readx; In October 1918, Vice Admiral Cheng Biguang, Director of the Operations Department of the Chinese Admiralty, Vice Admiral Wei Yuan, Director of the Naval Administration, Vice Admiral Yu Wentao, Commander of the First Fleet, and a large number of high-ranking naval generals rushed to the United States. Together with the U.S. Navy, the Chinese Navy is bound to become an important cornerstone for peace and stability in the Pacific region. Pen @ fun @ pavilion wWw. ｂｉｑUｇE。 ｉｎｆｏ

The Chinese Navy, which came with tens of millions of dollars in checks, was also quickly warmly welcomed by several major shipyards in the United States, and in order to compete for the order for these two warships, the consortium behind the shipyards in the United States engaged in a fierce struggle, and almost every day members of the US Congress came to the Chinese Navy delegation to try to persuade the Chinese Navy delegation to place the order to the shipyard behind them.

However, the purchase order of battleships, which is as high as tens of millions of dollars, is no longer an ordinary military purchase order, but involves the exchange of various political interests, and China cannot casually throw away these tens of millions of dollars; in addition to these exchanges of actual interests, it is also necessary to consider the cooperative relations between the navies of the two countries and the political relations between the two countries.

And now China wants to order two battleships is very popular with the US Navy, for which the US Navy even promises to give China the latest technology to build new warships, that is, the 16-inch fifty-fold naval gun, which represents the highest achievement of the United States [***] industry!

This 16-inch fifty-fold naval gun can be said to be the first giant cannon today, in the naval competition of various countries before World War I, especially after the appearance of dreadnought battleships, the battleship competition of various countries is mainly reflected in two points, that is, thicker armor and larger naval guns, among which the competition of naval guns is the most intense, the dreadnought era began with 12-inch guns, followed by 13.5 inches, followed by 14 inches, 15 inches to 16 inches.

At present, among the countries in the world, the only ones that have really put the 16-inch naval guns into practical use are the two countries, the United States and the United States, and Germany and Britain are still struggling with the 15-inch naval guns.

And it is said that 'the 16-inch 45-fold naval guns that are expected to be in service on the Nagato-class and the 16-inch 45-fold naval guns that the United States is expected to serve in the Colorado-class battleships are the same rule, of course, the specific surnames can naturally be different, but if you only look at the caliber and the length of the barrel, then these two are the same level.'

In order to completely overwhelm the 16-inch and 45-fold naval guns on the Nagato-class, the Americans were naturally unwilling to accept the 16-inch and 45-fold naval guns, so they began to design the 16-inch and 55-fold naval guns in 1916, and after intense research and development work, they officially passed the production test in April this year, that is, in the first half of 1918.

Although all countries, including the United States, have developed larger calibers, such as those 18-inch cannons, so far, this 16-inch cannon that has just passed the production test in the first half of the year is undoubtedly the most advanced and powerful cannon in the world today!

The newly designed South Dakota-class battleships and Lexington-class battlecruisers designed by the United States are expected to be equipped with this giant cannon!

In order to impress Chen Jingyun and to completely draw China into a naval arms race to share the huge pressure of the US Navy in the Pacific, the US Navy can be said to have made a tremendous determination, just as the United States was able to provide Iran with the latest F14 fighter jets during the honeymoon period in the sixties and seventies.

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When modern people talk about the United States, the relationship between the United States and the United States may be the relationship between a godfather and a godson, but today in 1918, facing the world's fourth largest navy, the U.S. Navy can be said to be under tremendous pressure. Although the U.S. Navy is generally stronger than the U.S. Navy, the U.S. Navy does not only have to face a single Navy, but in fact the U.S. Navy has to deploy a lot of troops in the Atlantic, so that the naval forces available in the Pacific Ocean cannot suppress the Navy, and another extremely important factor is that although the war in Europe is still going on, although the German posture is still struggling, anyone who understands the situation can see that it is facing the attack of almost all countries in the world. It was only a matter of time before the Germans would fail, and the key was how long the Germans could hold out.

There is a saying that if Germany had exercised restraint before World War I and did not start a war first, then the Americans would not have been able to stand the initiative to start a war against Britain in a few years, and he didn't have to guard against Germany like Britain, because the Americans were worried that Britain and Britain would join forces to end him.

So this naval race is multifaceted, between Britain and Germany, and between the United States and Britain.

Now, we have to add an inconspicuous China, but to be honest, if it weren't for the second phase of the development plan proposed by the Chinese Navy to purchase two battleships, then no one would have paid attention to it, but if China has done this, then Britain and the United States and other countries cannot sit idly by.

In order to win over and support the development of the Chinese Navy, the United States gritted its teeth and took out the 16-inch and 50-fold naval guns that had not yet been put into service, and at the same time sent a large number of shipbuilding experts and a large number of experts from the Chinese Navy's Ship Administration Department to discuss the specific design plan of the No. 59 battleship!

The design plan of the No. 59 battleship originated from the first phase of the Navy's development plan in 1915, although there was no plan to purchase or build its own battleships, but the group of people in the Admiralty dreamed of owning battleships, so the Admiralty's design and conception of future battleships never stopped, and with the development of the world situation and new technology, the design was constantly changed, and dozens of design schemes have been put forward in recent years. The design scheme of No. 59 originated from the high-speed battleship plan of Vice Admiral Wei Yuan, director of the Department of Naval Administration of the Admiralty, and the initial design scheme was No. 36.

The original design No. 36 was proposed in 1916, with a standard displacement of 35,000 tons, and was expected to be equipped with twelve fifteen-inch naval guns and a speed of 26 knots. This standard was already quite impressive in 1916, but the ship-building technology in the past two years has progressed too fast, and in less than two years, the fifteen-inch naval guns are lagging behind, so Vice Admiral Wei Yuan once again changed his design, increased the displacement to 40,000 tons, and is expected to be equipped with nine sixteen-inch guns, and the speed has also been greatly increased to 30 knots for the high-speed fleet that the Chinese Navy has been advocating for the past ten years.

As a result, the design of the No. 59 battleship was formed, and to be honest, the ship's chief did not take into account the country's technical capabilities in building these battleships, but used the world's latest technology as a reference. This is because China's ship-building level is really lacking if it wants to build battleships, and it is impossible to build a battleship of 30,000 tons or 40,000 tons in the current stage, and this does not need to take into account the country's technical capabilities. ”

In the No. 59 design plan, nine sixteen-inch guns are the most normal indicators, in fact, the No. 59 design plan equipped with nine sixteen-inch guns is still a little sorry for his tonnage, and the battleship with a displacement of up to 40,000 tons is actually equipped with three turrets and a total of twelve sixteen-inch naval guns, which is also possible, the South Dakota-class battleships of the United States are designed like this, but the displacement is so large, and the installation of more naval guns means that sacrifices have to be made in armor and speed. According to the Chinese Navy's strategic thinking of building a high-speed fleet in the past ten years, whether it is a battleship, a heavy cruiser, or a light cruiser or destroyer, it is unacceptable to sail at a speed of less than 28 knots, and for a new type of warship, it is naturally as fast as it is, whether it is Vice Admiral Wei Yuan or the commander of the First Fleet, Yu Wentao, they all believe that it is best to be able to reach 30 knots.

Therefore, in the design scheme of the No. 59 battleship, an unprecedented speed of 30 knots was proposed! And this design index of speed made a large group of American experts look at Wei Yuan, the designer, with disdain, because in their opinion, this speed index is not realistic at all.

What is the speed of the newest American design of the battleship South Dakota-class battleship? There were only 23 knots, although the design of the No. 59 battleship as a comparison reduced the firepower, reducing the 12 guns to 9, the side armor was also reduced from 350 mm to 330 mm, and the horizontal armor, turret armor and conning tower armor were weakened to varying degrees, but even if these tonnages were freed up, it was impossible to stuff the power crew that could allow the No. 59 battleship to run on 30 knots.

Taking the American Lexington-class battlecruisers, the ultimate sacred relics with thin skins and big fillings, as an example, not to mention the almost cult design of the previous seven chimneys, that is, the Lexington-class battlecruisers, which have undergone several modifications and finally finalized, can soar to a maximum speed of 33 knots, and in order to achieve a speed of 33 knots, the Lexington-class battlecruisers are equipped with a power crew of up to 180,000 horsepower, and in order to accommodate these power units, the Lexington-class battlecruisers have made great sacrifices in firepower and protection.