My Italian

In the face of Vittorio's question, Director Brin answered. "Yes, and the requirements are very high!"

In fact, when he got the requirements of the Admiralty for the new warship from an old friend, even he who had seen the world was surprised by the high requirements of the Admiralty.

First of all, the new warship must have a high freeboard, because the Italian Navy needs to serve the interests of the country, and the interests of Italy have already extended all the way to the Far East, so it is somewhat impractical to adapt to the low freeboard warships in the calm Mediterranean tub.

This is not a random idea of ​​the Italian Navy, but a choice made in consideration of the actual situation. The previous two high-freeboard Venice-class cruisers, and the low-freeboard warships that later threatened the Dutch, performed very differently in sailing. In the face of big waves, the performance of a low-freeboard warship is a mess, which is simply unbearable for the Navy.

In addition to the high freeboard, the Admiralty also requires that new warships must have a sufficiently high speed. Like the current Italian ironclad ship with a vote of about 14 knots, the navy believes that the speed is too slow, and such a speed will be abandoned by the more and more modern new warships. So this time, the Admiralty decided that the maximum speed of the new warship must reach 18 knots or more.

This is a dead end. You must know that the speed of the Venice-class cruiser is only 18.6 knots. This is a 7,000-ton cruiser, not a main battleship of tens of thousands of tons.

Let's ignore speed for now, because there are more head-scratching requirements.

The main armor requirement of the new warship is that it must be able to resist the attack of 14-inch naval guns at a normal engagement distance of 5,000 meters. According to this requirement, the main armor belt of the new warship must also be no less than 380 mm when using the new nickel-chromium steel armor.

In addition to protecting the main armor near the waterline, the Admiralty also has requirements for armor in other places. The armor thickness of the upper part of the broadside shall not be less than 127 mm, and there shall also be a layer of 76.2 mm thick protective deck. In addition, the main armor of the turret must also be no less than 380 mm.

It can be said that the Ministry of the Navy has very high requirements for the armor of the ship, and it is completely because others can't beat me. Of course, this refers to the warships in active service. As for the future, in this era when new warships are outdated in five years, don't ask for so much.

In addition to speed and protection, the Admiralty also has requirements for artillery as a means of attack. They think that the artillery arrangement like the Venice class is very reasonable, so for the new warship, they also require four large-caliber long-barreled first-class main guns, and the main guns should be 356 mm 14-inch main guns. gun.

Of course, these four main guns are best arranged in two mounts in tandem like the Venice class.

In addition to the four primary guns, the same ten 152mm guns were selected for the secondary guns. As for whether to add other weapons, the Admiralty has not stated this, because it is still hesitant.

With the three requirements of firepower, protection, and speed, in order to put a spell on the designers, the Admiralty has also set a limit on the tonnage of the warship, which should not exceed 14,500 tons. Lest these ship designers add tonnage at will without taking the navy's funds inappropriately.

This total limitation makes Brin, who is bent on taking back the honor of the battleship designer, a little tricky. That's why I called Vittorio to hear his views. After all, some ideas may be easier for young people to think of.

But when Brin reported the Italian Navy's request, Vittorio was also troubled. Although he is also a talented designer, who can come up with a plan immediately after hearing the request. This should not be called genius, it should be called God.

"Director, the conditions you said are too harsh. It is difficult to meet the requirements of the Admiralty."

After thinking twice, Vittorio decided to say something. "But it's not impossible. For example, for speed requirements, then we need a three-expansion steam engine that has both high horsepower and a smaller volume. I heard that Kroenke has launched a new 3-cylinder. The vertical triple expansion steam engine, which is more efficient and more powerful enough to use less fuel, I feel we need this new steam engine for power.”

The Kroenke company in Vittorio's mouth is currently the main company producing triple-expansion steam engines. The company is a British company. Sometimes it must be said that an old industrial power is strong. In terms of marine power, the British Empire has always been ahead of everyone.

In this day and age, money can buy everything you want, with no technical limitations at all. As long as the money is given, the technology will be sold if it is sold, even if it is an enemy country, it does not matter, and no one will come to check whether it is guilty of collaborating with the enemy.

After all, he is also a well-known veteran designer, and Brin knows it at one point, he said immediately. "You're trying to solve the easy problems first, and then the hard ones in major PR."

Facing Director Brin's words, Vittorio nodded in agreement. "Yes, we need to solve the less difficult parts first, and then talk about other things, such as speed, which is the easiest, and we can use the latest steam engines. Then there are artillery, armor, and finally the tonnage limit~www.wuxiamtl .com~ Yes, Vittorio thinks that the tonnage is the most difficult one, because many times in order to pursue high indicators, a very simple method can be used, that is, to increase the tonnage. The method of adding more water to the noodles, and adding more water to the noodles, The most prominent in this regard are the Germans, who have a fine tradition of wasting tonnage on warships.

Regardless of the navy or the army, there are very good performance works in this regard, such as the head of state's zoo, each of which is exceeding the standard. As for the large naval ships carrying small guns, there is no need to mention it.

However, Italy does not have this tradition, so all aspects are fixed, and no loopholes are given to any aspect.

Therefore, in the face of the demanding requirements of the Italian Navy, designers have been forced to try all kinds of methods. Even Vittorio, who is generally regarded as a genius, admits that it may take a lot of time and hair to meet the requirements of the Admiralty.

Thinking of this, he felt the little reserve left on his head, and mourned for a second in his heart.

"Director, it's not enough to just rely on the two of us. It takes the efforts of all the colleagues in the design department to come up with a plan that will satisfy the Navy Department."

Considering the difficulty of this time, Vittorio felt that it was necessary to let more people join in.

"I can't let too many people know about this, otherwise my old friend will be implicated."

Unexpectedly, as soon as Vittorio offered a solution, he was rejected by Brin.

"Since this is the case, let's study it first. Maybe we will give some less important data to others to do."

Hearing Vittorio's new suggestion, Brin thought about it. "That's fine."

So the two designers secretly began to prepare for the pre-research of the new warship proposed by the Admiralty.