Chapter 2494 The Forgotten Battleship 2
The first point is that after the end of the war, the Russian navy quickly expanded its navy with the support of Britain and France to cope with the expansion of the German navy. Among them, new warships such as the Gangut-class battleship and the Izmail-class fast battleship quickly appeared on the slipway. Therefore, from this perspective, the Russian Navy can replenish a large number of new warships in a short period of time, so it is already somewhat outdated. There is no need for the Rurik-class battleship to come back. The warships that had participated in the Russo-Japanese naval battle that returned to the Baltic Sea were subsequently decommissioned because the performance of these warships was too poor. It can be seen that the Russian Baltic Fleet is not short of ships.
Second point, in this dimension, Turkey rejected the Russian fleet's request to pass through the Black Sea. With the support of Germany, Turkey refused any Russian warships to enter or leave the Dardanelles Strait at any time. Therefore, four Rurik-class armored cruisers The plan to return to the Black Sea was ruined. When the warship purchase agreement was signed with Germany, there was an additional clause, that is, the four Rurik-class warships could not be deployed in the Baltic Sea. Although with Russia siding with the British, Germany and Russia were already considered potential enemy, but the Russian government does not need to overly stimulate the Russians for four outdated warships. Anyway, Russia has time to wait for the new ship to be launched.
Considering that the Russian Pacific Fleet still needs some warships to act as facades, in the end these four Rurik-class fast battleships stayed in the Far East. As for why these warships did not participate in military operations in the Indian Ocean during World War I? This reason is somewhat embarrassing, because before the war began, the power systems of these four battleships were being replaced and repaired, including replacing new boilers and replacing inefficient vertical steam engines with efficient steam turbines.
However, after the outbreak of the war, Russia's resources were tight, so the replacement and maintenance work became protracted. Therefore, these battleships spent most of their time either in the port or on the slipway during World War I, and did not participate in the war. The unfathomable thing is that after the collapse of the Nomanov dynasty, the Japanese took advantage of the situation and occupied the Russian Far East, and the whereabouts of these warships are also unknown. It is not known whether they were scuttled, destroyed, or encountered something else...
"Things are a little troublesome now. The Russians were preparing to modify these guys before the war broke out, including replacing the twin secondary main guns with a single 12-inch gun. I don't know how long it has taken to complete the project. To what extent, if the Japanese can still use it after repairing it, then it is really not good news for us. It is equivalent to adding four sub-level dreadnoughts out of thin air, and the speed is still very fast." Su Xiong frowned He frowned and said.
"If I remember correctly, the Rurik-class battleship has reached a speed of more than 22 knots in previous trials. If the steam turbine and new boiler are replaced, the speed still has the potential to increase. The maximum speed is hard to say. , but they are definitely faster than those iron turtles in the United States. The only ones that can catch up with them are our and American new armored cruisers, and the latter probably can’t beat these guys. More importantly, the Japanese have up to 4 of these in their hands. Battleship. If it is completely repaired, it will cause us some trouble whether it is a frontal battlefield or a break-up battlefield." Redel said seriously.
"I think we need to remind the Americans." Su Xiong said.
"Can.
"Raeder nodded and said. "It seems that there is a 70% chance that we will have to find these Japanese warships in the vast Pacific in the future. Just like when Thomas came to us. "
"It's really troublesome." Su Xiong finally sighed and said. However, what Su Xiong didn't expect was that they had not only ignored battleships before, but also other battleships!
And just when the Germans realized that the old ships of the Russian Far East Fleet might cause them a lot of trouble, in the berth of the distant Kawasaki Shipyard in Japan, this trouble was turning into reality! In berths 4 and 5 of Kawasaki Shipyard, two huge warships are undergoing final outfitting.
"Looking at this battleship, I feel like I have traveled through time and space." Yamamoto Isoroku said with emotion as he looked at the former enemy in front of him. Ten years ago, in the decisive battle of the Russo-Japanese naval battle, the Asahi armored cruiser Yamamoto Isoroku was on was crippled by the two battleships in front of him. There were more than 800 people on the ship, and in the end only less than 100 people survived. 150 people, and he was one of them. However, now, times have changed, and after the collapse of Russia, these two German-built Russian warships that once made the Japanese navy fearful finally came to the Japanese slipway. What makes people feel that fate is so confusing is that Yamamoto Isoroku will become the captain of one of the battleships after being promoted to captain!
"Although they are a little old, they are still sharp. After repairs, they will gallop on the sea again." Koga Mineichi said on the side. This guy is the reserve captain of another battleship. And if nothing unexpected happens, Yamamoto Isoroku and Koga Mineichi will be organized into a team, with Yamamoto Isoroku as the team commander!
"Do you know how the higher ups will arrange for us in the future?" Koga Mineichi asked.
"How would I know? The main force of Japan's combined fleet has gone south, and almost all the military leaders have gone, and we are still on the mainland. How could I possibly know the military's arrangements for us." Yamamoto Isoroku frowned and felt a little uncomfortable. Said happily. There is a reason why Koga Hoichi asked this, because Yamamoto Isoroku has a very naughty adoptive father named Yamamoto Gonbei...
The well-deserved boss in the Japanese Navy! Yamamoto Isoroku was originally named Takano Isoroku. He was adopted from the Takano family to the Yamamoto family. Yamamoto Isoroku's ability to become the captain of this battleship may also be due to his family background. After all, these two battleships It can also be called a battleship. Before, Isoroku Yamamoto only had the rank of lieutenant colonel. Now he is about to be promoted to colonel. He will directly serve as the captain of the battleship and the temporary commander of the squadron. This is actually a bit beyond. So Koga Mineichi thinks that Yamamoto Isoroku might have some inside information, right? (Historically, Isoroku Yamamoto was a major at the same time. However, a major is unlikely to serve as a battleship captain, and even a lieutenant colonel is suspended, so I need to mention it here. Hmm.)
"Then let's make some guesses. I remember that the hammock number of senior is very high." Koga Hoichi said with a smile.
"It stands to reason that we will incorporate it into the main fleet, because our number of capital ships is somewhat small. Although Rurik is outdated, its speed is still good and the defense is barely passable. The addition of four Rurik-class battleships will help To make up for the shortcomings of our battleship squadron. But the actual situation will not be like this." Yamamoto Isoroku thought for a while and said.
The third update is here~~~! Please subscribe and reward~~~!