Reborn In 17th century India with Black Technology - Chapter 1119

Chapter 1119: Battleship Ramachandra (2)

Somewhere in Colombo, Anuradha Puri, Akhand Bharatiya Empire

Vishesh Niladri took the opportunity to start his introduction, which made Vijay look forward to how the design had evolved.

When the designs of individual design bureaus were presented to him five months ago, Vijay was especially surprised by the designs of both Vishesh Niladri and Ananth Raj Shetty, so much so that he broke the rule of only selecting three design bureaus and three chief designers, and had the two guys work on propulsion and power systems together, making it four design bureaus that worked on the design.

” Your majesty, generally, from what we saw from the Magadha Class Steamboat, ironclad ships are generally harder to power than all sail ships since they are heavier, while being smaller than the sailing ship and requiring a lot more power in order to move. ”

“At first, we calculated the speed the ship could reach with a single naval engine, and we quickly realised that one engine wouldn’t be enough. The projected speed barely reached six or seven knots, eight at best, even using the second-generation engine.”

Vijay listened intently as Vishesh, suddenly excited, began explaining with his hands moving all over the place, “So we came up with a way to use dual Bhairavi Jalaputra second-generation 4-cylinder horizontal marine engines as the power source, which together produce 560 horsepower and 60,000 khanda-meters of torque.”

“Both the engines will be powering two different four-blade bronze screw propellers, 4 metres in diameter, with the port propeller having a left-hand pitch and the starboard propeller having a right-hand pitch. While rotating, these two propellers will rotate outward, providing extremely efficient unidirectional thrust with their clockwise and counterclockwise movement.”

” Also, your majesty, by using this configuration, we are able to make the ship even more stable, especially when turning, and by taking full advantage of Sir Danior Boswell’s excellent design, we are able to highlight this feature and enhance it even more. ”

Vijay’s eyes lit up. He was not expecting this World War I feature to be brought out so quickly. If he understood it correctly, the two steam engines were driving the screw propellers directly using a direct crankshaft-to-propeller connection, and the rotation of both crankshafts as well as propellers happened in only one direction.

But the way the blades of the screw propellers were designed, where each propeller was opposite to the other, they both pushed out water in different rotational spins, essentially giving the ship the ability to steer, technically without the rudder, by only controlling the thrust of each steam engine, in a way giving the ship the ability to drift. Although he was slightly exaggerating here, the principle was the same.

But Vijay could not act as if he already knew what was happening, so he showed a look of surprise and asked, ” You mean when needed, the speed of each propeller could be adjusted so that the ship turns faster? ”

Ananth Raj Shetty, who was silently standing at the side, finally came forward and nodded in excitement, as he was the one responsible for this design feature’s implementation. Vishesh Niladri actually wanted to synchronise the engines of both the propellers so that it would not lead to steering issues if one engine is underpowered while the other is running at full power.

He was the one who saw it as a feature and noticed that even if one engine is turning the propeller at 40 RPM and the other 44 RPM, the design of the ship can handle it without a problem, and he felt that the extra manoeuvrability and dexterity the ship could gain from steam engines isolated from each other was more significant.

Looking at the Emperor, Ananth spoke out, ” It is as you said, your majesty. ” He nodded with a smile and pointed out the propellers, moving them by turning them around with his fingers. The model was made of wood, so it spun. ” In normal conditions, the turning radius using the rudder is projected to be around 380 metres, but using the method of slowing the speed of one propeller or even turning it off completely while the other is running, we estimate the radius to be decreased by 200 metres to a turning radius of only around 180 metres.”

” It will not be a stretch to say that, despite being a nearly 3000-tonne full metal ship, it handles better than the Magadha Class Steamboat, your majesty. ”

“Excellent!” Vijay praised and clapped without hesitation. Manoeuvrability of a ship is as important as firepower or defence, so he was extremely happy that this technology had been implemented.

” Since it is using two engines at the same time, its speed should be impressive, yes? ” He asked.

Vishesh Niladri once again took over. “Precisely, Your Majesty. While it cannot yet match the speed of top-of-the-line sailing ships, it has a maximum speed of 14.5 knots, a cruising speed of 10 knots, and a coal capacity of 420 tonnes, giving it a maximum range of 5,000 kilometres at cruising speed. Your Majesty, the ship is capable of reaching the United States of the Philippines, Suvarna Dwipa, the Kingdom of Mozambique, Israel, or any other destination within the Bharatiya Maha Samudra on a single load of coal.”

After the showcase of the power system was done, Ghana Prabhu Berunda came forward to showcase his achievements in the ship’s artillery and firepower department.

When the comparison was made between all the designs that were put forward, Ghana Prabhu Berunda had made a design that was by far the best in terms of firepower, so much so that he actually made his ship unstable. But as Vijay began to think in his mind of how those specifications would fit the ship that was currently introduced to him, he became excited because with the dual engines and extremely stable design, the ship could now pack some serious punch. And Ghana Prabhu Berunda did not disappoint. ” The offensive capabilities of the ship are divided into six different systems, your majesty, divided into main battery, secondary battery, tertiary battery, strategic weapon system, torpedo armament, and anti-boarding weapons. ”

” The main battery is composed of four 254 mm Trishul MK One rifled muzzle-loading naval guns designed by Shri Manjunatha Research Firm and Trishul Arms Consortium. The guns are mounted on a turret mechanism, with each turret having two guns of 25 calibre, with a turret rotation of 280 degrees, and capable of launching a shell of 180 kilogrammes with a maximum range of 15.7 kilometres. ”

“The secondary battery consists of eight 152-millimetre Vajra MK2 rifled breech-loading guns, capable of firing 45-kilogram projectiles to a maximum range of 12.6 kilometres. Each gun has a 30-calibre barrel and a muzzle velocity of 610 m/s. Your Majesty, this is the fastest gun we have ever produced, designed by the Sri Manjunatha Research Firm.”

“The third battery is composed of eight Shastra Prahar heavy machine guns, a support-weapon system for the first two batteries, providing suppression fire to ensure the enemy has no time to breathe or counterattack. It has a calibre of 13 millimetres and uses a 25-barrel rotating cylinder system, mounted on eight armoured pedestal mounts. Each gun can fire 120 rounds per minute, with an effective range of 1,200 metres and a maximum range of 2,800 metres, and carries 200 rounds per magazine with 8,000 rounds per gun.”

” As for the strategic weapon system, your majesty, as the Navy requested, I have designed six Bhagat B‑2 Navik cruise missile launchers mounted on two triple launcher assemblies at the port and starboard side of the ship. ”

” The torpedo armament is equipped with four 457 millimetre Varuna Jala Astra torpedo tubes, mounted as two twin tubes per broadside. These are actually submerged hull mountings, your majesty, the first of their kind, with a warhead load of 75 kilogrammes and a range of 800 metres at a speed of 25 knots. It is a straight‑running, gyroscope‑stabilised weapon system powered by a compressed‑air thrust mechanism, designed by Varuna Designs, built for dealing with large wooden ships as quickly as possible. ”

” And finally, the anti‑boarding weapons, your majesty, consist of sixteen Agni Kshudra rapid‑fire machine guns, which have a calibre of 8 millimetres. They come in a six‑barrel, hand‑cranked rotating assembly configuration, mounted on rail‑mounted swivel pedestals, with a rate of fire of 250 rounds per minute, an effective range of 400 metres, and a maximum range of 1000 metres, with a capacity of 6400 rounds per gun. They are capable of obliterating any enemy that dares to come close, your majesty. ”

As the report ended, the smile on Vijay’s face could not be wiped out. He asked for a battleship, and what he got was a bloody hedgehog of iron and steel. It was an invincible bastion on the sea, a metal beast that had no rivals.

In the real world, the build of a ship always differs from the design, but as long as the difference was within 5% he was extremely satisfied, as he was already overwhelmed with the specifications which should only appear in ironclads of the 19th century.

“This ship brings the empire into a new era in naval might. In honour of the King of Kings, the greatest ruler this land has ever known, it shall sail as ‘Sri Ramachandra’. A vessel of unmatched power and grandeur, it will carve a legacy that will be sung of for generations, the beginning of a legend destined to be remembered through the ages. ”

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