Chapter 244 Petropavlovsk
Time came to the end of November 1907 in a blink of an eye, which was also the day when the first of Russia’s two dreadnoughts, the Petropavlovsk battleship, was officially completed.
The Russians had high hopes for these two dreadnoughts, and they paid a considerable price.
An investment of five million pounds in exchange for two powerful dreadnoughts and some small warships was considered the Russians' final investment in the navy.
For at least five years, I am afraid that the Russians will not invest any more in the navy. After all, the Russians really have no money.
But the good news is that these two dreadnought ships will also greatly improve Russia's naval strength.
No matter which squadron these two dreadnoughts serve in, they can have a greater influence on the region.
Currently, the island country does not have any plans to build dreadnoughts. If Russia equips two dreadnoughts in the Far East in advance, will the island country be Russia's opponent?
The answer is naturally no. Although the dreadnought has not actually participated in the battle yet, the data of the dreadnought is already known to countries around the world.
Countries around the world have a relatively unified and standard answer, that is, a true dreadnought is completely worth two or three old battleships.
Of course, this is only based on paper strength. If we really participate in a naval battle, the outcome of the battle will change rapidly, but it is a tacit fact that the dreadnought has a huge advantage.
The Russians attached great importance to the completion of the Petropavlovsk and sent General Makarov, commander of the Pacific Squadron, to personally attend the launching ceremony of the Petropavlovsk battleship.
Of course, they will also be accompanied by naval officers and soldiers from the Russian Pacific Squadron. They will participate in the sea navigation test session of the Petropavlovsk battleship after the launching ceremony.
Firstly, they can more truly appreciate the power of this dreadnought, and secondly, they can master the driving of the Petropavlovsk faster and form combat effectiveness faster.
Russia is currently an important ally of Australasia and one of the countries with the best relations with Australasia.
Therefore, the arrival of General Makarov also attracted Arthur's attention, and he sent Defense Minister Kent to accompany him to participate in the launching ceremony of the Petropavlovsk battleship.
The launching ceremony was actually very simple. After the Petropavlovsk was transported from the shipyard to the offshore port and successfully launched, bursts of salutes and cheers rang out above the port.
Although this is a warship belonging to the Russians, it was also independently manufactured by the Australasians themselves, so it also attracted some onlookers from Australasia.
After all, according to the government's construction plan, the Australasian navy will also be equipped with such warships in a few years. This is the real reason why Australasians are curious about the Monarch-class battleship.
The main gun currently equipped on the Petropavlovsk battleship is a 283 mm main gun. After all, Australasia has not yet mastered a 305 mm main gun with a caliber of 45 times.
But this situation will soon change. According to German news, Germany will completely master the 305mm main gun technology by mid-1908 at the latest and is willing to share it with Australasia.
This also means that the battleships built in Australasia from mid-1908 onwards can be equipped with larger-caliber main guns, resulting in a considerable improvement in firepower.
Of course, Arthur will never forget the battleship Petropavlovsk, and he also specifically promised that after Australasia masters the 305mm main gun technology, he can replace the battleship Petropavlovsk for free. Main gun.
Before seeing the Petropavlovsk battleship with his own eyes, General Makarov had doubts about the shipbuilding capabilities of the Australasians.
After all, Australasia was still a colony of the British Empire seven years ago. At that time, the six Australian colonies combined were not looked down upon by General Makarov.
It has only been seven years now, and General Makarov does not believe that Australasia can master the technology of building the most advanced battleships.
But the facts soon hit General Makarov in the face. When General Makarov saw the completed Petropavlovsk battleship with his own eyes, General Makarov couldn't help but be moved to tears.
This is Russia's largest naval investment in recent times, and it is currently the most powerful battleship that Russia can control.
"Such a big guy, this is so wonderful!" General Makarov's eyes have never moved since he saw the Petropavlovsk battleship.
In fact, this is indeed the case. For people like General Makarov who love the navy and warships, there is nothing more exciting than watching the powerful warships of their own country.
"General Makarov, how about we go to the ship and have a look?" Seeing that General Makarov really liked this battleship, Minister Kent suggested with a smile.
"This is nature, this is nature. Come on, Minister Kent, look at how beautiful this big ship is. Australasia is really an incredible country, and I'm sorry for some of my previous doubts." Ma. General Karloff nodded eagerly and said bluntly.
"This is normal, General Makarov. After all, he is a big guy worth millions of pounds, so there is nothing wrong with being cautious." Minister Kent said with a smile. After all, Australasia had only exported one Brunswick-class battleship to the island country before.
As for the most powerful dreadnoughts, only three countries, Britain, Germany, and Australia, currently have the ability to build them.
Needless to say, Britain and Germany are currently the two most powerful countries in the world, and their abilities will naturally not be doubted.
The development time in Australasia is only more than seven years, and it is normal for people to be surprised and skeptical when they suddenly claim to be able to keep up with the great powers in terms of dreadnoughts.
Smiling, he accompanied General Makarov aboard the Petropavlovsk battleship. Minister Kent personally introduced General Makarov to all the equipment on the warship.
The most attractive thing is naturally the 283mm main gun on the Petropavlovsk. Although it is still not as good as the British Dreadnought battleship in terms of artillery caliber, this design is indeed the most advanced at present.
General Makarov nodded with satisfaction while looking at the 283mm main gun installed neatly on the warship.
Even if it is only a 283mm main gun, its firepower has exceeded that of most Russian battleships.
Not to mention that the Dreadnought-class battleship also has excellent armor protection capabilities, as well as advanced power using steam turbines and boilers.
"Minister Kent, I wonder when the test of the Petropavlovsk battleship can begin?" General Makarov asked impatiently.
For an outstanding general who has worked for the navy for most of his life, he can't wait to see the true strength of Russia's new warships.
"You can start now if you want," Minister Kent said with a smile.
The testing and sea trials of warships are an extremely long process, which are used to test the stability of warships, actual combat capabilities, and specific errors compared with paper data.
Because General Makarov is here, this test is naturally not a boring test like testing stability.
Generally, the procedures used to test the speed and stability of warships take several months, so that they can truly test whether there are any problems with the warship's design and equipment.
This test focused on maximum speed and firepower.
Accompanying the Petropavlovsk was a battleship from Russia.
Although this is an old battleship, it is also one of the main warships of the Russian Pacific Fleet.
This time it will travel with the battleship Petropavlovsk to truly feel the difference in speed between the two battleships.
The maximum speed of the old Russian battleships is only 18 knots, but the maximum speed of the Petropavlovsk battleship reaches 21 knots. This gap does not seem to be much, but in fact it is extremely huge.
This can be seen from the moment the two warships set sail. The Petropavlovsk was one position ahead of the old Russian battleship from the start. After sailing for more than a minute, it had even pulled away from the old battleship by more than 100 meters.
As time passed, the battleship Petropavlovsk was already far ahead, and the distance between the two battleships even exceeded one kilometer.
You know, the sailing time of the two battleships at this time was no more than ten minutes. This means that in ten minutes, the battleship Petropavlovsk has completely crushed the old Russian battleships in terms of speed.
After using his telescope to see the old warship in the distance, General Makarov nodded with satisfaction.
At this time, General Makarov's satisfaction with the Petropavlovsk battleship has reached its highest level. General Makarov is very much looking forward to the real service of the Petropavlovsk battleship.
After continuing to sail for more than half an hour, the Petropavlovsk finally slowed down.
Here, the Petropavlovsk will be tested in terms of firepower, including the accuracy and strike power of the artillery.
The 283mm gun has obvious advantages and disadvantages compared to the 305mm main gun. The firing frequency of the 283mm main gun is much higher than that of the 305mm main gun, which is why the Germans were so confident before.
But this advantage is not so friendly to the Australian and Russian naval soldiers on the Petropavlovsk battleship.
Because it is the first time to operate a warship of this design, both the Russian naval soldiers and the Australasian naval soldiers are very unfamiliar with this method of operation, so they need more time to practice and become proficient.
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(End of chapter)