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Chapter 820 Ship Purchase
Germany, Stettin.
Stettin is one of the important seaport cities in Germany. It may not sound familiar, but in its previous life, it had a relatively resounding “Polish” name—Szczecin.
This is the birthplace of the Russian Tsarina Catherine II, the founder of the Russian Empire. Her father was a prince in the Kingdom of Prussia.
The name Szczecin also appeared in the famous "Iron Curtain" speech. Churchill declared that "from Szczecin on the Baltic Sea to Trieste on the Adriatic Sea, an Iron Curtain has descended across the European continent. ”, a witness of the Cold War.
Of course, in their previous lives, these two cities, Szczecin and Trieste, were important seaport cities in Germany and the Austro-Hungarian Empire respectively, and their destinies were quite similar.
Germany is obviously slightly better. No matter how it is divided, it still exists. However, the Austro-Hungarian Empire disintegrated after World War I, so the issue of nationalism has always been taken seriously by Ernst.
"Count Hermann, our German shipbuilding technology is absolutely very reliable. Just ten years ago, the Far Eastern Empire customized two first-class ironclads and three cruisers from our factory. They have been fully verified in the Far East and can fully meet the needs of East Africa. The needs of the navy, so you are absolutely in the right place when you choose our Vulcan shipyard among many shipyards in Germany.”
Vulcan Shipyard is where the Beiyang Navy orders warships. Its predecessor was just a small shipbuilding factory founded in 1851.
However, Germany had not yet been unified in 1851, and the Prussian navy was very weak at that time, so the starting point of Vulcan Shipyard was not low in Germany. At that time, it was also a pioneer in the modern shipbuilding industry in the Kingdom of Prussia, which had not yet unified Germany.
Furthermore, the parent company of Volcan Shipyard not only manufactures military and civilian ships but also railway equipment, and is considered a relatively powerful military industrial enterprise in Prussia.
The Vulcan shipyard is located in central Prussia, in Bredo on the lower reaches of the Oder River on the outskirts of Stettin (Szczecin).
The Navy is currently decommissioning four ironclad ships at one time. Of course, as compensation, it will introduce three latest technology ironclad ships as a supplement.
East Africa plans to build one of its own, and the remaining two ships will be imported from Germany and the Austro-Hungarian Empire. In addition to absorbing the advanced technology of its peers, it will also facilitate the East African navy to further expand its horizons.
As a gold-eating beast, the navy will never be satisfied. The more warships, the better. However, the East African navy obviously cannot represent the attitude of the East African government.
"Director Wells, we have no doubts about your factory's technology and manufacturing capabilities, but we only need to order one ironclad ship to supplement the navy. At this stage, the demand for the navy in East Africa is not too strong." Herman The count said politely.
The Volcan Shipyard actually had no experience in building large ironclads before. In this regard, it was not as good as the Bagamoyo Shipyard in East Africa. Moreover, the Volcan Shipyard had many competitors, and its ability to stand out was entirely due to the Far East Empire. Procurement in the eighties.
Now the director of the shipyard, Wells, is trying his best to promote the company's business to East Africa. However, the East African Foreign Minister Herman obviously does not have much interest in Wells's words.
At present, with the South African War, a beautiful war of founding the country, East Africa can be said to be very safe in a short period of time, so East Africa has also begun to work on disarmament.
Most of the ironclads in East Africa were built in the 1960s and 1970s, and most of them have fallen behind now. Of course, as the world's top naval military industry, the technological backwardness of ironclads is only compared to that of the great powers. They can still exert a deterrent effect in other regions. .
Two of the retired warships of the East African Navy are prepared to be sold for 600,000 taels of silver in accordance with the pre-war deal with the Far Eastern Empire. The average price is only 300,000 taels, which is basically a free gift.
However, if the East African navy wants to develop, these ironclad ships cannot lay eggs. Letting them "retire" in the Far East waters is not a bad place. Otherwise, they can only be dismantled or used for target practice. Of course, this business is definitely profitable for the Far Eastern Empire. After all, the retired warships in East Africa are not very old, and the earliest ones are no more than twenty years old.
The price/performance ratio is still very high. With a little maintenance, it will be able to serve for more than ten years. Even if you sell it for scrap metal, you can get some money back.
German shipbuilding technology may be better than that of East Africa, but its strength is limited, especially the Vulcan Shipyard. The Hechingen Consortium itself has its own shipyard in Hamburg, Germany, so East Africa is fully capable of acquiring some German shipbuilding technology.
The particularity of the Vulcan Shipyard lies in its great reputation. As for its strength, it is actually on par with East Africa. Of course, with the strength of Germany and education, the future development of the Vulcan Shipyard should not be any worse. .
Therefore, Count Hermann and other East African officials are not very interested in introducing warships from Volcan Shipyard. However, after all, Volcon Shipyard has the ability to independently build ironclads, and many technologies have their own originality, so they are still worthy of the East African Navy. For reference.
If it were not for this purpose, East Africa could have given the order to the Hechingen Shipyard in Hamburg. Of course, the strength of the Hamburg Branch of the Hechingen Shipyard is now much weaker than before, and one of the reasons is that it mainly focuses on commercial ships.
After all, the local shipbuilding industry in East Africa can develop mainly by recruiting elite soldiers and generals from Venice and Hamburg. This naturally limits the development of the Venice and Hamburg shipyards.
However, both Germany and Austria are world-class powers. Backed by the resources and education systems of the two countries, the Hamburg and Venice shipyards are still developing well and can still be ranked high in both countries.
"That's such a pity. The strength of the East African Navy is worthy of respect. Being able to produce warships for such a navy with a solid record is an honor for many shipyards. I am a little envious of Rias at this point. Royal Dockyard."
In the South African War, the East African navy performed well. Although it was only a tie and suffered a slight loss, it depends on who the opponent is.
At present, the two most powerful navies in the world are Britain and France. It is very unexpected that the East African Navy can confront the British Royal Navy head-on.
This also made the Austro-Hungarian military shipbuilding industry proud, because most of the main naval ships in East Africa were built by the Austro-Hungarian Empire, or the technology came from the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
The Austro-Hungarian Navy already had the Battle of Lisa as its record, but in this regard Germany was more than a little behind.
So the fact that East Africa was able to order warships from Volcan Shipyard made Volcan Shipyard somewhat unexpected.
"Director Wells, you don't have to be too depressed. The development of Germany's shipbuilding industry is obvious to all. It can be said that the development of the German navy is the fastest in the world. Take your factory as an example. In the entire 1980s, it was able to defeat the United Kingdom. Placing an order from the Far East Empire can be said to be a source of pride within the industry, and now Germany simply lacks opportunities for actual combat," Count Hermann said with relief.
Although the East African navy has developed extremely rapidly, it relies heavily on the technical support of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Germany has been more creative and independent from the beginning, so Germany is still much stronger than East Africa in this field.
And the most lacking thing in East Africa is the system, especially the lack of high-end talents. This is closely related to the short development time of the education system in East Africa. The East African navy is a mixed bag.
Especially in the 1970s, they were very eager for quick success and instant benefits. The East African Navy directly ate it into a fat man, and it has not been fully digested so far.
(End of this chapter)