Chapter 817: The British Navy's Enterprising Spirit

Chapter 818 The Enterprising Spirit of the British Navy

To be honest, the damage to these warships has little impact on their combat capabilities, but they cannot be left alone.

For example, if a piece of the side deck is broken, then that part of the hull cannot bear the load.

When a wooden warship turns or faces the waves, the hull will be slightly deformed, and the structure around the hole will be subjected to very large structural stress. The hull structure near the damaged position will age and be scrapped quickly.

Just like when we tear plastic packaging, if the outer packaging is intact, it will not be able to be torn open with great force. But if a small hole is cut on the edge, it can be easily torn from there.

So these warships do not look seriously injured, but they must return to port for repairs, otherwise the original small problems may become a major project that requires the replacement of half of the hull.

Lord Hood couldn't help but think of the losses of the Mediterranean Fleet in this operation-

1 third-level and 1 fourth-level battleship were severely damaged.

1 cruiser and 3 frigates were sunk.

"Heavily damaged" is a term used in naval warfare, meaning that the ship is no different from a waste except that it is still floating on the water. It usually takes at least 4 months to return to the port to complete the repair.

This little loss is actually not worth mentioning, but the more serious situation is that 18 third-level battleships, 20 fourth-level battleships, and almost all cruisers and frigates were slightly injured.

So many warships that need repairs suddenly poured into the port of Gibraltar, and there would definitely be a serious shortage of docks and shipbuilding craftsmen.

The entire repair process will last at least half a year - if the two ships that were severely damaged are not counted.

In other words, before this, the Mediterranean Fleet will only have a dozen third-level battleships available!

Not to mention the French Toulon Fleet, even the Spanish Fleet can bully them...

Lord Hood just felt extremely aggrieved.

Even during the Seven Years' War, when he fought against the superior French fleet in the Atlantic, he was not so aggrieved.

He stared blankly out the porthole. After a long time, he finally sighed heavily, returned to the table, and began to write a report to the Admiralty, requesting the Mediterranean Fleet to return to Plymouth Harbor for repairs.

There are more shipyards and craftsmen there, which can shorten the repair time to less than 3 months.

Just as he finished writing the last word and was about to sign his name, he heard a dull bang from the rear of the fleet.

He was experienced and determined that it was not the sound of cannons, so he immediately frowned and rushed to the command cabin.

Before Lord Hood passed through the corridor between the second decks, his staff hurriedly came to him, sweating profusely and said: "General, the "Gun Smoke" just exploded!"

Hood's mind suddenly "buzzed".

The so-called "ghost explosion" refers to the explosion caused by the ammunition stored in the cabin being hit by enemy artillery fire. Because the explosion point is inside the hull, it usually causes extremely serious damage.

The "Gun Smoke" is a fourth-level battleship that was built and commissioned in February last year. After the secondary explosion, it is basically certain that it will be removed from the battle sequence.

Hood came to the command cabin and saw thick smoke rising from the sea surface on the east side without a telescope. It was the "Gunfire" that was burning violently.

Farther away, more than a dozen French warships were circling and firing cannons to celebrate.

The staff continued to report on the side: "Just now, two French cruisers hit the starboard side of the "Gunfire", but they didn't expect it to cause a secondary explosion..."

This situation is actually extremely rare, because the gunpowder is piled on the inside of the gun deck, and there is a layer of wooden shell in front of it, which is usually difficult to hit.

Hood suddenly remembered that two gaps were blasted on the starboard side of the "Gunfire" last week. If a shell happened to be shot from the damaged area this time...

He said to the messenger with a sullen face: "Send a frigate to rescue people."

An hour later, the "Gunfire", whose skeleton was burned down, completely sank into the Mediterranean Sea, becoming the first battleship to be sunk in this naval battle.

At noon the next day, the British Mediterranean Fleet slowly sailed into the port of Gibraltar.

Hood couldn't help but feel a sense of relief and security in his chest. He suddenly felt that this port was more lovely than ever before.

...

London.

10 Downing Street.

Little Pitt closed the application for the Mediterranean Fleet to return to Plymouth Port for repairs and looked up at the Minister of Naval War: "General Jervis, what is the opinion of the Admiralty?"

Jervis said with some difficulty: "Mr. Pitt, at present, it is very necessary to return to the mainland for repairs."

Before Little Pitt could say anything, the Home Secretary, the Duke of Portland, said anxiously: "Then we will have almost no fleet available in the Mediterranean during this period?"

Jervis sighed and nodded: "Indeed."

"So who will escort our merchant ships?" The Duke of Portland almost shouted, "The French fleet will tear them apart!"

No mistake, one song, one post, one content, one look!

"This..." Jervis' voice became weaker and weaker, "I can only suggest that merchant ships do not enter the Mediterranean for the time being."

"How can this be possible?! Do you know how much trade we have in the Mediterranean? Oh, God, we invested so much money in the navy, and in the end we were driven out of the Mediterranean in disgrace!"

Pitt motioned him to calm down, and then said to Jervis in a serious tone: "I can ask merchant ships not to enter the Mediterranean for the time being.

"But after the fleet is repaired, what plans does the Admiralty have to deal with the French?"

The latter sighed again and said with a bitter face: "The French fleet has never fought us head-on, but has used a flexible small boat to harass us constantly. If it were in the Atlantic, we could still use the wind to deploy tactics, but in the Mediterranean..."

"So what is your conclusion?"

"I'm sorry, Mr. Pitt, it's difficult to make an effective counterattack in the short term."

The Duke of Portland was keenly aware of his words and immediately continued: "What about the long-term countermeasures?"

Jervis put another document on the Prime Minister's desk: "We plan to build a batch of steam-powered warships. This is the development plan of Chatham Dockyard."

Chatham Royal Dockyard is a famous shipbuilding base in London, and the famous ship "Victory" was built here.

Jervis continued: "With our country's shipbuilding capabilities, as long as we invest enough funds, I believe it will only take one to one and a half years for our steam warships to exceed France."

To be honest, Britain is indeed conservative in other aspects, but the navy has always been very good at learning new technologies.

In history, many battleship technology innovations in Spain and France were finally realized by the British.

In fact, at this time, British shipyards had already begun using steam engines for tasks such as lifting wood.

It can only be said that they encountered the "bug"-like existence of Joseph, which temporarily led to a backward situation in warship innovation.