatively close to that of the British, reaching almost one-ninth.
The main reason for this result is not that the civilian shipbuilding industry in East Africa is strong, but that the size of the East African navy is relatively weak compared to other military powers.
Ernst said: "Now our country's navy's original development plan is restricted by the Treaty of Reconciliation between East and Britain, and military orders have been greatly reduced. Due to the impact of the newly signed treaty, some naval shipyards have temporarily suspended operations. Our country's shipbuilding industry has also been severely affected. Large impact, in order to offset the negative impact on the shipbuilding industry, policies and construction plans must be adjusted in a timely manner, so as to Promote the healthy development of our country's shipbuilding industry. ”
Affected by the recent signing of the East-British Settlement Treaty, East Africa must show off. After all, the British government is not a fool. In the East-British Settlement Treaty, It can be said that East Africa has taken advantage of it. If the East African navy does not stop the arms race as required by the United Kingdom, wouldn't it be bullying honest people? Although the British are not considered "honest people".
Chris Shawn, Director of the East African Shipbuilding Industry Bureau, said: "Affected by the treaty, our country's shipbuilding industry has been greatly affected. According to the original order demand, our country's military shipbuilding industry should have accounted for at least 100% of all annual ship orders. More than 18%. According to the current construction speed and orders, it can only be close to about 10%, and not more than 7%. The gap appeared out of nowhere. According to the original long-term construction plan of our country's navy, the total construction volume was directly reduced by more than 100,000 tons."
The original long-term plan of the East African Navy directly matched the United States, Germany and China. The total tonnage of naval ships of the three French countries has reached at least 800,000 tons, and now it has directly become 650,000 tons, a decrease of nearly 150,000 tons.
And the original 800,000 tons was just a floating target. After all, the total naval forces of the United States, Germany and France were surging. According to the East African Navy's ideas, the size of the East African Navy should reach at least 100 tons before the end of the Third Five-Year Plan. Thousands of tons.
Therefore, the impact of the "East-British Settlement Treaty" on the East African naval shipbuilding plan is not only the present but also the future.
Navy orders already occupy an important position in the East African shipbuilding industry. It can be said that the entire East African shipbuilding industry has been greatly affected by the contents of the treaty.
Ernst said: "The overall situation has been decided now. We must abide by the contents of the East-British Settlement Treaty. However, the impact on the shipbuilding industry may not be as great as we imagined. After all, Our original naval development plan was not radical and could be avoided by extending the construction period and rearranging the construction time."
“The naval development plan is restricted, thus freeing up a large amount of funds and personnel. We should allocate these idle funds and personnel to the civilian shipbuilding industry, or to the research and development of special ships.”
Although East Africa has formulated a huge naval development plan before the Second Five-Year Plan period, whether this plan is radical depends on the target of reference. If you compare the Austro-Hungarian Empire with Spain or Russia, the naval development plan in East Africa is certainly unconventional. However, if you compare the five countries of Britain, the United States, Germany, France, and Japan, it can be said that the original naval development plan in East Africa is not radical.
After all, Ernst had no intention to participate in the naval race from the beginning, or in other words, he did not intend to fully participate in the naval race, because in Ernst's view, East Africa currently does not have the capability to challenge superpowers such as the United Kingdom and the United States. Under the conditions, East Africa would not be able to win in the naval race even with all its horsepower.
So Ernst’s goal when formulating the East African naval development plan was to build a regionally powerful navy with deterrence. East Africa had actually achieved this goal long ago, even in the 1980s. Since then, East Africa has never fallen from the top ten naval powers in the world.
So the so-called building of a world-class navy when East Africa was negotiating with the United Kingdom was completely out of the question. The so-called world-class navy had no reference significance for a naval power like East Africa.
For example, if East Africa is now considered a world-class naval power, it must be. After all, the East African Navy ranks sixth in the world and has military forces in the Indian Ocean, Pacific Ocean and South Atlantic Ocean.
Therefore, the "world-class naval power" mentioned during the East African negotiations is essentially a kind of "blackmail" against the United Kingdom. Of course, the premise is that the United Kingdom believes that East Africa has such development goals.
In fact, the UK does not dare to gamble. After all, since the Second Five-Year Plan, East Africa has launched a dreadnought ship almost every year, and at the same time a large number of related ships have started construction at the same time. Any country sees the posture of the East African Navy. You can only choose to believe.
So Britain’s choice to reconcile with East Africa was completely an unexpected surprise for the East African government, or something that Ernst himself had not expected.
From the very beginning, East Africa used the "non-existent naval plan" to peacefully obtain the chips East Africa wanted from the British, which the British government could not have imagined.
Now in compliance with the "East-British Settlement Treaty", East Africa can just spare its energy and use the funds that should have been used for military competition to develop economy and technological research and development.
This includes the research and development of the future main naval ship that Ernst has long been thinking about, that is, the aircraft carrier.
At present, the conditions for East Africa to independently develop aircraft carriers are mature. East Africa has made great progress in the field of aircraft manufacturing and has become the world's largest aircraft manufacturing country. The accumulation of ship technology is also relatively sufficient.
The earliest aircraft carrier in the previous life was born during World War I. In fact, some people in the United Kingdom, France and other countries had proposed related concepts before. In the previous life, in 1912, the British Navy obtained an aircraft carrier that could carry aircraft by modifying cruisers and ferries. Warships, this kind of vessel called "seaplane carrier", are the prototype of the aircraft carrier.
So Ernst said: "Based on the aircraft manufacturing and shipbuilding industries, our country's original aircraft carrier research and development project should also take advantage of this opportunity to accelerate. It is best to complete the development of our country's first aircraft carrier before the Third Five-Year Plan. The construction plan will invest the funds originally used to participate in naval competitions into the improvement of naval technology and the quality of ship manufacturing.”
“In addition to some special national projects, there are also a lot of problems in my country’s shipbuilding industry itself, especially. It is the system construction that is far behind the top powers in the shipbuilding industry such as the United Kingdom, which makes the cost of my country's shipbuilding industry remain high. At a time when countries are frantically engaging in naval competition, it is also the time for my country to vigorously develop its shipbuilding industry system. "
The fundamental reason why the UK can maintain the world's largest shipbuilding industry lies in the UK's strong experience and technology accumulation, which makes the UK's shipbuilding costs much lower than other countries. But now the UK is distracted by Germany and others. In Ernst's view It is a favorable time for the East African shipbuilding industry, especially the civilian shipbuilding industry, to develop vigorously.
(End of this chapter)