Chapter 83

In the bright sunshine, the window decorations sparkled. In the gentle morning breeze, the clanging of metal from the distant shipyard factory occasionally drifted over, adding a somewhat unusual atmosphere to the originally quiet and secluded cottage.

"Submarine? Your Highness, are you referring to that little gadget that moves underwater and is used for sneak attacks?" Flick asked doubtfully. Qing Ying nodded and said, "That's right. I remember this new type of soldier has been around for a long time." Flick stroked his beard with his fingers, his small eyes slightly squinting, and said, "But I remember that there are no construction regulations for such a gadget in the Naval Law. Why do you want to build this thing, Your Highness?"

Qing Ying snorted and said, "Can't it be my personal hobby? With this thing, I can carry out smuggling and drug trafficking at sea, which is much more profitable than building ships honestly."

Seeing Flick's shocked expression, as if he had seen a ghost, Qing Ying couldn't help but roll his eyes. Germans were just too rigid and serious, completely lacking any other kind of thinking. He had casually mentioned something, and this guy actually believed it, making such a half-dead expression! He shook his head helplessly and said, "What I just said was just a joke. I need the submarine for a deeper purpose. This type of soldier has been in the navy for several decades. There must be at least one designer who understands submarines in this shipyard, right?"

Flick let out a long sigh and said, "Your Highness, you scared me to death. I mean, the royal family has nearly two million marks in annual expenses, and now you have this shipyard. How could you possibly be short of money? As for submarine designers..." He smiled slightly and continued, "Your Highness, you've asked the right person. Little Hederla in my team is an expert in this field! Initially, he studied submarines to use them for drug smuggling to improve his living conditions. Later, with the empire's vigorous development of maritime shipping, he found that designing merchant ships honestly also brought substantial returns, so he learned surface ship design and became a member of our team. However, he hasn't abandoned his submarine technology and always boasts about his designs to us."

Qing Ying was pleasantly surprised and asked, "Is Mr. Hederla here now?" Flick nodded and said, "He's in another office on the top floor. If Your Highness wants to meet him, I'll take you there."

Climbing the stairs and panting, a few minutes later, Qing Ying and Flick entered another room. The same potted plants and long cabinets, but the main character sitting in the seat was a man in his thirties. Before this guy could ask in confusion, Flick had already explained the situation to his old partner.

After listening to Flick's story, this guy's eyes gradually narrowed. However, he didn't show the expected surprise but rather a look of confusion and bewilderment. After a while, he tilted his head slightly and said, "Your Highness, Flick has already told you, right? I do have considerable expertise in submarines, but without knowing the purpose, I can't start designing. May I ask, what is the purpose of Your Highness wanting to build this thing?"

After the introduction, Qing Ying already knew that this person was the Hederla Flick had mentioned. Facing his question, Qing Ying said seriously, "Mr. Hederla, according to the assessment made by the Naval General Staff, submarines will play a significant role in future wars. Therefore, I want Germany to take the lead in this field and outpace other naval powers."

Hearing Qing Ying's words, the two people beside him put away their slightly relaxed expressions. Over the past two years, Qing Ying had become famous in the ship design industry, and his ideas and concepts had enlightened even the most experienced engineers. No one dared to underestimate this 13-year-old boy anymore. He had an unparalleled insight into the navy and a close relationship with the Naval Chief of Staff, Tirpitz. If he said the Naval General Staff had a new assessment, it was likely true!

Thinking of this, Hederla's face showed excitement, and he said, "The Navy is actually interested in this kind of smuggling ship, which is truly surprising. However, when I initially studied it, I didn't add any war elements. Now that the Navy needs this gadget, it will need to be equipped with other things. Am I right?"

Qing Ying nodded and said, "Exactly. Since submarines have a small tonnage and are not suitable for artillery battles with enemy warships, the Naval General Staff has decided not to install large guns but to equip them with torpedo tubes that can fire torpedoes underwater. If such torpedo-firing submarines can be built, we can use them to sneak attack enemy warships underwater. As long as they are within our attack range, we can give them a good hit!"

Hederla shook his head in disappointment and said, "Your Highness, if the Navy's idea is like this, I can responsibly say that no one in the world can build this thing. Theoretically, this idea is feasible, but there are two major problems that are difficult to solve."

"First, the power issue of submarines. Although submarines have evolved from the earliest human-powered to steam-powered, their speed is still unbearably slow. Currently, steam-powered submarines have a surface speed of only 3 to 4 knots, and a range of just over 150 nautical miles. Their speed and range are less than one-third of the oldest patrol gunboats! This low speed and range limit the activity range of submarines, confining them to their own naval ports, making them unable to carry out missions at sea. Additionally, since this steam power uses coal, it requires a large amount of air. Once the submarine submerges, it is surrounded by water, and the boiler cannot continue to operate. If an electric motor is used to drive the submarine, the consumption is too high, and the range is only one-third of that of steam power."

Hederla continued, "Second, the problem with torpedoes themselves. Currently, the range of torpedoes is too short, with an effective range of only a few hundred meters, greatly limiting their application. For example, the 350mm torpedo that Germany put into service five years ago has a range of only 400 meters, and even the latest 450mm torpedo has a range of only 1200 meters. This distance is negligible in the vast ocean, especially since submarines cannot move underwater! Unless the enemy warship happens to pass in front of our submarine's torpedo tube, there is no chance of an attack! Your Highness, who is well-versed in the navy, I don't need to explain the probability of this happening. Without solving the submarine power and torpedo range issues, the idea of using submarines to attack enemy surface warships is impossible."

"Wait, Mr. Hederla, what did you just say? Submarines use coal-fired steam as power?" Qing Ying's mouth opened wide, as if he had heard something unbelievable, and he said in astonishment, "Did you make a mistake somewhere? How can this be used on submarines?" Hederla was taken aback and said, "What else can be used if not steam power? Compressed air engines are even less effective than steam engines. Coal-fired boilers and steam engines are the standard power for naval ships."

Qing Ying put his hand to his forehead and said in a helpless tone, "Mr. Hederla, the reason naval warships use steam power is that steam power appeared early, and the space inside ships is relatively large, which can accommodate the boiler and steam engine combination. However, for submarines, we need to analyze the specific issues. Traditional steam power is a high-power device, and miniaturizing it for installation on submarines is a counterproductive approach. Why don't we think differently and consider enlarging the gasoline engine used in cars and installing it on submarines? As far as I know, this thing has a much better heat value and consumption than a miniaturized coal-fired boiler." Qing Ying didn't jump directly to diesel engines because the technology for diesel engines would not mature until the time of the dreadnoughts.

Hederla's eyes lit up, and he said in surprise, "Yes, I forgot about gasoline engines. This low-power internal combustion engine is not suitable for warships but can be used on small submarines! If Benz and Daimler can provide powerful enough gasoline engines, I can definitely try this new approach. However, gasoline engines still consume air. What should we do when the submarine submerges? A thin air pipe alone cannot meet the consumption of the gasoline engine."

"Mr. Hederla, the British built submarines powered by batteries ten years ago, and batteries can work normally underwater without air. Therefore, we can equip submarines with two power systems: when sailing on the surface, the submarine uses a gasoline engine, and when submerged, it switches to battery power. When the battery is depleted, the submarine can surface and use the gasoline engine to recharge the battery. This way, the underwater mobility of the submarine can be somewhat resolved," Qing Ying suggested.