Although Germany had no fewer than seven top-tier shipyards, and eight after Oscar's German Shipyard was included, it was impossible to take every major shipyard's interests into account. Only those with relatively closer ties could be selected.
Wilhelm II nodded. Building five New-style Battleships would indeed be somewhat expensive. But with the loans obtained from Oscar, the royal family's financial backing, and the Navy's original budget, it was not a problem at all. Besides, battleships naturally took a long time to build; spread across each year, the expense would not be too great.
After Wilhelm II and Grand Admiral Count Tirpitz discussed the matter, of the five next-generation Capital Ships, aside from the lead ship being built by German Shipyard, the other four would be built by Navy Shipyard, Royal Shipyard, Vulcan Shipyard, and Weser Shipyard respectively. That made five ships in total.
Naturally, Oscar had no objections. German Shipyard had only eight large slipways to begin with. The Nassau-class Battleships had already occupied four of them, and the remaining four clearly could not swallow all the remaining New-style Battleships in one bite. Giving some to the other shipyards would also free up slipways for building other vessels.
As for the naming of the new Capital Ships, Wilhelm II ultimately chose the name Helgoland. Thus, the German Navy's second class of dreadnoughts was officially designated the Helgoland-class Battleships. Five ships of this class would ultimately be built, one more than in another timeline. The lead ship would be Helgoland, followed by Ostfriesland, Thuringen, Oldenburg, and East Prussia.
Watching the history of the German Navy be completely changed by his own hand, Oscar felt immensely pleased with himself. Four Nassau-class Battleships and five Helgoland-class Battleships were only one fewer in number than the British Dreadnought, three Bellerophon-class Battleships, three St. Vincent-class Battleships, Neptune, and two Colossus-class ships. More importantly, the Nassau-class and Helgoland-class Battleships of this timeline were both far more powerful. Against British Navy battleships, they would possess an almost overwhelming advantage. Once war broke out, the British Navy would pay a crushing price.
"Oskar, when can construction begin on the Helgoland-class Battleships?" Wilhelm II asked.
"Father Emperor, I'm afraid we'll have to wait until next year," Oscar replied.
"Next year? Why?" Wilhelm II was startled. He could hardly wait to see the German Navy possess these majestic and formidable battleships.
"Father Emperor, Krupp Company is currently concentrating all its efforts on developing the 305mm 50-caliber Main Gun. Right now, it probably cannot spare much capacity to develop the 343mm Main Gun. At the latest, we will have to wait until next year, after the 305mm 50-caliber Main Gun achieves a breakthrough, before development of the 343mm Main Gun can begin. Increasing a main gun's caliber is no easy matter; it requires enormous investments of manpower and money. Krupp Company's burden will increase as well. Therefore, beginning construction next year is undoubtedly the best option," Oscar explained.
Oscar hoped that every main gun mounted on German Navy battleships would be a large-caliber weapon with a high caliber-to-barrel-length ratio. This would give the guns even greater power, especially much more formidable armor-piercing capability. Naturally, this made the guns harder to develop and more expensive to produce. Their service life would also decrease. But Oscar believed that any means capable of strengthening battleships and helping Germany win the war was worthwhile. Even if it cost a vast sum of money, he would not hesitate. After all, he was now so poor that money was all he had left.
German Welfare Lottery Company had brought Oscar enormous wealth. But if the German Empire were defeated, the fortune in his hands would inevitably attract the covetous eyes of others and might even be seized. If things went badly, he might not even be able to keep his own life. Therefore, to preserve both his wealth and his life, the best course was to help Germany win this war. For that, Oscar would naturally go all out.
"If construction begins next year, they can be completed and enter service two and a half years later. There is absolutely no problem with the timing," Grand Admiral Count Tirpitz said.
"Very well, then construction will not begin until next year." Wilhelm II nodded and did not press the issue further.
"Father Emperor, secrecy must be ensured during the construction of the Helgoland-class Battleships. The British will certainly try every possible means to gather intelligence on our battleships. We must guard against that. According to the intelligence we have obtained, the British are using 305mm Main Guns on their next several classes of battleships. If they learn the specifications of our Helgoland-class Battleships, it will likely provoke a fierce reaction. That could upset the balance of strength between us and hinder us from overtaking the British as quickly as possible," Oscar continued.
"Complete secrecy is unlikely. However, we can make every effort to delay the British learning the specific data of our Helgoland-class Battleships for as long as possible. That will buy us more time," Grand Admiral Count Tirpitz said.
In the British-German confrontation, both sides had dispatched large numbers of agents to gather every kind of military intelligence on the other. These agents were everywhere, able to slip through every crack. Keeping secrets completely sealed was almost impossible.
"Have all our secret units take action. Delay the leak of our secrets for as long as possible," Wilhelm II said.
Oscar nodded. Nothing in this world was perfect. Besides, man proposed, Heaven disposed. To strengthen the German Navy, he had truly done everything in his power. But if even this could not defeat the British and secure victory in this World War, then he could only say that the inertia of history was simply too great.
Of course, Oscar naturally hoped that through his own efforts, Germany's military strength could become even greater, allowing it to win the future World War. He did not want to possess enormous wealth only to flee overseas after Germany's defeat, living under an assumed name while constantly fearing that others would covet his fortune. That kind of life was no life for a man.
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