Starting with the smashing of Dunkirk

Chapter 104 Italy Declares War

Lelouch's main purpose in coming to Berlin was to assume the post of Director of the Foreign Propaganda Department of the Imperial War Ministry, in addition to meeting with the Emperor and presenting Duke Rupprecht's diplomatic advice.

As for getting acquainted with Burns, Kautsky, and Admiral Tirpitz, and incidentally facilitating a deal for new battleship guns, these were all secondary.

However, considering he doesn't have anything else going on lately, and the electric arc furnace steel plant in Dunkirk is still under construction, moving from the laboratory stage to large-scale industrial production, he is still working on it.

He didn't need to worry about the reinforcements from the 6th Army that were being transferred to the eastern front; there were naturally people in charge who would handle them—for example, the "airborne regiment" under Lelouch's command was currently under the full responsibility of its deputy commander, Lieutenant Colonel Rommel, who was helping with its training.

So after reviewing his itinerary, Lelouch realized he could stay in Berlin until mid-April. Since he had that time, he might as well go all the way and help Krupp and the Admiralty with some final checks and adjustments.

He could also leverage this to secure more resources and reassemble his original tank development team.

One day in early April, taking advantage of the fact that he had recently done Krupp a great favor by facilitating the conversion of a large number of new naval cannons to electric arc furnace steel, he suggested to Gustav Krupp that the company allocate him a mechanical design team to develop an armored off-road vehicle.

Krupp had just secured a large order through the other party, so it was naturally difficult to refuse directly. Instead, they asked to confirm, "This project requires a lot of resources, right? Can the whole thing be managed with just our assistance from Krupp? Director Lelouch, your resources aren't strong enough yet. Don't make pointless mistakes."

Lelouch immediately flexed his muscles to reassure them: "Don't worry, I didn't expect to rely on your Krupp family to build this up. When I went back to Austria to visit relatives, I already took the opportunity to negotiate with the people from Skoda:"
Throughout the entire project, our Volkswagen company was only responsible for the final vehicle integration and installation;

BMW, part of the Balian group, provides diesel engines;

Skoda is responsible for the powertrain integration, including driveshafts, transmissions, driving controls, and tracks;
Krupp is only responsible for the overall design of the vehicle body, as well as the supply of armor and weapons.

BMW's diesel engines have already been supplied to Skoda, and Skoda has started designing the powertrain. You send your team to handle the rest, and I can then finalize the arrangements.

Moreover, once this is done well, you won't be shortchanged on your share of the Krupp project. In the future, after you've had successful experience working with Škoda, I can also recommend that Škoda jointly share more technical data with you, providing further optimized designs for the Empire's military equipment.”

Gustav's interest was piqued upon hearing this. He had only agreed to help the other party to repay a favor before, but now he was genuinely doing it for the mutual benefit of both parties.

"Oh? What other technological optimization potential can we achieve by further deepening our cooperation with Škoda in the field of naval guns?" Gustav couldn't help but ask curiously.

Lelouch: "For example, the Empire still hasn't mastered the technology of efficient triple-mounted main gun turrets, while Škoda had already completed the earliest triple-mounted main gun turret structure as early as 1910. Their muzzle storm depressurization and diversion structure, their 'cradle-type' gun mount that allows the three tubes to independently elevate and depress—aren't these things worth learning, studying, and striving to master?"

Upon hearing this, Gustav couldn't help but breathe a little heavier. Of course, Krupp had always wanted these valuable resources, but he also knew that even though Škoda was an ally, they wouldn't share them with him so easily.

Gustav couldn't help but sigh with a mixture of doubt and regret: "These things are certainly good, but why should Škoda give them to us?"

Lelouch: "Because I created a unique cannon steel with a higher quality, the three-phase electric arc furnace steel! And it's 60% cheaper than the low-quality electric arc furnace steel currently on the market! I'm also willing to sell some of the three-phase electric arc furnace steel to Skoda so they can use the better steel to build cannons with even stronger performance!"
Isn't this enough for Škoda to share its technology with us? With in-depth cooperation with Škoda, we can further explore the modification of naval warships.

The current 'Baria-class' battleships certainly cannot be modified. These ships are already almost finished. The previous minor adjustments to the propellant chambers and slight lengthening of the tubes to balance the weights were already the limit.

However, our Mackensen-class battlecruiser has only just begun construction, and there is still plenty of time for radical improvements. Originally, after our new 380mm gun appeared, we also asked the Wilhelm Shipyard Design Bureau whether the Mackensen-class could be given a chance to try and fit the large 380mm gun into the design.

However, that would require a significant increase in tonnage and a lengthening of the ship's overall length, which was impractical. The Mackensen's No. 3 and No. 4 main gun turrets on the aft deck were not fully supported; if the gun barrels were lengthened further, the barrel of the No. 3 turret would press against the back of the No. 4 turret when rotating. Therefore, if the Mackensen's main guns were to adopt new technologies and become more powerful, they could only be widened, not lengthened.

Since that's the case, why not try using the original 350mm caliber for the Mackensen, but try to build a triple-mounted version? I think the technology for triple-mounted main gun turrets will definitely mature and become mainstream in the future. We also need to accumulate practical experience as soon as possible.

We can forgo increasing the firepower of the new gun; instead, we can use three-phase electric arc furnace steel to make the turret lighter, allowing us to withstand the chamber pressure of the original gun with thinner pipe walls. This way, even if the turret's tonnage still increases, it won't be an excessive overload.

As for the increased size and complexity of the ammunition well and the structure below the turret, we would rather remove the two rows of boilers from the rear of the lower power compartment, merge the corresponding chimneys, and slightly reduce the power output. We would definitely be able to find a way to balance it out.

Once the new triple-mounted main gun technology is adopted, the Empire will be able to catch up with the United States across the ocean in this field. Currently, the United States has already built a 14-inch triple-mounted main gun, which is 356 mm. We use 350 mm, which is 6 mm thinner than the United States'. We can basically be considered to be in the same class, without any additional technical difficulties.

The Americans have done a great job saving on turret tonnage. Now that we have their finished product data and photos, combined with Skoda's technical experience, we can definitely solve the problem by pooling our wisdom and efforts.

Think about it: the triple gun turrets of the United States were made by Bethlehem Steel. The main gun turrets of the two shallow-draft heavy gunboats that we captured in Dunkirk were also Bethlehem Steel's 14-inch guns, only they were twin-mounted. But many of the advantages of the structural design can be learned from and applied.

By drawing on the strengths of others, combining the resources of Krupp, and learning from the latest technologies of Škoda and Bethlehem, we are confident we can master the triple-mounted turret!

After listening to so much analysis, Gustav Krupp finally mustered up his confidence.

Triple-mounted turrets are indeed the future trend. The reason they are not used now is simply because there are still some technical bottlenecks that have not been resolved. However, as long as we learn from the strengths of others and our predecessors have already paved the way, we can simply imitate and catch up, taking the best and making up for our own weaknesses. This will definitely work.

Of course, Gustav wouldn't blindly believe it. He still pointed out several technical flaws of the triple-mounted turret: "Although we at Krupp haven't successfully built a triple-mounted main gun turret, we have tested it many times. There are some technical flaws in the triple-mounted turret that we can't get around."

For example, during our experiments, we found that when the triple-mounted main gun was fired at a combat distance of more than 10 kilometers, the shells were too scattered when firing all three at once. This was probably due to the storms and air currents generated by the shells interfering with each other during flight.

When two shells fly in parallel, the resulting storms and turbulence can each spread outwards. However, when three shells fly together, the storm generated by the middle shell has nowhere to dissipate, causing the trajectories of the shells on either side to veer off course. Therefore, even though the Imperial Navy knew that Skoda had solved the problem of independent elevation and depression of three guns, they still disdained to use it; the Empire prioritized long-range accuracy above all else.

When Lelouch heard the question, he couldn't help but give the other person an admiring look that said, "You really know your stuff."

The technical flaw of the triple-gun turret mentioned by Gustav was indeed repeatedly brought up in later generations. Fortunately, Lelouch also liked to study large ships and big guns in his previous life, and knew that this problem was finally solved in history during the "Naval Holiday" in the 1920s.

It's not complicated.

Lelouch casually suggested, "Since the three cannonballs are flying side by side, the wind they create will interfere with each other, so why don't they fly side by side? Could we have two of the three cannons fire simultaneously first, and then delay the last one by a fraction of a second, or even a fraction of a second?"

The intervals shouldn't be too long. If the intervals are too long, the recoil from the first two shots will definitely increase the warship's rolling and make it sway more violently. The third shot will be a waste of time, as it won't be on the initial aiming elevation line at all.

However, the interval cannot be too short. If the interval is too short, firstly, you will not have the ability to control it so precisely, and secondly, if the interval is too short, the first two shells will not have flown far, and the third shell may not be able to escape the wake turbulence zone of the first two shells.

Modern artillery shells typically have muzzle velocities of 700-800 meters per second. Even firing at 0.01-second intervals allows the shells to create a seven- to eight-meter distance difference in the air, effectively eliminating wake turbulence. As for the specific technical methods to achieve this, I think I don't need to elaborate; you can even use a relay to create a delay circuit. If there are more convenient technical options, that would be even better.

Lelouch hesitated to give the answer directly because he didn't know how advanced the primitive vacuum tube technology was in 1915. But it didn't matter; even without usable vacuum tubes, old-fashioned relays would suffice, only the control components would be larger and wear out faster. For something as massive as a battleship's main gun, that tiny difference was irrelevant.

In short, as long as Lelouch grasps the core idea of ​​"making the shells fly a few meters apart in the air to avoid the turbulence zone of the shells in front," the rest can be left to the professionals to implement.

Gustav was indeed greatly inspired. Often, technological breakthroughs are just one final step away from success, something he hadn't anticipated. A new idea at a crucial point can be as effective as engineers' repeated, lengthy research and development.

After receiving guidance from Lelouch, Gustav did three things for the rest of the first ten days of April.

First, we further cooperated with Skoda and began reverse engineering the 14-inch twin-mounted turret of Bethlehem Steel that we had previously captured. Then, we combined the ideas provided by Lelouch and adopted the best practices to develop a 350mm triple-mounted main gun turret.

This can be considered as the first triple-mounted main gun turret for the empire, marking a breakthrough from zero.

The second thing was to assign Lelouch a mechanical design team and a corresponding process technology team, with even the personnel and employment relationships transferred to the "Volkswagen" company, in which Lelouch held a large share.

Starting today, we will assist Lelouch in planning the initial tank/armored vehicle development project. The Skoda technicians that Lelouch previously acquired from Porsche have also joined the project. One team will focus on the hull and weapon armor, while the other will focus on the power structure. They will begin the stage of accumulating technical reserves for the overall vehicle development.

Once Porsche's Skoda half-track diesel tractor is completed, and we can learn from and integrate its successful experience, we can focus all our efforts on developing tanks.

The third thing was that Gustav made further concessions to Lelouch, deciding to open a new subsidiary to specialize in the research and production of the aforementioned 140mm caliber dual-purpose turret.

(Note: After final testing, it was decided to directly use the French standard 138.6 mm, because Krupp believed that the 140 mm shell was still a bit too heavy. The total weight of the shell, including the propellant, was 55 kg. Reducing it to 138.6 mm would reduce the weight to 53 kg for armor-piercing shells and 45 kg/46 kg/46 kg for high-explosive/anti-aircraft shells.)

Demanians are generally tall, with many being over 1.8 meters tall and muscular. Therefore, they are well-suited to selecting strongmen as loaders for cannons requiring continuous, rapid manual loading.
Gustav Ken did this, naturally because Lelouch had recently provided Krupp with too many valuable ideas and even helped him optimize the design of the battleship's main guns.

Gustav knew that the giant cannon was the foundation of Krupp and that it had to be completely under his control. Krupp had helped him so much in this regard, yet he couldn't share the benefits with them.

In order to ensure a long-term partnership, we had no choice but to lead the other party into the field of dual-purpose secondary guns, a business where everyone could make money together.

In this way, Krupp will continue to focus on heavy artillery for attacking land and sea, while the new subsidiary that Lelouch and Krupp collaborated on will become the world's first artillery company specializing in anti-aircraft guns (including dual-purpose anti-aircraft guns).
Since Krupp was so cooperative, Lelouch was happy to offer them more ideas in return.

Therefore, during Krupp's development of a new main gun, Lelouch also reminded them to pay more attention to the aerodynamic shape of the shells and to conduct more experiments. Nowadays, shells are all flat-bottomed, and the turbulence and shock waves during flight are very severe.

Lelouch suggested they try slightly reducing the diameter of the projectile's tail to allow for smoother airflow during flight. Or they could consider a "base-concave projectile." In short, they should be experimentally oriented, letting the facts speak for themselves, and seeing which projectile shape is best suited to maintain the projectile's speed, increase its range, and maximize its final kinetic energy.

Lelouch estimated that as long as Krupp conducted proper experiments and opened the door to this new world, it would be easy to increase the flight speed of the cannonballs by 10% to 15%, since this area was previously a blank slate.

In the 1910s, research on fluid dynamics in the fields of gun and shipbuilding was still in a very primitive stage.

When designing warships, thorough water tank tests are rarely conducted, and wind tunnel tests are not performed on shells. With just a few pointers or reminders, there is a great deal of room for improvement.

For example, as Lelouch had discussed with Krupp, in order to fit the triple-gun turret into the Mackensen-class battlecruiser, it might be necessary to reduce the number of steam boilers to make room for a larger turret ring and ammunition well.

Reducing the number of boilers will decrease the ship's power and speed, and it may not be able to achieve the original design target of 28 knots.

However, the keel of the Mackensen-class ships was not even laid yet, so it was entirely possible to try to build a primitive "bulge bow" below the waterline to reduce wave-making resistance and wave impact.

As for the first two ships of the "Baria-class" battleships, they are completely beyond modification. However, for the latter three, although the "bulge bow" below the waterline cannot be changed, it is still possible to adjust the freeboard design above the waterline and change the "straight bow" to a "clip bow" like that of American battleships.

Lelouch didn't know the specific dimensions and curvature of the "bulb bow" and "scissor bow," but he could provide these ideas to Krupp and the Wilhelm Shipyard design bureau to inspire their efforts.

Starting from a blank slate, it's all too easy to make any progress.

A simple modification to the bow design, reducing wave-making resistance and wave impact, would be enough to compensate for the slight decrease in speed caused by reducing the number of boilers.

The Yamato-class battleships in Earth's history, with such heavy tonnage and such small power, were able to run at 27 knots, which was achieved through repeated pool experiments and optimization of the waterline shape.

With Lelouch's guidance and intervention, the first two "Barria-class" battleships may still only be able to sail at 21-22 knots.

However, the latter three ships should be able to increase the speed to 23 knots, reduce the pitching in wind and waves, and improve the firing accuracy in high wind and wave conditions.

As for the Mackensen-class ships, which have undergone the most comprehensive bow modifications, they may still be able to maintain a high speed of 28 knots, or even slightly increase it, despite having their main guns converted to triple mounts and two rows of boilers removed.

……

Lelouch was busy in Berlin until mid-April, and he had done everything he could to provide guidance to the Navy and Krupp. The preliminary research and development work on the armored vehicle had also proceeded smoothly.

The time required for a warship to go from construction to achieving combat readiness is far too long, so some plans have to be planned well in advance.

The first two "Barria-class" ships wouldn't be deployed in actual combat for about a year. Under Lelouch's management, these ships could participate in the Battle of Jutland—if the Battle of Jutland even existed in this world.

The last three ships may be put into service in batches within one and a half to two years.

As for the Mackensen-class battlecruisers, they will enter combat in at least two and a half years, and the subsequent ships, which are being built more slowly, may not be ready for combat for another three years.

These ships will primarily serve as crucial leverage to force the Britannians back to the negotiating table. With luck, they might also provide opportunities to flex military muscle later in the war.

While Lelouch was stranded in Berlin, some major international events finally occurred.

The Italians have officially declared war on Austria!

However, just as Lelouch had predicted, the Italians were foolish. After declaring war, they did not immediately attack, but simply sat in silence and shouted. It was like a "war of silence."

Now that the Italians have declared war, Lelouch must return to his unit and end his rest and recuperation period.

He needs to refocus his energy on frontline military matters.

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P.S.: If there's a second update today, it will be very late. Training ends tomorrow, but I'll be busy with the kids' school start over the weekend. I'll try to get back to normal next Tuesday.

(End of this chapter)