World War: Battleship Arms Dealers

The ceremony continued. Newly appointed Captain Lindemann of the Bismarck and Captain Top of the Tirpitz received their appointment certificates. A naval honor guard fired a salute, and a 21-gun salute resounded over Wilhelmshaven.

Among the crowd of onlookers, James Wilson, a journalist from The Times of London, quickly jotted down his observations. His notebook was filled with notes:

"...The German Emperor clearly viewed this ceremony as a major political victory...The public was in a frenzy, bordering on religious fervor...The technical details of the two warships have not yet been released, but they appear to far surpass any of Britain's active-duty vessels...It is noteworthy that the Lanfang representative maintained a distance throughout and did not participate in any German military ceremonies, suggesting that this was merely a transaction rather than an alliance..."

He put down his pen and looked at the Eastern general on the stage, dressed in a dark blue military uniform. Major General Li Te—according to intelligence, this man was a senior admiral in the Lanfang Navy, a commander with extensive combat experience. Now, he was handing over two of the world's most advanced warships to the Germans.

Wilson recalled his editor's words before he left London: "Find out what Lanfang really wants. They're selling German warships while continuing their rubber and tin business with Britain. Are they speculators, or do they have a longer-term plan?"

Now it seems the answer might be both.

The ceremony ended at 4 p.m. The crowd began to disperse, but the excitement still lingered in the air. In the taverns near the harbor, sailors were already raising their glasses in celebration.

"For the Bismarck! For the Tirpitz!"

"To break the British blockade!"

"For the future of the German Navy!"

Only a few veteran sailors remained silent. One of them whispered, "No matter how good a new ship is, it still needs someone to sail it. Do you know how long it takes to train a qualified gunner? Six months. An engineer? A year. And the British... could attack at any time."

But his voice was drowned out by the cheers.

Hope is like alcohol, allowing one to temporarily forget the pain of reality. And today, everyone in Port William has drunk a large dose of hope.

At 9:7 AM on July 20, aboard the Tirpitz.

This was a small-scale technical briefing held in the Operations Information Center below the bridge. Attendees included only Tirpitz, Trotta, the two newly appointed captains, and the five Lanfang technical officers brought by Litt.

The room was brand new, and the air still smelled of paint and insulation. The walls were covered with dials, displays, and communication devices—some traditional mechanical pointers, others electronic displays that the Germans had never seen before.

Li Te stood in front of the central control console and began his explanation: "Gentlemen, first of all, I must explain that although the 'Bismarck' and the 'Tirpitz' are basically the same in design, there are slight differences in some subsystems and internal layouts. This is to avoid complete homogenization and increase the difficulty for the enemy to deal with them."

He opened the main control panel: "The most crucial innovation is here: the integrated fire control system. Traditional battleships have independent aiming and command systems for their main guns, secondary guns, and anti-aircraft guns. But on these two ships, all weapon systems are integrated into a central fire control computer."

Dr. Chen, an engineer from Lanfang Electronics, stepped forward to demonstrate. He opened a metal cabinet, inside which were densely packed electron tubes and relay boards, resembling some kind of futuristic artwork.

"This is the core of the fire control computer," Dr. Chen explained in accented German. "It receives data from radar, optical rangefinders, and ship attitude sensors, calculates target motion parameters, trajectory corrections, and firing data in real time, and automatically distributes them to each turret. From target detection to the first salvo, the reaction time is no more than 90 seconds."

Captain Lindemann's eyes widened: "90 seconds? Our Bavaria-class destroyers need at least three minutes!"

"And it's more accurate," Li Te added. "In tests, this system achieved an 8% hit rate in the first salvo at a distance of 25000 meters, and the second salvo can be improved to 15%. Traditional fire control systems typically have a first-salvo hit rate of less than 2% at the same distance."

Tirpitz took a deep breath. He knew what this meant: in battleship duels, whoever hit first held a decisive advantage. The German fleet's tactical victory at the Battle of Jutland was largely due to the faulty fuses on the British shells, which frequently detonated prematurely or misfired. If they had such a fire control system, coupled with reliable shells…

"What about the armor layout?" Captain Top asked. He was a pragmatic man, more concerned with the survivability of the warship.

Li Te pulled up the ship's structural diagram: "It adopts the concept of 'comprehensive protection'. The main armor belt is 320 mm thick, installed at a 15-degree angle, with an equivalent thickness of 380 mm of vertical armor. The horizontal armor is divided into three layers: the main armor plate is 120 mm thick, the middle layer is 40 mm thick, and the lower layer is 20 mm thick, specifically designed to defend against shells falling at high angles."

He pointed to some special areas on the map: "These are the reinforced areas of key parts: ammunition depots, engine rooms, and command centers. We have adopted a new 'honeycomb' compartment design, so even if it is breached, flooding will be limited to a localized area. According to calculations, even if hit by five to six 380mm shells, the warship can still maintain its combat capability and navigation ability."

Rear Admiral Trotta couldn't help but ask, "How did you manage to reduce the weight? With this level of protection, plus eight 380mm main guns, and a speed of 30 knots... according to our calculations, it would require at least 50,000 tons of displacement."

Li Te and engineer Lan Fang exchanged a glance. This was a sensitive issue, involving core secrets of materials technology.

"We used a new type of alloy steel," materials expert Dr. Wang cautiously began. "It's 15% lighter than traditional Krupp armor steel, but 20% stronger. The specific smelting process... unfortunately, that's a state secret of Lanfang and is not within the scope of this technology transfer."

The room fell silent. The German officers understood: Lanfang was willing to sell its products and even train operators, but it wouldn't hand over its core technology.

Tirpitz broke the silence: "I understand. Then, what about the propulsion system? How is a speed of thirty knots achieved?"

This time it was Liu Yonghui's turn to speak. He spread out the power system diagrams: "Twelve high-pressure boilers, operating at 450 pounds per square inch and 450 degrees Celsius. Three steam turbines, each with an output of 50,000 horsepower. The transmission system uses a new type of reduction gear, which is 8% more efficient than the traditional direct drive."

He paused, then added, "However, I must remind you that such high-pressure, high-temperature systems have extremely high requirements for operation and maintenance. The boiler water must be strictly purified, otherwise scale will form in the pipes, leading to overheating and pipe bursts. The turbine bearings need to be inspected every 200 hours, and the lubricating oil must be the type we specify."

"What if we use a German-made alternative?" Lindemann asked.

"I don't recommend it." Liu Yonghui stated bluntly, "We have already tested similar products from Krupp and MAN, and their performance does not meet design requirements. Forcing their use could lead to system failure, or even... catastrophic consequences."

The words were phrased tactfully, but everyone understood the subtext: if you buy our ships, you have to use our parts and services. It's a long-term chain.