The Rise of Australasia

"As far as I know, the Nagato-class battleship being built by the Island Nation has already broken through 40,000 tons, so why does our warship still only have a displacement of around 30,000 tons?" Arthur looked at the chief designer of the warship with curiosity and asked the doubts in his heart.

"Your Majesty, due to the naval restrictions, we avoided having our under-construction warships be forcibly dismantled, so the R107 battleship’s displacement was designed to be about 33,000 tons. But we also have a backup plan." Richard Harding Davis, the chief designer of the R107 battleship, took out the long-prepared backup design and explained.

Arthur nodded, took the design, and was instantly attracted by the data marked on it.

Calling it a backup design is actually more like the design of a new battleship.

This is the 108th design draft, so its natural code name is the R108 battleship.

Compared to the 33,000-ton standard displacement of the R107 battleship, the R108 seemed like a huge fatty, with its tonnage increased to 45,300 tons.

With a standard displacement of 45,300 tons and a full-load displacement of 53,500 tons, these numbers would undoubtedly be considered massive among all other nations’ main battleship designs around the world.

The R108 battleship is 245 meters long, 31.1 meters wide, and has a draft of more than 10 meters.

With such a behemoth, the protection capability of the battleship is greatly enhanced.

Compared to the R107 battleship, the R108 battleship has a side armor thickness of 381 millimeters, and even the deck armor thickness reaches 203 millimeters.

Keep in mind, the deck armor thickness of the United Kingdom’s main battleships during World War I was less than 100 millimeters. This armor protection capability has almost doubled, which is the real reason for the R108 battleship’s standard displacement of 45,300 tons.

The protection capacity of the R108 battleship is not limited to a single location, but has been strengthened in a comprehensive way throughout the vessel.

The frontal armor thickness of the gun mount and turret ranges from 387 to 408 millimeters, and the thinnest part of the connection also reaches 305 millimeters.

Although the armor thickness of the command tower is slightly thinner, the thickness on both sides also reaches 356 millimeters, and the frontal thickness is 305 millimeters.

Even more exaggerated is the firepower system of this battleship.

Both the United Kingdom and Australasia knew about the research on 18-inch main guns, and Australasia was even a part of this research.

On this behemoth, it is also naturally expected to be equipped with three triple-mount 18-inch 45 caliber guns (457 millimeters).

Keep in mind that even the Nagato-class battleship of the Island Nation, which has already been exposed, only has a firepower system with 16-inch caliber guns (410 millimeters).

If the R108 battleship were truly equipped with 18-inch guns, there would be no doubt that it would be a crushing advantage in firepower over other countries’ battleships.

In addition to the main guns, the caliber of the secondary guns and the number of anti-aircraft guns have also been greatly strengthened.

It’s hard to say who would win if such a massive battleship encountered an aircraft carrier from this era of other countries.

After all, in this era, battleships still ruled the seas, and although the concept of aircraft carriers was advanced, there was still much room for improvement in the technology, experience, and aircraft advancements of the countries involved.

The most deadly part is that the R108 battleship’s power system has a qualitative improvement compared to the R107 battleship.

The number of fuel boilers has been increased to 12, and the number of steam turbines has increased to 4, with the maximum power expected to reach 80,000 horsepower, and the maximum speed is estimated to be between 24 and 25 knots.

Although these data are only estimates, the design of the R108 battleship has definitely improved significantly when compared to the R107 battleship.

Even Arthur, who didn’t know much about warship design, could easily see the huge gap between the two designs, not to mention the experts who specialized in battleship research.

"Why not bring out the R108 battleship design earlier? According to the design data, this is the battleship that Australasia should build," Arthur inquired.

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"Your Majesty, didn’t you say that Australasia should follow the future naval conference and temporarily reduce the research and development of main battleships?" Richard Harding Davis reminded him with courage.

Arthur slapped his forehead, realizing that he had indeed said such a thing.

But it is essential to know that Australasia has such advanced warship designs, and even if they try their best to find excuses, they have to delay the Naval Limitation Treaty by two years to ensure the completion of a new battleship.

"Indeed, we must abide by the future Naval Limitation Treaty. However, the Naval Limitation Treaty has not yet been formally established, and currently, we still have no restrictions on our warship construction." Arthur said, "Both designs of the battleships can be retained. We will now primarily focus on the improvement and construction of the R108 battleship.

The R107 battleship will be our main battleship to be built after the Naval Limitation Treaty takes effect. There is no conflict between these two projects."

In history, after the Naval Limitation Treaty was signed, many countries secretly built larger-scale battleships.

Not to mention the present when the limitation treaty has not been signed, each country is constructing numerous primary battleships before the treaty is signed. Naturally, Australasia does not want to miss such an opportunity.

"When can the construction of the R108 battleship begin, and how soon can it be launched?" Arthur asked the most critical question.

It will be impossible to sign the Naval Limitation Treaty in a short time because the time spent investigating each country’s economic and industrial conditions is counted in years.

Adding the time spent by each country on discussing specific scales and proportions, the signing of the Naval Limitation Treaty will take at least over a year. It might even take two to three years at worst.

As long as Australasia is willing to delay, there is absolutely no problem in delaying it for a year or two. Two years is more than enough time to build a battleship. Even if it has just been launched, it has been built before the treaty is signed, which does not affect the implementation of the treaty.

"We have done preliminary experiments on this design, and there should be no problems overall. If we start construction now, the earliest it can officially be launched is at the end of 1921 or the beginning of 1922." Richard Harding Davis thought carefully for a while and gave a relatively reasonable time range.

"According to the size of our current shipyards, how many such battleships can we build at most simultaneously within one and a half to two years?" Arthur continued to ask.

"Under normal circumstances, starting the construction of two battleships at the same time should guarantee completion within a year and a half. If we devote some manpower to focus on building the R108 battleship, we can start construction on three of them simultaneously and have them launched before mid-1922." Richard Harding Davis considered this carefully for a long time before giving an answer.

Who says that a technical expert like Richard doesn’t have ambition? As long as he can ensure that the battleships are completed within two years, Richard also wants to build more of them. After all, the design of these battleships is his painstaking effort, and he naturally hopes to see more ships of the same class built and sailing on the vast blue ocean.

"Mid-1922?" Upon hearing this, Arthur’s expression became a bit more serious. After pondering for a while, he finally said, "Then let’s start construction on three of them at the same time! Notify the Sydney Royal Shipyard to commence the construction of the R108 class battleships immediately. They must be launched and tested before mid-1922.

If there are any issues, they can turn to the government or Butler Kent. During the battleship construction period, all issues will be prioritized. Mr. Richard, I entrust you with the heavy responsibility of the nation. I appoint you as the Chief Constructor for the R108 battleships, fully responsible for the construction of the new battleships in cooperation with the Sydney Shipyard.

The naming and testing of the battleships will be postponed. I hope to see the completion of three enormous battleships within two years."

"Yes, Your Majesty! I will definitely not let you down. I will notify the Sydney Shipyard immediately." Richard Harding Davis’s face flushed with excitement as he stood up and said eagerly.

With a wave of his hand, Arthur let Richard go and do his own thing and decided to end his trip in Melbourne.

Now that the Melbourne Shipyard has more important matters at hand, there is no need for Arthur to disturb them any further.

Both the R107 and R108 battleships have fully taken into account British warship designs in their design plans, even with the help of the British. The overall design concept is quite reliable.

If Arthur remembers correctly, the Nagato Battleship, known as the most powerful battleship of this era from the Island Nation, has a displacement of around 40,000 tons.

Due to the technical limitations of the Island Nation, equipping the Nagato-class battleship with 410mm 16-inch main guns is already quite difficult. It is impossible to equip 18-inch main guns.

Despite that, the Nagato-class battleship is considered one of the most powerful battleships in the world at this point in time, in 1920.

If Arthur is not mistaken, the maximum power of the Nagato-class battleship seems to have exceeded 80,000 horsepower, with a navigation speed of 26 knots.

However, people from the Island Nation are not fools. They would not reveal the true speed of their Nagato-class battleship.

Both in history and in the present, the Island Nation has concealed some of the data of the so-called most powerful battleship, whose reputation is well-established and is soon to complete sea trials and be commissioned.

In official data announcements by the Island Nation, the maximum speed of the Nagato Battleship is only 23 knots, and its power is only around 58,000 horsepower.

Arthur’s decision to retain the designs of the R107 and R108 battleships also stems from a similar way of thinking to the people of the Island Nation.

Even if the Naval Limitation Treaty is signed ahead of schedule, the data of the R108 battleship being built in Australasia can be temporarily concealed, and replaced with the data of the R107 battleship.

Both battleships look similar in appearance as they originate from the same designer. As long as the secrecy work is done well, it may even successfully deceive others.

Of course, the best news would be that all three R108 battleships are launched and tested before the treaty is signed. In this case, other countries would have no excuse, and Australasia can legitimately equip these three powerful battleships.

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