Munitions Empire

The Great Tang Group had been constantly improving their shipbuilding technology, and the most widely tested manufacturing innovation they worked on was a new technique known as welding.

An ironclad warship is assembled from pieces of steel, and there are only two ways to join steel—welding and riveting.

Riveting is a more primitive and cumbersome method of connection, but it has its advantages, the main one being—it's old enough. A technology that is old enough indicates that it is mature and reliable.

The Brunas-class warships that Tang Mo initially built actually used a large amount of riveted structures, but afterward, he began experimenting with welded structures on the Wolf-class warships.

Even though welding is a very advanced manufacturing technique, the biggest problem with new technologies is that training new workers takes time, and it also needs time to be assimilated.

There was no choice, even for the Great Tang Group, but to train their welding workers step by step, enabling them to master this skill as quickly as possible.

At the same time, the production of the gases needed for welding also took time, so it was only recently that the Great Tang Group reluctantly began to use the brand-new welding technology to build civilian ships.

With the new technology available, what's known as civilian ships, or simply iron steam-powered transport ships, began to be mass-produced at an even faster rate.

Overall, the new type of warship employed a design of the free wheel from the World War II era, but was simplified in some special equipment, making it more adapted to the current technological manufacturing capacity.

After all, even for the Great Tang Group, the skill level of the workers was roughly around the year 1910, far from reaching the mature level of the 1940s.

It was possible to barely manufacture items from around 1940, but that would require concentrating a large number of top talents and could not be mass-produced, which would be more trouble than it's worth.

Of course, since the blueprints were directly copied, most of the technical parameters used were those of the free wheel, and they were basically the same model.

What these ships needed was practicality, the ability to be produced quickly in large quantities, and standardization and homogenization—they didn't require any particular performance or aesthetic.

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The empty ship had a displacement of 7,000 tons, the overall length of the ship was 135 meters, and its width, or beam, was an uneven 17.3 meters, with a draft of about 8.5 meters.

This size was already larger than the warships Tang Mo had previously designed, which did not have this width or this level of displacement.

In order to obtain as many supplies as possible anywhere, the propulsion system used the most traditional and widely used coal power.

The entire ship was equipped with three steam engines that together drove a propeller, with a total output of 2,000 horsepower.

Despite this, the cruising speed of this type of ship was still a weakness, as it only had a meager speed of 20 kilometers per hour!

Yes, this speed is about equal to 10 knots, which, compared to the Wolf-class cruisers Tang Mo built, was far too slow.

Moreover, it only had very few electrical lines, and even the telegraph was an optional extra, with most of the cabins inside the ship not having electrical lighting.

This large transport ship had an endurance of 20,000 kilometers, a single resupply could nearly reach any port in the Endless Sea, which was a very practical performance, allowing shipping to be more efficient and fast.

Unlike during World War II when ships had to be outfitted with anti-aircraft guns and deck guns to counter Nazi Germany's submarines and planes, these ships did not need to be equipped with any weapons.

So, weapons were also optional—the ship could mount a 75mm caliber naval gun on each side, which was more than adequate for dealing with pirates or even the navies of other nations.

Due to the reduction of weight in other areas and the omission of cannons, the ultimate load of these transport ships was increased to 10,000 tons, which could carry about 6,000 tons of cargo.

Almost identical to the free wheel, these ships could carry 250 new trucks produced by the Great Tang Group or 400 T-model cars in one go, with these automobile goods weighing approximately 2,500—3,000 tons.

After transporting these vehicles, they could still make space to transport an additional 1,000 tons of ammunition, and lighter weapons weighing about 500 tons: including light G1 heavy machine guns, 5,000 K3 rifles, 200 mortars, and about 80 75mm caliber field howitzers.

Then, they could also transport 500–1,000 tons of food supplies at the same time—this was roughly the entire arsenal needed for two standard infantry regiments of the Great Tang Group's security forces.

Of course, if loading a single type of cargo, these ships could carry a lot, a lot more. If transporting only T-model cars, they could load up to 2,840 at a time, and if they were transporting bullets exclusively, they could effortlessly transport 230 million rounds of standard K3 rifle ammunition.

These ships were very simple, but also very large. They were larger than all previous sea vessels, and the amount of materials they could transport at once was frighteningly large.

Therefore, in order to allow these cargo ships to set sail at full capacity, the Great Tang Group will increase the production capacity of all products, so as to support the growing ocean shipping capacity.

One such ship has a carrying capacity that rivals an entire fleet of sailing ships from the past, this is a revolution, a complete overhaul of the past maritime transportation methods!

This type of ship utilizes a 2,000 horsepower reciprocating steam engine as its power source. Although it cannot vastly surpass the speed of sail ships, it is still much faster than the sail ships of the past.

The designs of these Ice Crystal City-class ships may be outdated, but they are very reliable; they make extensive use of mature technologies and save costs where unnecessary.

After all, the sailors of this era are half-slaves accustomed to hard lives; they have grown used to living in dimly lit cabins, and for a dozen people to share a porthole, they can already be described as fortunate.

They don't need overly sophisticated food, nor do they need refrigeration equipment; their meals, which wouldn't even be consumed by pigs in the 21st century, have lower wages than the base salary of a newly graduated insurance salesperson.

Thus, these people won't clamor for electric lights and other various welfare benefits; having a dormitory and the ability to sleep on a stable iron-framed bed is already a happiness for them.

Compared to preparing a better working environment, giving them a raise is something that will make them ecstatic. Working on this ship, at least they don't have to worry about pirate raids; this additional safety has already made them extremely grateful.

After all, the speed of most pirate sailboats in this world is only about 12 kilometers per hour; it is virtually impossible to catch up with a cargo ship that travels at 20 kilometers per hour.

Even if they could catch up with these Great Tang Group-version liberty ships, with a displacement of over 7,000 tons, the colossus could easily shatter any blocking sailboat and then leave without any guilt.

This type of vessel only has lighting in the cargo hold, the captain's cabin, and the bridge; other areas use temporary gas lamps for emergencies.

Welded keels ensure the reliability of the hull, and less important parts extensively use wood as a substitute, which greatly reduces the cost of these ships.

For ease of manufacture and maintenance, the vessel's accommodations, the bridge, and the engine are all concentrated in the midship, connected to the propeller by a long shaft.

In order to lower costs, the latest engines are not installed on these cargo ships; they still use slightly bulky and outdated steam engines, allowing them to refuel in most ports and the mature technology greatly reduces the likelihood of mechanical failures.

Of course, the Great Tang Group will not admit that using steam engines is to clear inventory, revitalize Northern Ridge's steam engine manufacturing plants, allowing the investments in Northern Ridge to gain profits from upgrades and transformations.

The Great Tang Group also will not admit that the production capacity for the newest engines is severely insufficient, and the failure rate is high, so for the time being, they cannot replace the mature steam engines.

To adapt to the not yet mature shipbuilding methods, Tang Mo has revised and optimized the designs, making the construction of ships faster and cheaper.

Any non-essential bulkheads have been removed, and there is almost no anti-sinking design; the sole purpose of this is to increase the construction speed and to save the precious steel resources.

The first Great Tang Group liberty ship took 91 days to build, and this was a record setting time achieved by concentrating a large number of skilled craftsmen working their utmost.

However, subsequently, the construction time for these ships has been increased to just 68 days per ship! This speed is simply astonishing because even in the ancient era of sailing ships, building a warship took much longer than this record.

Back then, the timber required for a warship needed to be aired for several years, and the construction of a warship often took more than a year.

This is why there is a saying "ten years for an army, a hundred years for a navy," the "hundred years for a navy" not only includes the cultivation and accumulation of talent but also encompasses the exasperating building speed of the navy.

Actually, today, as the Great Tang Group is about to conclude the 11-country war, there are already five liberty ships sailing on the sea. And next, these miraculous merchant ships will be launched every nine days.

Soon, the Great Tang Group will be able to form a fleet that travels over 20 kilometers per hour and can transport tens of thousands of tons of products at a time, letting them sail on the Endless Sea that once represented isolation and forbiddance.

For the whole world, this shipbuilding speed is undoubtedly a miracle; it has turned the Endless Sea from a natural moat into a transportation hub, making it a highly coveted strategic location.

And when these transport ships, loaded with vast amounts of materials, head towards Hotwind Port, the fragile logistics of the Tang Group's fleet off the coast of the Taren Kingdom will have been thoroughly secured.

Even without specialized maritime supply ships, it is still possible to manage an improvised transport of some fruits and vegetables, and to replenish some coal with small boats.

In fact, the ammunition a warship carries to attack a port is really more than enough; there's hardly a need for resupply.

Besides, Bernard has received orders that seem to indicate that there won't be a need for large-scale bombardments in the near future.