My Italy

The situation in Crete is now temporarily stabilized. Of course, if the two parties want to decide the winner, they need to see what the supporters behind them think.

However, for Italy, this is a way to make up for the hidden losses. At least Crete did not completely fall into the hands of Britain and Greece. It can be regarded as a great blessing among misfortunes.

Of course, what happened in Crete will not affect Italy's preparations for war.

As a symbol of Italy's influence in the Mediterranean, the navy is also constantly replenishing its armaments.

As the most technologically advanced Venetian Naval Shipyard in Italy, it has always been the preferred construction base for all levels of battleships of the Italian Navy. Italian battleships of all classes were built at the Venice Naval Shipyard, and the first ship of the class was often built.

The large number of orders has also made the Venice Naval Shipyard more and more technologically advanced, and more and more shipwrights have experience in battleship construction.

Today is also a big day for the Venetian Naval Shipyard, because it is a good day for the launch of the battleship Roma, the largest tonnage currently built in Venice.

Speaking of which, the Venetian Naval Shipyard did not make much money at all in building the Roma. Because the time given by the Navy was relatively urgent, the Venice Shipyard had to work overtime to carry out the construction work. This has brought about increases in workers' wages and electricity bills, which has also led to higher construction costs for the Venice Naval Shipyard.

However, for a shipyard whose first goal is not to make profits, the Venice Naval Shipyard has fulfilled the Navy's requirements excellently, and the Roma was launched ten days ahead of schedule.

Of course, the Italian Navy attaches great importance to the launching of the Roma. In addition to the normal participation of naval generals, even King Carlo was invited by the navy to attend the launching ceremony.

"This is really a huge battleship."

Beside the dock, Carlo, accompanied by a group of naval admirals, looked at the Roma, which was about to be launched.

And Carlo was right. The Roma's standard displacement is as high as 30,000 tons. In addition, it is the first battleship to use a 380 mm main gun, making it truly the world's number one battleship. Even if the British Queen Elizabeth class and the German Bavaria class are in service, they still cannot shake the status of the Roman class.

Because they have a significant gap in performance compared to the Roman class.

The first is Germany's Bavaria class. Although this class uses the same main gun as the Rome class, its speed is 2.5 knots lower than the Rome class (influenced by Italy, Germany's wooden head is finally willing to improve the power. The Bavaria Affected by this, the design speed of the class increased from 22 knots to 23 knots. Of course, this has a lot to do with its use of more oil-fired boilers.)

Although the Bavaria uses comprehensive protection, which is more effective than the key protection of the Rome class (both have a maximum of 350 mm armor), the speed difference of 2.5 knots is enough to put the Bavaria class at a disadvantage in actual combat (grab T).

As for the British Queen Elizabeth class, according to the understanding of the Italian intelligence service. The speed of this class of battleships is similar to that of the Rome class (one is 25 knots, the other is 25.5 knots), but there is a gap in armor and firepower.

Both classes of warships adopt key protection, but the thickest part of the Elizabeth-class ship and the turret are 330 mm, which is 20 mm different from the 350 mm of the Rome-class, and its protection is slightly lower than that of the Rome-class. The problem of firepower is even greater, because the Elizabeth-class is equipped with a 381 mm 42 times caliber main gun.

As we all know, if the caliber of the main gun is the same, and there is little difference in the weight of the projectile and the propellant, the higher the multiple, the greater the advantage. The 380 mm 45 times caliber naval gun jointly developed by the three countries is definitely much more powerful than the 381 mm 42 times caliber naval gun.

The 380mm naval gun jointly developed by the three countries uses an armor-piercing projectile of 854 kilograms, a new propellant weight of 254 kilograms, and a muzzle velocity of 820 meters per second. The gun has a rate of fire of about 2.5 rounds per minute. No matter in terms of armor-piercing capability or rate of fire, the 380mm 45x caliber naval gun jointly developed by the three countries is much stronger than the British 381mm 42x caliber main gun.

The British Empire was actually very clear about the inferior performance of its own artillery. The British Navy made two preparations. On the one hand, it developed a larger 16-inch (406 mm) main gun, and on the other hand, it improved propellant and shells. As for researching higher-power main guns, the landlords don’t have enough food left, so they should give priority to calibers.

One more thing needs to be said here, because the Austro-Hungarian Navy has little demand, and Vienna has already stated that it is no longer prepared to spend money on the research of the next generation of naval guns.

Although Germany and Italy were very reluctant to do what the Austrians did (there was no more money to be taken advantage of), Vienna was resolute and had no choice but to give up. Therefore, the current research work on 410mm naval guns is supported by Germany and Italy.

The current research and development work of the 410mm main gun by Germany and Italy can be described in one word, that is, it is full of difficulties. Because larger-caliber main guns have higher requirements for material performance, German and Italian R\u0026D technicians need to compare a large number of materials every day. Try to find the best option.

According to the estimates of artillery researchers from the two countries, it will be necessary to wait until at least next year to come up with a prototype gun, and the finished product will need to wait for the experimental results of the prototype gun. If it goes well, the development will be completed in 1915.

The slow development of new artillery has given the Italian Navy a slight hesitation on whether to use 410mm main guns in building new battleships.

That's right, the Italian Navy, which has sufficient funds, can't sit still. They are eager to start building new battleships.

Carlo also heard about the navy's ideas. But he knows, but he has no good way to stop the Italian Navy's desire for new ships.

Yes, Carlo could take advantage of the well-known historical trends and order the Navy to suspend preparations for the construction of new battleships. Then, how does Carlo need to explain to the Navy the purpose of doing this?

Moreover, history has been changed a lot by Carlo. It is still unknown whether World War I can break out according to the original history. What can he tell the navy? Pressuring the navy's demands is definitely not what a qualified monarch should do.

At present, the design work of the new ship of the Italian Navy has been completed. This class of warship has a total length of 211 meters, a width of 31.4 meters, and a draft of 9.6 meters.

The ship's standard displacement is about 34,000 tons, and its full load displacement is about 39,000 tons.

In terms of power, this stage is designed to use 14 Navy Type IV oil-fired boilers (the specific efficiency of the boiler is better than Type III and is also larger), 4 steam turbines, and 4-shaft three-blade propellers for propulsion, with a maximum power of 90,000 horsepower. The design maximum speed is 26.5 knots. The endurance is 7,500 nautical miles at 15 knots and 4,200 nautical miles at 21 knots.

In terms of protection performance, this class is designed for key protection. The main armor belt on the waterline amidships is 350 mm, the front of the turret is 380 mm, the sides are 300 mm, and the top is 180 mm. The command tower is 350 mm, the deck armor is 75-130 mm, the waterproof compartment armor is 100 to 130 mm, and the estimated armor weight is 13,500 tons.

As for the choice of firepower, this is the most difficult thing for the Italian Navy. However, after some thinking, the Navy plans to make two preparations. First, the new 410mm main gun was successfully developed and could be produced in 1915. Then the Navy would adopt this gun as its main gun. If the development of this gun is difficult and cannot keep up with the construction speed of new ships, then the 380mm main gun will become the only option.

This is why the word "about" needs to be used in terms of displacement, because the artillery has not yet been determined.

Of course, hesitation in the selection of artillery will result in the construction speed of this level being absolutely slow. Being able to enter the water in 1916 is considered very suitable.

Of course, if various difficulties arise during the development of the new main gun and need to be postponed, then the Navy cannot wait any longer, and it is inevitable to speed up the construction of this class of warships.

Of course, no matter how you look at the arrival of the navy, it will not be a loss. If the 410mm main gun cannot keep up, then this enhanced version of the Rome-class is still very powerful. Not to mention it will become the number one in the world after construction is completed, but at least it will not fall into the top three.

If the 410mm main gun catches up with the progress, then it goes without saying that it will be the most powerful warship in the world (at least when it is in service). Of course, this is a digression.

For the current Italian Navy, the most important thing is to keep His Majesty the King paying attention to the navy.

Therefore, the most critical thing is how to make the king have a strong interest in the navy and work hard to show the importance of the navy to the kingdom.

"Your Majesty, please see that the Roma, which is about to be launched, will become the largest warship in the navy. The possession of such a powerful warship is also the result of His Majesty's emphasis on the navy."

Regarding Admiral Argil's flattery, Carlo looked at the other person and shook his head with a smile. "You, everything is fine, but you can't change this habit."

Carlo then watched and listened to various introductions under the leadership of the navy, which gave Carlo a general understanding of the Venetian Shipyard.

"Your Majesty, the launching ceremony is ready."

Mr. Horn, the person in charge of the shipyard, after looking at the time, whispered a reminder.

"It seems the time is up, so let's go."

Following Carlo's words, a group of people came to the dock to participate in the launching ceremony.

After Carlo smashed the champagne on the bow of the ship, the huge Roma, with the cooperation of the boatmen, slowly slid towards the sea. With a huge popping sound, the battleship stopped steadily in the sea.

This represents the completion of the launching ceremony of the Roma, followed by the intense outfitting work and the officers and soldiers of the ship becoming familiar with the warship in advance.

As for Carlo, after participating in the launching ceremony of the Roma, he did not return to Rome, but planned to stay here for two days in Venice. After all, Venice is also the 8th largest city in Italy. In addition to its shipbuilding industry, it is also excellent in glass manufacturing and optical products.

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