Chapter 2632: 20 Pounds 2
As for letting the French rebuild warships? Sorry, the French warship design in this era is still very rubbish. It is far inferior to the dazzling stars that appeared in the French Navy during World War II, such as the Utopia-class destroyer leader with a speed of more than 45 knots, such as the treaty cruiser The Algiers-class heavy cruisers that rank among the best, such as the Strandsberg-class fast battleships of the Xiaoqiang King, such as the famous Cardinal and Richelieu-class battleships. The design of the French navy in this era is a piece of cake, and in terms of construction period, it is much slower than the Americans' self-built warships. After all, you are designing and building them from scratch. If you give the Americans a reason, why should the U.S. Navy buy French ships? Neither is political correctness!
However, this is not enough. Ruprecht must make the hatred between the United States and France deeper! The starting point is still the arms trade! The crown prince decided to provide the French with large submarine technology! Historically, because the main operations of the French navy were in the Mediterranean, the displacement of French submarines was relatively small. Not to mention the 2,000-ton class submarine, the largest German submarine in history, the French did not have any submarines above 1,500 tons. !
In this dimension, even if the French obtain submarine technology in this area, in addition to their own use, takeaways are definitely available, and the target is undoubtedly Japan! Submarines are very difficult to guard against nowadays, and submarines are different from other warships. Their construction cycle is very short! And if the submarines provided by the French cause something similar to the Lusitania incident in history in the hands of the Japanese, then the relationship between the United States and France will be completely corrupt!
"What about Italy?" Prince Baden asked. Regarding the French issue, the crown prince's answer was quite satisfactory to him. So how can Italy solve it? Compared with the French Navy, the Italian Navy, which has not experienced the baptism of war, is still financially sound, and now the Italian Navy has ready stocks to provide! The Calacciono-class fast battleship, the painstaking work of the Italian Navy, is quite good!
"At present, the most conservative way is to squeeze out the Italians through competition! You know, what the Americans need now is just a transition. If it is not a last resort, they are not willing to equip a 15-meter missile that has never been used by their own navy. inch gun battleship! This will cause some trouble in supply and maintenance. If we provide the Americans with enough fast battleships, then the Americans may not necessarily pack all the Calacciono-class battleships," the crown prince said.
"So, what you are implying is that the Japanese may also purchase this class of battleships?" Prince Baden asked.
"It's not a possibility, but I will definitely buy it! The reason is very simple. Now, among all the battleships that can be sold to Japan, the only ones are the Calacciono class and the Fury class. The Japanese have no choice!" said the crown prince.
"Then will the Americans give up ordering Helgoland-class battleships from us and choose to buy all the Caracciono-class battleships? After all, it is impossible for us to sell battleships to the Japanese." Archduke Baden asked.
"If there was no time limit, it would be possible for Americans to do this,
But if the Japanese act immediately and force the U.S. Navy to urgently need ready-made battleships, then the Americans may not be able to wait for the completion of the Calacciono-class battleships and will have to buy them from us! As for eating all our and Italian battleships at the same time? The cost is really high! Because now, our quotation for each Helgoland-class battleship is 3.5 million pounds! Calacciono can only go higher! "The crown prince said with a smile.
Yes, you read that right. The Helgoland-class battleship that cost less than 2 million pounds back then is now close to 3.5 million pounds. The reason is simple: inflation! The so-called historical cost of the Queen Elizabeth class has fluctuated between 2.5 million and 3.2 million pounds. But now, it is a seller's market. Germany's demand for a higher price is not too much, right? After all, this is a current ship!
Buying a battleship is not just about spending money to buy it back. You also need to buy a complete set of various maintenance and staffing. Think about it, even with the national power of the United States before World War II, battleships are not casually purchased. It can be revealed that now, Germany and Austria can sell 4 to 6 Helgoland-class battleships, and Italy also has 4 Calacciono-class battleships. Taking into account the battleships being built on the American slipway, the U.S. Navy in this era has How much does it cost to eat all these battleships? Even if there is no problem with money, what about personnel?
And to be honest, from a time point of view, the Calacciono-class battleship is really useless for the U.S. Navy, because if you want to use it urgently, it is better to buy a German ship directly. If you want performance, it will not be too late in the United States. The battleship is much more powerful than the Calacciono. The only reason why Americans must buy it is probably because they are afraid of the Japanese snapping up it, right? But this kind of panic buying is only a possibility, not a certainty. Are Americans willing to bet tens of millions of pounds on this possibility? Not necessarily? After all, sometimes Americans may not understand things that the crown prince can understand!
"So what if the Italians choose to equip the Calacciono-class battleships instead of selling them? If this is the case, we will not be able to plant a nail between Italy and the United States." Prince Baden said.
"The Italian Navy will not equip Calagiono-class battleships." The crown prince smiled mysteriously. "The reason is very simple. Since the U.S. Navy may help us dispose of old warships, the German Navy's new ship construction plan can be greatly advanced. We will build new ships with a displacement of more than 38,000 tons and equipped with nine 16-inch naval guns. Austria-Hungary will follow, and the French navy will respond!”
"The French still have plans to build new ships?" Prince Baden exclaimed.
"It's just political momentum building. In fact, in the form of the Mediterranean, even if the French do not have the economic conditions now, they will still build momentum, and the Austro-Hungarian Empire will definitely build 16-inch battleships. So, tell me, as a target With Fao in the middle, why should Italy continue to spend a lot of money to equip warships that are already lagging behind even before they are launched? Wouldn't it be a better choice to sell these warships and build new ones? Even if the new ships may It will take the next six years to be completed, but it doesn't matter, anyway, Italy will not be threatened in a short time!" the crown prince explained with a smile.
"And if Italy takes action to expand its armaments, France will also take action. After all, the bathtub in the Mediterranean is really not big. Maybe what is false will become true!" said the crown prince.
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