My Italy

Although the battle for Lushun became more and more intense, it also became more bloody. However, for countries in Europe, the war in the Far East is too far away and has little impact on them. They are more concerned about matters in Europe.

If there is any major event happening in Europe recently, it must be the Russian reinforcement fleet. The fleet has done a big thing recently. The first reinforcement fleet that set out from the Baltic Sea encountered heavy fog when passing through the Denmark Strait. As a result, the Sisoy accidentally collided with a merchant ship, and the result was It said that the merchant ship was sunk on the spot and three crew members died, while the bow of the Sisoy was also damaged.

Can ramming and sinking a merchant ship be considered a big deal?

Yes, because this merchant ship is a British merchant ship. The British Empire was worried that it couldn't find a reason, so the Russians themselves sent it. So the British Empire spoke, and the Russian fleet must compensate the British for their losses. Of course, just saying something is not enough. The warships of the British Empire stopped all these warships from Russia. They were not allowed to leave without compensation or handing over the perpetrators.

Facing the menacing British fleet that wanted to cause trouble, the Russians backed down. They compensated 197,000 pounds for all losses caused by the collision, and also left the perpetrators to face trial in the British court.

It can be said that the Russians lost all face in the ship collision. This was also a huge blow to the morale of the Russian naval officers and soldiers on the ship.

But just like that, do you think it’s over?

The British Empire would then announce that it would ban the Russian fleet from using the Suez Canal. In addition, it would also ban the Russian fleet from docking at its own ports and refuse to sell any supplies to the Russian fleet. He also called on friendly countries to implement the same approach to the Russian fleet as he did himself.

A discerning person can tell at a glance that this is the British Empire, which is asking other countries to express their stance. At this time, although the British had just suffered a setback in the Boer War, they were still in a prestigious state. Who is blind enough to be willing to offend Britain for the Russians? Therefore, other countries with colonies in Europe subsequently expressed their opinions and prohibited the Russians from docking and replenishing supplies at their own ports.

Faced with the statements of various countries, Russia's Second Pacific Fleet immediately fell into trouble, because at first the fleet planned to pass through the Suez Canal, and then use the port of its ally France to stop and resupply. It was expected that the whole journey would take two months to reach the Far East.

And now that it can no longer pass through the Suez Canal, the fleet will have to go around the African continent, not to mention the increased voyage. This was not planned in advance, what should the supply ships do?

You must know that currently all warships in various countries are coal-fired. Take the British Empire's Formidable-class battleships as an example. Its standard displacement is 14,500 tons. It is designed to carry 900 tons of coal. The normal coal loading is 1,100 tons. The maximum coal load is 1,490. Ton. When it travels at 15 knots and consumes 170 tons of coal per day, the normal coal loading is only enough for 6 days, and the maximum coal loading cannot last ten days.

In addition to carrying a huge amount of coal, a large amount of fresh water is also necessary to run the boiler (this is why commercial sailing ships are needed on the South American route. It is difficult to replenish coal and fresh water when transporting copper, saltpeter and other materials on the South American route). Therefore, the navies of various countries have to carry out encirclement operations. Navigating halfway around the world was a huge challenge, and the British and French navies were able to overcome this challenge with a network of bases around the world.

When Nicholas II was worried about how to supply coal, his cousin Kaiser Wilhelm II guaranteed that his German company could guarantee the supply. Faced with the goodwill of the Germans, the Russians who were short of supplies immediately agreed, which offended them. allies the French.

However, for Nicholas II, everything must be compromised for the war in the Far East. Therefore, in order to allow the fleet to obtain sufficient supplies, the French can only put aside their dissatisfaction first.

After receiving Germany's supply commitment, Russia's Second Pacific Fleet also began a voyage around the African continent.

The affairs of the Russian fleet can come to an end. At this time, a large-scale shipbuilding project in Italy has just begun.

Located in the Venice Naval Shipyard, under the watchful eyes of many naval officers and shipyard workers, Admiral Yagier personally laid the first keel for the Dante. And when he completed this ceremony, it also announced the beginning of Italian shipbuilding.

The Dante class is a partially modified battleship after the Italian test of the Dreadnought. This class is very similar to the Dreadnought in appearance. Of course, there are differences. For example, the Dante class adopts the cylindrical shape invented by Pugliese. Underwater defense system. Because this system is designed in the cabin, it does not need to increase the burden on the ship. It is much better than mine protection nets and mine protection partitions.

In addition, compared to the Dauntless, the Dante-class shipside armor adopts an inward-sloping layout. Its 25-degree inclination allows the Dante-class to obtain greater armor thickness, or use less armor to achieve defensive purposes.

In addition, certain modifications have been made to the Dauntless class in response to some shortcomings of the Dauntless. Finally, the data of the Dante class are as follows. The total length of the ship is 158.7 meters, the width is 25.9 meters, and the draft is 9 meters. The standard displacement is 19,700 tons and the full load displacement is 22,600 tons.

The firepower is 8 305mm 45 times caliber main guns and 16 105mm single-barreled secondary guns. The maximum armor thickness is 280 mm. The ship is equipped with 18 oil-fired boilers and 4 steam turbines with a power of 30,000 horsepower and a maximum speed of 23 knots. Endurance is 6,500 nautical miles at 10 knots or 4,200 nautical miles at 15 knots.

Generally speaking, the Dante class is an optimized battleship based on the Dauntless, and the Italian Navy is quite satisfied with it. Otherwise, we would not have the ambition to build four ships at once.

Yes, in view of the current situation and the Navy's demand for new battleships, the Navy launched four new battleships in one go, and the Dante was the first ship of this class, followed by the second ship Petrarch in two months. Construction will start later. The other two ships, the Leonardo da Vinci and the Michelangelo, will be built early next year.

In addition to the Venice Naval Shipyard (two ships), the Ansaldo Shipyard (one shipyard) and the Orlando Shipyard (one shipyard) are also undertaking part of the construction tasks.

It is expected that all four Dante-class battleships will be launched in 1906, and by then the Italian Navy will have passed this dangerous period of capital ship vacancy.

Admiral Yagir, who presided over the construction ceremony, did not leave. He stayed and had a conversation with the shipyard manager. The main purpose is to discuss the construction work of the Dante class. The main purpose is to ensure that the shipyard completes the construction of the warship with quality and quantity without delaying the deadline.

Of course, in addition to this, he also had to discuss the issue of battlecruisers with the chief naval designer Cuniberti. Because he always felt something was wrong with Cuniberti's plan.