Iron Germany

"His Royal Highness, you are welcome to come to Krupp Company!" Gustav Krupp and Beta Krupp had been waiting at the entrance of Krupp Company for a long time, and they greeted Qin immediately after getting off the car. Going up, the face is full of smiles.

"Hello Mr. Krupp!" Qin Tian stretched out his hand and shook hands with Gustav Krupp. For this man who joined the Krupp family and then took control of the largest military empire in Germany, Qin Tian did not dare to underestimate him at all. It can be said that it was in the hands of this man that the Krupp company developed more rapidly and became stronger, becoming an arms giant in Germany and the world.

"Miss Krupp, hello, we meet again!" Qin Tian said with a smile on his face.

He and Beta Krupp are quite acquainted. It was precisely because of his request and the courage of Ms. Beta Krupp that the Krupp company invested heavily in the research of new large-caliber naval guns, so that these capital ships of the German Navy would not die due to the lack of main guns. delay in service. To this end, Krupp has made great efforts. Of course, the steady stream of orders has also allowed Krupp to make a lot of profits.

You know, the main guns of battleships can be sold with a hammer. The main guns of battleships are very large in caliber and heavy in weight, which makes the cost of main guns of battleships high. Moreover, this kind of main gun has to change the barrel after firing a certain amount of shells. Otherwise, if the rifling is severely worn, it will seriously affect the accuracy of the shelling.

For Krupp, as long as one cannon is sold, the follow-up services will also allow them to earn more profits.

"Hello, Your Royal Highness." Miss Beta Krupp also had a smile on her face. Although she married Gustav Krupp, the main affairs of the company have been handed over to Gustav Krupp. However, she holds the majority of Krupp shares. Therefore, as long as she wants, she can take back the company at any time.

After some pleasantries, Qin Tian was directly invited to Gustav Krupp's office. In the entire office, apart from Qin Tian, ​​there were only the Krupps and his wife. They obviously knew that Qin Tian would not come to the door without incident.

"Mr. Krupp, the navy is very satisfied with the new naval gun developed by Krupp. The 305mm naval gun with 50 times the caliber has extremely powerful armor-piercing capability. I believe that this has far surpassed that of the British Navy. caliber naval guns. Even the British Navy's larger caliber naval guns are incomparable in power." Qin Tian expressed his appreciation.

"His Royal Highness, it is our duty to produce a main gun with qualified performance for the Imperial Navy. Of course, this is also inseparable from the support of His Royal Highness. If His Royal Highness hadn't insisted on us to develop it, perhaps now There is no such main gun at all." Gustav Krupp replied.

Qin Tian nodded, no matter what, Krupp's support for the navy and him is undoubtedly very great.

"I come to Krupp this time, and I have a few things to discuss with you and your wife." Qin Tian said.

The expressions on the faces of the Krupps also became serious. They knew that the drama was coming.

"The first thing is that the navy has increased the construction of a first-class battleship and a first-class battlecruiser, and it is expected to start construction soon. There are a total of eight ships, and 24 triple-mounted 343mm main guns are required. In addition to the previous 15 seats Three 343mm main guns. The Navy hopes that Krupp can speed up the development and production of 50 times the caliber 343mm main guns, and produce them before the 'Helgoland-class' battleships are launched. Otherwise, this will delay our The service time of the capital ship." Qin Tian said.

"His Royal Highness, there is no problem. We have made a breakthrough in the development of the 50-caliber 343mm main gun, and have completed most of the development work. It is expected to be completed before the end of 1908. It should be No problem." Gustav Krupp assured.

Qin Tian was satisfied with this. Anyway, the "Helgoland class" battleship will also be launched at the end of 1908. At that time, Krupp's main gun will just be able to catch up. As for the follow-up "Caesar-class" battleships and "Moltke-class" battlecruisers, they are even further behind.

"In addition, the Navy hopes that Krupp will start researching the main guns of larger-caliber battleships from now on." Qin Tian continued.

"A larger caliber main gun?" Gustav Krupp and Beta Krupp both gasped. You know, because of Qin Tian's request, Krupp's research and development department has been operating at full capacity for these years. Even so, it could barely meet Qin Tian's request. Now, they were finally about to complete the development of the 343mm main gun, but before they had time to rest, Qin Tian actually put forward new requirements.

You know, the research on the main guns of battleships is not as simple as eating and drinking. Especially the larger the caliber, the difficulty will increase exponentially. Qin Tian's request is undoubtedly a huge problem for Krupp.

"Mr. Krupp, there is no problem. Our next-level capital ship will no longer use 343mm main guns, but will use 380mm main guns. This is not because I want to make things difficult for you, but The current situation is tense, and we must catch up. Our old rivals, the British, have already started the development of the 381mm main gun. In this respect, we must not lag behind them. Otherwise, In future naval battles, our navy can't use small-caliber main guns to deal with the British's large-caliber main guns, right? In that case, it would be irresponsible for the imperial navy." Qin Tian said with a serious face Said.

Although, judging from the current situation, the German navy has already caught up with the British navy in terms of new capital ships, and even in terms of combat power, it has formed a certain degree of overtaking. However, Qin Tian knew that he must not take it lightly. The development speed of the British navy is undoubtedly very terrifying. Once the German navy stops its development, it may soon be caught up by the British navy, or even surpassed. Qin Tian didn't want the British 'Queen Elizabeth-class' battleships to ravage the capital ships of the German Navy with their 381mm main guns in future naval battles.

Of course, the 50 times the caliber 343 mm main gun equipped by the German Navy is not necessarily weaker than the 45 times the 381 mm main gun of the British Navy. However, if it can have a larger caliber main gun, the possibility of the German Navy winning will naturally be higher.