Chapter 350: Monarch-class Battleship

There is a saying in the military that heavy rewards will surely bring forth brave men; naturally, the same logic applies to the field of technology, where heavy investment will surely lead to breakthroughs.

Under the heavy incentives offered by the Spanish royal family and the naval department, shipyards both at home and abroad began designing warship types that would satisfy the Spanish Navy.

To design a warship that would satisfy the Spanish Navy, one must clearly understand the shortcomings of the ironclads currently mainstream in Spain.

An ironclad is just as its name suggests; the earliest ironclads were merely wooden sailing warships wrapped in a layer of iron armor. Even though the ironclad designs of major naval powers have now shifted to steel frames, it does not change the reality that the internal materials of most ironclads remain wood.

Compared to steel-framed ironclads, the defects of ironclads with wooden internal materials are significant. First, a wooden-framed ironclad is certainly not as sturdy as a steel-framed one, and the wooden frame even restricts the tonnage and size of the ironclad.

It is precisely for this reason that as the tonnage approaches 10, 00 tons, the frames of ironclads have gradually shifted from wooden to steel.

The warship requested by the Spanish Navy must certainly have a steel frame; only a steel frame can support a displacement of over ten thousand tons and allow for the pursuit of superiority in firepower and armor protection.

After determining the basic frame of the warship, designers from major shipyards began to study the advantages and disadvantages of ironclads from various countries to see if they could find their own design inspiration.

Seeing that the major domestic shipyards had discussed for over a month without any results, Gao Da decided to integrate the power of the domestic shipyards and join forces to develop the battleship he needed.

The good news is that Spain's top shipyards basically all have royal shares. In addition to the Royal Guanizo Shipyard, which is fully controlled by the royal family, the royal family also owns nearly half of the shares of the Valencia United Shipyard, as well as about a quarter of the shares of the El Ferrol Royal Naval Shipyard and the Cartagena Shipyard.

The power of the royal family combined with the Spanish government is enough to make these shipyards join forces to develop a powerful warship.

These major shipyards already have official backgrounds, and with both the government and the royal family in need, they naturally could not refuse the demands of the government and the royal family.

In the following months, top warship designers from the four major shipyards gathered together, frequently discussing the pros and cons of various warship designs, contributing to the latest battleship design.

Although there was not much inspiration regarding the new warship design, after more than a month of discussion by these top experts, it was at least clear which shortcomings of the existing ironclads the new battleship design should correct.

Although the ironclad is currently the most advanced warship design, there are some relatively large problems and contradictions in the design philosophy of ironclads.

Some low-freeboard turret-type ironclads and barbette-type ironclads are difficult to maintain stability on rough seas. If they encounter extreme environments, the severe rolling and pitching of the ironclad itself will lead to an inability to use the artillery effectively.

This is particularly evident on turret-type ironclads, because the main guns are very close to the waterline, and the muzzles are often buried in the waves hitting the forecastle.

Since low-freeboard ironclads are not very stable in high winds and waves, it is necessary to consider a high-freeboard warship design to enhance the stability of the warship in such conditions.

However, such a design can only strengthen the stability of the artillery and does not have much improvement for firepower. To increase firepower, one must constantly use the most advanced artillery technology and find ways to increase the caliber of the guns.

After a long discussion by multiple shipbuilding experts from the four major shipyards, it was finally decided to adopt a 13. -inch main gun caliber, which is 343 millimeters, for the new warship design.

The power of this caliber of artillery is already quite formidable, and a battleship equipped with 343-millimeter main guns can definitely be called top-tier in terms of firepower.

The shipbuilding experts discussed the number of main guns for a long time and finally decided to install two protected main guns each at the bow and stern of the warship.

The firing arc of each main gun should reach 260 degrees and be able to fire to both broadsides. This will significantly increase the coverage of the artillery and strengthen the warship's ability to deal with enemies from different directions.

As for the secondary guns, in order to strengthen the battleship's ability to deal with cruisers, the number of secondary guns was increased to 10, placed on both broadsides between the main guns.

The caliber of the secondary guns is six inches, which is 152. millimeters. The secondary guns also need to have strong armor protection, and the designers covered the main and secondary guns with armor protection as much as possible on the blueprints.

Considering that the smoke from the rapid firing of the secondary guns would interfere with each other, a designer from the Royal Guanizo Shipyard specifically proposed arranging the five secondary guns on each broadside on two upper and lower decks to minimize the impact of smoke generated during firing on other gun turrets.

After such a discussion, at least in terms of firepower, the design concept of this brand-new battleship had already emerged.

There is no need to hesitate about the power system; naturally, it should adopt the most advanced steam engines and stack the warship's power as much as possible.

After another two and a half months of discussion, finally in August 1890, the Warship Design Committee, led by the royal family and the government, submitted the first design blueprint for the battleship to the naval department.

This warship design went through a long discussion and can be said to have gathered all the advantages of the current naval designs of countries around the world, and utilized the most advanced various technologies and techniques.

In terms of power, the warship design plans to adopt two three-cylinder vertical triple-expansion steam engines, and it is expected that the power under normal ventilation can reach 9, 00 horsepower.

The power unit used by the new warship is about 2, 00 horsepower higher than the power unit of the original Matador-class ironclad, which also means that the new warship will be faster than the Matador ironclad.

Of course, even if it is faster, it still cannot meet the 18-knot speed requirement of the naval department.

The 18-knot speed requirement is too harsh; even if the warship design experts of the four major shipyards tried every possible way, they could not reach such a theoretical speed.

The power unit of the new warship can reach an output of about 11, 00 horsepower under forced ventilation. This power output is already quite exaggerated, and it is expected to increase the warship's speed to about 16 knots.

The theoretical maximum speed of this warship can reach about 17. knots.

However, such a speed is ultimately only a theoretical maximum speed, and under normal circumstances, a warship cannot reach such an extreme speed.

Even if the warship can reach this speed at full power, sailing at maximum speed for a long time will also cause hidden dangers to the stability of the warship.

After all, the vertical triple-expansion steam engine used by the warship is the latest technology; such technology is not that stable, and it is impossible to operate at maximum power output for a long time.

Without considering the extreme speed of the warship, this new warship design, with a standard power speed of 15. knots and a full-power speed of 16. knots, is already one of the fastest warship designs at present.

Judging from the data on the design blueprints, there is no major problem with this warship design in terms of firepower and power.

The only problem is the thickness of the warship's armor.

According to the blueprints, the length of the warship's main armor belt should reach more than 460 millimeters, the thickness of the upward extension should reach more than 137 millimeters, and there should also be a protective deck about 76 millimeters thick.

Regarding the armor protection system, the warship blueprints also provided two different ideas.

The first is the central armored citadel type, which is to form a box-shaped armor protection body above the main armor belt to strengthen the armor protection capability of the main armor belt.

The second is the barbette type, which is mainly to provide heavy armor protection only for the base of the main guns above the main armor belt.

The purpose of the two armor ideas is also quite clear; the first is to strengthen the protection of the main armor belt, and the second is to strengthen the armor protection of the gun turrets.

In fact, from the perspective of armor protection, there is no problem with the armor thickness of this warship. Compared with the previous two generations of Spanish ironclads, the armor protection capability of this battleship has indeed improved too much.

But the problem lies precisely in this "too much."

The thicker the armor, the heavier the weight naturally becomes. Whether it is the protection of the main armor belt or the armor protection of the gun turret bases, the armor needs to cover a large area, which also means that the tonnage of the warship will continue to increase.

Originally, the Spanish Navy requested a warship with a tonnage just over 10, 00 tons, which could also control the construction cost of each battleship.

If calculated according to the original armor thickness of the warship design, the tonnage of this ironclad would have to increase by at least 3, 00 tons.

A 10, 00-ton battleship becoming a 13, 00-ton battleship does not just represent a 3, 00-ton increase in tonnage; it also represents higher requirements for the warship's frame and higher costs during construction.

The 3, 00 tons added are all steel armor used for protection; even 3, 00 tons of ordinary steel have a large cost, not to mention protective armor that has been specially manufactured and added with other materials.

If this warship were really designed this way, the 250 million pesetas of construction funds originally planned by the naval department would not be enough; at least another 50 million pesetas of funds would be needed.

Although 50 million pesetas is not a large amount of money for the Spanish government, one still has to consider the cost of building battleships in the future.

The era of battleships, that is, pre-dreadnoughts, only lasted for 15 years in total, but Britain built 46 pre-dreadnoughts during these 15 years, firmly occupying the throne of the world's number one naval power. It was also in the era of pre-dreadnoughts that the British Navy established the Two-Power Standard, which is that the scale of the so-called British Royal Fleet must exceed the sum of the world's second and third largest naval scales.

If Spain's hypothetical enemy is the British, it must put some effort into the navy.

Although it is not necessary to be as crazy as the British, building more than three battleships on average per year, it must also achieve an output of 1-2 battleships per year, so that before the arrival of important time nodes, it possesses enough military power to shake the British Navy.

For Spain, the recent and most promising time point to conquer Morocco and Portugal might be the Boer War period of the British.

The Second Boer War broke out on October 11, 1899, and lasted for two and a half years. Although this war was a war between Britain and an African country, the military expenditure and troop scale of both sides were relatively large, and it was also a war with far-reaching influence.

According to historical records, Britain spent more than 200 million pounds in military expenditure during the Second Boer War, which is a huge military war expense.

Currently, the total annual fiscal revenue of the Spanish government is only 1. 211 billion pesetas, which is roughly equivalent to 52. 4 million pounds.

This also means that Britain's investment in the Boer War is equivalent to about 5 years of Spain's total fiscal revenue.

The current peseta and franc are equivalent; in other words, Britain's military expenditure in the Boer War is even more than the 5 billion francs in reparations paid by France after its defeat in the Franco-Prussian War.

This is also the reason why Gao Da believes that the Boer War is a good opportunity for Spain to annex Portugal and Morocco, because the British's focus is entirely on southern Africa, and they are powerless to deal with what is happening in the Iberian Peninsula and northern Africa.

At the peak of the war, the British government's monthly military expenditure reached as high as 16 million pounds. The reason for such a huge military expenditure, in addition to the consumption of ammunition supplies on the front line, was mainly the production and transportation of materials and the maintenance of the army.

According to some books recorded at the time, just to transport weapons to the British army on the front line, the British side used at least 350, 00 horses, 100, 00 mules, and 1, 27 ships, with a total transport volume of as high as 1. 4 million tons.

Britain mobilized more than 450, 00 troops in this war, and the total number of troops was more than the total population of the Boers.

The total number of Boer participants was less than 90, 00, which also included militias and foreign volunteers.

With a troop advantage of more than 5 times, the British fought this war for a full two and a half years and suffered more than 70, 00 casualties.

The casualties on the Boer side were only about 5, 00, plus 15, 00 civilians who died at the hands of the British army, the total casualties were only 20, 00.

From these data and records, one can discover a big problem, which is that Britain's performance in the Boer War was extremely poor.

The British Army had not experienced a large-scale regular war for a long time, their tactical thinking was extremely rigid, and colonial management problems occurred frequently.

If it were not for the huge wealth provided to the British Empire by the wealthy Indian colony, the 200 million pounds of military expenditure alone would have been enough to drag down the British government's finances.

It is precisely because of Britain's poor performance in the Boer War that Gao Da has the confidence to be an enemy of the British.

As long as the Boer War breaks out, Spain will definitely launch a war against Morocco. By then, even if Britain declares war on Spain for the sake of Morocco, Gao Da will not panic at all.

Originally, Britain's performance in the Boer War was relatively poor; if it were to fight on two fronts, it would eventually have to swallow the bitter fruit of defeat.

The reason why the Boers were so firm in the war, in addition to their guerrilla tactics playing an extremely important role, was the support from other European countries for them.

Although Britain is the most powerful country in the world, Britain also has countless enemies because of its own strength.

France, Russia, and even Germany might cause some trouble for the British in the Boer War, and in the eyes of Spain, the British, who are tied up, are not much of a trouble.

Returning to the design of the warship, although thicker armor can significantly improve the warship's protection capability, it will also increase the construction cost of the warship.

After half a month of discussion, the Warship Design Committee finally followed the navy's requirements, reducing the thickness of the main armor belt from 460 millimeters to 457 millimeters, the thickness of the upward extension from 137 millimeters to 102 millimeters, and the armor thickness of the citadel from 356 millimeters to 305 millimeters.

Although the armor thickness was reduced by a part, the overall armor protection capability is still significantly ahead of Spain's two classes of ironclads.

The final entire battleship is 123 meters long, 22. meters wide, with an average draft of 8. meters and a maximum draft of 8. 5 meters.

The standard displacement is estimated at 12, 00 tons, and the full-load displacement is 13, 00 tons, making it the warship with the largest tonnage designed by Spain.

When the Warship Design Committee submitted this modified warship design to the navy, the navy discussed it at a meeting and finally determined that this type of warship met their requirements.

Although it did not meet the requirements in terms of speed, considering the current technological limitations, this level is already quite good.

Spain cannot have only this one type of battleship design in the future, so there is no need to pursue perfection at the very beginning of the battleship stage.

The battleship designs of various countries are also progressing little by little on the original basis, and it is not too late to pursue an 18-knot speed for the next generation of battleships.

After the warship design met the requirements of the naval department, this brand-new battleship design was quickly named.

"Monarch-class" battleship is the official name of this battleship design. The five Monarch-class battleships to be built in the next five years will be named after the five greatest monarchs in Spanish history.

The names of these five latest battleships are: Ferdinand II, Isabella I, Carlos I, Philip II, and Gao Da I.

Yes, Gao Da also had the honor of being among them, becoming one of the five greatest monarchs in Spanish history.

The other four are also famous figures. Ferdinand II and Isabella I are known as the Catholic Monarchs; their marriage merged the kingdoms of Castile and Aragon, starting the history of Spain's unification.

Carlos I, also known as Charles V, was the Holy Roman Emperor and King of Spain. During his reign, Spain's ruling territory spanned Europe, America, Africa, and Asia, successfully creating the world's first empire on which the sun never sets.

As for Philip II, he was the son of Carlos I, and his father's reign was the most prosperous and flourishing period for Spain, as well as the era when the Invincible Armada roamed the Atlantic.

In addition, during Philip II's reign, he also annexed Portugal, making Spain the only country on the Iberian Peninsula at that time.

As for the fifth-ranked Gao Da, there are more or less some factors of military flattery involved.

However, having said that, Spain's history indeed does not have too many monarchs with great talent and bold vision. It has only been more than 400 years since the founding of Spain. Except for the Catholic Monarchs as the founders of the kingdom, the only ones worth mentioning are the Habsburg dynasty period and the early Bourbon dynasty.

However, at this time, the Bourbon Dynasty in Spain was already like a rat crossing the street; even if the Bourbon Dynasty had a few kings who were passable, they would not be considered when ranking the top five monarchs.

At most, they could only scrape into the top ten rankings. There was no help for it; who let the Bourbon Dynasty produce two such incompetent monarchs as Ferdinand VII and Isabella II.

Having lost the throne themselves and leaving the country in a state of decay and chaos, it was naturally impossible for the Spanish people to have much affection for the Bourbon Dynasty.

After the naming of the five Monarch-class battleships was finalized, the next step was to arrange the construction of the warships.

The construction of the warships was mainly placed in two major shipyards, namely the Royal Guarnizo Shipyard and the Valencia United Shipyard.

The reason why only two major shipyards were used to build the battleships was mainly because the remaining two shipyards needed to be used to build 7, 00-ton class cruisers.

A five-year period to build 15 warships, even if 10 of them were 7, 00-ton class medium warships, was considered a relatively difficult task for Spain.

Of course, as long as this five-year shipbuilding plan was completed, Spain's naval strength would be completely stabilized in the world's top four. The battleship era was a critical period for Spain's naval power to catch up with other great powers, and Carlos would naturally not be stingy with naval expenditures.

The reason why only a five-year shipbuilding plan was issued was mainly because after five years, the design standards of warships in various countries would also be due for an update.

It would not be too late to plan a further shipbuilding program once Spain designed the next generation of battleships after five years.

(End of chapter)