Chapter 125
In the dry dock of the Royal Dockyard, a huge airship has been built, and its airbag, which is larger than the hull of the ship, is being filled with gas.
Princess Anne stood in front of the viewing platform, looking at this behemoth, and was sincerely shocked by the powerful industrial strength of the empire.
After all, this is a behemoth with a length of 143 meters. Although the cigar-shaped hull does not look sturdy, its huge size still makes the Empire's latest battleship under construction on the slipway next to it look petite. .
The Empire’s newest battleship, named the Sovereign class, is designed to be 125 meters long. Although in this era, a steel behemoth with a displacement of up to 14,000 tons is already an unimaginably terrifying existence. It can be called the Empire’s The artifact of the country.
But in front of the airship designed by Purficott, it is still not enough.
The huge silver-gray air bag did not become inflated due to inflation, which made Princess Anne curious and casually asked the person in charge of the shipyard on the side: "How long will it take to inflate?"
"It's almost there, because this airship uses a hard airbag frame and an internal divided airbag structure, so it can't be seen from the outside that it is full of air." The person in charge explained to Princess Anne .
There were many people attending the ceremony today, not only the nobles who came here because of the fame, but also the surrounding people, as well as the curious citizens who came from Langton after receiving the news.
At this time, there was already a sea of people around the shipyard. Coupled with the personal visit of the eldest princess, everyone in the shipyard paid great attention to today's events. The person in charge even sweated on his forehead because of nervousness.
Although this airship was built strictly in accordance with the drawings given to them by Purficott, they also knew that the airship built by Perficott himself had successfully traveled between the empire and the New World, but for this They were still worried about whether the airship could successfully lift off.
After all, this thing is too big. It can be said to be the largest ship ever built by the Royal Dockyard. Although it does not sail in the sea, its tonnage is far less than that of the Sovereign class next to it. Battleship.
"What is the so-called hard airbag? Did you use a metal skin? It looks so beautiful!" Princess Anne looked at the silver-gray airbag of the airship and thought it was made of metal.
Seeing that the princess misunderstood, the person in charge hurriedly explained: "No, no, that is not a metal skin, but a special fire-retardant coating. Both the outer skin and the internal airbag material are used. It's cotton canvas, but the surface is all painted with this fire-retardant paint invented by Miss Brandless.
We have tested it, even if it is burned with an open flame, it is painted with this fire-retardant paint. The canvas cannot be ignited and has excellent fire protection effect! It is so good that we all want to suggest that Miss Perfectcott use hydrogen as the filling gas for the air bag. ”
After hearing the person in charge talking about technical issues, Princess Anne wisely did not answer the question. Although she was curious about these things, she had no interest in delving into what it was about.
She just asked with concern: "So can it fly smoothly?" "Of course! With the century-old reputation of the Royal Dockyard as a guarantee, there is no ship built by our shipyard. It will be impossible to sail!" At this time, the manager of the shipyard also came to the side of Princess Anne, ignoring the anxious expression on the face of the person in charge, and patted his chest to make sure.
Of course Princess Anne trusts the Royal Shipyard’s confidence.
After all, since the establishment of the Royal Dockyard, this has been the most important shipbuilding base in the empire. Almost all the main ships of the navy are built here. The strength of the Royal Dockyard has always been deeply trusted.
However, the person in charge still came to the shipyard manager nervously and tried to argue: "But we haven't had time to conduct the test yet, everything is unknown..."
"Shut up! You want to destroy the Royal Shipbuilding The shipyard manager scolded the person in charge in a low voice, pointed at the crowd of people around him, and yelled at him: "Look at these people! Think about it with your mind. What would people think of the Royal Shipyard if the airship couldn't fly! The one built by the Earl of the North has already flown to the New World and the North, and then returned! The reputation of the shipyard is completely ruined, do you understand? We must not fail! We can only succeed! If you feel uneasy, go check it again immediately instead of telling me that there is a problem and you can’t fly!”
After being yelled at by the manager, the person in charge had to run towards the dry dock, intending to do one final inspection before the official launch.
Seeing this scene, Princess Anne could only shake her head slightly and pretend not to see it.
She can understand the other party's approach. As long as nothing happens, she will turn a blind eye. The Royal Shipyard is indeed very important to the empire. After all, other than here, other shipyards want to build lengths. Large ships over 100 meters tall do not have such a large slipway and dry dock.
In particular, the follow-up plan of Perfect Court requires more large-scale airships. Shipyards like the Royal Dockyard that have construction experience and the ability to build large quantities are becoming more and more important.
Thinking of Perfectcott’s follow-up plan, Princess Anne also took the initiative to ask the shipyard manager on the side: "How many large slipways and berths are currently available in the Royal Dockyard that can be used to build airships?"< br>
“According to your instructions, Her Royal Highness the Princess, we have previously freed up three large slipways that can build cruisers for the construction of airships. At present, the overall construction progress of the three airships has been completed. 75%, and it is expected to be completed within this year." After a slight estimate, the shipyard manager first reported the construction progress of the other three airships, and then revealed the current number of slipways: "In addition to these three large slipways. In addition, if the navy doesn't mind us adjusting the production plan, theoretically, five large slipways can be freed up, which makes eight large slipways together
If the countess of the North is willing to reduce the number of flights. In terms of boat size, there will be seven medium-sized slipways and twelve small slipways available in March next year.”
"Medium-sized slipway or small slipway..." Princess Anne was a little undecided. She hesitated for a moment before saying to the shipyard manager: "Let's prepare according to this number for the time being. I need to discuss the specific situation with the Earl of the North."
While the two were talking about this, the final inspection before the airship took off was finally completed. In the expectant eyes of countless people, the huge airship rose from the ground, like a silver-gray mountain. The horizontal sky showed the great power of the industrial age, making countless people couldn't help but cheer.
(End of this chapter)