My Italy

The Quirinale Palace in the Old City of Rome is the political center of the Kingdom of Italy.

Of course, the scenery here is also good. There is a Gemini Fountain in the center of the square in front of the palace, and an obelisk moved from the Mausoleum of Augustus. On both sides of the obelisk are two giant stone statues 5.6 meters high, with fine carvings and different expressions, and two lifelike horses beside them.

After entering the palace, the garden is also unique, surrounded by elegant corridors, looking harmonious and solemn.

And all this seemed so fascinating to Vittorio Cuniberti that it was inevitable to look around furtively. After all, it was my first time to come to the palace, nothing new.

The attendant responsible for guiding him was also very considerate and introduced him from time to time.

When Cuniberti was led to a door, the attendant made a gesture asking him to wait a moment and then knocked on the door. Then the majestic voice that Cuniberti had heard came from the room.

"What's up?"

"Your Majesty, Mr. Cuniberti has arrived."

"Invite him in quickly."

As soon as Cuniberti came in, he saw that there were only two people in the room and he knew both of them. One is Admiral Argill, Minister of the Navy, and the other is His Majesty Carlo, the monarch who summoned him.

"I have met His Majesty and His Excellency the Admiral."

Although Cuniberti didn't know why the king and the admiral called him over, he still had the proper etiquette and immediately curtsied.

After Cuniboti finished his salute, Admiral Yagir spoke. "Kuniboti, come and tell His Majesty your plan for the new warship in detail."

Admiral Agil's words shocked Cuniboti because he finally knew why the king summoned him. Of course, this is also an opportunity for him. As long as he can convince His Majesty, then developing a new battleship by himself will be a certainty.

When he thought of this, Cuniboti was filled with fighting spirit, and he opened his mouth to speak. "Your Majesty, I have a little opinion about the new battleships. Currently, battleships from all countries use two-stage main guns. This tradition comes from the era of sailing battleships. Of course, the setting of the two-stage main guns is more about the projection amount. The problem."

What Cuniberti said is also the current warship design and the user's navy's consideration of the actual needs of naval warfare.

Because the battleship type originated in the era of sailing battleships, the battleships at that time had three gun decks on each side. The guns on the bottom deck had the largest caliber and heaviest guns, and the guns on the top deck had slightly smaller calibers. The gun is also lighter.

This is a compromise setting to lower the battleship's center of gravity as much as possible while allowing the battleship to have some heavy guns.

After entering the era of ironclads, the navies of various countries still continued this tradition. At this time, the battleship began to figure out how to fight. Of course, at this time, the demons were dancing around, and they could build whatever they wanted. However, after this kind of exploration appeared in Italy, the Turin class came into being, and all countries basically reached a consensus.

The Turin class also marked the return of battleships, so most naval admirals believed that steel battleships could resume the main fleet battle line bombardment style of the year. The artillery installed in the side turrets on both sides are also decisive weapons, or they are the most important decisive weapon.

Starting from the Turin, the development of battleships has been to continuously increase the caliber of the artillery arrays on both sides, from 120mm to 152mm, from 152mm to 178mm, to 203mm, and the name was gradually changed from the secondary battery to the secondary main battery.

Of course, the second-level main gun is also because the first-level main gun does not fire very fast, and it takes 1-2 minutes to fire one shot. At this time, the armor and structure of the battleships of various countries are getting thicker, and the chance of allowing the battleships of various countries to hit the soul with one shot is also getting slimmer. Therefore, the existence of secondary main guns is very meaningful.

With the development of the times and the application of new technologies, Cuniberti keenly observed the shortcomings of the current secondary main guns, that is, insufficient armor-piercing capability. However, the rate of fire and armor-piercing capabilities of the first-level main guns are gradually improving. At this time, it becomes possible to fully equip the first-level main guns.

"As for now, I think the secondary main guns can be cancelled, because although their projection capacity is higher than the first-level main guns, they lack the means to severely damage the opponent. I think that after canceling the secondary main guns, new battleships can be used Add two main turrets and four first-level main guns. Relying on the salvo power of the eight main guns, it is possible to double the firepower of the first-level main guns. And compared with the two-level main guns, the first-level main guns have It can also achieve unified firepower, and it uses a unified firing director, which can achieve higher accuracy at longer distances. I believe that the Garibaldi-class armored patrol provides a good explanation on this point."

Admiral Argyle immediately supported what Cuniberti said. "It is indeed the case. On the Garibaldi-class patrol, the eight 254mm main guns, with the assistance of the unified firing director, have greatly improved the long-distance shooting accuracy. It can completely achieve the goal of shooting at a distance of 6000-9000 Meter distance, carry out precise artillery fire on the enemy."

Admiral Yagir received this assist, and Cuniberti cast a grateful look.

Faced with the cooperation between the two, couldn't Carlo see it?

But since Cuniberti, Italy's chief ship designer, was recruited to Rome, he certainly had his own considerations.

After hearing from Admiral Yagir that Cuniberti, the chief designer, had a bold battleship plan, Carlo had a hunch. Sure enough, after listening to Admiral Yagir's story, it was really Dingding. Dai Mingquan's heavy artillery battleship, in this case, how could Carlo miss it.

For Italy, the importance of the navy goes without saying. After ensuring a certain number of land forces to defend both sides of the Alps, Italy's more threats came from the sea.

"Go on."

Although no specific signal is given, the sentence itself represents a kind of recognition.

Cuniberti, who got the signal, continued to talk. "I have an idea about the new battleship. That is to integrate the various advanced technologies we currently have into a battleship. At present, I think the new 305 mm 45 times naval gun is very suitable as the main gun.

As for armor, carburized and surface-hardened nickel-chromium alloy steel is still the best armor steel currently available (Krupp Armor Steel), and I think it will continue to be used. Based on actual needs, I believe that the armor of new battleships at key points such as amidships, turrets, engine rooms, ammunition depots, and command towers needs to be 300 mm thick.

As for power, I agree with the steam turbines and oil-fired boilers currently available. Steam turbines can provide warships with full speed for up to thirteen or four hours, which is a crucial advantage for maritime battles. As for oil-fired boilers, the same reason applies. Oil-fired boilers were more efficient, which could free up more space for the battleship or give it a longer maximum range. In addition, staffing can be reduced, at least the coal shovelers can be eliminated. "

After hearing this, Carlo already understood Cuniberti's thinking, and he still had another question.

"So what are the specific data of your battleship?"

"The specific data of the ship is that the total length of the ship is 158.3 meters, the width is 25.1 meters, the draft is 9 meters, the standard displacement is 19,100 tons, and the full load displacement is 22,500 tons. The firepower is 8 305 mm 45 times caliber main guns, 14 105 mm single Secondary artillery tube. The thickest armor is 300 mm. In terms of power, the ship is equipped with 18 oil-fired boilers and 4 steam turbines with a power of 26,000 horsepower and a maximum speed of 22 knots. The endurance is 6,800 nautical miles at 10 knots or 4,500 nautical miles at 14 knots. ………”

Carlo's eyes became brighter and brighter when Cuniberti reported the battleship data in detail.

"What about the cost? It's impossible that you haven't calculated the cost, right?"

Facing Carlo's inquiry, Cuniberti certainly couldn't hide it. Although this ship building is a bit expensive, he can guarantee that it is definitely worth every penny.

"The cost of the ship is about 40 million lire. Of course, if more are built, the price will be lower."

After Cunibody said this, he looked at Carlo a little uneasily. Because the price is really high, take the Garibaldi-class armored patrol, which is currently the most expensive in Italy.

Currently, due to the hot sales of the Garibaldi class, the cost of the Garibaldi class at the shipyard has dropped from 33 million lire at the beginning to the current 30.9 million lire. The reason for such a high drop is precisely because Garibaldi built enough units. So far, a total of 8 Garibaldo-class ships have been built, including 3 from the United States, 2 from Spain, 2 from Japan, and 1 from Italy (two more are in the queue).

"Okay, let's build one first and let the navy verify it first."

Carlo's words made Cuniberti breathe a sigh of relief, and also made Admiral Yagir breathe a sigh of relief.

He was not afraid that the king would refuse to build it. The performance of the new battleship that Cuniberti had come up with was worth building. What he was afraid of was that the king was fascinated by the performance of the new warships and would build several of them as soon as he opened his mouth. After all, this new warship uses too many new technologies, and sometimes new technologies also mean unreliability, so building one first is definitely a wise decision.

"But the ship needs to be built secretly. I don't want to make a fuss before it is launched."

At this time Carlo made a new request.

"Your Majesty, this is easy to handle. Our navy can use the name of the Garibal No. 4 ship to start construction of the ship. At the same time, we will strengthen supervision. There will be no problem at all." Admiral Yagir assured, patting his chest.

"I believe in the capabilities of your navy. The funding for this ship should come from the more than 80 million lire you have saved."

"…………"