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Text Chapter 253 Far East Arms Race

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    After Japan's new cabinet was established, it immediately began a crazy expansion of armaments.  As for the tough-minded Japanese people, although their lives are becoming more and more difficult, they still choose to be patient.  Waiting for the next time the warriors of the Japanese Empire win for them, their lives will be easier then.

    Japan¡¯s army and navy have also come up with a military expansion plan.  The Army plans to rebuild twenty-three divisions within three years, and the troops will be selected from the redeemed veterans and ten local temporary divisions.  The new Army Minister Takashima Tomonosuke also convened the army generals who participated in the Sino-Japanese War to discuss the reasons for Japan's failure this time.  Almost all Japanese generals mentioned that the firepower of the Chinese ** Corps is too powerful. The number of artillery equipped by each division of the Chinese ** Corps is more than three times that of each Japanese division, and the performance of the artillery is much more advanced.  many.  In addition, the Chinese ** team has also equipped heavy machine guns and other weapons to the platoon level. They believe that Japan should also equip heavy machine guns to the squad level. In this way, in future wars, when facing the Chinese ** team  , they won¡¯t suffer a loss.

    However, after discussion, the Ministry of War listened to some of their opinions, such as increasing the number of artillery pieces in each division, ordering them from outside or producing them themselves, and striving to have the number of artillery pieces in each division reach more than 70% of the squadron.  However, heavy machine guns are only allowed to be equipped at the squadron level. Although heavy machine guns have fierce firepower, they consume even more ammunition.  And the accuracy is not very good.  The giants of the Japanese army believe that twenty well-trained Japanese soldiers are completely worth a heavy machine gun, and there is no need to equip too many weapons that consume too much ammunition.

    In addition, expanding the army to 23 divisions is only the first step.  After all, the strength of the Chinese Army has increased to millions. If the Japanese Army wants to defeat the Chinese Army, it will definitely not be enough to rely on the strength of 23 divisions.  However, due to military expenditures, they could only temporarily limit the number of army divisions to twenty-three.

    Compared with the Japanese Army, the Japanese Navy¡¯s pace is much greater.  The newly appointed three chief officers of the Japanese Navy are Navy Minister Yamamoto Gonbei, Military Commander Prince Arisukawa Miyoshi, and Combined Fleet Commander Rear Admiral Togo Heihachiro.  These three people are all young and powerful in the Japanese Navy.  Among them, the oldest Togo Heihachiro is only 47 years old, Yamamoto Gonbei is also 43 years old, and Prince Arisugawa Palace Ehito is only 33 years old.  Under their leadership, the Japanese Navy once again began to grow explosively after receiving sufficient military spending.

    Everyone in the Japanese Navy believes that the reason why the Combined Fleet lost to the Chinese Navy this time was not because of the Japanese naval officers and soldiers, but because the warship strength of the Japanese Combined Fleet was too different from that of the Chinese Navy.  If they can have capital ships of the same level as the Chinese Navy, they may not lose this war.  The current Japanese Navy, except for a few old patrol boats, no longer has a single warship.  In addition, most of the shipyards were destroyed by the Chinese navy, causing Japan's shipbuilding capacity to drop by more than 80%.  Although they have urgently ordered a batch of shipbuilding equipment from Britain and the United States, they will not be able to start building their own warships until next year at the earliest.

    As early as last year, before the Sino-Japanese War of 1898-1899 ended, the Japanese Navy had already ordered two battleships from Britain. This was an improved version of the British "Sovereign Class" battleship. It was named "Fuji" class by Japan. The first ship was "Fuji".  The construction of the No. 2 ship "Yashima" started in July last year, and the construction of the second ship "Yashima" started in December last year. It is expected to be completed early next year.  The "Fuji" class battleship has a standard displacement of 12,500 tons, a total length of 144 meters, a width of 22.3 meters, a draft of 8.1 meters, a top speed of 18.3 knots, a cruising range of 10 knots/7,000 nautical miles, and a crew of 726 people.  The armaments include two twin 305mm naval guns, 10 152mm single-mounted guns, 24 47mm single-mounted guns, one 450mm underwater torpedo tube, and four 450mm underwater torpedo tubes.  The comprehensive combat power of the "Fuji" class is already equivalent to that of the Chinese Navy's "Sichuan-class" battleships, but its firepower is slightly worse, but slightly stronger than the Chinese Navy's "Plateau-class" battleships.

    This time, the two additional battleships Japan sent to the United Kingdom were improved from the "Majesty-class" battleships currently being built by the British Navy. They were named "Shikishima-class" battleships by Japan. The first ship "Shikishima" and the second ship  Construction of the USS Asahi will begin in the UK and will be completed in two years.  In addition, Japan has also purchased drawings and is preparing to build the third ship "Hasuse" and the fourth ship "Mikasa" of the "Shikishima-class" battleship domestically.  The "Shikishima-class" battleship has a displacement of 14,850 tons, a total length of 133.5 meters, a total width of 23 meters, a draft of 8.3 meters, a maximum speed of 18 knots, and a crew of 838.  The armament is two twin 305mm naval guns, 14 152mm single-mounted guns, 20 76mm single-mounted guns, 12 47mm single-mounted guns, 1 450mm underwater torpedo launcher, 4 450mm underwater torpedo tubes  Torpedo tube.  The main gun firepower of the "Shikishima-class" is slightly inferior to that of China's "Sichuan-class" battleships, but the secondary gun firepower is more powerful, and its comprehensive combat power is no less than that of China's "Sichuan-class" battleships."Battleship. If all four battleships planned by Japan are put into service, it will be a huge pressure on the Chinese Navy.

    In addition, Japan also ordered two battleships from the United States. They were named "Ryujo-class" based on the "Indiana-class" battleships currently being built by the U.S. Navy. The first ship "Ryujo" and the second ship "Hizen"  Construction will begin this year and is expected to be completed in two years.  The "Ryujo-class" battleship has a displacement of 10,225 tons, a total length of 106.9 meters, a total width of 21.1 meters, a draft of 8.2 meters, and a maximum speed of 15 knots.  The armament is two twin 305mm guns, the secondary battery is 4 203mm guns, 4 152mm single guns, 12 76mm single guns, 20 47mm single guns, 4 450mm guns  Torpedo tube in water.  Although the "Ryuxiang-class" battleship has powerful firepower, its speed is slow, and its basic combat power is slightly inferior to the "Sichuan-class" battleship of the Chinese Navy.  However, if all eight battleships of the Japanese Navy are put into service, they will have an overwhelming advantage over the current four battleships of the Chinese Navy.

    In addition, the Japanese Navy has also ordered two armored cruisers from each of Britain, the United States and France. This type of armored cruiser has a displacement of about 10,000 tons, a speed of about 25 knots, and two 280mm twin-mounted guns as the main gun. The purpose is  In order to suppress the heavy cruisers of the Chinese Navy.

    When Japan's naval shipbuilding plan was discovered by the CIA, it caused a huge shock in the Chinese government and the public. Both the military, the cabinet, and even the people asked the government to launch a corresponding shipbuilding plan to maintain control over the Japanese navy.  advantages so that they can remain invincible in future wars.

    It was under this circumstance that Wang Yuze appeared at the Naval Warship Design Institute in Dagu, Tianjin on August 5.  All senior officials of the Navy Department accompanied them. They knew that this time would determine the Navy's shipbuilding plan in the next few years.

    In the battleship design institute, this time the chief designer of the battleship, the German engineer Barclays?  Smit introduced to Wang Yuze the new class of battleships he was designing.  This battleship has a standard displacement of 13,000 tons, a full load displacement of 14,500 tons, a length of 132 meters, a width of 23 meters, a draft of 8 meters, a maximum speed of 19 knots, and a crew of 680 people.  The artillery is three twin-mounted 305mm naval guns, 12 155mm single-mounted guns, 10 88mm single-mounted guns, and 10 37mm rapid-fire guns.  Two 475mm torpedo tubes.  The armor was 152 mm on the side, 63 mm on the deck, and 203 mm on the turret.

    This is Barclays?  Smit spent two years with his Chinese assistants designing battleships.  The senior officials of the Navy Department are already aware of the performance of this warship and are very satisfied with it.  However, they found that in Barclays?  After Smit's introduction, there was no smile on Wang Yuze's face.  Isn't Wang Yuze not satisfied with such a powerful battleship?

    "Your Excellency, Marshal, this is the battleship I designed. Do you have any opinions?" Barclays?  Smit was a little dissatisfied.  This is his two years of hard work!  There is no doubt that this is definitely one of the most powerful battleships in the world.

    "Your Excellency Smit, I have to admit that this battleship is indeed very powerful. However, this is not the battleship I want. Today's battleships are being updated too fast, and perhaps they have not yet waited for the new battleships to enter service.  , has been surpassed by the battleships behind it. Therefore, I hope our navy can equip a battleship that is more than five years ahead of the current level!" Wang Yuze said.

    Barclays?  Smit frowned. He did not deny that Wang Yuze's point of view was very correct, but the navy's battleships were originally money-burning things. No one could guarantee how long it would take for the battleships being built on the slipway to become obsolete.

    "So, Commander-in-Chief, what do you think of a battleship?" Barclays?  Smit asked.  There is no doubt that if his battleship wants to start construction and enter service, it will require Wang Yuze's nod.  Therefore, he needs to understand Wang Yuze's specific requirements.

    "Your Excellency Smit, I hope you can lead our engineers to design a battleship without secondary guns, with a consistent large-caliber main gun, high speed, and thick armor to dominate future naval battles. I will mention a few specifics.  According to the requirements, the armament is 5 twin-mounted 305mm naval guns, 10 88mm single-mounted guns and 10 37mm rapid-fire guns. The speed is more than 21 knots. The latest Krupp armor steel is used for the armor, turret and command tower.  The armor of the armor is about 300 mm, the armor of the deck is 63 mm, and the side belt is 203 mm." Wang Yuze solemnly put forward his request.

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