Tongue-Battling the Heroes (Seeking Collection)

"Gentlemen, His Majesty the Emperor has other affairs this afternoon, so he has fully entrusted me to represent him at this Demonstration Conference. However, I come only with eyes and ears. I will faithfully report your views to His Majesty. You are all the most outstanding experts in German Empire Navy ship design. I trust you will reach the correct conclusion and find the right development path for the German Empire Navy." Crown Prince Wilhelm spoke with a smile on his face.

Inwardly, however, he desperately hoped the Naval Technical Committee would reject Oscar's design. Oscar's ability to generate wealth was already terrifying enough. If Oscar also displayed talent in naval warship design, it would undoubtedly elevate his standing within the imperial family significantly. And that would pose a serious threat to his own position as crown prince. Crown Prince Wilhelm naturally did not want to see this happen. He wished all his younger brothers were mediocre idlers content to coast through life. Only then would his succession to the throne be completely secure.

"Gentlemen, under the support of His Majesty the Emperor, the German Navy is undergoing rapid development. But the gap between us and the British Navy remains very wide. Therefore, we absolutely cannot afford to take a wrong turn in our naval development. Otherwise, the gap between us and the British Navy will widen further. As for Prince Oskar's design, you must conduct a rigorous evaluation without the slightest carelessness." Grand Admiral Count Tirpitz also spoke. He was clearly very optimistic about Oscar's design. Although some of the technology was ahead of its time, he could see just how outstanding the performance of the battleship Oscar had designed was. If it could be built, it would greatly help strengthen the German Navy.

Then, the Demonstration Conference officially began.

"Gentlemen, His Highness the Crown Prince and His Excellency the Grand Admiral have shown the importance they place on this conference. Now it is up to you. Let the Demonstration Conference begin. First, please invite His Highness Prince Oskar to introduce the battleship he has designed!" Count von Warren said.

Oscar stood up and nodded to the assembly. Then he walked to the podium at the side of the conference room. Staff members had already hung the blueprints of his designed battleship on the wall.

When Oscar's battleship design was revealed before them, many were shocked. They had to admit the battleship looked so majestic and imposing. Of course, from a professional standpoint, this battleship was completely different in style from existing battleships, with far too many distinctions. Yet even with many questions in their minds, they did not speak immediately but waited for Oscar's introduction.

After taking a deep breath, Oscar finally spoke.

"Dear experts, this is the battleship I have designed. This battleship has a length of 145 meters, a beam of 24 meters, a draft of 8.6 meters, a standard displacement of 18,500 tons, and a full-load displacement of 20,500 tons. Its power plant consists of 12 Heavy Oil Highway boilers and three Steam Turbines, with a main engine output of 25,000 horsepower, three shafts, a maximum speed of 21 knots, a range of 12,000 nautical miles at 10 knots and 3,000 nautical miles at 20 knots. Its armament includes three Triple Turrets of 305mm 45-caliber main guns, twelve 150mm 45-caliber secondary guns, and sixteen single-mounted 88mm anti-torpedo boat guns. For armor protection, the main belt armor is 305mm, the deck armor is 45mm, the turret face armor is 305mm, and the conning tower armor is 305mm." Oscar introduced to everyone.

After hearing Oscar's introduction, everyone was stunned. They had to admit that the battleship Oscar designed was indeed excellent. At least on paper, the data looked outstanding. Whether in firepower, protection, or speed, it far surpassed their existing battleships or even those under construction. Compared to this design, the battleships they had previously designed were simply garbage. Of course, that did not mean they would concede defeat. Paper data might look good, but it still had to be buildable!

"Ahem, gentlemen, if you have any questions, please speak up." Count von Warren coughed twice.

"Your Highness, forgive my frankness, but the battleship you have designed is indeed very excellent. At least on paper, that is. However, I still have a few doubts, and I hope Your Highness can clarify them for me." Sir Dietrich was the first to jump in. As the best naval engineer in the German Navy, although he was also shocked by Oscar's design, he would not give in easily.

"Please speak, Your Excellency, Sir." Oscar knew the real test had begun.

"Your Highness, I noticed that the battleship you designed has no secondary main battery but instead uses Triple Turrets of large-caliber main guns. Why did you have such an idea? Currently, mainstream battleships deploy both large-caliber main guns and smaller-caliber secondary main guns together." Sir Dietrich asked.

"Your Excellency, Sir, in my view, as main gun power continues to increase, so does their range. Long-range naval engagements will soon become the norm. In longer-range battles, secondary main guns can play a very small role. Instead of that, it is better to adopt an All-big-gun Armament layout to further enhance the battleship's firepower at long range. Additionally, more and more naval battles have proven that broadside engagements have become the norm. Therefore, all of a battleship's main guns must be able to fire to one side. This allows concentrating all firepower to further strengthen the battleship's combat effectiveness."

Sir Dietrich nodded: "Without discussing whether Your Highness's conclusion is correct, this design is indeed very novel. However, without solid evidence to prove this conclusion, I still think we should be cautious."

Oscar's expression darkened. These old fossils on the Naval Technical Committee were truly stuck in their ways!

"Your Highness, no battleship in any country in the world uses Triple Turrets for its main guns. Triple Turrets are too heavy, which will affect the ship's stability. At the same time, the muzzle blast formed when firing will greatly impact the fall of shot and affect gunnery accuracy." Commodore Gussad, a naval weapons expert, raised his own question.

"Your Excellency General, the reason for adopting Triple Turrets is to make the hull more compact and further strengthen protection. As for the muzzle blast issue, it is actually easy to solve. For example, by staggering the firing. Among the Triple Turrets, the middle gun can fire 0.5 seconds later than the two side guns during a salvo. This way, it will have no impact at all."

After hearing Oscar's explanation, Commodore Gussad's eyes lit up. With his experience, he could naturally tell whether this method was effective or not.