Chapter 330: Chapter 288: Hope-class Battleship

The Chilean’s concept of the super dreadnought swiftly awakened Arthur, who had been indulging in the dreams of Australasia’s rise.

Although Australasia is currently leading the world in tanks, airplanes, and dreadnoughts, and its military industry is absolutely world-class, it is still far from enough.

Under the influence of the intense arms race between Britain and Germany, the pace of their military technology replacement is beyond Arthur’s imagination.

Since its birth, the dreadnought has instantly become the most powerful battleship in the world. Even now, there are only five countries that truly possess dreadnoughts.

Arthur was somewhat complacent about this, as not only did Australasia possess dreadnoughts, but it also controlled the construction technology of advanced main fleet warships such as the Nassau-class battleship, Monarch-class battleship, St Vincent-class battleship, and Unified-class battlecruiser.

In the construction of dreadnought-class main fleet warships, Australasia could be said to rank after Britain and Germany, competing for third place in the world.

However, Arthur overlooked the speed of military technology replacement in Britain and Germany during this period.

Admittedly, the dreadnought is still the most powerful warship in the world. But Britain has already developed and even successfully built the super dreadnought, leading the world by far in warship technology and leaving the second and third places far behind.

If Australasia truly wants to rise, it must not be content with its current achievements and should aim for greater heights, with a deep understanding of the world.

Thus, Arthur also made up his mind that even if the deal for the super dreadnought order with Chile falls through, Australasia must develop its own super dreadnought with the fastest speed possible.

On October 21, 1910, at Arthur’s summons, the majority of naval shipbuilding experts in Australasia arrived at the Royal Shipyard, including the German experts who had settled in Australasia.

Arthur attended the meeting at the Royal Shipyard and gave the experts a requirement to design a battleship with a total tonnage of at least 23,000 tons, a full load tonnage of at least 27,000 tons, a main gun caliber of 13.5 inches, and comprehensive upgrades in power, armor protection, and firepower.

For this purpose, Arthur presented the construction blueprints of the Monarch-class battleship and St Vincent-class battleship, allowing the experts to refer to the construction layout and technology of these two types of battleships and find ideas for designing new battleships.

Following Arthur’s order, the shipbuilding experts began to get busy, starting to design the new warships in their minds.

Arthur set the design time to three months, with the person who successfully designs the battleship receiving a substantial reward and possibly even a title of nobility.

This generous condition attracted the enthusiasm of many shipbuilding experts, and the Royal Shipyard was packed with them.

Fortunately, the construction of the two battlecruisers was almost completed, so even though most of the experts at the Royal Shipyard were mobilized, it barely affected the final assembly of the two battlecruisers.

As time entered November 1910, the Sydney Stock Exchange founded by Arthur gradually began to take shape.

The current Sydney Stock Exchange has attracted more than ten foreign capitals and hundreds of domestic small and medium-sized enterprises in Australasia.

It has attracted millions of Australian dollars from foreign capital, allowing many small and medium-sized factories and enterprises to break through ten thousand dollars in assets.

The current Sydney Stock Exchange can be described as bustling, with a daily flow of thousands of people and tens of thousands of Australian dollars in funds.

This year was a disaster for East Asia, with various natural and man-made disasters, plagues, and epidemics, causing huge losses to the region.

Australasia exported more than 4 million tons of grain this year, half of which was exported to East Asia, and was profitable for state-owned, royal, and private farms.

In mid-November, Arthur attended the launching ceremony of the two battlecruisers, which marked the completion of all the ships under Australasia’s five-year shipbuilding plan, and the navy’s first five-year plan had been completed.

For the second five-year shipbuilding plan proposed by the navy’s internal drive, Arthur temporarily chose to suppress it.

For Australasia, there is no need to stack the number of dreadnoughts so high for the time being.

Before World War I, if the number of dreadnoughts in Australasia continued to increase, it would definitely attract the attention and emphasis of European powers.

Even if the powers have no other intentions, they will have a certain amount of apprehension in the face of the increasingly powerful Australasian navy.

This is not good news for the development of Australasia, as Arthur still hopes to purchase 13.5-inch main gun technology from Britain, or at least buy dozens of 13.5-inch main guns to meet the installation of main guns for future super dreadnoughts.

If it draws the attention and apprehension of powerful European nations in advance, leading to a certain level of technology blockade from European countries against Australasia, that would be too counterproductive.

While the navy is undoubtedly important to Australasia, it would be unnecessary to develop the navy if it aroused the apprehension of European countries.

Australasia may have a second navy five-year plan, but it should not be at this moment when the clouds of war in Europe are looming.

Arthur’s authority silenced the naval officers, who could only pin their hopes on the training of the two newly built battlecruisers.