Chapter 27: The Fearless Battleship Plan

  As the time of the Sino-French War was getting closer and closer in history, Zhou Yu felt that his own strength was still relatively weak, so he decided to advance his pre-dreadnought battleship plan. 16kbook net

  Immediately, Zhou Yu, who had made up his mind, rushed to various major laboratories in Hawaii to investigate and found that the technology needed for his shipbuilding was likely to be invented ahead of time. So he hid in his villa and began to draw technical materials for what he called A-class dreadnought battleships.

  Of course, if there was no previous experience of successfully modifying two heavy cruisers and rich experience in building large ocean-going cargo ships, as well as training from Germany

  As a skilled craftsman, Zhou Yu would not have the courage to take such a great risk. Moreover, Zhou Yu's time is also wasted!

  Zhou Yu first determined the tone of building battleships: his own pre-A class dreadnoughts, with a standard displacement of at least 13,000 tons, his strength was not enough, and he couldn't compete with European and American countries in terms of quantity, so he had to rely on quality to win.

  The speed of the battleship, Zhou Yu set it at around 24 knots. Speed is a key factor in naval warfare, so he decided to use steam turbine and diesel generator technology, although these two technologies have not been successfully manufactured yet.

  Zhou Yu felt

  Success is just around the corner!

  In terms of firepower; Zhou Yu prepared to use his own invention, eight double-mounted 403mm rear-loading rifled full-concealed main guns.

  The secondary armament consisted of twenty-six single 76 mm (3 in) quick-firing guns.

  Fitted with five 21-inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes for underwater use.

  Unified weapon models, which greatly alleviated the logistical burden on troops.

  The armor thickness of the two sides, gun turrets and command towers will use 280mm new alloy steel, with a focus on defense configuration, all-steel warship. The keel of the battleship is made of steel, which is an alloy steel that has been used for a long time.

  In order to increase its toughness and strength, Zhou Yu also improved some alloy steel manufacturing processes.

  Such a battleship would be more than twice as powerful as the most advanced armored ships of Western countries today.

  It is worth mentioning that all torpedoes of Zhou Yujun's fleet

  All equipped with the latest invention of steam-powered torpedoes.

  The steam-powered torpedo is a thermodynamic torpedo with high total energy and variable speed.

  The advantages of the steam-powered torpedo were its high speed, usually over 50 knots; and long range, up to 4-5 kilometers, or even exceeding eight kilometers. Its disadvantages were poor concealment, as it left a trail of bubbles during operation, making it easy for enemy ships to detect. Another drawback was that it could not be used at great depths.

  The exterior design of the battleship adopted a more scientific square tail, streamlined hull, and later generations of battleship enthusiasts all know that at that time, naval warships were basically all adopting this shape, which is not only aesthetically pleasing but also has a series of technical, dynamic, and layout tendencies towards perfection in terms of speed, firepower configuration, U-turns, T-shaped overtaking, etc.

  Zhou Yu stopped and estimated that apart from steam turbine technology, three-phase generator technology, optical thermal energy rangefinder, electric welding technology, diesel generator technology, underwater torpedo launching technology, he basically had all the other technologies.

  Then he started his model making again, and when his pre-dreadnought battleship model was about to be completed, the power laboratory also brought exciting news that made Zhou Yu ecstatic, the steam turbine project of La Val.

  Successfully developed.

  When he arrived at the Power Lab, he found that most of the Hawaiian Loyalist Army's backbone were there. Raval saw Zhou Yu's arrival and excitedly showed off his own steam engine to him like a child.

  Zhou Yu carefully reviewed the technical data of the turbine unit and found that its overall performance was still good, although it was a bit large in size and rough in workmanship.

  Compared to the mechanical power of this era, it's a miracle. If not for this cheating expert, according to historical records, it would have taken at least another twenty years or so for it to appear.

  He generously rewarded the people in the propulsion laboratory on the spot.

  Laval smiled and said: "Dear boss, can it be mass-produced?"

  "There are still areas that need improvement, come and take a look, from the boiler to the air cylinder, this large section of piping is losing too much heat. Can you consider adding an outer sleeve for the air nozzle and insulation sleeves for the pipes? I estimate that this will at least improve thermal efficiency by some margin."

  "Moreover, using nylon wool and other soft materials to seal the piston can also increase part of the power, and its volume can be reduced. Then Zhou Yu drew out the drawings and technical data on the spot."

  "Oh! God! Boss, how did your brain grow? It's too great!" Laval hugged the documents, with a look of wanting to kiss Zhou Yu, which scared Zhou Yu away, and Wei Han and others burst out laughing.

  The escaped Zhou Yu directly sneaked into Tesla's laboratory, where he saw Tesla operating a huge device with thick electric cables on both ends. Zhou Yu's eyes lit up - an electric welding machine?

  "You've managed to build an electric welding machine, but you haven't even reported the three-phase generator project to me! You Tesla, you damn guy, when you need money, you pester me every day, but when it comes to delivering products, you don't even bother to tell me! It's infuriating, I thought you hadn't built it yet!"

  The last eunuch on top.

  "Zhou, come and take a look at this little guy, it's too naughty. As soon as it starts up, the other machines can't work." Tesla was excited to see Zhou Yu arrive and immediately began introducing him to the electric welding machine, completely ignoring Zhou Yu's poker face.

  He's got a bit of a smirk on his face: "The reason is that the voltage isn't enough, you just need to boost it."

  Zhou Yu picked up the thick welding gun and pointed it at the iron block, a dazzling spark burst out, and Zhou Yu's eyes immediately revealed a greedy gaze. This is a treasure! With this, the era of rivets on battleships has ended, how much self-weight can be saved for ironclad ships!

  In the era without electric welding, the hull connection of ironclad warships was all done by riveting with a large number of rivets. The self-weight of rivets also accounted for a considerable proportion of the ironclad warship's weight.

  "Tesla, you've invented your three-phase generator set, why didn't you tell me?!" Zhou Yuli's gaze was fixed intently on Tesla, the air in the laboratory suddenly turned cold because of Zhou Yu's words.

  "How did you know?" Tesla asked in hindsight, and Zhou Yu replied, "I thought I'd wait until the electric welding machine was invented to tell you together. The three-phase generator set was just made a few days ago!"

  Zhou Yu was full of black lines: "How did I know? Of course, I knew! You're most obsessed with your three-phase generator technology. Before it's even manufactured, would you have the leisure to play with your electric welding machine?"

  "Haha!" Young Tesla, that handsome little white face suddenly turned into a Guan Gong face, standing there awkwardly with a silly smile, even his apprentice Zeng Hongji standing beside him was a bit at a loss.

  As Zhou Yu Group grew bigger, the pressure on Zhou Yu also increased. Normally, Zhou Yu was affable and approachable, but once he put on a stern face, even Liu Chengliang and Zhang Long, those two loyal and brave heroes, would be intimidated by three parts.

  Zhou Yu found the situation a bit awkward, and Tesla, this scientific madman, wasn't very good at understanding human relationships. So Zhou Yu smiled and asked Zeng Hongji: "Tesla forgot, won't you tell me? Or telling Wei Han is also okay!"

  "Principal, didn't you say that electric welding technology is quite important? I thought we wouldn't need a three-phase generator set for the time being! I was thinking of waiting until the electric welder is invented before telling you together! Besides, Tesla and I are working on two projects at the same time, and we're really busy." Zeng Hongji looked rather embarrassed.

  "Hmph!" Zhou Yu looked at the two people with a face full of grievances, and couldn't help but burst out laughing.

  "It's all my fault for not understanding the situation and losing my temper with you guys. I apologize to you, is that enough?"

  "Don't be like that, as if you've suffered a great injustice! I was also too hasty, these two new technologies are very important to us, with them, my next plan can continue to be implemented."

  "Haha! Tesla smiled and said, 'It's okay, we indeed have some mistakes, but Zhou, I don't have the money to do experiments now! Can you invest a bit more?'"

  "You're buying cakes for us? I just gave your lab $1 million and it's all gone in less than two months? Are you burning money or making something?"

  "Hehe, aren't you the one who's in a hurry? I'm also thinking of you and rushing for your sake!" Tesla explained with a wronged expression.

  "Alright, stop pretending. Tell Chen Fang to allocate another $5 million for you guys this time. You'd better save me some expenses! It's not easy for me to earn that little family property!"

  "Haha! Still you, Zhou, you're the best. Working with you is always a pleasure." Zhou Yu found Tesla's mischievously triumphant expression comical.

  However, said

  Zhou Yu's request to Tesla was met with a prompt response.

  Because in Zhou Yu's heart, a thought was buried deep: 'That is, in this world'

  There is no scientist more important than Tesla, he's like a treasure trove that can never be fully excavated. Zhou Yuke doesn't want to lose him and let others take advantage of it.

  Then, Zhou Yu did not assign tasks to Tesla again. He knew that Tesla's inventions were entirely based on his inspiration. If he forcibly provided him with drawings and materials, it would ultimately stifle Tesla's creative inspiration. That was the last thing Zhou Yu wanted to see.

  Zhou Yu chatted with Tesla for a while, discussing topics related to three-phase motors and electric welding, before bidding farewell to Tesla and continuing his own model making.

  Of course, the people of Tesla Power Lab couldn't be without Zhou Yu's generous bonuses for them. Zhou Yu was quite generous in this regard.

  Two days later, Zhou Yu brought Wei Han and others to his place, handed over the drawings and materials to them, and explained in detail in front of the model of the Fearless battleship, ignoring their strange looks at him.

  Directly require Wei Han and others to produce according to the materials they provided, put aside the technologies that have not been invented yet, adopt the easy-to-difficult segmented construction method, build battleships.

  Ordered Wei Han and others to build three pre-dreadnought battleships at the same time.

  Four B-class submarines were also built at the same time.

  Zhou Yu also handed over the materials he had prepared long ago to Wei Han and others.

  For underwater shadow killer - submarine, Zhou Yu is also quite important in today's

  Nowadays, the only country that truly attaches importance to submarine development is France alone.

  The important role of submarines is irreplaceable.