The Qing Dynasty
Chapter 589 Cloud Shadow
Chapter 589 Cloud Shadow
At this moment, hearing Li Yulin say that Beiyang now also has airships, everyone couldn't help but become interested.
Even Wei Jinghai, who had already known that the airship had been successfully trial-produced and had already started test flights, could not hide his excitement at this moment.
Now, Zhili also has an airship that is hyped up by foreigners!
"Commander."
Wei Jinghai, excited, interrupted Li Yulin.
"The airship that General Manager Li presided over was trial-produced completely according to the design dimensions and plan given by the Marshal, without any changes."
"This airship can reach a speed of nearly 50 kilometers per hour, and its take-off altitude is over 4,000 meters. These data have surpassed the German Zeppelin in all aspects, and..."
Wei Jinghai was so excited that he forgot himself, but after Li Yulin coughed lightly, he finally stopped what he was about to say.
Thanks to Li Yulin's timely reminder, Wei Jinghai did not reveal the specific size of the airship that he was about to say.
Teng Yuzhao knew that Wei Jinghai not only did not tell the size of the airship, but also did not have time to tell the most important parameter, how many tons of load it carried.
However, seeing Wei Jinghai's excitement, Teng Yuzao estimated that the load capacity should have reached the load capacity parameters he gave, which made Teng Yuzao's heart suddenly surge with heat.
Teng Yuzhao knew very much about this airship.
According to the history that Teng Yuzao knew, the current Zeppelin airship was still in the experimental improvement stage. It would not be finalized until six years later, when it could carry 24 passengers at a time, with 12 crew members, and had a maximum flight speed of 77 kilometers per hour.
The airship designed by Teng Yuzao was completely improved on the basis of the Zeppelin airship. During World War I, the Zeppelin airship was used by the Germans for military purposes. Therefore, Teng Yuzao, a military graduate student, was very clear about the design structure of this airship.
The biggest feature of Zeppelin's rigid airship is that it is different from the various soft airships developed by the French over the past hundred years. It has a rigid frame, which is composed of a longitudinal wooden beam on the abdomen, twenty-four wooden pestles and sixteen wooden frames. A large number of longitudinal and transverse guy wires are used to enhance the structural strength. The outside of the hull frame is also covered with a skin made of waterproof cloth.
There are seventeen air bags in the hull, with a total volume of 12,000 cubic meters and a total buoyancy of 13 tons.
Although Zeppelin covered his airship with skin, it was mainly to hide the wooden frame and airbags inside, just to make it look more beautiful.
But this skin has another effect that Zeppelin never expected, that is, this skin accidentally produces a rectifying effect.
This rigid airship was five to six times larger than the soft airships of the time, and because the multiple airbags could also play a role similar to that of watertight compartments on a ship, the safety of flight was greatly improved.
The structural trusses of Teng Yuzao's rigid airship are not made of heavy wood, but of aluminum alloy square and round tube profiles containing copper and magnesium.
This aluminum alloy is the so-called 2017 aluminum alloy.
Teng Yuzhao only knew that this aviation aluminum alloy, which only appeared during World War I, contained two elements, copper and magnesium, but he was not sure about the specific composition content.
Despite this, Teng Yuzao had already arranged for Li Yulin to secretly trial-produce this aluminum alloy at the Ordnance Department a year ago. It was not until half a year ago that he successfully trial-produced an aluminum alloy with very high hardness by repeatedly adjusting the copper and magnesium composition.
Although Teng Yuzao was not sure that this was the 2017 aluminum alloy, as long as it was a high-strength aluminum alloy, it would be enough, which was what he needed.
Not only did the use of aluminum alloy greatly increase the strength of the truss, it also greatly reduced the weight of the airship, making his airship lighter, able to fly higher and carry more weight.
For safety reasons, Teng Yuzao even replaced the hydrogen used in the airship with helium.
Teng Yuzao knew very well that airships at that time all used hydrogen. Although hydrogen was easy to produce, it was extremely flammable and a very dangerous gas. Combustion accidents involving hydrogen airships were common in history. Once a fire broke out, the airship would instantly become a huge fireball, making it impossible to escape in time.
He didn't want his airship to become a horrible burning object.
It’s just that helium is an extremely rare gas and its content in minerals is extremely low.
But its content is very rich in some oil fields. Teng Yuzao knew that in history, in 1903, that is, last year, the United States discovered a large amount of helium in an oil field in the country. Through Ford, Teng Yuzao indeed purchased a large amount of helium.
However, in order to transport a large amount of helium back, they asked people in the United States to develop a gas compression device and high-pressure gas cylinders, which were then transported back to Tianjin.
Just this helium cost more than 240,000 US dollars, nearly 500,000 taels of silver.
Teng Yuzao even installed a non-retractable fixed landing gear for the airship.
In fact, it is four thick aluminum alloy telescopic tubes, with high-strength spring shock absorbers customized by Krupp installed inside, and the power unit is two 24-horsepower diesel engines.
Seeing that everyone was eager to know the details, Teng Yuzao said with a smile.
"You all should know about the German Zeppelin airship. We originally planned to buy the blueprints of the airship from the Germans, but they refused to sell it to us and only sold us the finished product at a high price."
"I have no choice but to do it myself."
Teng Yuzhao's words undoubtedly acknowledged that he was the designer of this airship, which surprised everyone again.
Liu Shijiu took a deep breath and said to Teng Yuzao, "General, I told you long ago that you are a banished immortal. Now it seems that you can't escape this. You are the reincarnation of an immortal from heaven."
Liu Shijiu then said to the others in the conference room, "Look, the Marshal can do everything except give birth to a child! He is not a reincarnated god, who can do this?"
Liu Nineteen's words caused everyone to laugh, but then everyone thought about what Liu Nineteen said and agreed with it deeply.
Everyone felt that what Liu Shijiu said was right. Now it seems that Teng Yuzao is really omnipotent!
Teng Yuzhao knew that his ally seemed rude, but he was actually very meticulous and even cunning. Liu Shijiu's words were meant to tell everyone that he, Teng Yuzhao, was not an ordinary person.
In the Qing Dynasty, there was only one person who was not an ordinary person, and that was the emperor.
Although he thought so in his heart, he couldn't help laughing at Liu Shijiu's next words.
Teng Yuzao stopped smiling and said, "Although our airship has nothing to do with the Germans, the structural principles are similar. I just made some appropriate improvements based on the reports in the newspapers."
"This airship is very useful. Don't underestimate it."
"It can not only carry people, but also transport goods. For example, if you want to go to Wuchang, taking this airship is much faster than taking a train."
"Although the speeds of the two are similar, the airship flies in a straight line to Wuchang, passing over rivers and mountains." "It also has great military uses. For example, artillery observers can be stationed on it to determine the enemy's artillery positions on the battlefield."
Seeing that Ye Zugui and Sa Zhenbing seemed somewhat uninterested, Teng Yuzao spoke again.
"The airship flies high and can see farther at sea. With it, the fleet can detect enemy fleets that have not yet been exposed."
Teng Yuzhao's words finally woke Ye Zugui and Sa Zhenbing up from their dreams. Before Ye Zugui could speak, Sa Zhenbing spoke impatiently.
"Marshal, please give our fleet one of these airships!"
Teng Yuzao smiled and said, "Commander Sa, one ship is not enough. You should have three. One will follow the fleet and the other will stay above the sea near the port to monitor the surrounding waters and prevent any sneak attacks from enemy ships."
"The last one will be on standby at the port."
Liu Changfa also said anxiously, "Marshal, the Artillery Town also needs a few of these airships."
Teng Yuzao nodded and said, "The artillery town must also have one, and even the General Staff needs at least ten. We must make good use of this kind of good thing that can cross thousands of mountains and rivers."
Teng Yuzao then smiled and said, "In fact, we should build more larger and faster airships. If necessary, we can open routes to Hong Kong, Southeast Asia, or even direct flights to Europe and the United States. This large airship can carry dozens of people at a time, which saves a lot of time compared to taking a ship."
Teng Yuzao was so moved by what he said that Li Yulin finally smiled and said.
"Marshal, please give this airship a name!"
Teng Yuzao nodded and said, "For us, the airship is not just a new piece of equipment. It is also a testimony to our keeping up with the times in the sky. We should choose a good name for it."
After a brief hesitation, Teng Yuzao said, "It doesn't need to be too much trouble. I think we should just call her Yunying."
Yang Shixiang was the first to agree, "What a good name! A big thing that can fly into the air must be light and graceful. The word 'cloud shadow' is the most appropriate to describe it."
Wei Jinghai said with a smile, "The airship should be sent by the artillery town and the navy first. The General Staff is not in a hurry."
Teng Yuzhao wanted to say something, but in the end he just shut his mouth, turned his gaze away from Wei Jinghai, and looked at Ye Zugui and Sa Zhenbing.
"Tong Hou, Ding Ming, you can also tell us about the situation of the navy fleet."
When the fleet was mentioned, both Ye Zugui and Sa Zhenbing couldn't help but smile.
Ye Zugui said, "Marshal, our fleet is now even more powerful than when the Beiyang was at its strongest. We have two 10,000-ton ships, ten 6,500-ton fast cruisers, and all steel armor protection. The entire fleet can maintain a cruising speed of 28 knots, and the maximum speed can reach 30 knots."
"What's more, we have thirty 400-ton torpedo boats that can sail with the fleet, and the speed can reach 36 knots."
"There is no such fleet in the whole world!"
Because Teng Yuzao required both a stronger protective net and speed, the fast cruisers and torpedo boats built by Britain, the United States and Germany finally had slight changes in tonnage.
Sa Zhenbing also said excitedly, "Although our fleet cannot match the Japanese devils in terms of battleships and our cannons are not as large as theirs, we are fast. It is impossible for the Japanese devils to catch up with us."
"And our ten submarines with a displacement of more than 400 tons."
"With our new torpedoes, we will not be afraid of the British fleet even if we encounter them."
"Although it has only been a few months since we received the last new ship, most of our crew members are veterans of the Beiyang period and can get the hang of it quickly."
"The torpedo boat team and the submarine team are both stepping up their training according to the Marshal's training plan. The day before yesterday, Tong Hou and I just went to the submarine team and personally participated in their exercises. It was extremely powerful!"
Speaking of this, Sa Zhenbing, who is in his fifties, was already dancing with excitement.
Ye Zugui added enthusiastically, "Marshal, the submarine fleet will be ready in three months at most, so it won't be a problem for us to deploy our fleet now."
What Teng Yuzhao wanted to hear most was actually when the fleet would be formed.
The current fleet was reorganized on the basis of the Beiyang Fleet. Most of the personnel only need to undergo simple adaptive training. Some newcomers are guided by veteran crew members, so it is not a big problem for them to get familiar with the situation.
The only thing that worries Teng Yuzao is the use of new torpedoes by the torpedo boat team and the submarine team, as well as the training of the new submarine force.
Teng Yuzhao put a lot of thought into the submarine team. Not only did he personally follow the construction, he also personally wrote the operating manual, training outline, specific training plans and subjects for the submarine team.
Although Teng Yuzao was very confident in the new submarine he designed based on the submarine drawings purchased from Germany, the United States and France, because it was almost equivalent to the simplified version of the U-boat that appeared more than ten years later.
The German U-boat has proven to be a successful submarine with enormous power.
Moreover, since countries now generally do not pay attention to submarines, people on the warship will not be able to detect it at all when it is traveling underwater unless it is seen visually, even if it is parallel to the enemy warship.
Because there was no sonar system that could detect submarines at that time. It would take two years for the British naval officer Lewis Nixon to invent the sonar system, and it would take decades for the sonar system to be used in the military until World War II.
However, weapons need people to use them after all. Can these members of the submarine team, which are composed of graduates from the Naval Academy who have completed rapid training, quickly master this new weapon, submarines?
Teng Yuzhao couldn't help but feel worried about it.
Teng Yuzhao also decided that he must take the time to check it again in person.
Although Zhou Xuexi had not yet reported on the promotion of Westernization, as well as the numerous Westernization industrial and mining enterprises he was responsible for, especially a large number of enterprises affiliated with the Aurora Industrial Development Company, Teng Yuzhao had a very thorough understanding of the work he was in charge of.
After such a long time, Teng Yuzao felt deeply reassured about Zhou Xuexi.
In addition, Zhou Xuexi would personally report to him on the progress of the Westernization Movement every month, and Teng Yuzhao was very clear about the relevant situation.
Teng Yuzao took a deep breath and said, "Now that you have all introduced the departments you are responsible for, I will arrange the relevant wartime affairs next." ":"
(End of this chapter)
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