Chapter 909: Chapter 817: The British Navy’s Initiative
To be honest, many of the ship damages can be ignored during warti, but cannot be left unattended forever.
For example, if a section of the side deck is broken, that part of the ship can no longer bear weight.
When a wooden warship turns or faces waves, the hull will undergo slight deformation, and the structure surrounding the breach will be subjected to very high structural stress. The structure of the hull near the damage will rapidly age and beco obsolete.
It’s like when we tear plastic packaging; if the outer layer is intact, it is very hard to tear. But if you cut a small slit at the edge, it can be easily ripped from there.
So these warships look lightly damaged, but they must return to port for repairs, otherwise, what were minor issues can turn into major repairs requiring the replacent of half the hull.
Lord Hood couldn’t help but recall the losses of the diterranean Fleet during this operation——
1 Third Level and 1 Fourth-level battleship were severely damaged.
1 cruiser and 3 escort ships were sunk.
“Severe damage” is a specialized term in naval warfare, aning that apart from still floating on the water, the ship is practically useless. It typically requires at least 4 months of repair upon return to port.
Though such losses are indeed trifling, what is most severe is—23 Third Level battleships, 20 Fourth-level battleships, and almost all the cruisers and escort ships, suffered light damage.
So many warships needing repairs suddenly pouring into Gibraltar Port, the docks and shipbuilding craftsn will certainly be in short supply.
The entire repair process will have to last at least half a year—if not counting those two severely damaged ships.
Which ans that before this, the diterranean Fleet will have less than 10 Third Level battleships available!
Not to ntion the French Toulon Fleet, even the Spanish Fleet could bully them a bit…
Lord Hood felt extrely stifled.
Not even during the Seven Years’ War, when he fought against the French Fleet in the Atlantic Ocean with its superior forces, did he feel so stifled.
He stared blankly out the porthole for quite a while before finally exhaling heavily, returning to his desk, and beginning to pen a report to the Navy Departnt, applying for the diterranean Fleet to return to Plymouth Port for repairs.
There, more shipyards and craftsn could compress the repair ti to within 3 months.
Just as he finished writing the last word, ready to sign his na, he heard a dull thunderous sound from the rear of the fleet.
With his experience, he was sure it wasn’t the sound of cannons and imdiately frowned and rushed to the command cabin.
Before Lord Hood could walk through the corridor between the second decks, his staff officer hurriedly approached, sweating profusely, saying, “General, the ‘Smoke’ just exploded with a sympathetic detonation!”
A buzzing rang in Hood’s mind.
The so-called sympathetic detonation refers to the stored ammunition in the ship’s hold being struck by enemy cannon fire resulting in an explosion. Because the explosion point is inside the hull, it usually causes extrely severe damage.
And the ‘Smoke’ is a Fourth-level battleship built and commissioned just last February. After the sympathetic detonation, it’s essentially certain to be removed from the battle sequence.
Hood arrived at the command cabin and didn’t need a telescope to see the billowing smoke rising over the sea to the east—it was the ‘Smoke’ burning violently.
Further away, more than a dozen French warships were circling and firing in celebration.
The staff officer continued his report: “Just now, two French cruisers hit the starboard side of the ‘Smoke,’ unexpectedly causing a sympathetic detonation…”
Such a situation is actually extrely rare, as the gunpowder is all stacked on the inside of the gun deck, with a layer of wooden shell in front, usually making it very hard to hit.
Hood suddenly rembered that the starboard side of the ‘Smoke’ had been blasted with two holes last week, and if a cannonball happened to enter through the damage this ti…
His face turned ashen as he instructed the order officer, “Dispatch escort ships to rescue people.”
An hour later, the ‘Smoke,’ with its fra collapsed from the fire, completely sank into the diterranean Sea, becoming the first battleship sunk in this naval battle.
By noon the next day, the British diterranean Fleet slowly sailed into Gibraltar Port.
A surge of relaxed safety welled up in Hood’s chest, and he suddenly found this port unexpectedly charming.
…
London.
Ten Downing Street.
William Pitt Junior closed the request for the diterranean Fleet to return to Plymouth Port for repairs before him, and looked up at the Sea War Minister: “General Jervis, what’s the opinion of the Navy Departnt?”
Jervis opened his mouth with so difficulty, saying, “Mr. Pitt, as it stands, returning to the mainland for repairs is very necessary.”
Before Pitt could say anything, the Minister of the Interior, Duke of Portland, anxiously asked, “Does this an we will have almost no fleet available in the diterranean during this period?”
Jervis sighed and nodded, “Indeed it does.”
“So who will escort our rchant ships?” the Duke of Portland practically shouted, “The French Fleet will tear them apart!”
“This…” Jervis’s voice grew weaker, “We can only recomnd that rchant ships temporarily avoid entering the diterranean Sea.”
“How is that possible?! Do you know how significant our trade volu is in the diterranean? Oh, God, we invest so much in the Navy, only to be shad out of the diterranean in the end!”
Pitt gestured for him to calm down and then, using a severe tone, addressed Jervis: “I can instruct rchant ships to temporarily stay out of the diterranean.
“But after the fleet completes repairs, what is the Navy Departnt’s plan for dealing with the French?”
Once again, Jervis sighed and said with a bitter expression, “The French Fleet continually avoids engaging us head-on, instead using agile small ships to harass. If we were in the Atlantic Ocean, we could use wind power to arrange tactics, but in the diterranean…”
“So your conclusion is?”
“I’m sorry, Mr. Pitt, it will be difficult to launch an effective counterattack in the short term.”
The Duke of Portland, however, keenly noticed his choice of words and imdiately followed up, “Then what about the long-term strategy?”
Jervis placed another docunt on the Pri Minister’s desk: “We plan to build a batch of steam-powered warships, here are the plans from the Chat Han Shipyard.”
Chatehan Royal Shipyard is a famous shipbuilding base in London, where the renowned ‘Victory’ was built.
Jervis continued, “Given our country’s shipbuilding capacity, as long as we invest adequate funds, I believe in just one to one and a half years, our steam battleship fleet can surpass that of France.”
Frankly, Britain is indeed conservative in other aspects, but the navy has always been quite adept at adopting new technology.
Historically, several warship technology innovations by Spain and France were ultimately realized first by the British.
In fact, at this ti, British shipyards have begun using Steam Engines for tasks such as hoisting wood.
One can only say they encountered Joseph, a “bug” of sorts, hence temporarily lagging in warship innovation.
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