The Rise of the European Emperor

With excitement, Marin boarded the thousand-ton battleship that had just completed the test. The bottom of the battleship is covered with anti-corrosion stainless steel sheet. Since the discovery of the small chromite ore in Cuba, Marin has been able to make chromium-nickel alloy stainless steel sheets to replace the previous nickel steel sheets. The effect, of course, is much better.

Of course, the exterior of the stainless steel sheet is painted with dark paint. Otherwise, the bright white appearance of stainless steel is too ostentatious.

In addition, the side of this warship was also covered with stainless steel sheets and painted. In this way, the side is not afraid of the impact of the iron ball shell.

Even, the iron sheet on the side is thicker than that on the bottom of the ship. It is probably more appropriate to describe it as a steel plate. This kind of protection is difficult for ordinary shells to break through. Unless it is a conical shell like the later generations, it is easier to break the side protection.

Moreover, this design is difficult to imitate. Because there is no anti-corrosion steel plate available in other countries. If it is replaced by copper skin, it can also achieve a certain effect. However, the cost... you know, the price of copper in Europe these days is several times higher than that in the Ming Dynasty...

If it is really covered with copper skin, the average European country can't equip a few ships at all, so what about maritime supremacy?

Therefore, Marin simply relies on the technology tree to bully other countries-I can do it, but you can't!

If someone asks, Marin will tell him with a smile-this is tinplate! That is, it is made of tin plated on the surface of the iron sheet, you can imitate it...

But tinplate does not mention the cost issue. If there is a scratch, the tin sheet will fall off, and the entire iron sheet will soon be finished. Moreover, the corrosion resistance of tinplate to seawater is not so strong. Even when nails are nailed, the exposed part of the hole of the nail can cause the whole piece of tinplate to corrode...

From the looks of it, there is nothing wrong with this battleship. Its shape is basically an enlarged version of a 500-ton warship. In other words, it is a smaller version of the "Constitution".

Like the "Constitution", this battleship has only a double artillery deck. That is, the top open deck and the lower deck, but according to Marin's requirements, the open deck is equipped with a rainproof shed on the artillery position to prevent the gunpowder from getting wet. Then, the canopy was also covered with steel plates to protect the gunners inside from being hit by enemy shells.

For the consideration of resisting the recoil moment, the heavy guns on the ship are arranged on the lower deck, while the upper deck is basically equipped with 6-pound and 12-pound light guns. There are only four 18-pound Koufeilin long guns, which are Hongyi. cannon.

These 4 Hongyi cannons are mainly used to bombard targets on the shore. The reason why it is arranged on the upper deck is because the artillery can be placed higher and can hit farther. After all, a cannonball is a parabola. The same iron ball, standing on a higher place,

With the same force, it will naturally be thrown farther...

The reason why only 4 doors are arranged is that the recoil force is too large, which will cause the hull to tilt severely. However, some designers pointed out that on a 500-ton warship, four doors were enough. But the thousand-ton battleship is more resistant to recoil torque, and it can be increased to 8 doors...

This is the layout of the top open deck. Next, under the guidance of the staff on board, Marin entered the lower artillery deck...

"Hey, why is it not a watertight compartment?" Marin saw the problem at a glance. Because, the lower artillery deck is not the watertight compartment he imagined.

The watertight compartment divides the same floor into rooms, and each space can be used as an independent ship when it is closed. In more specific terms, watertight compartments are similar to bamboo, with one section at a time. Each section of bamboo is a sealed air tank that floats independently...

However, the lower artillery deck that Marin saw was a structure that was interconnected throughout the entire floor, which was no different from before. So, he turned suspicious eyes to the captain Hobbit standing beside him.

Hobbit came from the New York shipyard, so he naturally knew the details. He explained:

"Grand Duke, the watertight compartment is on the bottom floor, not this floor..."

"Why?" Marin asked, frowning, he needed an explanation. Because, he said before that he should use watertight compartment design as much as possible. Could it be that the people at the New York shipyard took his words as a deaf ear?

Hobbit hastened to explain:

"Master Tirpit, the chief designer, believes that the use of watertight compartments in the lower artillery deck will affect the interaction between the gunners. You know, the gunners need to walk back and forth, and move the powder kegs and shells. The most important thing is , It is not conducive to the artillery commander to command the gunners. If they are separated into relatively closed rooms, the commander will not be able to command the gunners to fire salvos, and he has to notify the gunners one by one..."

This reason is very reasonable. In the era of broadside salvo, if the gunners are really separated in different rooms, it is really not conducive to directing the shooting. Later generations of warships can use watertight compartments because the main guns of later generations of warships are all on the upper deck. Moreover, there is also a communication system between the commander and the gunner on board, so it is not difficult to issue orders.

And in this era when command basically relies on roaring, it is indeed necessary to gather the gunners to shout and command. If it is really made into a watertight compartment, it will be impossible to play...

Marin nodded, agreeing with Hobbit's explanation.

Hobbit goes on to explain:

"As for the watertight compartment, Master Tirpett believes that its main purpose is to prevent sinking. The main reason for the sinking of the ship is that the bilge leaks. As for the lower artillery deck, it is usually above the waterline, so there is no need for a watertight compartment. So , you only need to design watertight compartments in the lower tank part..."

Afterwards, Captain Hobbit took Marin, opened several doors leading to the bottom cabin on the lower artillery deck, and took Marin along the stairs to enter the bottom cabin for a visit.

The bilge, which should have been integrated, was divided into seven compartments because of the watertight compartment design. Each cabin has a closed cellar door design at the top. Once a cabin leaks, the soldiers on the lower artillery deck will seal it first, then pump up the water in the leaking cabin and discharge it through the gun door... As long as more than half of the cabins are leak-free, the general ship will not sink... If It is really difficult to fill the loophole in a certain cabin, but if the ship cannot sink, you can also choose to seal the cellar door above that cabin. Then, the ship dragged the wounded body and persisted to the nearest port that was deliberately repaired...

Usually, when there is no accident, the lower deck is generally used for loading cargo, and part of the lower deck is used for people, mainly for sailors. However, because there is no sunlight in the bilge and it is dark, the general sailors do not go down until the rest time.

Moreover, the officers will not live in the bilge with little air circulation, but in the rooms on the lower artillery deck...

However, because the Beihai State has very strict sanitation management on ships, the bilges are usually cleaned very clean without any peculiar smell. Even the cabins with toilets were cleaned relatively clean. Unlike the ships of other countries in this era, the bilge is full of stench, and there are many rats living there...