Extraordinary Sailing

It has been two days since the accident occurred while excavating the treasure of the sunken ship.

Everything is fine on the island at the moment.

Although Aiwen often communicates with Major General Demond Brand, his senior in "Fort Dirben", the information sent back shows that the front line has been in a state of stalemate, and as the weather gets worse in the deep winter, Sirius' The dominance is already rapidly being lost.

The commanders of Sark and Atlan were even somewhat optimistic that they could delay the delaying tactics until next spring, when the home reinforcements arrived.

Then they can really make great contributions to their country!

This kind of information has always been received, and Ivan didn't think much about it. Although the strength is not the same as in the past, but in a large-scale war, the influence he can make is still limited.

What's more, I haven't seen the supplementary staff that the major general said before, and Ai Wen just happens to be happy to relax.

After all, he already has too many research projects on hand.

For example:

The "Totem Warrior Training Method" related to the future of the knight, the "Adventurer's Blood" suppression plan, the first "spirit world exploration" after becoming an official wizard, the running-in of the "Ocean Current Horn", and the renewal of the "Seabird Detection Network" , the "living animal hide" for all crew members who fought bravely, and deal with the old guy in the "cursed painting"

There are so many things that others can't replace at all. Aiwen sometimes wonders whether to take An Qi over to assist him in his research.

By the way, I can also help myself with the second apprentice.

besides.

Because he was not sure how long these people would stay in Hartrafa Port, Aiwen did not let the soldiers who had fully recovered be idle when he was busy.

In addition to normal training, they also need to cut down trees to build houses, port facilities, reclaim wasteland to grow vegetables, and so on.

The current crew on the island includes:

The "Storm Horn" was originally full of 350 people. Excluding the battle damage and those who could not return to combat due to disabilities, there are still 209 people left.

The situation of the "Endeavour" is slightly better. There were originally 352 people, but now there are 268 people.

The 623 captives of Cyrus, oh, one was eaten, and now there are only 622 people.

A total of more than a thousand adult men can only come and go on this island, which is also a huge waste.

Aiwen simply found something for them to do, not only helping Donglunzhi build this excellent hidden private port, which can be borrowed at any time with this excellent relationship in the future, but also solved the problem of their energy having nowhere to vent.

After all, Phalitis is not as rich and powerful as Sirius, and the various military bases in the entire New World that can provide logistical support for battleships are only in single digits.

Being a qualified captain is not just as simple as fighting and killing. If you master a friendly private port, you will gain more protection for your warship and your subordinates, and more chances of survival.

The best news these days is that with the help of a ship engineer sent by "Fort Dirben", the "Storm Horn" was finally repaired earlier than expected today.

Return to the sea.

Even in his busy schedule, Aiwen took time out to personally go to the port to preside over the re-launch of the battleship.

"Your Excellency, Captain! Do you need a trial voyage? I can accompany you to make adjustments for this beautiful battleship, which should bring it to the best condition in its service life."

Watching the "Storm Horn" re-launched, the skilled engineer, Mr. Walkley Jeffrey, was very confident in his craft.

Indeed, for him, who was a senior engineer and had presided over the construction of brand new battleships, such a small project had no difficulty at all.

At this time, the right rear side of the poop of the fourth-class ship was repaired with white oak from the colony, and the balance had also been corrected.

By the way, the crew cleaned the copper-clad bottom and gave it a major maintenance.

There is no need to test the voyage in person, just looking at its sailing posture at this time, Ivan also knows that the "Storm Horn" is in excellent condition and can be thrown into another battle at any time.

He nodded in satisfaction, as a recognition of the senior engineer's skills.

"However, is the repair progress of the 'Singdenburg' so slow?"

Looking away from the "Storm Horn", Aiwen frowned slightly at the third-tier ship that was still lying in the dock. Although he didn't dare to open it upright for the time being to show off, but it is completely two concepts not to drive and not to drive.

"Your Excellency, the main reason is that the materials can't keep up. The hull and ribs of this battleship are severely damaged.

What was damaged was the thickest part of the original midship hull, and the combined shell, ribs, and inner lining of the third-tier ship could reach 60 centimeters.

It is too difficult to find suitable ship materials for this kind of warship, and the ones obtained by the East Lunzhi have long been used up.

It seems that they had a good teak on a boat before, but unfortunately, the people from the Trade Department acted too fast, and they were snatched away at a high price. "

In fact, the engineer mainly came here for the "Singenburg", and there are not many chances to capture the Sirius III battleship in its entirety.

Although he believes that shipbuilding technology has surpassed the "thick, stupid, and big" Cyrus design concept, but as a ship engineer, he certainly does not want to let go of this opportunity to learn from others.

But no matter how superb the technology is, it is difficult for a clever woman to cook without rice. The repair of the third-class ship has been intermittent, because the lack of raw materials has greatly slowed down the progress of the project.

He shook his head and sighed as he spoke, feeling sorry for the high-quality teak that would end up being used for that boat.

"cough cough"

Ivan next to him listened to Walkley's words, coughed twice to cover up his embarrassment, and it turned out to be his own fault for going around.

But at that time, who would have thought that there would be a third-tier ship in the future that needed to be repaired? Of course, the golden lion in hand is more real.

But looking at the third-tier ship lying on the nest now, while secretly regretting, a good idea suddenly popped up in Ivan's mind. And the more I think about it, the more feasible it is, until the eyes are shining in the end.

Turning to look at the engineer beside him, he said slightly excitedly:

"Mr. Jeffrey, why don't we modify this battleship."

"Modification?!"

Walkley Jeffrey wondered if he heard it wrong. The battleship is the pinnacle of human force in this era, but it is also a complex collection that affects the whole body.

At present, the ship types of various countries are the crystallization of dozens of hundreds of years of experience of countless ship engineers and senior craftsmen. If they are changed randomly, not to mention fighting, it is not impossible to sink the sea immediately even if they are driven out.

"That's right, it's refitting. Convert this Tier 3 battleship into a heavy cruiser! Single out the invincible heavy cruiser!"

Listening to Ivan's word for word at this time, Walkley felt that he was about to be stung by the light in Ivan's eyes, and was also attracted by a term he had never heard of before.

That noun seemed to be born with magical power, making him mutter: "Heavy cruiser!"

Actually.

Although the great voyage has been going on for two hundred years, all aspects of navigation technology have also made great progress.

But in this era, people's concept is still at the level that more artillery is stronger. Make your warship bigger, with more decks, and load more guns!

Then in the battleship version of queuing up to shoot, that is, the "battle line", take the lead in sending the opponent into the sea with superior firepower.

Of course, any kind of invention and tactics cannot be separated from the background of the times. Some ridiculous tactics in the eyes of modern people are the best choices in a specific era.

In a large-scale war where no one can run away with "line of battle" tactics, there is nothing wrong with this idea.

But what if you jump out of this category? Or jump out of the limitations of this era?

Judging from Aiwen's knowledge beyond most people, apart from the legendary battleships with extraordinary powers, Blue Star's sailing warship era was a big step ahead of the world in terms of warship design, concept, and tactics in the end.

Especially in the last and most glorious years of sailing warships before the launch of steam ironclad ships, human beings undoubtedly developed this technology to a certain extent.

Just like the difference engine that was eventually replaced by a computer, the sailing warship that was replaced by a steam ironclad ship, if it can continue to develop, no one can predict what it will look like in the end.

And in those glory days.

It is difficult to say which one of all the famous sailing warships is the strongest, because there are various "most" with the largest body, the most artillery on board, and the fastest running.

But to say that the most legendary warship that is most suitable for the current situation is the Bald Eagle's "Constitution".

After more than 40 naval battles during his service, he gained the reputation of "never defeated and invincible"!

However, it is not a battleship that claims to rule the era. It is a cruiser, more precisely a "heavy cruiser" with a unique design.

[Specifications] The total length of the ship is 62.2 meters, the width is 13.6 meters, the molded depth is 6.85 meters, the displacement is 2,200 tons, the speed is 13 knots, the crew is 400, and the bow and stern buildings are cancelled.

[Armment] Double-layer artillery deck: 30 24-pounder guns, 20 32-pounder guns, 2 24-pounder bow and stern guns (experienced many times of heavy outfitting, data at the peak of firepower in 1812)

[Sail outfit] Full sail outfit, bow stay jib, stern gaff rig.

This enhanced supercruiser has several advantages over its contemporaries:

First, a heavy cruiser with a lower center of gravity can deploy more heavy cannons than a third-tier battleship, or even adopt a full-heavy artillery configuration, so that it has almost as much firepower as a third-tier battleship in naval battles.

Second, the same tonnage cancels the forecastle and poop, and can be equipped with a thicker hull. The "Constitution" even has the reputation of "old iron armor".

Third, the height is lowered to be close to the water surface, the aspect ratio is increased, and the speed is faster (of course, the clipper ship has an aspect ratio of up to 6:1 and is faster, but it lacks stability and strength and cannot be equipped with heavy artillery at all).

The design concept is to abandon large-scale fleet battles at the same time.

Create a situation where those who can beat it can't run it, and those who can run past it can't beat it. Of course, it's more likely that they can neither run nor beat it!

With powerful firepower and excellent speed, this heavy cruiser dared to wrestle with any warship on Blue Star at that time.

In fact, from the perspective of displacement and specifications, this kind of cruiser is the third-tier ship in the battleship sequence, and it is just right to transform it with a third-tier ship that is just "not enough".

And Ivan's idea is not whimsical, or even the first.

In order to deal with the constant troubles of the Bald Eagle's heavy cruisers, such as sailing in formation to hunt and kill their own single warships and merchant ships, John Bull once also came up with a plan to cut the deck, converting the third-tier battleships into heavy cruisers.

How similar is this situation to the comparison of combat power between Phalitis and Sirius today?

"So, Mr. Jeffrey, how about we try it together?"

Ivan stretched out his right hand to the ship engineer beside him.

Walkley Jeffrey had already been encouraged by Ivan's words, and he was almost a little excited, and he did not hesitate to high-five Ivan.

If it fails, it will be the captain's spoils anyway, but if it succeeds, he will leave a huge mark in the history of the kingdom's warship development!

Although professionals may have been pissed off by me long ago, I still have to explain. The data and transformation plan are exhaustively searched on Baidu Encyclopedia, Tieba, Sohu, 360 Library, etc., according to the author's current understanding. If you have any objection, please explain it in the comment area, and the author will modify it as appropriate.ヽ(￣ω￣〃)ゝ