flstandardbreds Chapter 170 Foreign Military Sales
Chapter 170 Foreign Military Sales
"Gentlemen, please watch the performance of the Type 90 gunboat."
Outside Hilla Bay, an area of sea has been closed off as an exercise zone, and a fleet consisting of three Type 90 escort ships is patrolling the ocean.
These ships were originally built between 653 and 654, and were only two or three years old. However, with the rapid expansion of industrial strength and the rapid advancement of technology, Amelansi has now begun to build steel warships.
The almost brand-new Dahlgren guns on the Type 90 have long been out of production, and these cannons cast using hollow clay molds have become obsolete. The navy's gun-and-ship doctrine has developed rapidly, and 122mm cannons are no longer considered a necessity.
However outdated they were, these weapons were still far more powerful than the various projectile weapons of the Royal Navy of Burnia. After all, the situation where some ships were still using ballistae and only first-class battleships could obtain cannons was too backward. In the face of the fact that continental countries had begun to research and develop rifled cannons, Burnia, although its navy had a considerable tonnage, had long been lagging behind in terms of technology.
The navy is a branch of the military that places great emphasis on technology; artillery, power, and armor are all of paramount importance.
Now, some of the senior officers of Burnia sat on the harbor fortress, while others stood on the ship, watching the training demonstration of the Amerinsky Republic Navy. The well-trained sailors aimed precisely according to commands, loaded ammunition, and fired. The roaring engines took on the responsibility of raising and lowering the sails, as well as providing some of the power output.
Like gears that fit together perfectly, the guns had a slow rate of fire, but each shot was extremely powerful. Moreover, the Type 90 gunboat was not a capital ship, but an inexpensive one.
After the Type 90, the Hiun-class and Minotaur-class battleships opened the eyes of the Burnian Navy. If the Hiun-class was just fast and powerful, then the Minotaur-class was a truly terrifying monster. Two ironclad ships cut through the waves, and with the power of the Burnian Navy's guns, it was probably a pipe dream to cause them devastating damage. One Burnian ship even fired at the Minotaur-class, but the ironclad ship was completely unharmed.
"Are they all really for sale?"
"Of course, gentlemen! All of them are available for sale. If you buy a lot of the Type 90, we can teach you how to manufacture them. Of course, if you still need the Feiyun-class and Minotaur-class, you can place an order with us. Our shipyards can build them, and the price is negotiable."
Amelansi needed funds, and Burnia needed a fleet. The two sides hit it off immediately. The Type 90 was too small, but its firepower was usable, so they managed to buy 5 ships. They bought 3 Hiun-class ships. Burnia wanted to buy 2 Minotaur-class ships, but the parliament thought it would be bad to impose another ship tax, so they only bought 1 ship.
However, the Burnia wanted to buy the Dalgren artillery technology. Of course, they didn't know that muzzle-loading cannons had been phased out in Amelansi. But even if they were phased out in Amelansi, they would still be able to fight against other empires. The Burnia naval delegation wrote down the word: Buy!
Alice was happy to see the elimination of outdated production capacity and retired inventory. Arms is always the fastest way to make money. After all, so many have been produced. Now the army and navy don't need new cannons. Selling them to recoup the funds is worthwhile and will help the army and navy replace their guns.
The production technology of breech-loading muskets and army artillery were not unsellable. A batch of M654 series cannons were later modified, with rifling, breech-loading technology, and new shells. In some second-line units, the old cannons had been completely converted to this type, but the power was small and the rate of fire did not make a decisive improvement, and it could not compare with the 75mm. Therefore, this upgraded Napoleon breech-loading cannon was also sold.
Because Napoleon cannons were made of bronze, they were not durable to begin with, and they became even less durable after being rifled. After the breakthrough in crucible steel technology, all cannons were made of steel, such as the Krupp C73. When the Burnian Army delegation came to Amerlane, they originally wanted to buy breech-loading Napoleon cannons, since the Amerlane Army arsenal had tens of thousands of them. However, they immediately spotted the C73 breech-loading cannon next to the arsenal.
"Isn't that kind of cannon better? Can you show it to us?"
Major General Cartes of the Burnian Army asked, "Later we found that the C73 was far superior to the M654A in every aspect, but the problem is that Burnia's steel industry is not good at all, it's a complete mess. They can't even manufacture this kind of thing. It's not impossible to introduce Emeran's steel technology, but that's not within their scope of responsibility."
Parliament was also hoping that this batch of arms could defeat the Holy Army of the Church in Tuscany. After all, the Church had various muzzle-loading cannons traded from the Caliphate's desert empire, and there were also many cannon foundries within the Church's territory producing Napoleon cannons. This kind of artillery technology had long since spread. Before the unification of Amelia, a lot of M654 series technology had spread. Even countries with insufficient industrial capacity could manufacture this kind of weapon. After all, the highest technical requirements for the Minié rifle and the 12-pound Napoleon were only water-powered forging hammers.
The Buryat Army Mission made a bold move, acquiring the breech-loading Martini-Henry rifle, which they particularly liked, and the M654 Navy Revolver, also known as the "black powder revolver." As for artillery, they purchased the technology for the C73 and M654A breech-loading Napoleon cannons.
But heavy artillery was not so simple. Amerlane built a lot of heavy artillery, but in the era of black powder, the cost-effectiveness of heavy artillery was too low. Most of them were Dahlgren guns from the Navy that were transferred to the Army. The caliber was not high, nor was it necessary to have such a high caliber. However, after gun steel and mauve powder were put into use, the Army found that Dahlgren guns were no longer effective. The caliber required by black powder was different from that of mauve powder. The latter usually required 25-35 calibers (L25-L35), while black powder only needed L20.
At this point, as the barrel length increased, loading muzzle-loading guns became more difficult. This is why the army required large-caliber howitzers to use all-steel breech-loading guns. Before the advent of brown powder, they had built many long-barreled steel Dahlgren guns, and without exception, they all proved that this was not feasible.
And what about Burnia? Let alone maroon cannons, it's questionable whether their steel industry can even produce cannon steel. Therefore, they can only adopt Amelansi's suggestion: the army should also use Dalgren.
Alice's smile never stopped after seeing the order; after all, it was a huge order! The Navy sold millions of Amelianthus dollars worth of equipment and outdated technology, enough to build at least one and a half dreadnoughts.
The army cleared out a large amount of munitions and outdated military technology. After all, maintaining the navy's old ships and the army's obsolete munitions required maintenance costs, which could then arm two or three armored divisions.
As for whether Burnia would use these technologies against them? Alice thought for a moment, ironclad ships against dreadnoughts? She'd better just give up and go to sleep. Let Burnia get past the Sovereign-class first.
However, perhaps in five or ten years, even monarchical power can be sold. There's nothing that can't be sold. In Alice's view, whether it's Burnia, the Church, or the Caliphate, they will all start an industrial revolution in a few years. Maybe they'll start their industrial revolution with the electrical industry and eventually surpass others.
Let's sell a batch first, make some money, and then resell it in the industrial sector.