Chapter 2493 The Forgotten Battleship 1

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"Yes, it's a long time, but I asked the designers at Kiel Naval Shipyard. They think that the hull life is no problem, and the ship type is actually suitable for high speed. If the Japanese are willing to invest enough money, then this It will be a still deadly cruiser, worse than our Mainz, but faster than the American armored cruisers currently in service. It may not be suitable for frontal combat, but if relations are broken, we are the only ones who can guarantee that they will be caught and killed. So , if the sea lines of communication are damaged, we may still carry out encirclement and suppression missions. Believe me, chasing down a fast warship in the Pacific Ocean will definitely be a test of patience." Redel said seriously.

"It's very troublesome." Su Xiong frowned and said. "If the British provide help again, it will be even more troublesome. However, if the American heavy cruisers are in service, then they can perform such tasks. Of course, if the time to form combat effectiveness is considered, it is estimated that it will take half a year. "

"If there aren't enough, the Pacific Ocean is too big," Redl said.

"Don't worry too much about this. The four armored cruisers we sold to the Japanese back then only have two left. Even if they all carry out the task of breaking the engagement, it will only be a small wave." Su Xiong said.

"By the way, we have to confirm one thing now." Reidel suddenly said seriously.

"What's going on?" Su Xiong was a little curious about Reidel's attitude.

"What is the situation of the Russian Far East Fleet? The Japanese occupied the Russian Far East, including Vladivostok, so what about the warships of the Far East Fleet? What is their situation?" Redl said.

"I'm not sure about this issue. To be honest, not only us, but even the country does not pay too much attention to the Russian Far East Fleet. After all, these warships are old ships, and they have not appeared on the battlefield." Su Xiong said.

"It cannot be said that the four Rurik-class fast battleships we built for the Russians can be deployed in the Russian Far East! These battleships are also very fast, and their combat effectiveness is higher than the Mainz-class armored cruisers! If these battleships are If the Japanese take over, the situation will be a little bad. They can actually call it a true first-generation battlecruiser." Redl said seriously.

"Holy shit!" Su Xiong also suddenly realized the seriousness of the matter. They had been staring at Japan's existing fleet to analyze, but they never thought that there was a force that should not be underestimated hidden in a corner of the Far East! The Rurik-class fast battleships built by Germany for the Russians were still deployed in the Far East after the Russo-Japanese War and did not return to Europe. It is really possible that these battleships are now in the hands of the Japanese.

"Rurik, these old guys are really troublesome." Su Xiong also remembered the memories that had been dusty in his mind. As we all know, in the Battle of the Philippines, the four Japanese armored cruisers showed their prowess.

Half of the reason why the Japanese fleet was able to defeat the U.S. and Russian fleets was because of these four armored cruisers with a displacement of 13,000 tons. After the war, in order to restrain this Japanese armored cruiser detachment, the Russians decisively ordered four more powerful warships in Germany with a displacement of up to 18,000 tons. The status of these warships at the time was equivalent to the Queen Elizabeth class in World War I. status!

The Rurik-class battleship is equipped with four 12-inch L40 guns and eight 10-inch guns. The front armor of the main turret is 10 inches thick, and the side armor belt is as thick as 8.5 inches! Has very strong firepower and defense. After changing the guns, the first battlecruiser HMS Invincible that killed the British head-on is probably not a big problem. (For specific data, please see Chapter 237)

And because this class of warship is the first warship with a displacement of more than 16,000 tons built by the Germans, it can be said to be a hands-on work. In addition, the price given by the Russians is very high, a warship costs 1.8 million to 1.85 million pounds! Therefore, the Germans still used some new technologies when building this battleship, such as kerosene mixed-firing boilers! This was actually the first battleship to use such a boiler! (Rurik started construction earlier than Germany's Kaiser-class battleships.)

To be honest, after this warship came out, there was a fierce debate in the world's naval community about its positioning. In order to downplay the impact of the export of this class of warships, the German Navy declared that the Rurik-class warship was a A fast cruiser... No problem, a fast cruiser with a standard displacement of 18,000 tons! At that time, in order to conceal the data of this battleship, it was announced that the tonnage of this battleship was only 15,000 tons, which was almost the same as the British Qiangsheng-class first-class cruiser...

Of course, this kind of claim will definitely not fool the insiders. The hull is 165 meters long and 22 meters wide. Add to that 4 12-inch guns, 8 10-inch secondary main guns, and a thick armored belt. Are you telling me that the displacement is 15,000 tons? No one who really knows anything believes it. It just makes each other's face better. After all, Russia and Britain were still enemies back then. Germany exported warships to Russia. The British were definitely dissatisfied. Although they would not retaliate directly, the Germans also wanted to give them something that everyone could do. Stairs!

However, when the Russians obtained this class of battleship, they decisively called it a fast battleship and deployed it directly in the Far East. And this was not over yet. The Russians used another class of battleship in the Russo-Japanese War - Bo The Rodino-class battleship is actually a simplified version of the Rurik-class fast battleship, with reduced speed, divided warehouses, and reduced reserve buoyancy. Therefore, Russia's most powerful battleships in the Russo-Japanese War were the four Rurik-class battleships in Essen's hands rather than the Borodino-class battleships in Makanov's hands.

These battleships are much newer than the German Mainz and the Japanese Asama-class armored cruisers. After all, they were ordered at the end of 1898, and they were not actually put into service after 1900. They are the longest ships to date. The ship is less than 15 years old. In that Japanese-Russian naval battle that shocked China and the world, Essen rushed to the battlefield with three Rurik-class battleships and killed them when a battleship hit a mine as soon as they left. Two Japanese armored cruisers, Asama and Asahi. Then it was successfully transferred. You must know that in this naval battle, the Russian Navy killed a total of 3 Japanese battleships!

After the war, Makanov's remaining three battleships returned to Europe. And these four Rurik-class battleships stayed in the Far East. Compared with the historical situation where the Russian Far East Fleet almost existed in name only after the Russo-Japanese War, Russia still maintains a considerable military presence in the Far East in this dimension. The reasons can be attributed to the following points.

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