The Rise Of Australasia

Chapter 322: Chapter 282: Obtaining the Blueprint, Visiting the Ruhr District

On July st, 9, Arthur, accompanied by the farewell of many British people, embarked on the Australasian battleship and left the Port of London.

From the expressions of the British people bidding farewell to Arthur, it could be se that many of them were reluctant to let him go, as Arthur was, after all, a part of the Victorian era.

Upon boarding the battleship, Arthur's mood was actually quite good in the angle where those British people couldn't see.

After several days of lobbying by Arthur, and the paymt of hundreds of thousands of pounds in funds, he finally obtained the const of the UK Cabinet Governmt. The British governmt agreed to provide the St Vinct-class battleship as a condition of this aid, permantly providing it to Australasia at a cost.

Of course, the condition for providing it was the technical information of the Australasian Monarch-class battleship, as well as the purchase prices of grain and meat trade below the market price.

However, this was not too bad for Arthur, as he could gain all the information of a more powerful battleship in exchange for these things, which was a sure win deal.

Moreover, under Arthur's constant request and lobbying, King George V agreed to provide the technology to build the St Vinct-class battleship to Australasia, including the much-desired 50-caliber 305mm main gun.

Although both were 305mm main guns, the differce betwe 45-caliber and 50-caliber was huge.

Although these specific technologies had to be gradually taught to Australasia by British experts after their assistance arrived,

it was expected that these technologies could be mastered by Australasia within a few years.

In other words, Arthur was confidt that within a year, with the help of British experts, he could build a St Vinct-class battleship on his own.

In two to three years, Australasia would be able to master the ability to indepdtly build the St Vinct-class battleship, raising Australasia's shipbuilding capabilities once again.

It had to be said that Arthur's close relationship with the British royal family, along with his good reputation and status among the British people, and Que Victoria's extreme love for him, allowed Arthur to obtain the powerful St Vinct-class battleship that the British Empire was currtly building diligtly.

Without any of these factors, the chances of Australasia obtaining the St Vinct-class battleship would be greatly reduced.

This also couldn't help but illustrate the truth that it's good to lean on a big tree, as the battleships that Arthur got from the United Kingdom may be advanced warships that other countries cannot build ev with their full strgth.

The St Vinct-class battleship was 63.4 meters long, 5.6 meters wide, and had an average draft of 8.5 meters.

It was equipped with two sets of four-shaft Parsons direct-drive steam turbines, along with 8 mixed-fuel boilers, reaching an unprecedted power output of 4,500 horsepower.

Of course, these were not the most important factors. The true reason for the St Vinct-class battleship's terrifying capabilities was the five 50-caliber 305mm double-mounted guns, sixte mm 50-caliber single-mount guns, and three 450mm underwater torpedo tubes.

In terms of firepower, the St Vinct-class battleship was the most powerful among all the battleships built in 9, surpassing the American Delaware-class battleship, the German Monarch-class battleship, and the Helgoland-class battleship being built at the time.

Both the Delaware-class battleship, the Monarch-class battleship, and the Helgoland-class battleship represted the most powerful battleships being built by the other powers besides the British Empire.

The fact that the St Vinct-class battleship could surpass these three battleships spoke volumes about its extraordinary performance and the research capabilities of the British Empire.

Of course, the reason for only comparing these three dreadnoughts with those of America, Germany, and Australasia was that other powers were extremely slow in the developmt of dreadnoughts, and there was simply no need for comparison.

Aside from the United Kingdom, the United States, Germany, and Australasia, the only other powerful nation with a dreadnought at the time was Russia, which showed just how far behind other countries were in the developmt of dreadnoughts.

After leaving the British Empire, Arthur decided not to return to Australasia directly, but instead turned his direction to Germany.

After all, both Germany and Russia had good relations with Australasia, and it was necessary to visit these countries while in Europe.

Of course, Arthur would not choose to share the St Vinct-class battleship's blueprints and technology with Germany.

This was because it was acquired from the United Kingdom and relied heavily on the emotional bond betwe Arthur and the British people.

If the British were to find out that Arthur had shared the blueprints and technology of the St Vinct-class battleship with Germany, they would undoubtedly be dissatisfied.

Arthur couldn't bring himself to do something that would harm himself and befit others, but it was still okay for him to mtion the importance of large-caliber guns to William II.

Wh Arthur attded the funeral of Edward VII in London, William II had invited him to visit Germany.

Arthur had agreed at the time, but the visit would have to take place after his visit to the United Kingdom.

On July 3, Arthur successfully arrived in Germany and had a fridly exchange with William II for five days.

Arthur also visited the famous Krupp Factory in Germany, German shipyards, and the military, giving high praise.

After various evts, the Germans finally began to pay atttion to the caliber of ship guns and focused on their developmt.

After visiting the Krupp Factory, Arthur learned that the Germans had already begun research on the 50-caliber 305mm main gun, and had achieved some results.

If all goes well, the Germans should equip the next geration of dreadnoughts with a 50-caliber 305mm main gun. Although slightly behind the British, they are still ahead of other major powers.

Of course, during these few days, Arthur also visited Germany's Ruhr Industrial Zone, which is one of the world's largest industrial zones and the core area of German industry.

As of now, Ruhr Industrial Zone has an annual coal production of 0 million tons, coke production of one million tons, steel production of million tons, and power geration of 0 million kWh, making it the heart of German industry.

From an industrial layout perspective, Ruhr Industrial Zone's design is quite reasonable. Most industrial products and mineral products in the industrial zone are processed and consumed locally, avoiding unnecessary transportation.

Although the two world wars had a huge impact on this area, ev in the 970s, coal production in the Ruhr District still reached million tons, accounting for 80% of Germany's total production at the time, and an annual steel output of 0 million tons, accounting for 70% of Germany's total production.

There were also nearly billion cubic meters of coke ov gas, and nearly one million tons of coal tar.

The developmt of the Ruhr Industrial Zone not only relies on abundant coal resources but also on superior water transportation conditions.

In addition, a large number of railways, highways, and extsive canal networks facilitated transportation within the Ruhr Industrial Zone and laid the foundation for the developmt of the industrial zone.

The construction of the Leonora Industrial Base in Australasia partly drew from the Ruhr Industrial Zone. Arthur's idea was also to build the Leonora Industrial Base into the Ruhr District of Australasia.

Arthur was very vious of the Ruhr area in Germany and ev determined to build the Leonora Industrial Base well.

For this purpose, Arthur personally requested William II to hire relevant German experts to help Australasia build the Leonora Industrial Base.

Arthur's requiremts were not high; if the production capacity of Leonora Industrial Base could reach one-tth of the currt Ruhr area within t years, it would meet Arthur's expectations and goals.

William II readily agreed to Arthur's request, seeing it as a common need for national developmt and considering the good relationship betwe Australasia and Germany.

It's worth mtioning that William II also proudly invited Arthur to visit the German airship factory, precisely the Zeppelin Airship Factory.

After the fame of Australasian airships worldwide, both Britain and Germany began to pay much higher atttion to airships.

Australasia's rigid airships were already learned from Germany, so it was relatively easy for Germany to surpass Australasia.

Currtly, Zeppelin airships have gone through several gerations and are no longer the lz airship wh Arthur first established the Aerospace Laboratory.

Upon introduction by William II, Arthur realized that Zeppelin airships had developed to the fifth geration.

As the developmt of Zeppelin airships had gained governmt atttion, the progress was much faster than in history. The performance of the currt lz-5 airship is far more advanced than Australasia's AU- airship.

The lz-5 airship is larger than Australasian airships, with a terrifying payload capacity of 7 tons.

It should be noted that ev though the Aerospace Laboratory had conducted numerous airship studies, the payload of the AU- airship remained at only tons.

The Germans' ability to increase the payload of the airship to 7 tons is not a small improvemt.

The average flight speed of the lz-5 airship is also relatively fast, reaching 4 kilometers per hour, with a maximum speed of 45 kilometers per hour.

Arthur inquired about the stability of the airship and was told it was very stable. The Germans had organized hundreds of experimts for this airship, and to this day there have be no accidts, proving its stability.

As of now, the lz-5 airship has improved its payload, speed, and stability, making it not only practical but also playing a crucial role ev wh used merely as a transportation tool.

William II firmly believed in Australasia's statemt that airships could carry bombs for aerial bombing and had ev organized an airship fleet specifically trained for precise aerial bombing with dozs of airships and hundreds of personnel.

For this, Arthur could only awkwardly smile, and could not directly say that the practicality of airships is far from that of airplanes and that airplanes could easily shoot down airships in the air!