Nanyang Storm 1864

What are the benefits of submarines?

This is an assassin lurking under the sea. It has low research and development and construction costs. With powerful weapons such as steam gas torpedoes, it can pose a deadly threat to warships and merchant ships.

In the sequence of the Chu Royal Navy
It does not simply develop large main battleships, but also has a large number of small and medium-sized frigates, torpedo boats and gunboats to meet the needs of defending and patrolling in vast sea areas.

There are more than a hundred patrol gunboats alone.

Small and medium-sized gunboats were commonly used on the Chu State's Pacific frontier islands, overseas colonies, and archipelagos surrounding the mainland to carry out daily patrol missions to maintain the maritime borders.

Comparison
The number of torpedo boats, which serve as sea raiders, is much smaller. Currently, there are 37 torpedo boats in total, which are divided into Type 350, Type 520 and Type , with a displacement ranging from more than tons to tons.

Subsequent torpedo boats continued to be produced, continuing the traditional path of increasing displacement and enhancing seaworthiness, serving as a beneficial supplement to the Royal Navy's strength.

Submarines, a new type of naval weapon, were developed by the Chu State on the premise that the United States and France had successively developed new submarines.

Actually

This experimental submarine, "Leigong No. 1", is almost a replica of the "Holland" submarine, except that it uses Nanyang Heavy Industries' more advanced internal combustion engine and a more powerful electric motor.

After mastering the relevant submarine manufacturing technology, the Chu State will carry out adaptive modifications to meet the needs of the Chu Navy.

What were the needs of the Chu Royal Navy?
Among the three elements of warship range, armor protection and firepower, the Chu Royal Navy paid particular attention to range, which was consistent with the positioning of the Great Chu Kingdom as the "Kingdom of Ten Thousand Islands".

In this way

Whether it is a battleship or a cruiser, whether it is a frigate or a speedboat, or even a submarine, the requirements for range are much higher than the standards of other European powers.

This is because the European powers are located around the Mediterranean bathtub. Except for Britain and France, which have vast colonies, other naval powers such as Germany, Russia, Austria-Hungary, and Italy do not focus on range, but put firepower and defense in the first place.

Based on the need for global maritime hegemony, Britain first focused on the firepower of its main battleships, which was the first consideration among the three factors.

In order to challenge the powerful British maritime hegemony, Germany first focused on the defense of its main battleships, which had to be able to withstand attacks. Firepower requirements came second, and range came third.

Other European powers have their own considerations, and the best one is the one that meets their needs.

On the other hand, the State of Chu was different. Because it had a long sea border, bordering the world's largest Pacific Ocean, and also had important national interests in the vast Indian Ocean, it needed warships with long voyages to maintain it.

The Chu warships were primarily concerned with range, followed by defense, and finally firepower.

This is because there is no substantial maritime threat around the State of Chu. Due to the limitations of national strength, the main battleships of the Fusang State in the north are less than one-third of the size of Chu's, and its combat effectiveness is far inferior.

Even after defeating the Qing court, Fuso received huge war compensation in silver and began to significantly increase overseas orders for warships and expand the size of its fleet.

That cannot be compared with the Chu Royal Navy. Naval construction is by no means a matter of a day or a night.

Back to the topic of submarines, some improvement suggestions put forward by King Chu Zheng Guohui were carefully recorded by relevant personnel of the Royal Navy and will be implemented without any compromise.

Regardless of whether it is right or wrong, just do it first.

King Zheng Guohui of Chu hoped that the size of the submarine would be further enlarged so that it could carry more fuel and torpedoes. Everyone present thought it was natural.

If you want a long range and strong attack power, the only solution is to increase the size of the submarine.

The submarine research and development project team is composed of a group of young Chinese engineers, many of whom have studied abroad. They are young, energetic, bold and daring, and are very suitable for pursuing the technological path of submarine research and development.

Submarines are originally the navy's new weapon. Apart from the test boat in front of us, there is no other successful experience to learn from, so we have to rely on ourselves to find a way out.

King Zheng Guohui of Chu encouraged them to "think boldly, act boldly, and achieve some results, and they will be given priority in the allocation of scientific research funds." This made the young scientific and technological personnel very excited, and their faces showed a shining glow of eagerness to try.

The Leigong 1 test boat already possessed the main elements of later submarines, including a cross-tail rudder, a submarine bridge, air vents and a periscope, but it was just relatively simple.

The vent and periscope are not retractable. The periscope is just an ordinary artillery scope with a crosshair, and the vent is also very simple.

The submarine's pitch, dip, and sinking are all controlled by valves in four water tanks. The two torpedoes cannot be reloaded, just like the torpedo tubes on a battleship.

These technical details need to be improved in the future.

Submarines of this era could only briefly sink to periscope depth, attack enemy ships at this depth, and then run away.

If we continue to dive, we will be in the dark.

And it can't last long because there is limited air in the submarine. It must surface after 40 minutes to 1 hour at most, otherwise it will suffocate to death.

If the submarine is made larger and has more internal space, it can also have a longer diving time, which naturally makes it more concealed.

After inspecting the dock
King Zheng Guohui of Chu drove to the military headquarters to listen to reports on relevant matters after the expansion of the army and navy, the progress of equipment and weapons and personnel training, garrison arrangements and future armament development plans.

The Royal Army has no problem with expansion and training. A large number of experienced officers can be assigned to new troops and there is no need for them to retire early.

By combining them with graduates from military academies, the framework of the new troops can be set up, and the combat effectiveness and training intensity can be guaranteed.

From the time the expansion order was issued in June 1898 to the end of 6, the newly formed army divisions and rifle regiments had completed their training and acquired initial combat capabilities.

After entering 1899
The Royal Army General Staff Headquarters has successively organized regimental and battalion-level campaign confrontations and combat exercises to further enhance the combat effectiveness of the troops and achieved remarkable results.

It can be said that "we can fight when we come, and we can win when we fight." Destroying the Dutch defenders is as easy as pinching a snail with three fingers...very easy.

Today
It was already late October 1899, and the Panama Canal had been open to navigation for a year, but there was still no movement from His Majesty the King. How could one not be anxious?
In terms of army weapons and equipment, the development of new army field artillery and the Maxim heavy machine gun that was put into service in 1898 further enhanced the ability to attack in the field and greatly improved combat effectiveness.

Well known
The Chu Royal Army field artillery is equipped with the ten-pound Parrot field gun, which has been in service for 35 years. Its power and range are trustworthy.

After the new nitroglycerin explosive replaced black powder, this steel-hooped cannon also underwent corresponding technical improvements. It used special high-pressure resistant steel, thickened the gun wall, and further improved the gun barrel processing technology to adapt to the stronger chamber pressure after the explosion of the new explosive.

After the improvement, the ten-pound Parrot field gun had a longer range, stronger explosive power, and only a slight reduction in artillery accuracy, making it a successful new product.

In the Royal Army's warehouse

The country has a large stock of ten-pound Parrot field guns with a long history, totaling about 5760 pieces. Most of the old guns have been retired or deployed in coastal artillery positions.

The improved and reinforced version of the 6-pound Parrott field gun has been continuously equipped with the Royal Army's front-line troops for 7 to years.

Basically, the upgraded artillery has been completed.

Overall

The world's current army artillery equipment has not undergone any qualitative change and still continues to maintain the level of field artillery in the mid-19th century. It has been improved to a certain extent to adapt to the widespread use of new nitroglycerin high explosives.

on the other hand
The automatic rifle, an infantry weapon, was first designed by Maxim in 1883. After more than six years of military testing and dozens of improvements, it still failed to meet the requirements for large-scale equipment.

However, the Maxim heavy machine gun emerged as a rising star. In 1898, it was given an equipment number by the Chu Royal Army and officially began to be equipped in the army.

This heavy machine gun was invented by British engineer Hiram Stevens Maxim in 1883. He underwent principle testing and was patented in 1884.

Hiram Stevens Maxim was the dean of the School of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Manila. He was famous for his many inventions and had been a naturalized citizen of the Chu State for 19 years.

This Maxim heavy machine gun has a caliber of 11.43 mm, weighs 27.2 kg, uses a short-recoil (19 mm) automatic mode, and has a water-cooled barrel.

The gun uses a 333-meter-long canvas belt with a capacity of 6.4 rounds. The belt can be connected and has a theoretical rate of fire of 600 rounds per minute. It can be fired in single shots or bursts. The rate of fire can also be adjusted to a slow rate of 100 rounds per minute via a rate regulator, which is a very outstanding invention.

Mr. Maxim founded the Maxim Arms Company and aggressively sold this new weapon to the military, which received high praise.

After several major technical improvements, the Maxim heavy machine gun was successfully included in the standard equipment sequence of the Chu Royal Army. To date, 186 heavy machine guns have been equipped.

According to equipment plan
The Chu Royal Army will subsequently be equipped with more than 560 Maxim heavy machine guns, mainly used to add an additional heavy firepower company to each infantry regiment.

This heavy firepower company is equipped with nine Maxim heavy machine guns and three Maxim 37mm rapid-fire cannons to enhance the army's field firepower attack capabilities.

In wartime, the heavy firepower company belonging to each infantry regiment can be split up and assigned to infantry battalions or even infantry companies, which will greatly enhance the infantry's attack capability and strengthen the army's combat effectiveness.

Professor Maxim not only developed the heavy machine gun, but also developed the Maxim 37mm rapid-fire cannon, and received many overseas orders.

These include European and American powers such as the United States, Germany, and France, which demonstrated tremendous power in army shooting range tests close to actual combat.

The Chu Royal Army also widely purchased Maxim 37mm rapid-fire guns for equipping frigates and gunboats, as well as large battleships and cruisers to expel small ships and attack civilian vessels.

The birth of the Maxim 37mm rapid-fire cannon originated from the need of the Chu Royal Navy for a small cannon that was cheap and powerful. It was widely equipped on frigates and gunboats as supplementary firepower.

Therefore, Professor Maxim enlarged his heavy machine gun patent to a certain extent, with the same basic structure and principle, and thus the Maxim 37mm rapid-fire cannon was born.

If you think of it as an enlarged version of the Maxim heavy machine gun, that's not wrong.

The Maxim 37mm rapid-fire gun is divided into army version and naval version. The army version is towed by a light truck, while the naval version is placed on a rotating base and has a huge water-cooled barrel.

The army version uses a 29-caliber gun with a barrel length of 1.07 meters. Due to the constraints of the towed gun mount, its elevation angle and firing range are limited.

The naval version is different. The naval version of the Maxim 37mm rapid-fire gun is installed on a rotating gun mount. It is heavier and can rotate 360 ​​degrees without dead angles. The shooting elevation angle reaches 70 degrees. It uses a belt-fed ammunition and a circulating water-cooled barrel. The shooting firepower is very fierce.

Only the naval version of the Maxim 37mm rapid-fire gun can be called a complete version.

Due to its excellent weapon performance, it was not only equipped in large quantities by the Chu Royal Navy, but also exported to naval powers such as Britain, France, the United States, Germany and Italy, becoming a standard weapon widely equipped on ships of various countries.

It was precisely because of the sharp weapon equipment, the Maxim 37mm rapid-fire cannon, that the Maxim Arms Company received a large number of overseas orders and grew rapidly, becoming an arms giant comparable to the Manila Ordnance Industry Company.

The army version of the Maxim 37mm rapid-fire gun has a range of 4400 meters and a theoretical firing rate of 450 rounds per minute. The dense shells it fires are incredibly powerful, and even solid buildings and earth and stone fortresses cannot withstand them.

Likewise, the equipment is quite expensive.

Each 37mm shell weighed one pound and was sold for 1.85 silver dollars. It was sold to the British for 6 shillings each and to the Americans for 2.2 dollars each.

The key to this thing is that it fires quickly and consumes a lot of ammunition!
Normally, a Maxim 37mm rapid-fire cannon is sold with 1 rounds of ammunition.

If the reserve is larger, it is reasonable to equip each 37mm rapid-fire gun with 2 to 3 rounds of ammunition. After all, a certain amount of reserve is needed to meet emergency needs.

If a real war breaks out, where can we get more ammunition?

Take the Chu Royal Navy and Army as an example

It was equipped with more than 260 Maxim 37mm rapid-fire cannons, each with 2 rounds of ammunition. The investment was as high as more than 1360 million silver dollars, which is not a small number.

This is because the Maxim Weapons Factory is located in the suburbs of Manila, and the supply of weapons and ammunition is convenient, so there is no need to stockpile a large amount of spare ammunition.

Other countries do not have this convenience, so they need to purchase a certain amount of matching ammunition.

Here is an additional sentence

Germany purchased 50 Maxim 37mm rapid-fire guns and 150 million rounds of ammunition. After being loaded onto German fireships, they were not returned to Europe but were sent directly to the Boers in South Africa.

These days, there is no proper arms export control. How can we not sell to a big customer like Germany?

As a result, the military and police forces in Transvaal used the Maxim 37mm rapid-fire cannon during training, which caused the soil and rocks in the shooting range to collapse and turned everything into powder.

This shocking scene was quickly reported to the South African Expeditionary Force by the British spies, which aroused the wrath of the British military and tracked all the way to the Maxim Weapons Company of the Chu State.

This caused a series of disputes. After investigation, it was found that it was the Germans who did it, which made the British very angry.

In order to appease the British, the Chu State promised to prohibit the Maxim Company from selling weapons to the Germans, including the Dutch, for a period of time.

As for the weapons that have already been sold, they have already reached the Boer territory, so there is nothing that can be done.

Based on the Maxim 37mm rapid-fire gun, in view of its insufficient power, the Chu Royal Navy requested the development of a 40mm rapid-fire gun. The current twin-mounted 40mm prototype gun has begun testing at the naval shooting range.

Don't underestimate the increase of only 3 mm. Because the outer diameter of the shell is enlarged by 3 mm, the weight of each shell increases from one kilogram to two kilograms. It is loaded with more gunpowder and has a greater explosive power.

According to Royal Navy tests

The explosive power of each 40mm shell is 37 times that of a 1.66mm shell, the killing radius is increased by 73%, and it can penetrate 79mm bulletproof steel plates, greatly enhancing its power.

Likewise, the equipment is expensive.

The equipment cost of each shell was 2.42 silver dollars, which was the cost of large-scale purchases by the Royal Army.

If it is exported, at least 40% profit must be added, reaching US$3.5 per shell.

King Zheng Guohui of Chu simply agreed to the weapons and equipment plans submitted by the Royal Navy and the Royal Army with a stroke of his pen.

The weapons, equipment and ammunition purchased over the years are part of the kingdom’s military foundation, and we cannot save money in this area.

Accumulated year after year, it will be a very large number.

Even if faced with a full-scale war, we can cope with it with ease, and we won't have to let soldiers fight with bayonets in hand. This is always better than war reparations.

It was precisely because the State of Chu had a huge military reserve that it was able to successfully expand its army to more than 6 people after the expansion order was issued, and it did not lag behind in terms of weapons, equipment, and clothing.

More than one hundred weapons and equipment storage depots across the country store weapons and ammunition purchased over the years, and there is always a large surplus every year to meet emergencies.

In 1899, the annual military budget of the expanded Chu Royal Navy and Royal Army reached 6300 million silver dollars, nearly twice that of the United States.

The main reason is that the Chu State had a much larger standing army than the United States, with a total of 35.2 people, while the US Army's size was only 6.33 people after the Spanish-American War.

A large number of National Guard, militia and volunteers were recruited during the Spanish-American War and retired after the war, which greatly saved the army's expenses.

The United States focused on developing its navy, and in 1899 its military budget reached 3320 million US dollars, which was 13% higher than that of the Royal Navy of Chu. This was a direct product of President McKinley's policy of vigorously developing the navy.

If you want to participate in a world-class arms race, you must have some financial resources.

Unlike the United States, which built 4 main battleships in just four years, with an average of three main battleships launched and put into service every year, China is catching up rapidly.

The State of Chu maintained a stable pace of commissioning one ship, building one ship, and approving one ship in the budget every year. This has lasted for more than 30 years and has formed a considerable fleet size.

This refers to the main battleship, not including the more numerous armored cruisers, destroyers and frigates, as well as torpedo boats and gunboats, which are all part of the Chu Royal Navy. (End of this chapter)