Sword of Light: Humanoid Self-Propelled Artillery

Chapter 195 The Warship's Life-Saving Weapon: Watertight Compartments

Upon returning, Wang Gensheng noticed that one of the more than one hundred frogmen was missing and immediately asked:

"Was that cruise torpedo piloted by Wang Lei just now?"

Upon hearing Wang Gensheng's question, Duan Peng, who was standing nearby, quickly replied:
"Yes, after seeing that none of the torpedoes had sunk the Congqing, Wang Lei volunteered to pilot a cruise torpedo to sink it before it retreated, so he piloted the cruise torpedo and rushed over!"

Seeing that the remaining four warships on the sea had not yet withdrawn, Wang Gensheng immediately gave the order:

"Since they're not leaving, then none of them are leaving! Send one cruise torpedo per ship and keep all these warships here. I refuse to believe that these small warships have watertight compartments!"

That's right, the remaining four warships are not the Congqing. They are only about 1,000 tons each, which can be sunk by a single torpedo.

As four cruise torpedoes left four clearly visible bubble trails, a short while later, a towering column of water appeared on the sides of each of the four warships, each weighing only two or three thousand tons, located a dozen kilometers away from Wang Gensheng and his men.

It is clear that the four water jets were the result of the four cruise torpedoes, which achieved a 100% hit rate with the help of manual guidance and terminal inertial guidance.

These four warships did not have the robust watertight compartments of the Congqing, so a single torpedo was enough to sink them to the bottom of the sea.

Unlike the fate of those four warships, although the engine room of the Congqing was flooded and the steam turbines had stopped working, it did not fall silent because the other watertight compartments were still intact.

Looking at the only remaining warship on the sea, the Congqing, Duan Peng said to Wang Gensheng with emotion:
"This warship is so big, it's great! It survived two torpedo hits!"

Upon hearing this, Wang Gensheng immediately said:

"That's because large warships are equipped with watertight compartments. These compartments can separate the internal space of the warship, so even if a hole is blown in the warship, seawater will not immediately fill all the compartments, making it naturally not so easy to sink!"

Upon hearing Wang Gensheng's words, Duan Peng immediately nodded and sighed:

"Sure enough, this foreigner is clever; he even came up with this kind of idea!"

However, Wang Gensheng frowned when he heard this, because he knew that the watertight compartment was not invented by foreigners.

Watertight compartments sound sophisticated, but the principle is quite simple. Imagine a large ship as a giant box. If you erect several airtight bulkheads inside the box, even if the hull accidentally breaks a hole and water enters, the seawater will be confined to that damaged compartment. The other compartments will remain intact, and the ship can continue to float. This is the basic principle of watertight compartments—simple, yet extremely effective.

However, this ingenious design is neither a modern invention nor something invented abroad. Reliable evidence suggests that shipbuilders had mastered and skillfully utilized watertight compartment technology by at least the Song Dynasty, and possibly even earlier, the Tang Dynasty. This is not speculation, but based on physical evidence.

In 1974, the wreckage of a Southern Song Dynasty ocean-going merchant ship was unearthed in Quanzhou Bay. The ship's structure clearly shows that the cabins were firmly separated by multiple thick transverse bulkheads, forming thirteen independent compartments. These bulkheads were tightly connected to the hull, clearly possessing the ability to impede water flow.

This design is not merely for separating cargo. More importantly, it significantly enhances the structural strength of the hull. Like the nodes inside bamboo, the transverse bulkheads play a crucial supporting role, making the hull more robust and better able to withstand the impact and torsion of wind and waves. Even if a compartment is damaged and leaks, as long as the damage is not too severe or rapid, the ship will not immediately sink entirely.

This is fundamentally different from ordinary compartments designed merely for cargo management. The core of a watertight compartment lies in the word "watertight," meaning the bulkhead must effectively prevent water penetration. This requires highly sophisticated construction techniques to ensure the airtightness of the connection between the bulkhead and the hull. Ancient Chinese craftsmen achieved this, and systematically applied it to a large number of ships.

The existence of watertight compartments objectively facilitates the classification, loading, and management of goods. Different goods can be placed in different compartments, avoiding mixing and mutual interference. For example, moisture-sensitive silks and spices that need to be kept dry can be stored separately from potentially leaky liquids. This is undoubtedly a huge convenience for long-distance trade.

Even better, in certain situations, if a compartment needs repair, such as replacing rotten planks, the cargo in that compartment can be temporarily moved to other compartments. It's even possible to controllably flood the compartment to repair damage below the waterline above the waterline, essentially giving it a built-in "dry dock" function, although it's quite complex to operate.

Of course, its core value lies in enhancing survivability. During a long voyage, a ship may encounter various accidents: running aground, collisions, or natural aging and cracking of the hull. Without watertight compartments, any major damage could lead to the entire ship taking on water and sinking rapidly.

With watertight compartments, the situation changes dramatically. Ships gain the ability to withstand localized damage. If one compartment floods, buoyancy will be reduced, but as long as the other compartments remain intact, the ship still has a considerable reserve of buoyancy, enough to sustain it until emergency repairs are carried out, or at least to buy more time to abandon ship.

Moreover, watertight compartment technology was widely used in ancient Chinese shipbuilding. It can be said that during the golden age of maritime trade in the Song, Yuan, and early Ming dynasties, it almost became a standard feature of large ocean-going vessels. Especially on Fujian ships, which were known for their sturdiness, durability, and seaworthiness, watertight compartments were one of their core competitive advantages.

The fleet that brought this technology to its ultimate level was undoubtedly the massive fleet of Zheng He's voyages to the Western Ocean during the Ming Dynasty. Zheng He's fleet was enormous, covered extremely long distances, and faced complex and ever-changing sea conditions. Its main ship type, the "treasure ship," was recorded to be enormous, capable of accommodating thousands of people.

Without watertight compartment technology, such a large-scale ocean voyage would be unimaginable. It can be inferred that the treasure ship must have employed a mature multi-layered watertight compartment structure. This not only ensured the ship's structural strength, sufficient to bear its enormous weight and withstand the rough seas of the open ocean, but more importantly, provided crucial safety redundancy.

Imagine a massive fleet of hundreds of ships sailing for years without experiencing any collisions, groundings, or structural damage—it would be virtually impossible.

The existence of watertight compartments ensured that even if individual ships were damaged, they would likely withstand the damage and not sink easily, thus guaranteeing the operational capability and safety of the entire fleet. Zheng He's seven voyages to the Western Ocean were a testament to China's strong comprehensive national power and were also supported by advanced shipbuilding technologies, including watertight compartments.

Therefore, the watertight compartment technology was definitely not invented by foreigners first.

(End of this chapter)