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Chapter 21: The Two-masted Sailboat that combines ancient and modern Chinese and Western styles
In terms of armaments, an exposed turret is installed at the bow and stern of the ship, and a 70-mm rifled cannon is installed. A retractable tarpaulin frame is installed above the exposed turret, which can be covered to protect the artillery. It has the same structure as the exposed turret installed on the fishing boat by the artillery trial production team headed by Lin Shenhe. The only improvement is that the rear seat system of the retractable gun mount has been changed from the original pulley group cable system to a rail-mounted gun mount - ―The artillery mount is installed on a track with sliding wheels. When firing, the recoil of the artillery is offset by sliding along the track. The end of the track is a hardwood blocking block. The collision and rebound force between the wheel and the blocking block are used to reposition the artillery. Push back to the original position - not using steel to prevent the collision between the two and sparks. If the mechanical level of the time traveler is higher, Lin Shenhe can introduce more complex gears, rollers and hydraulic systems to achieve a better buffering effect - after all, the weight and volume of the rear seat of the artillery must be solved on warships. The restrictions are much looser.
This system has undergone preliminary testing on the Lingaojiao Fort and is considered to basically meet the needs. Its installation on the No. 0 ship also includes the intention of testing it at sea.
The gun emplacement is of a rotary type, driven and rotated by manpower below the deck. In order to facilitate the gunner to guide the rotation angle, a communication tube is installed on the gun position. The 90 degrees pointing to the deck is limited to prevent the enemy from using it to design the deck once they take control of the gun, and to prevent the gunner from misoperation.
Although the protection of the exposed fort is not very good, there is no artillery in this time and space that can surpass the range of the 70-rifle gun. The gun profile is riveted with rolled iron plates, and the defensive power is quite impressive by the standards of this time and space. . According to the ideas of Wen Desi and the navy, they also wanted to lay a rolled wrought iron armor plate on the deck of the "Zero Ship" to build the first dome-armored cruiser. However, they calculated the time required to install this deck. After reaching the required number of wrought iron plates, Wen Desi gave up the idea, and finally just installed armored belts around the ammunition room, which was regarded as a kind of safety protection.
As for auxiliary weapons, Li Yunxing's idea was to make a multi-barreled gun, but this thing was bulky and slow to load. In the end, mature technology was used according to Lin Shenhe's suggestion: six 2-pound light mortars were installed: one on each side of the ship's side, one on the bow and one on the stern. The other two doors are to be installed on the platform at the top of the mast. This artillery is very compact and is mounted on a freely rotating gimbal. It can rotate 360 degrees, with an elevation angle of up to 80 degrees and a depression angle of 40 degrees. Fire iron sand, scrap iron and shotgun with a total weight not exceeding 1 kg. The range is very short, and its function is similar to the 127 high-speed aircraft on modern warships. It is specially used to kill enemies at close range. In naval battles, it is often used to shoot at the opponent's sails and cables and sailors on the deck. When necessary, it is also used directly for cleaning. A team jumping on one's own deck. Of course, the guiding ideology of crossing the navy is to shoot as far away as possible, rather than to engage in exhausting, close-range bombardment with heavy casualties.
Since the No. 0 ship is not going to install side guns, its available space under the deck is much larger, which greatly improves the ship's self-sustainability and carrying capacity. The living conditions of the crew are naturally much better than those of ordinary sail warships: more There are more crew rooms and sanitary facilities, better lighting and ventilation, and Wen Desi has prepared retractable hammocks for even the most ordinary sailors. From the perspective of a time traveler, these can only be regarded as the minimum. Wen Desi was very aware of the weaknesses of his group of people. They had courage and ambition, but lacked the will to live a hard life. Without allowing everyone to eat well, drink well and sleep well, allowing these people to go on voyages and adventures is tantamount to wishful thinking.
For the sail installation, the shipbuilding team decided to temporarily use Chinese-style hard sails after consideration. Hard sails are quite suitable for the traverser's ability. After all, the traverser himself does not master the technology of making soft sails. Sewing sails is a specialized technology that not only requires specialized tools, but also requires a huge space. Not to mention that no one in China knew this technology at that time, even Macau did not necessarily have sailmakers. The Canvas Planning Committee of the Sail There is no inventory in the warehouse and we must rely on imports. It is still unknown whether there are so many canvases available for import in Macau.
In comparison, the manufacturing and material requirements of Chinese-style hard sails are much lower. The hard sail is a flat piece, while the soft jib is a complex curved surface that requires professional craftsmen to sew. The material of the soft sail must be special canvas. Since the hard sail has supporting bones, the material requirements are not high. Ordinary cloth or even straw mats, reed curtains and the like can be used instead. Even if it is slightly damaged, it can still be used and can be temporarily repaired. Also very convenient.
The first advantage of a hard sail is that it has high wind reception efficiency. A hard sail is like the wing of an airplane and can take advantage of wind from all directions. When the wind blows towards the sail at a very small angle of attack, lift is generated on the sail surface, and the lift is perpendicular to the direction of the wind. When the ship is hit by side wind, the lift force is roughly similar to the direction of travel of the ship, which is very efficient. Even if it encounters an oblique headwind, the ship can follow a zigzag track and still be able to travel. The so-called "wind from all directions" can be used. The sail has a rope tied to one side. Sailors can adjust the angle of the sail at any time according to changes in the wind. Just because the sail can be raised and lowered quickly and crosswinds can also be taken on a zigzag route, it seems to be much more convenient, at the cost of being slower than a soft sail.
Secondly, the raising and lowering of the hard sail is easy to operate. Since there is no complicated sail cable system, ordinary people can perform the work of retracting and lowering the sail with almost no special training. The retracting speed of the sail is extremely fast. In a critical situation, it is even necessary to cut the main rope. It can be done in just a few seconds. Raising the sail is slower and more laborious - there are ribs in the sail and it weighs more, but it doesn't require any special skills. The hard sail does not need to be adjusted frequently during sailing, saving operator hands.
Although in the long run, soft sail rigging is the development trend of sailing. Large sailboats and clippers all use this system, but the mission of Ship Zero is at most to go south to the Philippines and north to the Japanese Islands, basically just wandering around the coastal areas. Chinese-style hard sails are very suitable for the environment in coastal areas of mainland China where sea conditions are complex and wind directions change.
"Let's replace it with hard sails for the time being. Once we have the ability to make sails, we can replace them." Wen Desi actually didn't like using hard sails, but the conditions reminded him that it would be better to be more realistic - apart from the industrial problems, soft sails Sail rigging requires much higher skills from the sailor and is not as simple and convenient as a hard sailing ship. After all, Ship Zero is a ship that will be put into service immediately.
"In the future, steam engines will be used, so what else will we do with sailboats?" Li Di said.
Wen Desi shook his head: "At least in the next 20 years, large sailing ships will still be the direction of our ocean transportation-it does not require fuel. Steam engine ships do not have an advantage in bulk cargo transportation, they are not efficient and consume coal. Long-distance navigation requires Solve the problem of overseas coal filling stations. As for when we can produce steam turbines, it depends on how quickly we can climb the technology tree."
Sailboats actually sailed until the 1950s before they were completely eliminated from the world shipping market. Before that, sailboats were still the best means of transportation for long-distance transportation of bulk cargo by sea.
"I really want to drive our ironclad ship as soon as possible." Although Le Lin, a naval controller, does not know shipbuilding technology, she still spends time in the shipyard whenever she has free time.
"It's actually not that difficult. Iron-hulled ships are actually easier to build than wooden ships." Wen Desi said, "As long as there are enough materials and skilled workers can keep up with the training, building a thousand-ton iron-hulled ship is a piece of cake."
"Mr. Wen, do you think we can build another 70-ton soft-sailed ship as a training ship?"
The speaker was Mingqiu from the Maritime Power Department. As a naval consultant, he often comes to this shipyard to see the construction progress of the first self-made warship in the Navy. To be honest, after being used to seeing modern warships, it was quite strange to suddenly see that the navy's warship was actually a sailing ship. Especially the strange gun emplacement - Ming Qiu vaguely remembered that he had seen something similar when he visited a certain fort built in the late Qing Dynasty. Although the reality is somewhat out of touch with his experience, the basic idea of building a navy is the same: whether it is a navy in the age of sails or a navy in the electronic age, people are always the most basic and critical component. Training enough sailors is a top priority. Mingqiu also saw the sailing training ship of the Nanhai Navy that came to visit that year. He felt that this method was very training and suitable for the future needs of the navy.
"What you said makes sense. I will discuss with the executive committee to allocate materials as soon as possible to start construction of another training ship, but this requires the support of the foreign trade department." In fact, a few days ago, Ma Qianzhu had sent a team from the foreign trade company People went to Macau to see if they could find relevant materials and craftsmen.
As he was talking, a European-style single-masted clipper with a swordfish-like long tusked raft and a long row of sails was sailing crookedly in the sea outside the shipyard. The sails were hung in pieces. Look. It turned out that there were still a few people climbing on it, and faint shouting could be heard in the sea breeze.
"Whose ship is this?" Wen Desi was surprised.
"Li Huamei's ship, the Hangzhou." Chen Haiyang reported, "I reported to the executive committee last time, and she is now teaching everyone the sailing and cable handling techniques."
"It's her. She looks very active." Wen Desi thought thoughtfully, "Didn't Mond report that she was unwilling to be a coach?"
"She refused. It's not considered a formal teaching now. It seems to be just for fun."
"This is a unique pastime." Wen Desi was full of distrust.
After Li Huamei came to Lingao, the executive committee had doubts about her intentions, so it did not set a tone on how to treat her. So we only sent people from the foreign affairs department to entertain them with delicious food and drinks. Li Huamei, who was bored at the port, naturally developed a relationship with the navy officers in Bopu. With her name, beautiful appearance, cheerful temper and her speedboat, except for a few retired former PLA naval officers, they still had a crush on this woman. In addition to considerable revolutionary vigilance, most of the naval officers soon lost their due vigilance and often took her ship for a spin in the waters outside the port, in the name of learning ship maneuvering skills. Li Huamei was quite generous, not only teaching various maritime navigation experiences, but also performing various ship-operating techniques from time to time. For a time, his reputation soared and he won a large number of fans. So much so that every time the executive committee held an enlarged meeting, someone would say good things for her. Let the executive committee deeply appreciate the powerful charm of women. ,.
