Chapter 8: Nagato-class battleship

  "Are you Japanese? Do you have your own name?" It's not strange that Chen Shao is curious, because previously the bio-people except James didn't have names. James was a perfect level, could this person also be a perfect level? If so, then it would be a huge gain. Moreover, this name made Chen Shao feel extremely familiar.

  "Report to the commander, whatever nationality the commander is, I am of that nationality. And as a perfect class warship designer, how can you not have your own name?"

  Wait, Fukuda Keiji, warship designer, suddenly clapped his forehead and exclaimed: "My god, the Yamato-class battleship, the pinnacle of battleships."

  "Report, sir! What's with the large warship? Can it be called the pinnacle of warships?" Fukuda Keiji asked with a puzzled expression.

  "Don't you know about Yamato-class?" Chen Shao saw that he really seemed to be unaware and couldn't help but ask again.

  "Report, sir, Yamato-class, I really don't know when the new warship came out?" Fukuoka Keiji's face became even more perplexed.

  Seeing the appearance of Fukuda Keiji, Chen Shao thought that it was only 1914 now. When Japan first built the Yamato-class, it was in 1937, which is still 23 years away from now. Thinking about the data of the Yamato-class, Chen Shao couldn't help but wish that this warship would directly appear in the shipyard, unable to move, and also pleasant to look at!

  Yamato-class battleship lead ship Yamato

  Displacement: standard displacement 64,000 tons, full load displacement 72,810 tons;

  Hull dimensions: length 263 m (waterline length 256 m), beam 38.9 m, draft 10.4 m

  Propulsion: 12 boilers, 4 steam turbines, 4 shafts, main engine output power 150,000 horsepower (reverse 45,000 horsepower)

  Speed: 27 knots, Range: 7,200 nautical miles at 16 knots, Fuel capacity: 6,400 tons.

  Armament: 1945 state

  9 x 460 mm (18.1 in) / 45 caliber main guns, 3 triple turrets; 6 x 155 mm guns, 3 twin turrets (two removed during modernization)

  24 x 127 mm guns, twin mounts 12 (increased by 6 during refit); 156 x 25 mm guns, triple mounts 45, single mounts 21; 4 x 13.2 mm machine guns, twin mounts 2

  Carrier-based aircraft 6

  Armor: (total armor weight 22,895 tons)

  Main armor belt, below middle deck 410 mm (hardened layer 135 mm), outer incline angle 20°.

  Upper deck: 35-55mm, Middle deck: 200mm

  Turret, front 650mm, sides 250mm, top 270mm, gun mantlet 560mm, bottom 250mm; ammunition compartment wall, top 270mm, bottom 50-80mm, angle 25°.

  Turret roof 200 mm, boiler room 75-90 mm, sloping at 14°.

  But even if I were given the design drawings of the Yamato-class now, it would be useless without qualified steel and technical workers; they would just gather dust.

  "From now on, you can just call yourself Chen Fu, starting today you are a genuine Chinese person."

  "Report to the superior officer, yes, from now on I'll be called Chen Fu, a thorough Chinese." Fukuda Keiji replied with an expressionless face, what's in a name, he didn't care, as long as he could follow behind his commanding officer, that was all that mattered.

  Chen Shao patted his shoulder, took out a set of clothes and handed them to him, telling him to put them on. Since the clothing factory started producing clothes, they had prepared quite a few sets here.

  "Chen Fu, you will design those warships."

  "Report to the superior officer, I have the complete construction drawings of the Nagato-class battleship, and I am currently designing an absolutely invincible battleship, but it has not been named yet. Its displacement is expected to be twice that of the Nagato class."

  Upon hearing this, Chen Shao's mind was already made up that the later Japanese Yamato-class would be designed by Chen Fu, because the displacement of the Yamato-class was also close to twice that of the Nagato-class. Although he didn't know if the Nagato-class was designed by him or not, there were blueprints to prove it, and besides, Japan's first Nagato-class battleship began construction in 1917, now Japan probably hadn't even started designing yet, so when Japan starts building, Chen Fu would go to Europe to sell the Nagato-class. In 1917, World War I was raging on, and at that time, the Nagato-class would absolutely be the top-of-the-line battleship.

  Battleship, also known as main force ship or combat vessel, is a large surface warship with strong armor protection and striking power, mainly equipped with large-caliber naval guns. In naval battles, it usually forms a single column battle line to engage in artillery battles, hence the name. Early battleships were also called ironclad ships or armored ships.

  The term "battleship" emerged during the British-Dutch War of 1655-1667, when the most powerful warships no longer engaged in boarding combat but instead formed a line of battle and sailed parallel to the enemy fleet, concentrating their firepower on one side. The first battleship was the English ship "Sovereign of the Seas" built in 1638, which had three layers of gun decks and 102 guns.

  At that time, all battleships were wooden sailing ships. In 1849, France built the world's first steam-powered battleship, "Napoleon", which was equipped with 100 guns. However, it still carried auxiliary sails. The British also built their first iron-hulled armored battleship, "Warrior", in 1861, which also had auxiliary sails.

  The sails on warships gradually disappeared over the next 20 years. In 1862, France built the world's first battleship with rotating gun turrets, "Prince Albert". Because of the versatility of turret guns, the term "turret ship" temporarily replaced "battleship".

  In 1906, Britain launched the largest and most powerful armored ship in the world at that time, "Dreadnought", which restored the name "battleship". The "Dreadnought" was designed by Italian engineer General Cuniberti and had a displacement of 17,900 tons, a speed of 40 km/h, and was equipped with 10 x 305mm main guns, 24 x 76mm secondary guns, and underwater torpedo launchers. Its firepower was more than twice that of the largest armored ships at that time.

  After that, various naval powers built their own battleships following the example of "Dreadnought". Until the 1930s, "Dreadnought" was synonymous with battleship, and the number of battleships became a standard for measuring a country's naval strength. The last battleship in the world was launched during World War II.

  During this period, the displacement, speed, main gun caliber, armor thickness, and other performance indicators of battleships have been greatly improved. Among the hundreds of battleships built, none deviated from the basic form established by "Dreadnought".

  Nagato-class battleship, Nagato-class battleship performance data:

  Displacement: 32,720 tons (standard) / 33,800 tons (normal) / 39,700 tons (full load); post-refit standard displacement: 39,120 tons; full load displacement: 42,850 tons

  Dimensions: Length overall 215.8 m / Beam 28.96 m / Draft 9.1 m; post-refit length 224.94 m; beam 34.59 m; draft 9.5 m

  Propulsion: Steam turbines (4 shafts); main engine output 80,000 shp; post-refit main engine output 82,000 shp

  Top speed: 26.4 knots, post-refit top speed 25.3 knots

  Range: 5,500 nautical miles (16 knots), post-refit range 10,600 nautical miles / 16 knots

  Armor weight: 10,396 tons (post-refit 13,023 tons)

  Armament at completion: 4 x twin 41 cm main guns; 20 x 14 cm naval guns; 4 x 7.6 cm AA guns; 8 x 53 cm torpedo tubes

  Post-refit armament: 4 x twin 41 cm main guns; 18 x 14 cm naval guns; 4 x twin 12.7 cm AA guns; 10 x triple 25 mm AA machine guns; aircraft: 3 planes (1944)

  Final refit (November 25, 1944): 4 x twin 41 cm main guns; 18 x twin 12.7 cm AA guns; 128 x triple 25 mm AA machine guns; no aircraft

  Crew: 1,368

  "When can your warship be designed?"

  "Reporting officer, still unconfirmed."

  "Will you design civilian ships then? Like destroyers, cruisers and other warships or submarines?" Chen Shaoke did not want this perfect class of warship designer to only design battleships.

  "Reporting officer, no problem. What type of warship does the officer want?"

  "Don't worry for now, go rest first, tomorrow I'll arrange a place for you in the combat lab, then you can draw out all the warship designs you know." Chen Shaoyu wasn't in a hurry, there was no use in being anxious, without workers, being anxious was useless.

  "Report to the superior officer."

  Watching Chen Fu slowly walking towards the barracks, Chen Shao called a security team member who was on patrol at night to arrange his accommodation, and after settling his identity, he walked into the base.