The Qing Dynasty

Chapter 567: Make good use of this naval weapon

The context and direction of naval vessel development are not difficult problems for a time traveler like Teng Yuzhao.

Especially for a specialist like him who studies military history, this is not a problem at all.

Teng Yuzao is very clear about the direction of development of the world's navy at this time. What he needs to consider now is not to keep up with the pace of today's powers, but to think about how to achieve limited surpassing in an asymmetric way.

Teng Yuzao knew that in the following decades, the tonnage of destroyers would continue to increase. Not only would they be equipped with heavier naval guns and larger-caliber torpedo tubes, but they would also use steam turbines as power and more advanced fuel to increase the speed of the ships.

For example, more than a decade later during World War I, the displacement of destroyers increased to about one thousand tons, the speed was close to thirty knots, and they were equipped with guns of about one hundred millimeters and torpedoes with a caliber of 450 to 530 millimeters or more.

More than 30 years later, during World War II, the displacement of destroyers was increased to more than 4,000 tons. At that time, the destroyer with the largest displacement in the world should be the French Mogador-class destroyer.

Its full load displacement is 4,018 tons; speed is 39 knots.

Moreover, during the sea trial, its maximum speed reached an astonishing 43.78 knots.

In the future, the displacement of destroyers will be even larger. Even within this century, destroyers will reach 15,000 to 16,000 tons.

The Japanese Izumo-class helicopter destroyer, disguised as a destroyer, has a displacement of more than 26,000 tons.

All Teng Yuzhao had to do was to ensure that the ships in his new Beiyang Fleet not only moved in the correct direction of world naval development, but also stayed appropriately ahead.

What he knew even more clearly was that with the emergence of aircraft carriers, battleships would inevitably decline.

And with the emergence of aircraft carriers, destroyers will inevitably begin to flourish.

Under such circumstances, Teng Yuzhao attached importance to destroyers and ensured that his destroyer fleet would not be outdated even before World War II.

At least, not too far behind, and that's what he had to do now.

Of course, if he wanted his destroyer to have the functions of a light cruiser, a small destroyer with a displacement of only a few hundred tons or a thousand tons would be completely unable to achieve his wish.

Because a destroyer with such a small tonnage and displacement cannot be equipped with naval guns of a slightly larger caliber.

This type of destroyer, which has no large-caliber naval guns and thin armor, is completely vulnerable when encountering and confronting large warships.

For example, a head-on fight with a 10,000-ton battleship would only lead to death.

But a destroyer with a displacement of about 6,000 tons is completely different. If the speed and firing rate of the naval guns are not taken into account, it can even be equipped with a triple-mounted naval gun with a caliber of more than 300 mm, not to mention a twin-mounted naval gun of 203 mm.

If there are many such high-speed destroyers of about 6,000 tons, even if they face a few 10,000-ton heavy cruisers or even battleships, they will be able to rely on their numerical advantage to fight a bloody battle with the enemy.

Winning is not impossible. In fact, as long as the tactics are right, the probability of winning is very high.

Even a small destroyer of more than a thousand tons can be extremely useful.

In naval battles, destroyers are usually organized into squadrons to launch torpedo attacks on the enemy, as well as perform tasks such as reconnaissance, patrol, and battlefield rescue. Navies of various countries are currently building them in large numbers.

Before World War I, the British Royal Navy had 80 destroyers and the German High Seas Fleet had more than 50 destroyers.

During the entire First World War, Britain and the United States built hundreds of destroyers.

If he had a destroyer with moderate displacement, fierce firepower and extremely fast speed, the cruiser would be a complete waste in his eyes.

In that case, Teng Yuzao would definitely not be willing to spend a large sum of money to buy these "useless" things.

It is just a 5,000-6,000-ton destroyer equipped with a 203mm main gun. At this moment, no matter from which angle you look at it, it is a cruiser-class warship.

Judging from the displacement, it is a light cruiser, while judging from the caliber of its main guns, it is a heavy cruiser.

To outsiders, no one would think it was a destroyer. The reason why Teng Yuzao had a preconceived notion of calling it a destroyer was that, except for more than ten years later, a destroyer looked almost like this. The most important thing was that it had an extremely fast speed.

Teng Yuzao continued, "Therefore, in our Beiyang Navy fleet, we will no longer follow the footsteps of the great powers below the 10,000-ton battleships."

"To be specific, we don't want a full-fledged cruiser, nor a full-fledged destroyer. Our warships must have the performance of both cruisers and destroyers. The new ships must have the function of being multi-purpose. We don't want both so-called cruisers and small-tonnage destroyers that are purely for torpedo boats."

"We need this new type of all-steel armored ship, and we need more than just one or two. We can build ten ships in the first batch, and eventually we will have to build thirty ships."

According to Teng Yuzhao, the Beiyang Navy will have another thirty cruisers, which Teng Yuzhao called destroyers, and this is the first batch. This naturally makes Ye Zugui and Sa Zhenbing very excited.

Seeing the expressions of the two people, Teng Yuzao spoke seriously to Ye Zugui and Sa Zhenbing.

"Don't be too happy too soon. I want to tell you that in the future, this type of destroyer, or fast cruiser, will be the main ship of our Beiyang Navy."

"Of course, our destroyers will not only be these 6,000-ton destroyers. We will also have smaller destroyers, but the smallest destroyer will have a displacement of more than 2,000 tons and a main gun caliber of more than 150 millimeters. But the number will not be too large, only one-third of the number of fast cruisers, that is, ten ships, that's enough."

"These destroyers with a displacement of two to three thousand tons must not only be able to deal with torpedo boats and enemy destroyers, but also undertake reconnaissance and escort missions."

"Only in this way can we gradually narrow the gap with the Japanese navy and eventually defeat them in the next naval battle and take back the land we were forced to cede."

Ye Zugui said excitedly, "Marshal, defeating the Japanese navy is the wish of all our navy. If we can have these 42 new ships, we will have the confidence to fight the Japanese again. At that time, we will not only take back Taiwan, but also let the Japanese taste the humiliation of ceding land."

Teng Yuzhao believed Ye Zugui's words absolutely without a doubt. All the officers and soldiers of the Beiyang Navy who had experienced the First Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895 aimed to avenge their previous humiliation.

Teng Yuzao continued, "I absolutely believe what Lord Tong said."

"However, if we want to defeat the Japanese Navy Combined Fleet, which has dozens of warships including six battleships of more than 10,000 tons, these are not enough. We also need more advanced naval weapons besides naval guns."

"Are you talking about torpedoes, Marshal?"

Sa Zhenbing, who was still excited, asked in confusion. Teng Yuzao nodded and said, "That's right."

Seeing that Sa Zhenbing was a little disappointed, Teng Yuzao explained with a smile without waiting for Sa Zhenbing and Ye Zugui to ask.

"It is a torpedo, but I am not talking about the slow-moving white-headed torpedo we have now. I am talking about a new type of torpedo that we have."

"Our new torpedo has a speed several times faster than the Whitehead torpedo."

Hearing that Teng Yuzao also had a new type of torpedo, not only did Sa Zhenbing and Ye Zugui become excited again, but most of the people in the conference room also became nervous and excited.

Teng Yuzhao glanced at the people in the conference room and said.

"Many of you may not know about the torpedo as a naval weapon. It is extremely powerful. Since it explodes underwater, the strong water pressure will make the explosion more violent, and the destructive effect is far greater than that of large-caliber naval guns. A torpedo hits even a 10,000-ton ship and may sink it."

"Torpedoes have been around forty years, and they are commonly known as white-headed torpedoes. However, they use compressed air as a propeller and have a very slow speed of only six knots. Their range is also pitifully small, only about six or seven hundred meters."

Although he said it lightly, Teng Yuzao did not mean to be disrespectful at all, but said it seriously.

"Don't underestimate torpedoes because the cost of manufacturing torpedoes and torpedo boats is much lower than that of building battleships and cruisers."

"But it can deliver a fatal blow to a battleship or cruiser that costs millions of silver."

"This makes it possible for countries with weak naval power to challenge the world's largest naval power, our Beiyang Navy, at a relatively low cost. If we want to ultimately defeat the Japanese Navy, torpedoes are also indispensable."

"It is precisely because the power of torpedoes is so great that countries not only did not give up, but even developed special ships for torpedoes, that is, torpedo boats."

Seeing that many people, led by Sa Zhenbing and Ye Zugui, were not interested in the torpedoes and torpedo boats mentioned by Teng Yuzhao, it seemed that they were influenced by what Teng Yuzhao had just mentioned, that he would order a large number of high-speed cruisers and destroyers specifically to deal with torpedo boats.

Moreover, during the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895, the torpedo boats of the Qing Navy not only had advanced performance, but also concentrated a group of highly qualified professionals. The imperial court even allocated special funds to the torpedo boat unit every year. The torpedo boat unit was superior to the Japanese Navy's in both quantity and personnel quality.

However, the Beiyang torpedo boat fleet not only achieved nothing during the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895, but was even completely wiped out. How could this convince people of the power of torpedoes?

Teng Yuzao continued, "Many of you seem to be not very clear about naval weapons such as torpedoes."

"More than 20 years ago, during the Russo-Turkish War, the Russians used torpedoes in actual combat for the first time. They first installed torpedoes on torpedo boats converted from old small boats, and successfully attacked Turkish ships many times, even sinking the Turkish cruiser Intibaqih."

After hearing that a torpedo had successfully sunk a cruiser, those people in the meeting hall who did not take torpedoes seriously put away their contempt and began to listen carefully to what Teng Yuzhao had to say.

"Because all countries attach great importance to torpedoes, torpedo technology has developed rapidly. Ten years ago, towed torpedoes appeared, which use wires to transmit electricity as a power source from the ship that launches the torpedo."

"Then, the great powers invented a torpedo depth gauge based on the principle of water pressure, which could adjust the depth of the torpedo in the water before launching it according to the specific conditions of the target. This not only increased the concealment of the torpedo attack, but also allowed it to strike the enemy ship more effectively."

"Fourteen years ago, we successfully used gyroscopes to control the direction of a torpedo, allowing it to keep sailing in a straight line in rough seas and prevent the torpedo from deviating from its course due to factors such as water currents."

"These two inventions not only greatly improved the controllability of torpedoes, but also increased their accuracy and attack power."

"Compared with these advanced torpedoes, the white-headed torpedoes used by the Beiyang Fleet during the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895 were already far behind, and did not even pose any threat to the Japanese navy during the naval battle."

"As far as I know, ten years ago, the British Navy had 86 first-class torpedo boats, 61 second-class torpedo boats, and 12 wooden torpedo boats, a total of 157 boats. The displacement of the first-class torpedo boats was 28 to 137 tons, with a speed of 18 to 22.5 knots. Each boat was equipped with one rapid-fire gun, one machine gun, and three torpedo tubes."

"The French also had 194 torpedo boats, the Russians had 135, the Italians had 130, the Germans had 107, the Austrians had 62, and the Americans had the fewest, only eight."

After Teng Yuzhao recounted the number of torpedo boats owned by the navies of various countries ten years ago, he continued.

"After ten years of development, the number of torpedo boats of the great powers will at least double, and their speed will also be faster."

"In addition to torpedo boats, the navies of various countries have also installed torpedo tubes on battleships and cruisers, with as few as 1-2 and as many as 6-7. Now, torpedoes have become an important naval weapon that is indispensable to the navies of major powers."

"In a naval battle, what would it be like if dozens of torpedo boats equipped with torpedoes suddenly rushed towards the enemy fleet engaged in a battle from all directions like a wolf pack, and then released torpedoes, while those torpedoes also rushed towards the enemy fleet at high speed!"

The scene described by Teng Yuzao made many people feel the horror of torpedoes and torpedo boats, and Ye Zugui and Sa Zhenbing felt even more frightened.

In such a situation, if the enemy does not have enough destroyers to stop these torpedo boats, the consequences will obviously be terrible under the double attack of the enemy's naval guns and torpedo boats!

Although Teng Yuzao saw that everyone was shocked by his words, he did not stop there, but continued speaking.

"From this we can see that the great powers attach great importance to torpedoes and the ships that launch them. If we ignore the development of torpedoes and torpedo boats, our navy will pay a heavy price for it!"

"Therefore, we must not only pay great attention to the new torpedoes, but also make good use of this naval weapon!"

"Also, there is now a new type of ship that can launch torpedoes more stealthily and more efficiently."

"That's a submarine. Submarines launching torpedoes underwater will pose a greater threat to surface ships."

"Marshal, the submarine you are talking about should be a diving boat, right?" Ye Zugui asked hesitantly.

"Yes, it is the ship we call a submarine." Teng Yuzao nodded.

"Although you know about submarines, you probably don't know that the first submarine was built by a Dutchman named Drebber more than 280 years ago."

"Three years ago, Irishman John Philip Holland built the Holland submarine for the US Navy. The submarine uses a 45-horsepower gasoline engine on the surface, has a speed of 7 knots, and a range of 1000 nautical miles."

"It uses electric motors as power underwater, has a speed of 5 knots and a cruising range of 50 nautical miles. He equipped this dual-propulsion submarine with a bow torpedo tube and two guns."

"The development of submarines has aroused widespread interest in Western countries. The United States, Britain, France, Spain, and Italy have all invested huge efforts in research and development. Can you imagine that the second country in the world to develop a mechanically powered submarine is actually our Beiyang Fleet."

(End of this chapter)