Chapter 27: Aida Special Cruise Ship

Chapter 27 Ida Special Cruise Ship

Upon hearing that Contini wanted to build a special cruise ship, the United Shipyard (Union) was very happy. The cost of building a Blue Ribbon cruise ship is US$7 to 10 million (the shipyard has to entrust other companies to decorate the part, so it makes almost no money) , and building such a special cruise ship will cost at least 12-13 million US dollars. More importantly, after mastering this technology, are you afraid that there will be no orders from the Navy in the future?

So in just one week, the designers worked as quickly as possible to design a sketch for Contini to review. In order to satisfy the other party, the designers tried their best day and night to use British and American aircraft carriers as references. Although it is called a special aircraft carrier, everyone knows what this thing does. Just when they were happily waiting for Contini's praise, they were poured cold water on their heads, and their hearts were half cold:

"Your design is not good, you must tear it down and start over!" Contini pointed at the sketch that was many times better than his hand-drawn sketch, and pointed out, "First of all, I told you, the cruise ship I If I want 30,000 tons, why do you give me 27,000 tons? Secondly, I said no less than 32 knots. What do you mean by giving me 30.5 knots?”

The designer stammered: "Your Excellency, the "Washington Naval Arms Treaty" stipulates that aircraft carriers of various countries cannot exceed 27,000 tons..."

"This is wrong!" Contini retorted, "The treaty also has a provision that allows for up to 3,000 tons of additional armor protection to prevent torpedoes and deck attacks. Besides, I am not a signatory to the treaty. This is a civilian ship. Do you know? From the captain to the sailors, from the passengers to the pilots, they are all ordinary civilians. There is not even an officer or soldier in the Italian Navy. How can this be called a navy? "

The designer was completely defeated. Is there such a thing in the world? If we think about it more carefully, the president is right. The United Group has enough people to raise money. Besides, there is no government appropriation, so it does not belong to the country.

As for Section 32, the designer didn’t even dare to argue, and only said that the cost would be increased.

"If you want to add more, just add more. I can still afford this amount of money!" Contini simply set the speed at 33 knots and changed the power to 4-axis propulsion with 160,000 horsepower. "As for the endurance, 8,000 nautical miles/18 knots will be needed." Yes?"

"After the weight increases, the dimensions must also be adjusted correctly. I think the deck is set to be 260 meters long and 30-32 meters wide..." The designer quickly wrote it down.

"Also..." Contini typed the design drawing, "You guys need to use more brains. The smoke from the chimney can easily interfere with the takeoff and landing of escort aircraft. It needs to be designed so that the bridge chimney is integrated..."

"Also, who asked you to place such an ugly 8-inch naval gun on it? Don't want it!"

"No naval guns?" the designer asked in astonishment, "What if we are in danger?"

"This is a defensive civilian ship, not an aircraft carrier. I repeat, it is not for offense, but for defense. I will cut off all the naval guns and torpedoes." Contini said without hesitation, "In order to enhance defense, The flight deck should be paved with armored steel. I think the thickness should be no less than 75mm. In addition, there should be some allowance for the center of gravity. I plan to install an additional 20-25mm special steel plate... Of course, it doesn't need to be completely covered, just cover the key parts. "

The designer kindly reminded: "It's so thick that it can't block an 8-inch gun..."

"Who said I have to defend against 8-inch artillery? What I defend against is bombs!" Contini glared, "I will leave the 8-inch artillery to the 50,000-ton special escort cruise ship..."

Well, the Navy's 35,000-ton Caracciolo class hasn't even been built yet, and the President is already planning a 50,000-ton special escort cruise ship. Now the designer understands the slang, isn't a special escort cruise ship the same as a battleship?

"The elevator area must be designed to be larger and have a stronger carrying capacity. It must be able to withstand at least an 8-ton aircraft. If two are not enough, two small side elevators will be arranged on the sides for rapid ammunition distribution; the bow is There is no problem in sealing the bow of the ship, but you have to lower the center of gravity a little. The Atlantic Ocean is not stable..." Contini looked at the armor layout and said dissatisfied, "The 185mm armor belt on the side is a bit thick, you can It should be weakened a little, but the bulletproof capability of the bridge should be enhanced, and at the same time, the focus should be on the armor and cabins of the underwater torpedo protection section... Also, the double-layer hangar should be designed to be higher. In the future, aircraft will definitely be higher To achieve higher and greater development, we must have foresight!”

The designer boldly said: "According to your current requirements, I'm afraid I won't be able to get 30,000 tons. It will take 32,000-33,000 tons."

"It doesn't matter if you have a little more. Britain and the United States can't see it. Just declare less when the time comes and put less oil on it during the trial. Isn't that what the trial is all about? Besides, it's not a warship. A civilian ship! A civilian ship! A civilian ship! Say important things three times. !" Contini thought of another thing, "The deck needs to be equipped with catapults, and there are also 2-4 water reconnaissance ships... Don't use the places where the 8-inch artillery was cut off just now, I will keep them all for anti-aircraft guns. …”

"How many anti-aircraft guns do you want?"

"8-10 128mm twin-mounted anti-aircraft guns, 20-25 twin-mounted 40mm anti-aircraft guns, 40-50 quadruple 20mm anti-aircraft guns, and if possible, another 200-300 anti-aircraft machine guns. I recently got one It's a heavy machine gun with good anti-aircraft shooting performance..." Contini emphasized, "It's probably not enough to install it all at once, so you can save it and add it slowly, just leave the space. "

"Crazy!" Thinking of this scene where the barrel is like a hedgehog jungle, the designers couldn't help but burst into tears. The president was so afraid of death.

"Your Excellency, I am afraid that the 12-13 million shipbuilding budget cannot stop this..."

"I'll give you 16 million. The artillery, machine guns, and planes are all mine." Contini smiled. "Didn't we agree to pay in four installments last time? That's 4 million US dollars per year. It's just a drizzle..."

Two days ago, they were talking about money being tight, but today they were talking about drizzle, and the designers couldn't help but laugh. How did they know that the money of the United Group had undergone earth-shaking changes in the past few days? Not only did the British (Iranian) Oil Company's investment of 55 million US dollars arrive, but the New York market prices had soared in the past two days, and Contini's American Radio and Television General Motors rose 15% in one week, suddenly gaining $20 million. Moreover, Wall Street tycoons are still coming to ask for underwriting US$100 million of corporate bonds issued by United Group in New York. Money has gone from being tight to having a lot of money.

After another ten days, the sketches and design plans drawn by the designers were submitted again. Finally, Contini was more satisfied this time. He mentioned a few details, which basically completed the outline of the Ida special cruise ship. And the data is determined:

Displacement: 30,170 tons (baseline, declared), 32,980 tons (baseline, actual), 40,250 tons (full load, estimated)

Length x width x draft: 2x9.71m

Flight deck dimensions (length x width): 2 parts flare, sides compensated)

Power: 4 steam turbines, 4-shaft propulsion, 174,000 horsepower

Maximum speed: 33 knots (estimated)

Endurance: 8,500 nautical miles/18 knots

Carrier-based aircraft: 72 standing + 10 reserve + 3 water reconnaissance aircraft

Crew: 2,200

"Very good. I will go all out to study the detailed plan, layout and design drawings according to the idea. If you don't understand anything, you can come and visit our floating sea airport. It is always good to learn more." Contini said coolly. Waved his hand, "I request that the keel can be laid in July next year during the summer vacation, so that Ada can see the lively scene of the construction of the Blue Ribbon Cruise, and strive to complete it in 4 years... It can be extended to 4 and a half years. Of course, during the construction, it was only said They can’t see the blue ribbon tanker.”

"This...time is very tight."

"It doesn't matter, I will recruit people from my joint shipyard and other shipyards. I will also recruit people from Germany... There are still many designers. I will add 10 million lire as your design overtime bonus. You must have The fighting spirit of six plus one, white plus black, especially the spirit of joint speed to always be the first. As for armor steel, boilers, artillery, etc., you can make sure you have the best stuff." Tiny thought for a while, "If there are not enough workers, you can recruit them from my shipyard and train them. If there are not enough workers, I will recruit them from Germany. They must be the best workers! We don't want any cheaters, and we will fire them if they are found!" The German supervision team is supervising you. You know, the Germans are not our Italians, that’s really disrespectful!”

"Yes, yes!"

"You must have a high sense of political responsibility and mission. What is the name of this ship? It's called Ida! Ida is still a little girl and doesn't understand anything, but she has a father who is a knowledgeable prime minister. This ship represents It represents the image of the country, represents the construction achievements of Fascism and the Youth League, and symbolizes the style and prestige of the New Roman Empire. You have done well, and the leaders can all see it! You must implement the important ideas of the Three Flags with practical actions, and with the utmost Exquisite quality, the best craftsmanship, the strictest management, and the most efficient speed are presented to the leader for the 8th anniversary of his administration. This is not an ordinary business task, it is a serious political task! If you do it well, you will be rewarded. If you do it poorly, you will be rewarded. Don’t expect orders from the Admiralty in the future, I won’t be able to pass this level first, do you understand me?”

Several designers were so confused by Contini's training that they nodded in agreement. The power of political leadership is not that great. The key cost of 16 million US dollars and the 10 million lira design bonus are too tempting. After all, the president is the president, and he is rich. ah.

This torment has reached early December, and it is getting closer and closer to the time when Sickert promised to release Hitler before Christmas. Contini wanted to go to Bavaria, but he did not expect Zakaria to inform him: "President , the gentleman named Christie you recruited from the United States came with a complete set of information and drawings, saying he had a good idea. "

Well... I have to study tanks, and my trip to Germany will have to be postponed for a few more days.