Chapter 156: Warship Design and Acquisition Plan

While other countries were plagued by economic crises, Spain was busy with a flurry of major construction projects.

Under the orders of Prime Minister Primo, the Spanish government acted quickly, taking only a few days to formulate specific plans for the major construction and to allocate funds for their implementation.

Among these, the Spanish government placed greater emphasis on the construction of road transportation and the renovation of slums.

Spain does not possess vast plains like Britain, France, or Germany; most of its domestic land consists of mountains and hills.

Building highways in such terrain is far more difficult than in flat regions, which is why Spain's transportation environment has consistently lagged behind European powers like Britain, France, and Germany.

Taking advantage of the economic crisis, the Spanish government plans to invest over 50 million pesetas to build a massive highway network across the country, connecting Spain's various regions and major cities.

The government has conducted a detailed classification of Spain's existing road system, dividing it into two-way four-lane national highways, two-way two-lane regional highways, and single-lane two-way town roads.

Connecting the various regions and major cities are, naturally, the widest two-way four-lane national highways. Because the automobile has not yet been born, the demand for road width is relatively low.

In later generations, a two-way four-lane highway would not even satisfy the traffic needs of a single urban area. But in this era, a two-way four-lane road is already quite wide for Spain, at least capable of meeting traffic needs for the next 30 years.

Within these 30 years, the Spanish government will certainly continue to expand the transportation system, perhaps even building wider two-way six-lane highways.

Not long ago, Benz reported good news regarding research and development to Carlo. They have successfully developed a four-stroke gas engine and are currently working on engines that use other fuels as energy sources.

Although the birth of an engine does not represent the birth of an automobile, the two are closely linked. With a four-stroke engine, it is already possible to build simple automobiles for experimentation.

However, to solve problems regarding engine stability and related power issues, Benz and his two colleagues must conduct more research on the engine and improve the existing design.

To manufacture automobiles and put them into commercial use, one must also consider the safety and economic viability of the vehicles.

In short, this is not a problem that can be completely solved in a short time; for at least the next ten years, even if automobiles are born, they will only be luxury transportation that only the rich can afford.

However, considering the countless number of nobles in Spain, if automobiles could be developed early, these nobles alone could provide significant sales volume.

Furthermore, automobiles would indeed be a significant help in improving the transportation environment. A journey that takes several hours by carriage might take less than an hour by car.

Horses also cause additional damage to the environment by defecating everywhere, but aside from exhaust emissions, automobiles are basically not as harmful to the environment.

Exhaust emissions are not a problem that Spain can consider right now. Developing automobiles early and effectively improving the existing transportation environment through them is the most important thing.

If there were automobiles, the transport of supplies and the mobilization of personnel would be much more convenient. The army in Madrid could reach various cities and towns more easily via highways, further strengthening the government's control over various regions.

Under these circumstances, it would become extremely difficult for the Catalonia and Basque regions to stir up trouble.

The results of the engine research are certainly gratifying, but compared to the blueprints submitted to Carlo by the Royal Guarnizo Shipyard, they seem less important.

Yes, after more than half a year of design and discussion, the Royal Guarnizo Shipyard finally improved a warship design that satisfied all the experts.

This warship design was submitted to Carlo's office, accompanied by relatively detailed parameters and design concepts.

Just by looking at the design parameters of this warship, Carlo was basically satisfied.

Although the Royal Guarnizo Shipyard did not fully achieve the world's most advanced ironclad that Carlo described—faster, with stronger firepower and superior armor protection—this does not mean the design is behind other countries.

The Royal Guarnizo Shipyard has been dormant for over 20 years, but some of the shipyard's experts are still well-versed in the warship designs of countries around the world.

After Carlo issued his orders, the shipyard's design experts exhausted all their lifelong learning, just to design an ironclad that would satisfy Carlo and win more opportunities for the Royal Guarnizo Shipyard.

This ironclad design can be said to have gathered the strengths of many nations. Although at first glance it looks a bit like a patchwork, the overall appearance is somewhat similar to British ironclads, yet it is also full of brand-new concepts in Spanish warship design.

First is the warship's power, which Carlo cares about most. This warship is expected to use the currently relatively advanced reciprocating expansion steam engine as power, carrying two steam engines, capable of outputting over 6, 00 horsepower at maximum.

While such power output cannot be considered the absolute top, it is definitely excellent among the ironclad designs of countries around the world.

As for the warship's firepower, this brand-new ironclad will fully adopt 12-inch 305mm steel breech-loading cannons, making it one of the first warships to adopt breech-loading artillery.

Currently, the pursuit of warship firepower by various countries is clearly biased toward the caliber of the cannons. The main gun caliber of British ironclads has even reached 318mm, which also means the power of their artillery is much greater than the 305mm steel cannons used on this new Spanish warship.

But because the British warships use muzzle-loading cannons, they are far inferior to breech-loading cannons in terms of firing speed and firing distance.

Although the 318mm cannons are far more powerful than the 305mm cannons, both types of artillery can penetrate the steel armor of existing ironclads.

Under these circumstances, the breech-loading cannons with faster firing rates and longer ranges are clearly more advantageous. The design documents also mentioned in detail that although this warship can only be considered first-class in terms of power, it has indeed reached the world's top level in terms of firepower.

Britain, France, and Germany could also achieve this level of artillery, but they would be unable to surpass it in the short term. Relying solely on the four 305mm breech-loading cannons on the warship, the comprehensive combat capability of this warship designed by the Royal Guarnizo Shipyard is already at a first-class level for ironclads.

The Royal Guarnizo Shipyard's assessment of the 305mm main guns is that the firing distance can reach over 7 kilometers.

Such a range is quite excellent and will provide a considerable advantage in naval battles.

Because Spain's steel production is constantly increasing, this ironclad will adopt an all-steel structure and be heavily fitted with steel armor for protection.

The armor thickness on the front of the turret reaches 16 inches, and the side armor thickness reaches 14 inches, making the entire warship appear somewhat bloated.

Although the warship's armor protection was taken into account, this also brought the standard displacement of the entire ironclad to a staggering 8, 00 tons (estimated).

At full load, the warship's displacement will even approach 10, 00 tons, which is definitely in the first tier among all current ironclads.

However, this design clearly has not yet moved beyond the inherent thinking of existing ironclads. The two turrets are located on both sides of the beam; compared to the later pre-dreadnought designs, doing this cannot fully utilize the firepower of the main guns.

However, Carlo does not know too much about this, so he cannot offer any suggestions to the Royal Guarnizo Shipyard.

But as long as it is ensured that the design of this warship is at least first-class among the world's current ironclad levels, it already meets the needs of the Spanish Navy's development.

Furthermore, for Spain right now, it is not yet known whether this warship will be built to be equipped by the navy or for export.

Considering the warship's massive tonnage, the designers at the Royal Guarnizo Shipyard estimate the warship's speed to be around 12. to 13. knots.

Simply put, the maximum speed this warship can reach is about 25 kilometers per hour.

However, maximum speed can only be maximum speed; during the normal sailing of a warship, it will basically not maintain maximum speed.

Because doing so would cause immeasurable damage to the steam engines; the equipment of this era does not have such high stability.

While it is said to have a top speed of around 13. knots, in reality, the speed that can be achieved during daily cruising is only under 10 knots, and will even generally be maintained at around 7-8 knots.

This is something that cannot be helped. Until the relevant power technology is significantly improved, the sailing speed of large-tonnage ships like warships in the sea will be this slow.

The speed of those small cruise ships is much faster than warships. After all, these ships do not need to balance armor protection and firepower output; they only need to ensure stable sailing on the sea.

Looking at the warship design blueprints before him that made his mood relax involuntarily, Carlo pondered for a moment and finally decided to personally solicit orders for the Royal Guarnizo Shipyard on a global scale.

For Spain, there are still many things to do during the economic crisis, and it is not suitable to build ironclads with great fanfare.

Furthermore, the cost of such an ironclad is not low. Because advanced equipment and technology were adopted in every aspect, the cost price of the entire ironclad is already close to 500, 00 pounds.

Even if building warships for the Spanish Navy, the shipyard certainly cannot earn nothing. In the Royal Shipyard's proposal, if the Spanish Navy is willing to purchase this warship, an internal price of 550, 00 pounds can be offered to the Spanish Navy.

But if the warship is exported, the selling price must be raised to at least 600, 00 pounds or more.

This also means that for every warship the Royal Guarnizo Shipyard sells, it can obtain a net profit of at least 100, 00 pounds.

As long as orders for one or two ironclads can be obtained, it will not only allow the Royal Guarnizo Shipyard to obtain sufficient R&D funds and completely revitalize the entire shipyard, but also allow the shipyard to gain a large amount of experience in building the most advanced ironclads, preparing for the Spanish Navy to build its own ironclads in the future.

The bad news is that both Europe and the Americas have been affected by the economic crisis, and it is very difficult to find customers with sufficient financial resources to purchase ironclads.

But the good news is that Asia has not been significantly affected by the economic crisis, and there may be countries here that can serve as customers for Spain's new ironclads.

Actually, come to think of it, this ironclad with powerful comprehensive combat capability from Spain is still quite cost-effective, and Carlo did not intend to ask for an exorbitant price.

If there really is a suitable customer, lowering the selling price to around 550, 00 pounds is also possible, which is at the same level as the internal price for the Spanish Navy.

After all, what the Royal Guarnizo Shipyard needs at this time is the experience of building the latest type of ironclad; that income of tens of thousands of pounds is not that important to the Royal Guarnizo Shipyard.

In order to secure enough orders for the Royal Guarnizo Shipyard, Carlo specifically contacted Spain's diplomatic department, asking the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to cooperate with the actions of the Royal Guarnizo Shipyard to find partners in all of Asia who could purchase warships.

As the economic crisis fermented, more and more companies and factories in various countries went bankrupt.

After waiting for a period of time, Carlo also considered it a suitable time to bottom-fish. Factories and enterprises in European countries are now at bargain prices, and among these bankrupt factories are a large number of factories and enterprises that Carlo wants to purchase.

For example, a private shipyard in Britain; all the information about this shipyard has been thoroughly investigated by the Royal Security Intelligence Agency.

Before this economic crisis, this private shipyard was one of the larger private shipyards in Britain and was quite famous.

The shipyard even possessed the capability to build ironclads and also had the relevant equipment and skilled workers.

Precisely because of this, the total value of this shipyard before the economic crisis exceeded 1. million pounds, which is 39 million pesetas.

Such a large sum of money was also a significant expense for the royal family before the economic crisis, so the acquisition of this shipyard never proceeded, and Carlo could only watch this shipyard and drool in vain.

But now it is different. The economic crisis has not only affected railway companies and banks, but also affected all walks of life in European countries.

As a military industrial enterprise, the shipyard was not affected as exaggeratedly as imagined, but it was still quite serious.

This shipyard, which was originally worth as much as 1. million pounds, was publicly put up for sale not long ago, and the asking price was only 700, 00 pounds.

Logically speaking, with an asking price of less than half of its original value, there should be many people scrambling for it.

But in reality, many capitalists in Britain are struggling to take care of themselves, let alone come up with a full 700, 00 pounds in funds to purchase this shipyard.

This has led to the shipyard's sale receiving no interest at all, and the shipyard's asking price is getting lower day by day.

Although knowing that selling the shipyard would cause a loss, the shipyard's owner has no other choice. If the shipyard is not sold in time now, letting it continue to rot in his own hands will only lead to greater losses.

As long as the economic crisis does not end, the price of the shipyard will continue to fall.

Selling it early now can still recoup hundreds of thousands of pounds; if one waits until the shipyard's value depreciates to an extremely low figure, it will be too late to sell then.

After confirming that no one was interested in this shipyard, Carlo was no longer in a hurry.

The current situation is that the later the shipyard is acquired, the less capital Carlo will need to pay.

The advice given by Butler Luo Lun is to wait for at least another half a month. According to the current depreciation of this shipyard's value, it can be purchased for around 500, 00 pounds in half a month.

500, 00 pounds is still a huge figure for capitalists, but for Carlo, it is no longer anything.

This sum of money, when converted into pesetas, is only 13 million, which is about the annual net profit of the Royal Union Bank.

Spending 13 million pesetas to purchase such a medium-to-large shipyard with experience and technology in building ironclads is, of course, still profitable for Carlo.

After purchasing this shipyard, it can be merged with the Royal Guarnizo Shipyard to create a large-scale shipyard in the true sense, competing with other European countries for the business of warship exports.

At the same time, the relatively rich shipbuilding experience of this British shipyard can also bring significant improvements to the Royal Guarnizo Shipyard.

The shipbuilding level of the British in this era is still quite excellent. Although the era of ironclads was pioneered by the French, the subsequent era of pre-dreadnoughts and dreadnoughts was led by the British by a wide margin.

Even aircraft carriers were slowly evolved by the British on the basis of battleships and cruisers.

The British shipbuilding experience will remain the world's top for the next 80 years; for Carlo, this is something more valuable than the shipyard itself.

Because of Gibraltar, the relationship between Spain and the British is destined not to be too good.

This has also led to the fact that it was difficult for Spain to obtain the relatively advanced shipbuilding technology of the British in the past; either the price was unaffordable, or the British actively blockaded Spain.

The current economic crisis is the best opportunity, and Carlo also let Butler Luo Lun focus his main targets on Britain.

Of course, it is not only the royal family that intends to acquire factories in other European countries; the Spanish government clearly also has ideas.

While Carlo and Butler Luo Lun were discussing the scope of the acquisition, the Spanish Ministry of Industry also made a detailed list of the enterprises Spain needs to acquire and the equipment it needs to purchase.

"Your Excellency Prime Minister, this is the latest procurement list determined by the Ministry of Industry, please take a look." The Spanish Minister of Industry handed a detailed procurement order to Prime Minister Primo, asking for his opinion.

Prime Minister Primo took it and glanced at it, immediately startled by the industrial department's massive appetite.

The industrial department's procurement list covered almost the entire industrial system, with the main focuses being metallurgy, petroleum, chemical industry, shipbuilding, machinery, engines, and military industry.

"162 enterprises, totaling 520 million pesetas in acquisition funds?" As he read on, Prime Minister Primo's face suddenly darkened, and he looked at the Minister of Industry with a predatory gaze, asking with a cold snort: "Are you trying to dump the government's entire annual fiscal revenue into buying enterprises?"

A 5, 00-word two-in-one chapter, seeking support!

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(End of chapter)