My Italy

Faced with Vittorio's question, Director Breen answered. "Yes, and the requirements are very high!"

In fact, when he received the Navy Department's requirements for new warships from his old friends, even he who had seen the world was surprised by the Navy Department's high requirements.

First of all, the new warships must have high freeboard, because the Italian Navy needs to serve the national interests, and Italy's interests currently extend all the way to the Far East, so it is somewhat unrealistic to adapt low-freeboard warships to the calm Mediterranean bathtub.

This is not a random thought of the Italian Navy, but a choice made based on the actual situation. The performance of the two high-freeboard Venice-class patrol ships during navigation was completely different from the low-freeboard warships that later threatened the Dutch. When encountering big waves, a group of low-freeboard warships perform in a mess. This is simply an unbearable situation for the navy.

In addition to high freeboard, the Navy Department also requires that new warships must have sufficiently high speeds. For example, the current Italian ironclads with a speed of about 14 knots are considered by the navy to be too slow, and such speeds will be abandoned by new and increasingly modern warships. Therefore, this time the Navy Ministry decided that the maximum speed of the new warship must reach more than 18 knots.

This is a life-threatening situation. You must know that the Venice-class cruise ship can only reach a speed of 18.6 knots. This is a cruise ship of 7,000 tons, not a main battleship of tens of thousands of tons.

Let's forget about speed for now, because there are even more vexing requirements below.

The main armor requirement for new warships is that they must be able to withstand attacks from 14-inch naval guns at a normal combat distance of five thousand meters. According to this requirement, when new warships adopt new nickel-chromium steel armor, their main armor belt must also be no less than 380 mm.

In addition to protecting the main armor near the waterline, the Navy also has requirements for armor elsewhere. The thickness of the upper side armor must not be less than 127 mm, and there must be a 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 entirely because I want others to be unable to impress me. Of course, this refers to the warships currently in service. As for the future, in this era where new warships will become obsolete in five years, don't ask for so much.

In addition to speed and protection, the Navy also has requirements for artillery as an offensive means. They believe that the artillery arrangement like the Venetian class is very reasonable, so for the new battleship, they also require four large-caliber long-barreled first-class main guns, and the caliber of the main gun should also be 356 mm, 14-inch main gun. gun.

Of course, it would be best if these four main guns are arranged in two tandems, one behind the other, like the Venetian class.

In addition to the four first-level main guns, the same ten 152mm main guns were selected as the second-level main guns. As for whether other weapons will be added, the Navy Department has not said clearly because it is still hesitant.

With the three major requirements of firepower, protection, and speed, in order to put a tightrope on the designers, the Navy Ministry also set a limit on the tonnage of the warship, which must not exceed 14,500 tons. This prevents these ship designers from using the navy's funds to increase tonnage at will.

These restrictions made Brin, who wanted to regain the honor of battleship designer, find it a bit difficult. That's why I called Vittorio here and wanted to hear his opinion. After all, some ideas may be easier for young people to think of.

However, after Brin reported the Italian Navy's requirements, Vittorio also felt troubled. Although he is also a talented designer, who can immediately come up with a plan after hearing the request? This shouldn't be called genius, it should be called God.

"Director, the conditions you mentioned are too harsh. It will be difficult to meet the requirements of the Navy Department."

After careful consideration, Vittorio decided to say something. "But it's not impossible to do it. For example, for speed requirements, we need a three-expansion steam engine with high horsepower and a small volume. I heard that Kroenke has launched a new three-cylinder steam engine. Vertical three-expansion steam engine, this steam engine is more efficient and can use less fuel to produce more power. I feel that we need this new steam engine as power. "

The Kroenke company Vittorio refers to is the main company currently producing triple-expansion steam engines. This company is a British company. Sometimes it is unreasonable to say that the old industrial powers are strong. In terms of marine power, the British Empire has always been ahead of everyone.

In this era, you can buy everything you want if you have money, and there are no technical restrictions at all. As long as the money is given, the technology will be sold, even if it is an enemy country, and no one will check whether it is guilty of collaborating with the enemy.

After all, he is also a veteran designer with a long-standing reputation. Brin knew everything, and he said immediately. "You want to solve the easier problems first, and then work on the major PR difficulties."

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. For example, the speed is the simplest. We can completely use the latest steam engines. Then there are artillery, armor, and finally the tonnage limit."

Yes, Vittorio believes that tonnage is the most difficult thing, because many times in order to pursue high indicators, a very simple method can be used, and that is to increase the tonnage. Add more water to the noodles and more noodles to the water. The Germans are the most prominent in this regard. The Germans have a fine tradition when it comes to wasting tonnage on warships.

Regardless of the navy or the army, there are excellent performance works in this aspect, such as the head of state's zoo, each of which is a product that exceeds the standard. As for the navy's big ships carrying small guns, there is no need to mention it.

Italy does not have this tradition, so all aspects are strictly determined and no loopholes are allowed in any aspect.

Therefore, faced with the demanding requirements of the Italian Navy, designers were forced to think of various ways. Even Vittorio, who is generally regarded as a genius, also admitted that it may take a lot of time and hair to meet the requirements of the Admiralty.

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

"Director, it's not enough for just the two of us to do this. We need the efforts of all colleagues in the design department to come up with a plan that satisfies the Navy Department."

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

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

Unexpectedly, as soon as Vittorio offered a solution, Brin rejected it.

"Since that's the case, let's study it first. Maybe we'll hand over some less important data to others."

After hearing Vittorio's new suggestion, Bryn thought about it. "That's okay."

So the two designers secretly began to prepare for pre-research on the new warship proposed by the Navy Department.