Chapter 146: The Sea and the Sky Are Colorful

In November 1859, the world's first most advanced ironclad ship was launched. Downing made it? No. Tang Ning will not build a backward ship like an ironclad ship, which is the most advanced in the eyes of the navies of various countries, but it is already far behind Tang Ning's plan, not to mention the heavy cruiser he is building, even the Great Eastern is better than this one when refitted.

When the French "Glory" ironclad ship was designed, the steel production of British Steel had not exploded, it had not even used steel, and the hull was not iron, but only wrapped around with iron armor. This is already the strongest battleship in the navies of various countries.

The Glory also used howitzers that had never been used on naval guns. The previous naval guns were all cannons, because at that time the grenades could not withstand a large muzzle velocity, and the paixhans solved this problem. The cannon can only be used for direct fire at low orbits, has a short effective range, and is only destructive when it hits the target directly, while the howitzer is a high-altitude railgun, taking into account the drag and gravity, the range is the largest at about 45 degrees. In the case of high explosives, not only will direct hits cause large-scale destruction, but also have a certain amount of destructive power when bombed near the target, so the Glorious can be called the most advanced in the world.

On the surface it looks like the British Royal Navy is lagging behind, but they will soon catch up, and the more advanced monolithic hull uses iron, which is still not all steel, because it is an early start project. The next generation will definitely be all-steel.

It's not that the warship industry is unaware of the welding technology used in crystal shipyards, but they still haven't found a way to copycat, and the key is that there is no technology to make oxygen on a large scale. It is obviously impossible to rent such a thing as a warship, so all the ** parties are in contact with the crystal shipyard.

France took the lead in building ironclad ships to stimulate the Royal Navy, and the Duke of London took black technology to make the princes have another bargaining chip, and when the British Prime Minister personally asked if he could transfer technology, Downing could say: "How?" You see the position of commander-in-chief of the Anglo-French forces......"

Palmerston was silent for a long time, and said: "We are also good friends, if we were not friends, I would have agreed a long time ago, but in the position, the staff are suspicious, you are now the monarch of another country, and you are the general of the Austrian Imperial Army, you will have a lot of complicated interests to consider when you come to be the commander-in-chief, and I am afraid that it will not be so good for the implementation of the real policy of the empire." Seriously, I guess you must have a plan in charge of this operation, which is reminiscent of your cousin when the Saffa-Coalition Army was against the Austrian Coalition Army, and you directly took the Lombardy from both sides, which ...... I have to attract the attention of all sides. ”

Downing: "...... Understood, don't worry, I won't provide technology to the navies of other countries. ”

Palmerston: "I heard that the Japanese have already gotten this technology?" ”

Downing: "Where?" Their industry is too backward to learn without twenty years, and it is under my control. ”

Palmerston: "So...... Supplying acetylene and oxygen to the shipyards of the Royal Navy can be done, right? ”

The Prime Minister could not be completely disappointed, and Downing said: "Well, for the sake of friends, I have a completely different definition of a friend from you." ”

Palmerston said he was ashamed: "I am a public official, you are the monarch, this difference is big." ”

Tang Ning smiled and said nothing, it's okay, the prime minister owes him a favor, and he can still save the Old Summer Palace when the time comes, and he doesn't have to bear the reputation of ****, so he feels relieved.

Obviously, the joy of the French is also limited, although they have built the world's leading warship for the time being, but the pace of the British is not slow, besides, no matter how good the warship, compared with the Great Eastern class azure 10,000-ton steel ship, it is still scum, not to mention that it has gradually begun to become popular recently, and it is said that there are already airships swimming around in the sky over London!

This is exactly the "beluga whale" that flew test at the airship base, sometimes climbing thousands of meters in the air, and was finally seen by people from afar, and later, by spies ambushed nearby by various countries. This is the real "spy photo". If this were someone else, he might have bragged about his novel invention in the newspaper every day, but now that Downing is the king of the kingdom of science, he doesn't need those false names at all, and he is so low-key that even who the first person in the world to soar freely in the sky is a world mystery. The only thing that is certain is that it is the test pilot of the airship.

France and Prussia were the most ambitious to overtake the British, and they also wanted to build airships, but they had many obstacles. If you can't make helium and replace it with hydrogen, it's no problem, it's a big deal, it's a safety hazard, and it's not a problem at all for aspiring countries. The first real obstacle is the high-quality zinc-aluminium alloy, which is again not for sale in the European aluminium industry. Ordinary aluminum is too soft, and steel is too heavy.

The second is hydrogen fuel cells. Didn't you say last time that this engine was open? Yes, but that refers to opening up to the automotive industry. France and Prussia wanted to start, so they could only secretly dismantle the car, not only the specifications were not necessarily suitable, but the power was not necessarily suitable.

The third is an airbag that encloses hydrogen. Polymer polymerization technology is still Tang Ning's private collection, otherwise he would not be able to monopolize the petrochemical industry.

It seems that the airship has no technical difficulty, but it is quite difficult to make a reliable product in this era, and Tang Ning estimates that it will be at least 10 years before it can be copied. This is already a very conservative estimate.

Under the constant questioning of the citizens of London, the BBC finally broadcast the news, admitting that under the arduous leadership of the chief engineer Brunel, the London airship base already has a fairly reliable product, the short-range test flight has been completed, and the next step is the long-range cargo test flight, about a year to two years later, after achieving the safety of the flight numbers, it will be open to the public, and the name of the new company has been determined: Airbus.

The first test flight cargo route was from London to Luxembourg. Luxembourg's special status is finally being revealed. Now, even if the Grand Duke sits in Luxembourg to start a war with Franco-Prussia, it is no problem, but if he can't fight, he will escape by airship.

The K-building of the House of Cards, the private villa, had been built, and the Grand Duke had flown with his wife to see their new home a few times after the sea trials. Sissi loves to travel so much, and now that she has the artifact airship for travel, it naturally feels great.

The most charming thing about the airship is that it is quiet and smooth, and once you sit on it, you will feel that it is the most comfortable vehicle in the world. Without the roar of a train, without the bumps of a steamer, it is also an artifact for hedonists to enjoy the journey. What's more, although the current airship is as fast as a train, with a cruising speed of only 50 kilometers per hour, its flight path is straight, and it can also cross the English Channel in one fell swoop, making the journey more convenient.

Due to Downing's direct involvement in the appearance design, the appearance of the airship now is really like a great white whale, beautiful, gentle and serene. Don't be like a zeppelin that asks the audience to endure the sausage-like ordinary. Almost everyone who looks up on the ground and sees the great white whale in the air for the first time or even the nth time will exclaim: "Airship! It's so beautiful! ”

People all over the world are eagerly awaiting the day when Airbus will open to passengers, and they can't wait to fly from all over the world to Luxembourg to experience the rise of the "heart of Europe". Luxembourg is now slowly flying into the sky like an airship.

Now there are three beluga whales, which travel between London and Luxembourg every day without interruption, transporting those important strategic materials, and today, the three ships are dispatched together, because there is a beluga whale on the passengers is the king and queen of the airship kingdom, this is the most important thing, not to be missed, both beluga whales are behind the escort, but also as a backup airship in case of accidents. （http：／／.）。

Madame is holding the arm of the Grand Duke, standing in front of the transparent windshield, looking down at the magnificent scenery, which is 2,000 meters above the English Channel, and can see Faulkeston, England and Calais in France at the same time.

Listening to her husband's ambition, Madame was both proud and disapproving, and said, "I think the airship is good enough, and it will only take one day to return to Munich, right?" ”

Grand Duke: "That has to fly at night, I'm afraid the current technology is not so safe." ”

The Grand Duke thought she would ask, "When is it safe?" but Sissi said lazily, "Then divide it into two or three days." ”

Indeed, the blue sky and the sea make people lazy, and the Grand Duke is holding the thin waist of his wife, smelling the fragrance, and he is lazy and reluctant to talk more.