Chapter 252 Trial Navigation
At the end of the slide are two parallel trestles extending into the sea. After the test boat slides into the sea, it is between the two trestles, and its hull is kept balanced by several traction ropes and cables. This was done because the final artillery arrangement was hasty, and the design department was worried that the ship's center of gravity would be unstable, so they added an extra layer of insurance. However, judging from the launching process, the stability of the hull has basically met the design requirements, and there is no imbalance in the center of gravity.
After Sun Changmi and Yue Zhiyun completed the ribbon-cutting ceremony, they immediately walked quickly onto the trestle. The task they need to complete today is not only to cut the ribbon, but also to assume the command of the maiden voyage of this experimental ship named "Discovery" by the executive committee. Under the gaze of many eager eyes, the significance of this trial voyage is no longer just a scientific research activity, but a display of external strength no less than an armed military parade.
The sailors and crew members used on the "Discovery" are all elite personnel selected in advance from hundreds of naturalized civilian crew members. Only a few technical positions on the ship, such as captain, first mate, and navigator, are held by sailors. After Captain Sun Changmi and First Officer Yue Zhiyun boarded the ship, the crew began to untie the cables and traction ropes fixed to the sides of the ship on both sides.
"Each department inspects the equipment and prepares to set off!" Sun Changmi shouted loudly: "The observers immediately report the wind strength, direction and sea surface conditions!"
"The current wind force is Level 3, the wind direction is northeast, and the channel ahead is clear!"
"The deck inspection is completed, everything is normal!" "The lower deck inspection is completed, everything is normal!" "The stern rudder inspection is completed..."
After feedback from various departments, Sun Changmi ordered the sails to be raised and set sail. The sailors on the deck shouted the trumpet and began to push the winch to slowly raise the sail. The new sail designed by the shipyard is much lighter than the traditional Chinese hard sail because the main body is made of soft canvas. However, it does not use the fixed horizontal mast of a Western-style sailboat, but a curved sail that is integrated with the sail. Arched bamboo spokes are slightly heavier than Western-style soft sails. However, the lifting method used in the new sail is an integrated lifting method of the Chinese hard sail, which is much more convenient to operate than the Western soft sail.
The "Discovery" adopts a layout of two masts at the front and rear. The fore mast is slightly shorter and the rear mast is slightly longer. There is also a triangular soft sail between the bow and the fore mast. After the sails were slowly raised, the crew immediately adjusted the direction of the sails according to the command so that the sails could obtain maximum wind power. These crew members had received special training on pre-built boats and learned how to use this new sail. Although the crew did not understand what the "Bernoulli effect" was, the efficiency and convenience of this new type of sail in utilizing wind power was easily felt in practice. The crew privately called this magical new type of sail the "Bernoulli Effect". "Haihan Sail" to show their recognition of this kind of sail.
Several foreign guests who saw the ship in its entirety for the first time were a little dazzled by the sight. They said it was a Chinese-style ship. It also used soft sails and tall masts from Western-style sailboats. Let's call it a Western-style sailing ship. The shape of the ship clearly has the flavor of Fuzhou Guangzhou Shipbuilding, and the methods of raising, lowering and operating the sails are clearly Chinese-style.
"Everyone, why don't we go out to sea together and have a look?" Tao Donglai came to the guest seat and invited him personally. The two catamaran sailboats moored on the shore had also unmoored and raised their sails and were ready to set off. Their mission is to escort the "Discovery" on its maiden voyage, and also to allow leaders of various departments to closely observe the new ship's navigation capabilities from the sea to further confirm the superiority of the ship's seaworthiness at sea.
"Okay, okay!" As a maritime merchant, Zhan Gui stood up hurriedly. He was really curious about how this strange-looking sailboat of the Haihan people would perform at sea.
As stakeholders with Haihan, Li Nai and Luo Shengdong would naturally not refuse Tao Donglai's invitation. Tao Donglai saw Wei Ping looking at him eagerly beside him, nodded and said: "If Inspector Wei is free, then come too!"
"I'm free, I'm free!" Inspector Wei responded repeatedly, happily following behind.
After the "Discovery" sailed off the trestle of the shipyard, it first headed northeast downwind and made a brisk circle along the coastline in the harbor, arousing cheers from the onlookers on the shore. Although the vast majority of these people do not understand the extraordinary capabilities of this new ship, today the executive committee has given a half-day holiday for this purpose, and everyone can get a special meal. It is already worthy of everyone's happiness.
"The current speed is nine knots." Yue Zhiyun excitedly reported to the two escort ships through the walkie-talkie: "The speed is still increasing!"
The "Discovery" took the lead, followed by two escort ships on the left and right. After the three ships circled in the harbor, they quickly headed towards the southern outlet. When it passed the Yulinjiao outpost, the speed of the "Exploration" was already close to ten nautical miles, far exceeding the ordinary Fu Chuan Guangzhou ship. If it were not for the speed of the two catamaran sailing ships themselves, it would have been replaced by Ordinary ships really can't keep up with the Discovery.
Zhan Gui had been making a living at sea since he was a child. He was naturally extremely sensitive to the speed of sailing. He couldn't help but ask Tao Donglai: "Mr. Tao, the sailboat in front is so fast, but it has something to do with the style of sail it uses." ?”
Tao Donglai nodded and said: "There is indeed a certain relationship, but it is not the whole reason. In the process of building this ship, we used many new technologies that the Ming Dynasty did not have to achieve what you see now. Effect.”
The words "new technology that Ming Dynasty does not have" undoubtedly pricked the hearts of these Ming people, but they could not deny Tao Donglai's statement, because even the sails they saw in front of them, Indeed, it has never appeared in the Ming Dynasty. And the speed displayed by this ship is indeed something that the Ming Dynasty ships cannot easily achieve.
"This ship... I'm afraid it has exceeded the upper limit of 400 materials, right?" Zhan Gui's eyes were vicious enough. Although the Haihan people claimed that this was just a ship with 400 materials, in his opinion, this ship The actual size is more than what the Haihan people said.
Tao Donglai did not answer his question directly this time, but just smiled and said: "Maybe a little more, but not much. Boss Zhan, who has been running at sea for a long time, should also know that there are many civilian ships now, which are actually more than 400 pieces of material." .”
Four hundred materials is the upper limit of tonnage set by the Ming Dynasty for private sea-going ships. The displacement is generally around 150 to 180 tons, but there are also many ships with a displacement of 200 tons. Among the second-hand ships purchased by the Cross-Training Group in the early stage, there are a few that have obviously exceeded the upper limit of 400 tons. According to the estimates of the Ministry of Shipping, the largest ship has a displacement of more than 200 tons. It is still openly priced at 400 tons. The materials were officially registered - it was just a matter of spending a few more registration fees, packing more seafood and making two trips back.
At this time, the tonnage regulation of 400 tons for civilian ships is actually in name only. The relevant departments of the Ming Dynasty are not strict in supervising this. They usually turn a blind eye and turn a blind eye after receiving the benefits. Of course, if any unscrupulous person really builds a ship bigger than the navy's Dafu Ship, he is asking for trouble.
The "Discovery" was indeed designed according to the size of four hundred materials or two hundred tons of displacement at the beginning of the design. However, the problems encountered during the design process and the new requirements put forward by various departments also prompted the ship's design. The tonnage is changing more and more. For example, the use of fine steel hollow masts and the arrangement of more than ten artillery pieces on the second deck require that the entire ship's hull structure must be further strengthened, and the direct consequence of this strengthening is an increase in displacement. So when it came time to start laying the keel, the design displacement of the entire ship actually exceeded 300 tons. Judging from the appearance alone, it's really not much bigger than an ordinary seagoing ship made of 400 materials. At least a dabbler like Li Nai wouldn't be able to see any flaws. But professionals like Zhan Gui and Luo Shengdong naturally saw that there was something fishy in the data claimed by the Haihan people. Even if Luo Shengdong had figured it out, he would have just pretended to be confused and wouldn't have said anything in such a public place. But Zhan Gui had not been dealing with the Haihan people for a long time, and he didn't have as many scruples as Luo Shengdong had, so he asked directly. Although Tao Donglai's answer was a bit vague, it undoubtedly confirmed his guess.
Of course, the Ministry of Shipping will not be satisfied with the tonnage of the "Discovery". Although the trial of this ship has just begun, the shipbuilding plan of the Ministry of Shipping has been listed until next year, and a 500-ton cargo ship with a larger displacement has also entered the design stage. . However, it is obviously not convenient for such a large cargo ship to sail to the mainland's commercial ports. After all, the head is too conspicuous. Due to practical considerations, the construction of sailboats of the tonnage of "Discovery" will not stop here. After being perfected during the trial period, cargo ships of this tonnage class will be used as the main transportation capacity of the Trans Group on sea routes to the mainland in the next few years.
Of course, the subsequent shipbuilding time will not be able to drag on for more than half a year like the "Exploration". After finalization, ships of this tonnage level will enter the mass production stage. The Ministry of Shipping believes that as long as manpower and shipbuilding materials can be adequately supplied, the construction time of such a ship is expected to be shortened from the current nearly seven months to three months. With the current scale of the Victory Port Shipyard, two ships will be built at the same time. One or even three ships of this tonnage is not a big problem. In terms of construction speed, they will definitely be much faster than their counterparts in the Ming Dynasty.
But even so, the Executive Committee will not be satisfied with the speed of new ship construction at the Victory Port Shipyard - such small ships of several hundred tons should only be used for short-distance offshore use in the future Haihan Republic, and there will be only a few ships. How can a thousand-ton displacement be used for ocean transportation and how can it crush the Western artillery fleet? You must know that the "Sea King" battleship built in 1637 during the reign of King Charles I of England had a displacement of 1,500 tons and was equipped with 104 artillery pieces, including 60 heavy cannons over 18 pounds. It was even equipped with 60 pound heavy artillery! The main firepower output of the "Discovery" only relies on ten small-caliber 6-pound cannons on both sides. Compared with its opponents, it is simply a beggar's outfit.
Don't think that there will be no chance of confrontation between this kind of gunboat and the crossing group that has not appeared in history. In fact, the "Sea King" participated in several naval battles after it was launched. It was not destroyed by the French Navy until the arrival of the new century. Its service life is long enough to last until the day it meets the warships of the Crossing Group at sea.
This kind of heavy-fire gunboat is still an elusive goal of the Crossing Group, and it is also a stumbling block for the Crossing Group to compete for maritime hegemony in the future. If it wants to defeat such an opponent, the development time left for the Crossing Group is not very long. After all, The construction of large ships with a real displacement of thousands of tons, especially warships, often takes an astonishingly long time. For example, the "Sea King" warship took as long as one and ten years from laying the keel to launching it. months. Even if the large-scale sea-going ships to be built by Chuanchuan Group in the future can be shortened in terms of construction period and equipped with more sophisticated artillery equipment, it will not be easy to catch up with and surpass the strength level of its contemporary competitors in a few years. Easy things.
After the "Discovery" sailed out of the harbor, the wind on the sea increased significantly compared with before, and the commander and crew on the ship began to gradually become more proficient in their cooperation. The speed soon exceeded ten knots, and it quickly headed towards Heading south. The scientific researchers of the Maritime Department on the ship have not been idle. In addition to constantly observing wind direction, wind force, sea surface conditions and speed, they must also monitor in real time whether there are changes in the hull structure, especially the reinforcement parts around the steel mast. This is an important part that affects the balance of the entire hull. In addition, whether the ship's operation process is smooth and what aspects are worthy of improvement during the voyage are also the focus of scientific researchers.
Compared with traditional Chinese-style sailing ships, "Exploration" requires much fewer deck crew members than Chinese-style sailing ships of the same tonnage due to its lighter sails and easier operation. The rated crew is only about ten people, which is less than the rated number of people on board. One third of the number of gunners. And due to the adoption of a steering wheel system operated on the rear deck and stern, the captain can conduct immediate command operations on the ship, and the operating efficiency is much higher than that of a Chinese sailboat.
After driving south for about twenty minutes, the "Exploration" turned east and sailed to Yalong Bay according to the scheduled itinerary. After approaching the two small islands at the eastern end of Yalong Bay, Sun Changmi ordered the artillery on the second deck to prepare for firing. For this sea trial mission, the Military and Police Department did not hesitate to send more than 30 naturalized civilian artillerymen who had just graduated a few days ago on board the ship.
The "Discovery" is designed as a maritime defense force. Its maritime fire strike capability is also an important performance indicator. Although it is only equipped with a few small-caliber artillery, it is already considered a very powerful gunboat in East Asia. Of course, whether the design indicators can be achieved must be tested through practice.
Due to problems with the hull structure of traditional Chinese sailing ships, the ship's plates could not withstand the recoil of large artillery. As a result, it was impossible to equip the ship with a large number of artillery pieces. In order to equip the artillery on the ship, the "Discovery" made a lot of structural improvements, and used many steel structural parts to strengthen the hull to withstand the recoil when the artillery fires. In addition, the military industry department specially developed the artillery for the ship. The mechanical repulsion gun mount was used to complete the firepower device part of the ship.
When the two ships behind saw the Discovery slowly slowing down and entering the waterway between the east and west islands, they also slowed down and kept a distance of a hundred meters. Just when Zhan Gui and others were confused about what they meant, they saw the side windows of the "Exploration" in front of them opening one after another, and black holes sticking out of the muzzles.
"It's coming, it's finally coming..." Luo Shengdong, the only one who knew the secret, turned pale and muttered to himself. He visited almost the entire construction process of the ship. Of course, he knew early on that there were big weapons hidden behind these portholes. The Haihan people obviously did not install so many artillery pieces on the ship just for good looks.
"Prepare on the port side, fire as soon as you enter the firing range!" Sun Changmi's order was quickly transmitted to the second deck through the microphone on the poop. The gunners had completed loading at this time. After hearing the order, the gunners at each gun position made the final One-time alignment and aiming.
"Fire!" Following the commander's order, the gunners of the five artillery guns on the port side pulled the ignition ropes in their hands in turn. Huge roars sounded continuously at intervals of 0.5 seconds, and the smoke caused by the burning propellants immediately filled the air. In the cabin on the second deck.
The reason why they do not fire at the same time is to minimize the negative effects of the shock caused by the recoil of the artillery on the load-bearing ship plates and hull structure. Even in the later era when multi-turret religious cults dominated naval battles, there was still a small gap in the firing time of multiple main guns on the same turret, and it was also due to the same reason.
Zhan Gui opened his mouth and was about to ask Tao Donglai, when he heard the continuous roar of artillery fire. Although he had heard artillery fire several times in Victory Port these days, this was the first time he felt the power of artillery at such a close range. His legs went weak and he fell down on the deck.
Five shells roared through the air and landed on a small island less than 300 meters away from the port side. This sea trial did not set up obvious targets on the island in advance, because the people in the military and police department also knew very well that these gunners trained on land would have to re-train at sea, even if the targets were set up. It is also difficult for them to hit the target, and doing so will definitely undermine their self-confidence - anyway, the main purpose of this sea trial is to test the hull's ability to withstand artillery fire, not the accuracy of sea shooting.
After three rounds of live fire on the port side, the "Discovery" turned and approached the island on the right, and five cannons on the starboard side fired at close range. Then the "Discovery" adjusted its direction so that the two 12-pound guns at the bow and stern also fired a few rounds each.
Several guests on the catamaran behind saw this hedgehog-like all-round display of firepower. Like Luo Shengdong, their faces turned pale and they were speechless for a while.
(End of chapter)