Chapter 2527
For the wealthy Shi Diwen, although the cost of the new steam engine was high, it was still within the affordable range. If possible, he even wanted to order ten or eight units at once and build multiple large warships in batches. But of course he is not the only customer of the "Wuzhishan Type C" steam engine, and the production capacity is extremely limited. Even if he buys it directly in full, he can only enjoy the order quota of two units, and he cannot pick up the goods immediately. He has to wait patiently for the factory in Sanya. Delivered in two installments over two years.
This is also due to the fact that Shi Diwen is one of the investors in the research and development of the new steam engine. Otherwise, he might not be able to place an order for the new steam engine in the first three years after it was put into production.
Shi Diwen knew that this was because the shipyard in Sanya was also developing new ships, so there was an urgent need for this type of steam engine as an integral part of the new ship. However, the research and development results of Sanya were better than the Guangrong class he designed. , there is currently no more information available for comparison.
If the East China Sea Region can develop a new type of warship on its own, it will play a huge positive role in consolidating the status of Shi Diwen personally and the East China Sea Fleet. Moreover, a huge amount of money has been invested in the early development stage of the Glory-class battleship, so no matter what the development process is in Sanya, Shi Diwen will continue to carry out this project.
In this atmosphere of competition between the two places, the first ship of the Glorious class was launched two years ago, and the research and development progress was successfully ahead of Sanya. After completing outfitting and sea trials, the Glorious-class warship has officially entered the East China Sea Fleet of the Navy, becoming the warship with the largest tonnage and the most powerful overall combat effectiveness among the ships in service.
The commissioning of the first Glorious-class battleship "Zhoushan" became news that shocked the whole country at that time. It was also a landmark construction achievement in the 20 years since Zhoushan was included in Haihan's rule. However, although relevant news was published in several major newspapers at the time, and there were even sketches drawn by artists in the Times, for people as far away as Sanya, the Glory-class battleship was just a code name. What the new warship looks like and how powerful it is is difficult for people in a different place to imagine out of thin air.
As a senior staff officer working in the Ministry of National Defense, Ha Jianyi certainly knows more about the situation than what is publicly reported, so he can identify the real thing as soon as he sees it. After hearing his reminder, several others realized that they were lucky enough to see the true appearance of this new type of warship outside Dinghai Port.
Compared with the Majesty-class battleship with a displacement of less than 2,000 tons, the Glory-class battleship is more than twice the size in visual terms. The hull is nearly half longer than the Majesty-class battleship, with a total length of more than 70 meters. The width is nearly twenty meters, and the eye-catching large chimney in the middle and rear of the hull also shows that the ship is equipped with an advanced steam power system. However, in order to ensure its endurance at sea, three tall masts are still retained on the ship. It can still use sail power to sail under non-war conditions to reduce unnecessary consumption of coal and fresh water.
The densely packed gun windows on both sides of the old battleship no longer exist on the hull of this Glorious class battleship. They are replaced by rotating turrets distributed on the front and rear decks and both sides. The number of guns has been reduced from more than fifty in the Majesty class to Sixteen guns, but everyone in the know knows that the combat performance of the naval guns equipped by this new type of warship is far from the old artillery. It has absolute advantages in range, accuracy and strike power. Only a few guns can Ensuring the intensity of firepower output has actually been fully verified on Warrior-class battleships in the past.
After the number of naval guns was reduced, the number of crew members responsible for operating weapons on the ship was also reduced, and the space thus freed could be used to load various supplies required for the steam power system. Therefore, although the displacement of this Glory-class battleship has doubled that of the Majestic-class, the number of crew members has not increased. On the contrary, it has been reduced to about 300 people, which is dozens less than the Majesty-class.
Of course, if the war requires it, this kind of warship can also temporarily carry an additional fully-equipped army company and use it as a vehicle to quickly deliver troops. After all, compared with ordinary troop carriers, this kind of warship has an unparalleled advantage in speed and can deliver small groups of elite troops such as the Marine Corps to perform special operations missions in emergencies.
Ha Jianyi selected the information he had and briefly introduced the overview of this new type of warship to his companions. Although he was from the Army, he was fortunate enough to see the Navy's most advanced equipment so far, and he couldn't help but feel a little excited. The other three people were mostly shocked when they saw this battleship. After all, in their knowledge, they have never seen a battleship with such a large tonnage. Although the size of the Zhoushan's hull is quite different from that of the New World in Victory Port, they have never seen the New World sailing on the sea, but this warship is actually cutting through the waves and sailing to Dinghai Port. The visual impact it brings is also extraordinary.
"This... is really a big guy!" Tao Hongfang didn't know how to describe the giant ship in front of him for a while, so he could only murmur the simplest emotion.
Ning Zijing's eyes also lit up: "If a cargo ship of this tonnage could be built, it would be enough to change the current shipping business!"
Bai Letong said: "Such a giant ship should be arranged to visit major ports in our country, so that people everywhere can truly feel the power of our navy!"
The official ship they were on finally passed each other less than one nautical mile away from the Zhoushan. Although they were still far apart, they could still feel the size difference between the two ships - the height of the official ship's side was even That giant ship was less than half the size, and the size was really too small.
Tao Hongfang saw Ha Jianyi looking at the Zhoushan ship without a trace, and couldn't help joking: "Brother Ha, why don't you go to Hangzhou and stay in Zhoushan longer!"
Ha Jianyi came back to his senses and responded seriously: "I have official duties, how can I change my itinerary at will... Come back here when you have time on your return trip!"
Although Ha Jianyi coveted the new warship of the East China Sea Fleet, he also knew how important it was, and naturally he would not delay his business due to this. They were originally delayed in Kaohsiung due to a temporary inspection trip, and now they rushed to Hangzhou a few days later than expected, so naturally they couldn't make any more mistakes.
However, although Ha Jianyi had a tough talk, he was very honest physically. He walked from the side of the ship to the stern with a telescope, and did not stop until the Zhoushan was out of sight when it entered the harbor. It seemed that if he hadn't been on a mission, he would have ordered the ship to turn around and return to Dinghai Port to have a good time.
(End of chapter)