Greece to roman road

"Currently, it is impossible to hand over warships to a low-level shipyard like yours for construction." Constantine interrupted Manager Ravenna's fantasy angrily.

Almost all warships currently used in the Greek Navy are warships purchased from the United Kingdom. If the Navy is rashly asked to agree to the production of warships by Greek shipyards, it is simply impossible to get the Navy to agree.

After all, warships are different from civilian ships. The difference between the two is not in the tonnage, but mainly in the solid structure of the hull, speed, anti-sinking, and sea-keeping.

Then there are the reconnaissance, communication and navigation systems. General ships are not as complete and advanced as naval ships.

"The recent task of your Athens Shipyard is to receive more orders from the Greek Congo Company and accumulate the ability to build large ships, especially the ocean-going cargo ships of about 8,000 tons that the Spanish Congo Company needs in the near future."

Due to technological breakthroughs, the tonnage of ships at this time showed a rapid upward trend.

"At the same time, I will say hello to the Navy and ask you to undertake the construction of several small warships to practice and get in touch with the construction of warships."

There is no need to think about large cruisers. Small warships, such as the Navy's offshore patrol boats and torpedo boats, can still be tried.

After returning from the Athens shipyards, Constantine stopped by the naval headquarters in Piraeus.

Rear Admiral Kontoriotis (whose military rank was elevated through accumulation of merit) is now the only general among the Greek naval officers and the de facto supreme commander of the Greek Navy.

"General Kontoriotis, I just returned from the Athens Shipyard." Constantine came directly to Kontoriotis's office.

Seeing the dusty Constantine, Contoriotis said: "Your Highness, is it time for our Greek Navy to purchase some new warships?"

"The Ottoman Navy was trapped by the lack of a navy during the war, which led to its passivity in the 1896 war, which will inevitably trigger a construction boom for the Ottoman Navy."

"Furthermore, our neighbor to the west, the Italian Navy, cannot be underestimated. After Greece acquired Albania, the pressure on the navy increased sharply," Contoriotis complained immediately when he saw Constantine coming to the naval headquarters for a rare occasion.

Albania is separated from southern Italy across the Adriatic Sea, and has a long coastline that needs protection. The southern region of Italy is very close to Albania.

The two sides, one to the east and one to the west, guard the Strait of Otranto, the gate to the Adriatic Sea.

Regardless of the Greek navy's unwillingness, the threat from the Italian navy is imminent.

According to the current capabilities of the Greek Navy, except for the two 3,000-ton Esmeralda-class ships, which are still eye-catching, other warships have almost no effect when facing the Italian Navy.

In order to face this severe situation, it is imperative to expand the strength of the Greek Navy.

“Your Highness, Italy’s talented designer Edarte Mastio has designed a 7,350-ton armored cruiser for the Italian Navy that combines firepower, armor defense and speed and can assist battleships in fleet decisive battles. ."

Speaking of this, Kontoriotis looked helpless. The tonnage of one of his warships was almost as much as the total tonnage of the Greek Navy. The huge disparity in strength made it impossible for anyone to have the desire to fight.

"The performance is very excellent. With a displacement of only about 7,000 tons, Edart Mastio, the Italian designer, has implemented the mainstream 10,000-ton patrol configuration on it, including large-caliber main guns. Numerous rapid-fire secondary guns, large areas of hardened armor protection, and moderate speed and range."

"It is precisely because of the excellence of this type of warship that Argentina and Spain purchased a total of four Garibaldi-class armored cruisers from Italy."

At this time, the Italian Navy, in order to allow private shipyards to accumulate more construction experience, allowed the shipyards to sell the warships ordered by the navy to foreign countries, and then rebuild one to complete the contract for the domestic navy.

The four warships of this class that have been built successively were named "Garibaldi" when they were built. After the construction was completed, all of them were sold out. On the contrary, the Italian Navy has not yet obtained a warship of this class. .

"But according to the current situation (Greece has expanded its territory in the Balkans), after the new Garibaldi-class cruiser is completed, it will join the Italian Navy no matter what."

"How should the Greek navy respond?" Kontoriotis asked.

The Greek government's financial problems are already very tight, with huge foreign debt, war expenses, and infrastructure investment in new territories. Despite the implementation of tax reforms and expanded financial resources, Greece's finances are still stretched thin.

For Greece, the top priority is to digest the new territory as soon as possible and return the entire country to normal.

"In any case, the government cannot afford to expand the navy now."

"Currently the Greek Navy can only endure for the time being and adopt a defensive posture."

"However, there is no large allocation, and some defensive weapons can still be purchased."

Contoriotis's eyes lit up and he quickly said: "Your Highness, in fact, the torpedo boats purchased from the United Kingdom in the navy have been performing well since they were put into service. If they are used for defense, large torpedo boats are very cost-effective."

The main weapon of the torpedo boat is the torpedo. Due to the particularity of its destructive principle, this weapon poses a fatal threat to the ship. It is an asymmetric weapon - even a torpedo launched by a small boat can hit the enemy Large ships can also severely damage the opponent, which is indeed very suitable for the current Greek Navy.

Constantine agreed to this suggestion, and then stated to the other party what he had seen in the Athens shipyard and his intention to let his country participate in the construction of warships in the shipyard.

"You can apply for funds from Prime Minister Alexandros to purchase several large torpedo boats made in Britain. However, it is best to give the Athens Shipyard an order for two or three torpedo boats."

"Although the navy will not have sufficient funds in the past two years, you should not slack off and let your navy's technical personnel design cruisers, or find suitable designs from warships of other countries, so that they can effectively deal with Italy's warships. Garibaldi-class armored cruiser, you can start working on it immediately after the government's finances are sufficient."

Although Constantine knew in his heart that if Greek shipyards were to build warships, various important subsystems of warships, such as naval guns, coal-fired boilers and steam engines, and armored steel, would basically be purchased from abroad, and the Athens shipyard could not. Just assemble it.

However, for the Greek Navy, those outsourced warships cannot always go to the UK for maintenance and upkeep. Cultivating a strong domestic shipyard, at worst, can help the Greek Navy with daily maintenance and save money. A considerable portion of military spending.

Thinking of this, Kontoriotis agreed with Constantine's suggestion and tried to let the Athens shipyard accumulate some experience in warship construction.