My Italy

The Naval Artillery Factory in Taranto, Italy, is the main R\u0026D and manufacturing unit of Italian heavy artillery.

Most of the artillery installed on the Italian Navy warships were developed and manufactured at the factory. For example, the now world-famous Italian 10-inch rapid-fire naval gun is the masterpiece of this factory.

Therefore, as the only heavy artillery development factory in Italy, the Naval Artillery Factory has also become the main Italian developer of heavy artillery jointly developed by the three countries.

As the current priority project for joint development among the three countries, the development of the 305mm heavy artillery is also the responsibility of the Naval Artillery Factory.

And today is a big day for the Naval Artillery Factory. After arduous research work, the 305 mm 45 times caliber heavy artillery was finally successfully developed.

A brand new and powerful cannon appeared in front of everyone.

"Your Excellency, Admiral, this is a new 305 mm 45 times naval gun jointly developed by our Naval Artillery Factory and the Naval New Technology Research Institute, together with Germany's Krupp and Austria-Hungary's Skoda."

Led by Admiral Yagir, Minister of the Navy, a group of naval officers were looking at the giant cannon in front of them. As the technical director of the Naval Artillery Factory and also the person in charge of the Italian side of the new 305mm 45x gun, Lieutenant Colonel Guillermo Bielsa was introducing to everyone the masterpiece he developed together with his German and Austrian counterparts.

"The gun has a total weight of 61 tons, a total length of 14.57 meters, a barrel length of 13.72 meters (45 times the diameter), an interrupted spiral bolt, a projectile weight of 389 kilograms, and a maximum range of 21,700 meters."

Director Bielsa, when he briefly introduced the data of this artillery, all the officers present were writing in their notebooks with pens.

It is normal to write down the data of this artillery, after all, it is a great masterpiece. Yes, it is a masterpiece, and Bielsa is about to let them know what is so great about this artillery.

"We used the latest technology in the manufacture of this gun, and its muzzle velocity can reach 823 meters per second. In addition, the gun can fire four kinds of shells, among which when using capped armor-piercing shells, it can penetrate 457 meters at a distance of 3,000 meters. mm of armor, it can penetrate 381 mm of armor at a distance of 7,000 meters, and it can penetrate 337 mm of armor at a distance of 12,000 meters.”

As soon as Director Bielsa introduced the armor-piercing capability of the gun, all the officers present took a breath. Because everyone is knowledgeable, of course they know the superiority of this artillery's armor-piercing ability. Although this data is definitely laboratory data, it would be good to have 80% data in actual combat, but it still shows its strong armor-piercing ability.

"What kind of armor are you testing on?"

An officer immediately started asking questions.

"Carburized case-hardened nickel alloy steel."

Facing the officer's inquiry, Bielsa immediately said the name of the experimental armor steel. Well, this is Harvey steel.

Although it does not use the latest carburized and surface-hardened nickel-chromium alloy steel, it is still so good that some warship designers frown.

Because general warships need to be equipped with armor that can protect their own artillery, then according to the power of this new 305mm 45-fold heavy gun, the new warships using Krupp armor steel need to reach a maximum armor thickness of 365mm, which is not possible at all. It's possible.

However, according to actual combat needs, the maximum armor of 300 mm is also necessary. Of course, we need to talk about this after we go back. Now we still need to listen to others continue to introduce the naval gun.

Bielsa then went on to explain other features of the new 305 mm naval gun. Of course, for any naval officer, naval guns are the focus that requires special attention.

Especially after Bielsa said that the cost of each gun was 420,000 lire, it caused the officers present to take a breath. This cannon can build a torpedo boat. It is indeed a guy with amazing power and price.

You must know that the purchase price of a 254mm naval gun is only 210,000 lire, which has doubled here.

However, Admiral Yagier, as the Minister of the Navy, did not say anything about the price Bielsa mentioned. Instead, he continued to ask other questions about the performance of the gun.

After Bielsa finished speaking, Admiral Yagir spoke to Cuniberti who was also listening. "How is the performance of this gun?"

Facing the admiral's question, Cuniberti answered truthfully. "I can't say enough about its performance, because it is the most powerful 305mm gun I know. As the main gun of the next-generation battleship, it is definitely more than capable."

Hearing Cuniboti's words, Admiral Yagir accurately captured a term. "The next generation of battleships?"

Facing the admiral's question, Cunibody nodded and answered. "Yes, Your Excellency, Admiral, this is the next generation of battleships. I already have a preliminary plan."

"tell me the story."

How could Admiral Argyle not be interested in the battleship, the absolute king of naval battles? He immediately asked Cuniberti to share his thoughts.

Facing the invitation from the head of the navy, Cuniberti was also very excited because he also knew that it was related to the choice of the next generation of battleships.

"Your Excellency, Admiral, I believe that battleships are the decisive winners in naval battles and are also the core of a fleet..."

Cuniberti talked about the positioning of battleships, and then also talked about his concept of all-heavy artillery battleships. "Because the Garibaldi class I designed is a test of the concept of full-heavy artillery. The results are not bad. Under the coordination of the unified firing director, its performance on the battlefield is compared to other types of warships, regardless of whether it is a hit In terms of efficiency and projection, they are much better, so after the new main gun comes out, I think we can start the development of the next generation battleship. "

As for Cuniberti, if it were another person, Yagir would definitely turn around and leave. Who do you think you are? You said that the next generation of battleships will be developed right away. Without discussion or consultation, the development of this battleship started?

But this one is called Vittorio Cuniberti, that’s another story.

"Do you have any ideas?"

"Yes." Upon hearing Admiral Yagir's words, Cuniberti took out a thick notebook, which he seemed to read frequently. In addition, the sharp-eyed Navy Minister also discovered that on the cover was written "New" There are several characters in the battleship design of the era.

Well, it seems that this man is so confident that he has named it a new era battleship.

But later, after Cuniberti stated his design requirements for the battleship, he realized that it was truly worthy of the name.

"First of all, this class of warships should adopt a new 305mm main gun with a caliber of 45 times, with a double-mounted layout on the central axis of two in front and two in the back. The use of a double-mounted layout can maximize the accuracy and firepower input of the warship.

In addition, in terms of armor protection, I think the full-protection armor mode should be adopted, especially in the midships, turrets, command towers and other areas that are most likely to be hit. The armor can be maximized with 300 mm Krupp armor steel.

In terms of speed, currently battleships from various countries generally have a speed of 18-19 knots. If the new battleships have more powerful performance, then speed will also be a trump card. I think 21 knots and above is a very reasonable speed. As for power selection, there is no doubt about the superiority of a steam turbine that can guarantee full power output for a long time. In addition, using a higher efficiency oil-fired boiler is also the best choice in my opinion. "

According to Cuniberti, new artillery, steam turbines, oil boilers and other new equipment will all appear in his next generation battleship.

This made Admiral Yagir feel very happy. Of course, he did not forget the side effects of the new technology.

"Cuniberti, I heard you say that a lot of the equipment here is brand new. The navy must carefully consider the reliability of these equipment."

Cuniberti was already prepared for Yagir's words, because he also knew that too many new technologies would bring doubts to the navy, so he replied, "Your Excellency, actually, I think there is One possible way is to build a new battleship first, and let’s test its performance first.”

Well, according to Cuniberti, this new battleship has been decided, and he has not considered the funding issue at all.

"Let me think about it."

Yagir dare not agree now. Although the navy still has a sum of money, it cannot be used casually and needs to be carefully considered.

"Admiral, I have calculated that this new battleship only costs about 40 million lire."

As if it was an illusion, Cuniberti felt that after he said these words, Admiral Agil walked even more hastily.

For this chapter, the information is too difficult to find.