The Rise of the Empire

"This is a submarine?" In the No. 9 berth of the Brome-Forth Shipyard, a chubby thing like a barracuda is being maintained. Accompanied by shipyard staff, Prince Ruprecht and Prince Heinrich visited the most advanced submarine of the German Navy so far. Note that this is not the first submarine, because before that, the German shipyard has started building 3 small submarines for Russia, and one of them has even been delivered. Of course, these submarines are all small goods of less than 200 tons. Not much use. \u003c/p\u003e "Yes, this is a submarine." The prince nodded and said. \u003c/p\u003e"However, compared to the submarines built by other countries, this ship is a bit big." Prince Heinrich said after roughly visually observing the size of the submarine: "What advantages does this submarine have over the previous products? Is it? I came all the way here, you won't just show me a simple enlarged version?"\u003c/p\u003e "Don't tell me, it's basically an enlarged version..." The prince complained in his heart. "We use a new type of diesel engine as power for this submarine. Gasoline is volatile and easy to explode. Moreover, the level of diesel engine oil in our country is very high, which is more suitable for submarine power. At the same time, the ship model has been modified to allow it to have a higher water surface. Speed, and this ship is bigger and equipped with more weapons, if the previous submarines were only suitable for offshore operations, then this submarine can already fight on the west coast of the British." The prince said. \u003c/p\u003e"You seem to be very interested in this kind of little thing?" Prince Heinrich said seriously, looking at the submarine being maintained, and then at His Royal Highness. \u003c/p\u003e "That's right, what would you think if I said that in the future, these little guys and not the battleships of the High Seas Fleet will really decide the outcome at sea?" the prince asked rhetorically. \u003c/p\u003e "If someone else said it, I would think he was a lunatic. But if it was you who said it, I would think it over carefully and listen to your opinion." Prince Heinrich said with a slight smile. "Because I don't think you, who are making money every day, would come all the way from Munich just to play a joke on me."\u003c/p\u003e "Well, imagine if we had dozens of ships like this or Larger submarines, these submarines cruise in the vast ocean. When encountering unprotected transport ships, use naval guns or torpedoes to sink them. A submarine that is only less than 1000 tons may sink 2 to 100 tons in one attack. 5 ships, the registered tonnage may be nearly 20,000 tons, and the ship of less than 1,000 tons is exchanged for the 20,000-ton ship of the opponent. I think few countries in the world can afford such a loss?"\u003c/p\u003e "And if you encounter danger, you can still dive into the water. At present, there are no reliable anti-submarine weapons in the navies of various countries. You can also lay mines near the opponent's military port, or pull out an anti-submarine net on the sea as a warning force for the high seas fleet. Is that right? ?You have already mentioned these things to me in your letter, and I hope to hear more different opinions. Besides, I don’t think that just relying on dozens of tons of fuel is enough for these little guys to sail across the Atlantic Ocean.” The prince said . \u003c/p\u003e"Although the submarine's voyage on the water at 8 knots is only 7,000 nautical miles, it is still enough to maneuver in the waters around the UK. No matter which route the British ships take, they will eventually appear It is near the British Isles, and the surface speed of this submarine is as high as 17 knots, and it can catch up to more than 90% of merchant ships!"\u003c/p\u003e "Imagine, if we have 100 such submarines, 30 of them If a submarine can cruise near the British coast, what kind of result will this time be? And each of these submarines consumes only a few tens of tons of fuel. Our cost is very low, and as long as it can destroy a merchant ship, the submarine The cost has already been recovered!"\u003c/p\u003e"This tactic itself is tonnage exchange,

The tonnage of the submarine is exchanged for the tonnage of the opponent's transport ship. More importantly, the submarine can be produced in large quantities during the war to continuously make up for the battle damage, unlike the capital ship, which requires a long construction period! "The prince said.\u003c/p\u003e" But such a submarine can't even talk about encountering a light cruiser. It can't even beat some torpedo boats. What if the opponent deploys a gunboat in the nearby waters or arranges an escort? The advantage of submarines lies in the concealment of navigation. If they are underwater, their normal speed is no more than 5 knots, and their maximum speed is no more than 10 knots. They can't even keep up with the transport fleet, so how can they launch an attack calmly? "\u003c/p\u003e" Now countries do not have effective weapons to deal with submarines, but in my opinion, as long as submarines cannot effectively destroy the line of communication, then the British's goal will be achieved. The killing efficiency of submarines may not be very high. Don't you think so? "Prince Heinlech thought for a while and said.\u003c/p\u003e"You are indeed right. There are still many problems with submarines, but the premise is bright. Escorts can indeed effectively reduce the probability of submarines attacking merchant fleets. , but the premise is that the British need to invest a lot of manpower and funds in the construction of the escort fleet, and if we have enough submarines, we can even go hunting in the open sea. The front of the submarine was riddled with holes. The veins of the Empire will bleed. "The prince said.\u003c/p\u003e "So you want my support?" Then why don't you discuss this matter with Admiral Tirpitz? "Prince Heinrich asked.\u003c/p\u003e"Because this matter is still in its infancy, to be honest, not everyone has a very far-sighted vision. Tirpitz is relatively conservative, and the submarine's The main function is to attack transport ships. Its power is not like battleships, which can be measured by tonnage, artillery, armor and speed. And the failure of Admiral Maoqi last time made me feel that it is not easy to follow a simple path. "The prince said helplessly.\u003c/p\u003e"I understand this. If necessary, you can say hello to me, and I will tell His Majesty the Emperor that it would be better if the role of the submarine can be demonstrated through an exercise. In fact, during the war, the empire considered modifying some ships as sea attack ships. The role of submarines is very similar to that of sea camouflage attack ships. "Prince Heinrich said.\u003c/p\u003e"In addition, if you want to build a large submarine, you can also have other ideas. Delivery of strategic materials. In this case, the underwater fleet of the High Seas Fleet may have a great development. "Prince Heinrich said.\u003c/p\u003e" Transport submarines? This excuse is nice, realistic, and really needed! "The prince said silently in his heart.\u003c/p\u003eThe second update is here~~~! Please subscribe and support~~~!\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/div\u003e