The Rise of the Empire

Chapter 2496: Forgotten Battleship IV

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The Japanese Navy gained a lot in this Russo-Japanese War. Not only did it acquire 4 Rurik-class battleships, but also some destroyers and auxiliary battleships. The Kamchatka seaplane carrier was one of the most dazzling trophies. First, unlike the Rurik-class battleship nested in the harbor during almost the entire war, the Kamchatka performed well. It used to cooperate with the Japanese Navy in the Indian Ocean region for a long time and used the large number of seaplanes on board to search for Germany. Camouflaged assault ships in this sea area, and successfully captured two ships, and also provided anti-submarine **** assistance to the fleet, successfully driving away submarines at least 20 times!

However, when the Russian government collapsed, the poor Kamchatka seaplane carrier was receiving supplies and maintenance in the Philippines. The Japanese navy easily accepted the seaplane carrier and incorporated it into the Japanese fleet, even with its name. No changes...

"These are all necessary. At the beginning of the war, the Germans also assigned a large number of seaplanes to the Suxiong fleet to provide reconnaissance. In the latter part of the war, I always thought that the German fleet was the last time to ambush our transport in the Indian Ocean. In the fleet, they used an aircraft carrier! Otherwise, they would not have so many aircraft. It can be seen that it is necessary to assign an aircraft-carrying warship to the fleet. And the Imperial Navy does not lack such a ship. Seaplane carrier." Yamamoto Fifty-Six said.

The Japanese joint fleet basically operates within the cover of land-based aviation. Therefore, whether it is for aerial reconnaissance, air defense, or anti-submarine, the land-based aviation is responsible for the real bulk. Not to mention, it is only in New Ireland. Japan has deployed at least 250 aircraft of various kinds, and deployed more than 400 aircraft on New Britain Island. A considerable part of the elite Japanese air force is gathered together. Although it lacks bombers and torpedoes, it is only about air defense firepower. But it is quite strong, so it is also possible to assign a seaplane carrier to the fleet.

"Great. With the seaplane carrier and the sea supplies provided by the British, we can definitely upset the American transportation line." Gu Hefeng said excitedly.

"Hehe, maybe, but the more we move, the closer we are to destruction. Don’t forget, the Americans may not have a good way to deal with us, but the Germans are different. Their carrier-based aircraft force has Rich experience in sea attacks, and the Germans also have the most powerful fleet of fast fleets in the world! If they want to kill us, unless we sneak back early, we can catch us sooner or later, our mission this time Not only breaking the diplomatic ties, but more importantly, acting as a decoy to move the German fleet away from the front when necessary! This is a very dangerous task." Yamamoto said.

"Using your own fleet to create an opportunity for the main force of the joint fleet? It is worthwhile. I just hope that the performance of the joint fleet is worthy of our sacrifice." Gu Hefeng shook his head and said.

"Well, that's something for the future. I think that the Joint Fleet Command will arrange for us. After all, we have at least two battleships in our hands. This kind of power cannot be easily lost. Let's go up and see our battleships. "Fifty-six Yamamoto said.

"Although it is a good ship, it is really old." He stroked the twin 12-inch turret at the rear of the battleship Rülik, and looked at the seaplane equipment under intense construction not far away. He Fengyi said with some emotion.

As he said, although the Rurik was arrogant when it first entered service, it can even be said to have made groundbreaking contributions in certain fields, but after all, it is too long, not only some subsystems are far behind the times. , And most importantly, the hull limits the room for improvement of this warship.

For example, to increase aviation facilities, the general dreadnought ship can place the guide rails, cranes and other equipment required by the seaplane in the middle of the hull. In this way, it is not easy to be damaged by wind and waves. However, the four corners of the battleship are directly 4 turrets. Below is the ammunition depot. Not only does it squeeze the space needed by the seaplane on the ship surface, but more importantly, there is no place for the aviation fuel depot in the lower hull.

Therefore, the Japanese navy can only simply attach two guide rails and a crane to the hull to be used as a retractable equipment for the seaplane. As for the aviation fuel tank, it is placed directly under the uppermost deck and is in an unprotected state. If a shell hits in, then this feeling will definitely be very sour! And more importantly, at the rear of the hull, there is nothing to hide. If it catches up with the wind and waves, it is possible for the waves to directly rush up and hit the seaplane into a sloppy. In addition, the dry string of this warship is already worse, and this is even more uncertain.

"The Admiralty has made some efforts. They installed lightning protection protrusions on both sides of the hull to increase the buoyancy of the warship. The dry string of the battleship has improved a lot, and the extra lightning protection protrusions can also be used. Used to hold fuel and fresh water, increase the endurance of the battleship." Yamamoto Fifty-Six said.

"That definitely means a drop in speed. I doubt that under full load, even if the ship changes its power equipment, it will probably be difficult for this ship to run above 23 knots, right?" Gu He Fengyi said.

"It is estimated that this is the case. This is actually a pseudo-fast battleship. Even if it simply talks about speed, it is not at the same level as the German Bavaria." Yamamoto Fifty-Six said ~lightnovelpub.net~Well, at least touch On the American cruiser, our 12-inch gun is enough to deal with them. "Then, the two began to move on the battleship. Compared with the engineering of the power and hull, the weapons of the Rurik were not much changed. The main gun was copied, although the original second-level main gun was replaced. , But this was the job of the Russians before, and the changes were completed when the Japanese took over. In addition to the 8 12-inch main guns, the main secondary guns on this battleship are 20 120mm rapid-fire guns. This is the real front A product of the fearless era, in World War I, the British did not have a new 120MM rapid-fire gun. The ammunition of these artillery can only be found from the bottom of the Japanese and Russian warehouses.

The Japanese finally decided to dismantle part of the 120MM rapid-fire guns and use some of the better shooting positions to install the British 12-pounder anti-aircraft guns. After all, in this era, even cruisers have to consider air defense firepower, and Rurik is also a battleship anyway, and it is naturally necessary to equip some air defense guns.

Before, the Japanese also planned to dismantle the 120MM artillery and replace it with a 6-inch artillery, because the power of the former is too small, and it is not enough even for merchant ships. But in the end, it was given up because of the construction period and materials. And just as the two inspected on the battleship, the Pacific War finally came!

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