Chapter 1502 Ironclad Ship Trial
At noon on September 4th, the fifteenth year of Tianxuan, Qu Mao and Kong Ming stood on the dock of Fucun Shipyard in the holy land of Yidi's territory, holding a boxed lunch.
As for what food to eat now and how it tastes, Qu Mao doesn't care at all. After all, the ironclad ship is right in front of him. If it wasn't for the super warship returning to the Holy Land, Qu Mao didn't eat anything. Now Qu Mao really doesn't want to eat.
Of course, the soldiers on the super warship will not be short of Qu Mao’s food, on the contrary, they provide Qu Mao with rich and delicious food, but the super warship is drifting in the sea, and Qu Mao’s appetite is not very good under the bumps, so there is no what to eat.
The whole meal only took less than ten minutes, but a series of things such as refueling the ironclad ship and contacting the naval **** still needed to be prepared by the person in charge of the ironclad ship research and development project, so it took nearly an hour to get ready for the sea trial. all matters.
Kong Ming felt extremely resentful, because when Qu Mao finished his lunch in ten minutes, Kong Ming had only eaten half of it. Qu Mao thought that he could board the ship for a trial voyage anytime and anywhere, so he forced Kong Ming to throw away the half-eaten lunch.
As a result, just as Kong Ming threw away his lunch box, the person in charge of the ironclad ship research and development project told Qu Mao that it would take an hour to prepare for adding fuel and gasoline to the ironclad ship.
Kong Ming’s lunch box was lost, and the people from Fucun Shipyard couldn’t get another one. He could only wait with Qu Mao with a half-full stomach.
Fortunately, the waiting time was not long, and Qu Mao and Kong Ming could board the iron-clad ship to take a closer look at the interior and exterior of the iron-clad ship.
After Qu Mao and Kong Ming looked at the iron-clad ship inside and out, and then returned to the deck, the person in charge of the iron-clad ship research and development project ran over and told Qu Mao that the iron-clad ship was ready for sea trials anytime, anywhere.
So Qu Mao stood on the deck and ordered the person in charge of the ironclad ship research and development project to lift the anchor and drive the ironclad ship out of the dock to execute the sea trial order.
Out of responsibility for the lives of Qu Mao and Kong Ming, the person in charge of the ironclad ship R&D project delayed ordering the ironclad ship to weigh anchor and sail for ten minutes, because he invited a nearby naval hero to serve as the captain of the ironclad ship trial voyage. Deputy Commander-in-Chief Christine Sirian sent a remote communication, hoping that Christian Sirian would dispatch naval warships to conduct **** voyages in the waters where Qu Mao was going to test the voyage.
When the iron-clad ship started, the engine made a huge roar, and the whole iron-clad ship began to tremble. Qu Mao had to grab the railing and said helplessly, "Damn it! Kong Ming, the iron-clad ship made such a loud noise when it started up, and I need to use the iron-clad ship to carry out a sneak attack." Neither can."
Kong Ming shook his goose feather fan, rolled his eyes, and said, "Sir, such a heavy steel warship can float on the sea surface and still have the speed of a traditional small warship, what else do you want?
In today's ocean, it is an era when guns with solid iron bullets can rule the roost. Suddenly, you build an iron-clad ship that is not afraid of solid artillery shells, and it must be silent. You will not let other forces that make a living at sea survive?
We have a warship made of pure steel, and it is equipped with seven warships that can fire different calibers of explosive shells, solid shells, and artillery shells. What else are you not satisfied with?
As far as the ship-borne ballista of a traditional warship is concerned, do you think it can cause any damage to our iron-clad ship if it hits the hull of our iron-clad ship?
What does it matter if it is slower, clumsier, and equipped with fewer guns? Is it okay to drive directly up and sink the enemy's traditional warship? "
Qu Mao nodded and said, "That's true."
Soon the ironclad ship sailed out of the dock of Fukumura Shipyard on the outlying island and entered the vast sea. When it was about three kilometers away from the coastline, the ironclad ship began to accelerate. Facing the sea breeze, the cloak on Qu Mao's body began to flutter with the wind.
Qu Mao looked back at the angle at which his cloak was raised, and said to Kong Ming: "Kong Ming, the speed of this ironclad ship is not bad, I think it is not comparable to the speed of traditional small warships, but slightly faster than traditional small warships. .”
Kong Ming shook his goose feather fan and said, "My lord, you should be right to feel this way now, but after this ironclad ship is put into combat, it needs to carry 50 more soldiers and 20 logistics support personnel, as well as food, fresh water, and shells." And other materials, it will weigh about 20 tons.
Therefore, when fighting, including the 20 tons of materials and personnel, the speed should be almost the same as that of traditional small warships. The subordinate thinks that the person in charge of the ironclad ship research and development project has considered this factor. "
The person in charge of the iron-clad ship R&D project who had just stepped onto the deck heard what Kong Ming said, and quickly answered: "Yes, my lord, what Kong Ming-sama said is right, this iron-clad ship has undergone three trial voyages, and this is the fourth trial voyage.
Tested before, when fully loaded, the speed is almost the same as that of traditional small warships. "
Qu Mao nodded, patted the railing on the deck of the ironclad ship, and said, "Has the turning performance of this ironclad ship been tested?"
The person in charge of the ironclad ship research and development project said: "My lord, I have tested it before, and the speed when turning is also very fast, but the turning radius is slightly larger than that of traditional warships."
Just turned half a bend, Qu Mao saw the figure of a warship appearing on the sea in the distance.
Seeing the puzzled expression on Qu Mao's face, the person in charge of the ironclad ship research and development project said, "My lord, before this subordinate came out for sea trials, he used the magic communication crystal to contact Lord Christine Sirian, the deputy commander-in-chief of the navy, and told him that your lord Master Kong Ming and I are testing the iron-clad ship, let him dispatch the navy warship to escort."
Qu Mao nodded and said: "Well, the semaphore informs Christine that we will go to Fucun Shipyard to chat for a while later."
The person in charge of the ironclad ship research and development project nodded, and then notified the messengers on the ship tower to semaphore the traditional warship of Christine Sirian. There is no need to worry about the distance being too far away. After all, the military heroes of the Yidi territory are basically Be staffed with at least one telescope.
Afterwards, the person in charge of the ironclad ship research and development project said bitterly: "My lord, I'm afraid we need to return home, otherwise we will have to dispatch naval warships to tow us back home, and the fuel is almost exhausted."
Qu Mao was taken aback, then frowned, and said after a long while: "Let's go back, tell Christine to dock at Fucun Shipyard together.
We have been sailing for less than half an hour, and we haven't even arrived at Nakashima Naval Fortress. You told me that we ran out of gas.
The fuel consumption rate is too fast. This kind of fuel consumption is basically useless in naval battles, and the fuel will run out before reaching the battlefield. "
The person in charge of the ironclad ship research and development project said seriously: "My lord, because it is your trial voyage, we will accelerate as soon as we get out of the dock. Normally, we will accelerate smoothly when sailing normally, so that the fuel consumption will be lower, and the voyage distance will be increased by about 50%.
In addition, the gasoline barrels produced by the Shacheng Steel Plant can hold 100 liters of gasoline in one barrel, and 99,900 liters of gasoline in a bag. The fuel tank of our ironclad ship can only hold 1,000 liters of gasoline.
An ironclad ship is equipped with three naval heroes, and each naval hero reserves 10 backpack compartments for gasoline in a packing bag, which can last for at least 4 months of combat.
Generally, an ironclad ship equipped with a naval hero can sustain combat for at least a month, and the subordinates think it is about the same.
Fuel itself also has weight, so when we design the ironclad ship, the capacity of the fuel is calculated.
The ironclad ship itself is too heavy. If compared with traditional warships, 10 super warships tied together are not as heavy as an ironclad ship.
My lord, you have to think this way: Traditional warships can only be completely beaten in front of iron-clad ships, so iron-clad ships are not perfect, and their super defenses can also make up for their shortcomings. There is no problem with directly hitting and sinking the enemy ship. "
Qu Mao nodded and said: "Well, I am very satisfied that the first ironclad ship can be made like this.
Subsequent production of ironclad ships must also be continuously optimized. After all, the construction period of an ironclad ship is as long as three and a half years. It is already too late to optimize after a batch of production is completed.
The minimum optimization direction can be chosen to find ways to reduce the weight of the ironclad ship. I think there are still many places to consider. "
As he spoke, Qu Mao patted the steel railings on the deck in front of him, and said, "For example, the railings here are all welded by steel plates.
In this aspect, we can reduce a lot of weight. For example, if the iron plate is replaced with an iron bar, compared with the smallest caliber shell, leaving such a large gap, at least half of the weight of the railing can be reduced. ?
It can even be made with steel pipes one by one, leaving a gap of 20 cm between the steel pipes, and even hollow steel pipes can be used for the steel pipes. I roughly estimate that at least two cannons can be saved just for the guardrails on the deck. the weight of. "
The person in charge of the ironclad ship research and development project's eyes lit up, and while the ironclad ship was already slowing down and rushing towards the Fukumura Shipyard, he quickly took out a paper and pen to record Qu Mao's suggestion.
On the way back to the voyage, Qu Mao communicated with the person in charge of the ironclad ship research and development project on the improvement direction of the ironclad ship, and soon the ironclad ship returned to the dock of Fukumura Shipyard.
Christine Silian’s warship had already berthed ahead of schedule. Seeing Qu Mao disembark, Christine Silian greeted him excitedly and asked, “My lord, when will the ironclad ship be commissioned into the Navy?”
Qu Mao rolled his eyes and said: "It's just a sample, you have to ask Xuande's advance construction of the shipyard to produce it immediately.
However, even if production starts now, it may take three and a half years before it can be installed in the Navy, and the production cycle will take three and a half years. "
(end of this chapter)