Volume 1: The Battleship Yitian Changes into the Sino-Japanese War of 1894 Chapter 91: How “Dalian” came about
What worries Sun Gang now is the armor problem of the "Long Yang".
As far as he knew, in terms of the strength of armor, Krupp armor was currently the best. This armor made of nickel-chromium-manganese alloy surface carburized hardened steel manufactured by the German Krupp company in 1893 immediately overwhelmed the armor of all other countries in the world at that time. It was equivalent to 125% thickness of the latest American Harvey armor at that time, and equivalent to 208% thickness of the steel composite armor invented by the British based on Schneider steel and widely used in the world before 1895. It became the highest achievement in the field of armor of this era, giving German warships good protective performance.
But there is actually another important reason why German warships are so durable, which is that the Germans made full use of the design of integrating some armor into the hull structure, saving the weight of the hull structure while maintaining the hull strength. This method used by the Germans when they built the "Deutschland" class battleships in 1903 was rare in the navies of various countries in the world at that time, but it was no secret to Sun Gang who traveled from the future. When he told Briand about the idea of integrating armor into the hull structure to enhance the hull strength, Briand almost popped his eyes out.
"I promise that you will have an 'unsinkable' battleship." Briand immediately began to modify some of the designs of the "Long Yang". "However, you'd better get Krupp's armor materials as soon as possible," Briand said to him.
Sun Gang gave the task of purchasing Krupp armor to Lord Zhongtang, who agreed immediately. However, so much time has passed and there is still no news, which made him worried.
A lot of the main parts of the "Ryuyang" have been produced. If these armors are not in place, the "Ryuyang" can only be built according to Briand's original design. In that case, if the "Ryuyang" wants to achieve the same protective performance, it will inevitably have to sacrifice speed. Because Briand insisted that the "Ryuyang" adopt a full protection design (one of the styles of French warships), rather than the British design that puts weapon system protection first and the German design that focuses on hull protection. It may be that he did not want his work to repeat the mistakes of the Japanese "Sankei Ship", which was called "a naked soldier with a sharp blade in hand".
It can be said that Briand devoted all his efforts to this "child" of his.
This can be seen from the attention he paid to the large-caliber main guns of the Long Yang.
Since the "Ryuyang" was targeting Japan's "Fuji" and "Yashima" as its imaginary enemies, Briand hoped that the French 320mm 42-caliber Garner gun would enable the "Ryuyang" to gain a firepower advantage when facing the "Fuji" and "Yashima". However, he also knew that the 320mm Garner gun had certain problems. Due to the limitations of the technology at the time, large-caliber artillery from various countries in the world generally had the disadvantages of poor reliability and low rate of fire. For example, the Italian Navy's "Caio Duio" battleship was equipped with a 450mm 20.4-caliber gun, but its actual rate of fire was only one round every 15 minutes. The British Royal Navy's "Indomitable" battleship (the prototype of "Dingyuan" and "Zhenyuan") only fired one round every 3 minutes when bombarding the fortress of Alexandria, Egypt. In the Battle of the Yellow Sea, the actual firing rate of the 305mm cannons of Dingyuan and Zhenyuan was one round every 4 to 6 minutes, while the 320mm 38-caliber cannon of the Japanese Sankei even set a "world record" of one round per hour (the Japanese also have some Ah Q spirit, their memory is sometimes good and sometimes bad, they remember clearly everything that can make them proud, and forget everything that makes them embarrassed.)!
The same was true for the 320mm 42-caliber cannon provided by the French Ghana Company. During the inspection, it was found that the tail bolt could not be opened and closed properly, the firing mechanism was easily damaged, and the recoil system leaked during the hydraulic elevation and depression operation. All of this made Briand extremely annoyed. He sent a telegram back to his government, "... I don't understand how the Ghana Company views their products. I only know that the cannons they produce played an extremely ridiculous role in the Battle of the Yellow Sea. They have become a laughing stock in the history of naval warfare and a negative example for the Chinese to educate their own ordnance personnel. They have sent the same thing to the Chinese again this time, as if the Chinese have not seen enough jokes. If the government feels that this kind of thing can add glory to French products , I am very happy to accept it..."
Soon after the telegram was sent, the French Ghana Company sent a whole ship of people with spare parts and equipment to the Beiyang Shipyard " aggressively " to "demand an explanation" from Briand for the reputation of their cannons.
However, the French did not comment after the test and immediately began to repair and improve the cannons. Sun Gang proposed that Chinese technicians from the Lushun Shipbuilding Bureau be allowed to participate in the repairs to prevent the cannons from breaking down and being unable to be repaired after the French left. After negotiations, the French government agreed, which made Sun Gang very happy.
Because this is also a technical preparation for the future. If China can produce large-caliber artillery on its own, the benefits it will bring to China cannot be explained in just a few words.
Seeing the Chinese technicians understand and focus on their work, Sun Gang felt relieved from the bottom of his heart.
But soon, something that made him even more "gratified" happened.
The old fox got hold of Krupp's armor, as well as large-caliber fortress guns and many other weapons.
It turned out that during the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895, the Japanese army nearly succeeded in its attack on Jinzhou, which made Lord Zhongtang realize the weakness of the defense in the rear of Lushun. This time, Lord Zhongtang was determined to make the "Gibraltar of the East" impregnable no matter how much money it cost.
The construction of the fort defense fortifications in Lushunkou began in the seventh year of the reign of Emperor Guangxu (1881). Dozens of naval and land forts were built successively in Mantou Mountain, Huangjin Mountain, Laohuwei, and Yizi Mountain, Anzi Mountain, Songshu Mountain and other places behind Lushun. They were equipped with Krupp breech-loading cannons purchased from Germany, with calibers of 80mm, 120mm, 150mm, 210mm and 240mm, totaling 65 guns with very powerful firepower. In the thirteenth year of Emperor Guangxu (1887), due to the "dangerous terrain, deep water and winding mountains" of Dalian Bay, the Dalian Bay forts also began to be built. They mainly consisted of the Heshangdao Fort on the middle road of Dalian Bay, the Laolongtou Fort and Huangshan Fort on the west road, and the Xujiashan Fort on the east road, equipped with 24 Krupp breech-loading cannons of 150mm, 210mm and 240mm. These nearly sixty fort fortresses constituted the entire defense system of Lushunkou and Dalian Bay.
Generally speaking, the defense of Lushunkou and Dalian Bay was relatively solid, but the facts of the Jinzhou Blocking Battle showed that the rear defense of Lushunkou was much weaker than that of the sea. If war broke out again, there was no guarantee that the "backyard" would not be raided. Therefore, how to strengthen the defense of Lushunkou and Dalian Bay became a concern for the old fox.
Since the plan to build battleships was launched, Sun Gang had submitted a memorial to Emperor Guangxu, pointing out that the defense of Lushunkou and Dalian Bay should be strengthened, and asked the court to agree to renovate and deepen the Lushun and Weihaiwei military ports to accommodate battleships with deeper drafts that would be built in the future. The old fox also submitted a memorial, saying that "Lushun and Weihaiwei are the gateways to the capital, and Dalian Bay is a shipbuilding place, so they must be heavily guarded." He proposed to buy German cannons to strengthen the military. The court was also worried that if the defense of military strongholds such as Lushun was not strict, the capital would be directly threatened by foreign military forces, so they all agreed, and this also brought a good side effect.
Due to the establishment of the "Beiyang Shipping Company" and the continuous expansion of maritime trade routes, merchants and travelers from all over the country gathered, and Dalian Bay soon became a prosperous port city, "regarded as a paradise by people far and near", and the population increased greatly. At the suggestion of Li Hongzhang, the Qing government abolished Jinzhou Hall and established Dalian Port instead. The port city of Dalian was thus established. It was called "Dalian" because there are many islands near the coast, "all in the shape of chains when viewed from above, and the natives call them chain islands", so it was named "Dalian".
"So that's how the name 'Dalian' came about," Ma Yue said happily after finding out.
"It's the first time I heard of it too, haha." Sun Gang laughed. However, because of the two of them, China has gained another prosperous port city, the "Pearl of the Orient" Dalian. The sense of accomplishment it brings them is greater than defeating the Japanese.
