Chapter 331: Chapter 288: Hope-class Battleship_2

If the combat effectiveness of these two battlecruisers is comparable to that of dreadnoughts, then Australasia will be able to welcome five dreadnought-class main battleships, and the navy’s combat power can surpass that of bottom-ranking powers like the Island Nation, thus providing some means of self-protection.

With the construction of the Australasian navy, it is evident that the national pride of Australasia is growing higher and higher.

It has to be admitted that, for this era, the navy is indeed the most important branch of all military forces.

A powerful nation can be without a strong army, but it cannot be without a strong navy to protect its coastline and territory.

Of course, landlocked countries are another matter. But in this age of colonization, it is not easy for a landlocked country to become a power.

How important is the navy? It can be said that if Australasia had a few more dreadnoughts, it could really clamor for the status of a power.

Moreover, by participating in one or two naval battles and fiercely slapping the faces of bottom-ranking powers, they can become a recognized new power by stepping on the status of those lower-ranking powers.

However, there is no need for Australasia to do so. What Australasia lacks now is not the status of a power, but the real strength and foundation of top-level powers.

Not to mention, the Island Nation is now indeed referred to as the Eighth Power. But the question is, apart from those decaying nations such as the Ottoman Turkish Empire, which power would take a country like the Island Nation seriously?

Even the equally decaying Russian Empire, if it moved all its forces and navy in Europe to the Far East, the Island Nation might not necessarily be a match for the Tsardom of Russia.

This is the real strength and foundation of the old powers, which Arthur and Australasia have been longing for.

During this time, the experts of the shipyard also made progress. Even ten warship designs have been completed, but each design is still a certain distance from Arthur’s requirements.

Among all the requirements of Arthur and the Chileans, tonnage is actually the easiest thing to achieve.

The simplest way to increase tonnage is to install thicker armor on various parts of the warship.

Armor can greatly increase the tonnage of a warship, and by making the warship’s volume larger, it is easy to reach the 28,000 tons required by the Chileans.

But the problem is that such a warship is essentially an empty shell. Mindlessly increasing the volume and thickness of the armor will significantly reduce the power of the warship.

If they really did this, Arthur wondered if the new warship could even match the speed of the old battleships.

The warship design problem persists until the end of 1910.

On December 21, 1910, Arthur finally received good news; The experts of the Royal Shipyard have finally designed a more reliable new design than other warships after their concerted efforts.

The new battleship design refers to the design of the two dreadnoughts, the Monarch-class battleship and the St Vincent-class battleship, but overall, it can be described as a completely newly designed battleship.

More than 60% of the new battleship design consists of technologies that Australasia does not have. This also means that in order to build the new battleship, they need to rely on the officers of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to negotiate with the British Empire and purchase the corresponding technology.

Of course, Arthur had anticipated this drawback. After all, even the 13.5-inch main gun is a technology that Australasia does not have, and it needs to be imported from the United Kingdom.

Not to mention the more advanced power systems, armor protection, and so on, which also need to be imported from the British Empire, and it would be best to purchase their manufacturing technology and principles.

The battleship design that was reported to Arthur has basically met the requirements of Arthur and the Chileans.

Of course, not all requirements can be met, as the construction technology of Australasia must be considered, so as not to turn the warship’s blueprint into a mere empty picture.

The estimated length of this battleship is about 181 meters, width 28 meters, and draft 8.4 meters.

In terms of volume, the new battleship far exceeds the Monarch-class battleship and St Vincent-class battleship, truly being a super-large battleship in its own right.

Increase in volume is due to the expansion of armor and power systems. Including all sections and systems, the new battleship is expected to have a standard displacement of 22,800 tons, and a full-load displacement of 26,910 tons.

If all goes well, this battleship will be equipped with ten 45-caliber MKⅤ-type 13.5-inch caliber main guns.

In addition, it will be equipped with eighteen 4-inch 50-caliber secondary guns and four 533mm underwater torpedo launchers.

Compared to the Monarch-class and St Vincent-class battleships, the new battleship has achieved a significant improvement in firepower.

In terms of power, the new battleship adopts the same power system as the St Vincent-class battleship, including two sets of four-shaft Parsons direct-drive steam turbines and twenty-two Hercules-class Villar-style mixed combustion boilers.

The change here is the addition of four mixed combustion boilers, which also gives the new battleship an estimated power of 34,000 horsepower and a cruising speed of at least 21 knots.

In terms of armor protection, the new battleship will increase the thickness of the main armor belt to 6.5-12 inches, the deck to 3.5 inches, the watertight bulkhead to 4-8 inches, the gun turret to 11.5 inches, the gun mount to 10 inches, and the command tower to 11.5 inches.

This level of protection is a huge improvement compared to previous dreadnoughts. Coupled with the improvements in firepower and power, Arthur believes that the new battleship’s combat strength would increase by at least 40% compared to the current St Vincent-class battleships.

Of course, a 40% increase in combat strength is a relatively conservative estimate. No one can guarantee what will happen on a real naval battlefield, but the new battleship’s actual combat capabilities will indeed crush older dreadnoughts.

Arthur is very satisfied with the design of the new battleship and ultimately decides that the design of Australasia’s first super dreadnought will be based on the current blueprint.

After much deliberation, Arthur decides to name Australasia’s super-dreadnought the Hope-class battleship.

Hope signifies the hope of national rise. Arthur hopes to rely on the super-dreadnought to continue Australasia’s dream of rise, to radiate Australasia’s distinctive colors and let the world hear Australasia’s voice.

The establishment of the super-dreadnought design plan is a good reason for Arthur to feel pleased, and he has also begun to reward the experts of the Royal Shipyard generously.

First of all, each person has a reward of 10,000 Australian dollars, and for the main designers of the Hope-class battleship, corresponding medals will be awarded as encouragement.

Arthur is very generous to the scientists and other talents in his hands, as these talents are the hope of Australasia’s rise.

Even if they each receive a reward of 10,000 Australian dollars, it only adds up to just over 200 shipbuilding experts involved in the design of the super dreadnought.

More than 2 million Australian dollars were exchanged for the blueprint of the Hope-class battleship, an investment that seems worth it no matter how one thinks.

Since more than 60% of the technology for the Hope-class battleship needs to be imported or purchased from the United Kingdom, this has led to the construction cost of the battleship being much higher than the Monarch-class battleship.

According to the shipyard experts’ conservative estimates, the cost of a Hope-class battleship could exceed 2 million pounds and might even reach around 2.2 million pounds.

How to price the Hope-class battleship became a headache for Arthur. If based on the profit of the Monarch-class battleship, the price of the Hope-class battleship might be close to 3 million pounds, a price that Chileans may not be able to afford.

Moreover, in Arthur’s view, the Chileans’ naval order is an opportunity for the shipyard to practice building super-dreadnoughts, so it seems necessary to lower the price of the warship again.