Chapter 205: The Epoch-Making Dreadnought
As Arthur had anticipated, the formation of the Kingdom of Australasia did not spark any opposition in Europe. In fact, with the strong support of the German Empire and the Russian Empire, two of the leading monarchies in Europe, most European monarchies congratulated the newly formed Kingdom of Australasia.
The attitude of the United Kingdom was more complex. While the British public celebrated the formation of Australasia with congratulations and well wishes, the government had some reservations. After all, once the Kingdom of Australasia was established, it would replace the British Empire as the legal sovereign power in the Oceania region.
However, in the end, Edward VII expressed his opinion, and the British government officially congratulated the Kingdom of Australasia on its formation.
Despite exchanging ambassadors with major powers, it was clear that the formation of Australasia was not the dominant news in Europe at the moment. The reason for this was simple: during this time, the British Portsmouth Naval Shipyard had built a battleship in just four months that would change the global battleship structure, sending shockwaves through Europe and the world.
Although the British had kept the construction of the Dreadnought battleship under wraps, once it began its sea trials, it was eventually discovered by spies from other nations, especially Germany. Through the diligent efforts of spies, particularly those from Germany, the true specifications of the Dreadnought were soon known across Europe.
"This is truly a revolutionary battleship!"
This was the reaction of the rulers and naval experts of all countries upon seeing the design of this ship.
Due to the widespread use of new technologies in its design, the Dreadnought battleship completely overthrew the previous battleship design concepts, dominating and surpassing existing battleships in every way.
What does this mean? Previous battleships had their advantages in terms of firepower, protection, or speed. Some were extremely powerful in firepower, some had incredibly sturdy armor, while others excelled in speed.
These battleships each had their strengths and played their roles in naval combat.
But the Dreadnought was different. It employed a unified ballistic performance for its main guns, significantly boosting its firepower and allowing commanders to easily direct all main guns to aim at the same target. This made the concentrated firepower much more efficient and greatly increased the accuracy of the main guns.
Additionally, the Dreadnought was equipped with ten 305mm main guns, twenty-seven 5.4 kg guns, and five 457mm torpedo tubes, greatly enhancing its firepower. This gave the Dreadnought an overwhelming advantage over older battleships.
At the same time, the Dreadnought's total armor weight was around 5,000 tons, an improvement over previous battleships. The thicker armor meant better protection, with critical areas such as the turrets, engine rooms, ammunition depots, and command towers having armor thicknesses exceeding 280mm, all wrapped around the ship's hull.
Even more importantly, the Dreadnought didn't just improve firepower and armor; its speed was also enhanced. The design called for a maximum speed of over 21 knots, sustained for long periods of time.
Prior to the Dreadnought, the fastest battleships could only reach about 19 knots and could only maintain that speed for short durations.
The Dreadnought's speed was undoubtedly revolutionary, and the British shipyards and experts solved the power requirements with new steam turbines and boilers.
The Dreadnought was equipped with 18 coal-burning steam boilers and four Parsons steam turbines providing power. Its total horsepower was an impressive 22,500, and during its first sea trial, it reached 24,700 horsepower. Its theoretical top speed was 21 knots, but during sea trials, it achieved a top speed of 22.4 knots.
In summary, the Dreadnought could easily overpower previous battleships in firepower, armor, and speed. The old situation where a ship couldn't outrun or outgun its opponent was no longer an issue. Other countries' battleships faced with the Dreadnought would not only be outgunned but also outpaced.
This signified a complete reshaping of the world's naval balance. All the old battleships would become obsolete in comparison to the Dreadnought.
If the number of battleships used to represent a nation's naval power, now the number of Dreadnought battleships would determine the strength of a navy.
Leading the way into the new era of warships was the British Empire, but paradoxically, it was also the one most troubled by this development.
The problem arose because, with the Dreadnought's creation, all older battleships became obsolete. While the British would have some advantages in the construction of the Dreadnought, this also meant that much of the Royal Navy's fleet would soon become outdated.
The British Empire and France, previously the largest owners of old battleships, were now affected by this naval revolution.
For emerging nations, however, this provided a great opportunity, especially for the German Empire, which had long sought to surpass Britain in naval power.
Under the old battleship system, Germany had little chance of overtaking the British navy. Despite the growth of Germany's fleet, Britain's Royal Navy was expanding even faster, and a significant gap remained between the two countries.
But with the advent of the Dreadnought, naval power would be determined by the number of Dreadnought battleships a country possessed.
This shift created an excellent opportunity for emerging powers such as the German Empire, the United States, and even Australasia.
However, as some nations saw hope, others fell into despair. Some nations now had the chance to catch up, while others faced the risk of falling behind.
Maintaining the existing navy had already been challenging, but with the Dreadnought's emergence, the older battleships would be completely outclassed, and nations without Dreadnoughts would be at a significant disadvantage.
Naturally, the most affected nation would be the island nation, which had just divided the Far East hegemony with Russia.
The island nation had gained some rights in the Far East after the Russo-Japanese War and had effectively occupied the Korean Peninsula. But these gains didn't compensate for the heavy losses in the war, especially the large number of warships lost.
The nation's naval strength was already at the bottom tier of the major powers, and without developing Dreadnoughts, it would soon fall further behind the other powers, blocking the island nation's dream of expansion.
In general, the creation of the Dreadnought accelerated the naval competition in Europe and led almost all the great powers to focus on developing their own Dreadnoughts.
Due to a lack of experience, many countries, including Germany, modeled their Dreadnought designs on the Dreadnought battleship.
In fact, this played into Britain's hands. By the time other countries unveiled their Dreadnought designs, the British Empire had already introduced an even more advanced Super-Dreadnought, giving them a continued lead in naval ship design.
Upon receiving intelligence about the Dreadnought, Kaiser Wilhelm II immediately ordered Germany's shipyards and navy to fast-track their own Dreadnought designs and construction.
This scene was mirrored in almost every great power, as naval designers around the world worked feverishly to develop their own Dreadnought designs.
It's worth mentioning that, since Germany's assistance hadn't accounted for the creation of the Dreadnought, German shipbuilding experts who were still working for Australasia would become the leading figures in Australasia's own Dreadnought research.
Soon, with the efforts of the great powers, Dreadnought designs from various nations were quickly produced.
Notably, the United States' South Carolina-class battleship was one of the first to adopt fully heavy artillery and was designed around the same time as Britain's Dreadnought. However, due to budget delays, the first South Carolina-class battleship, the USS South Carolina, wasn't launched until March 1910, more than two years after the Dreadnought entered service.
Following the Dreadnought design shock, the United States firmly pursued the construction of the South Carolina-class battleships, and the U.S. Navy began pressing Congress for rapid funding.
Other powers, including Italy with its Dante Alighieri-class, the island nation with its Kōbe-class, and Germany with its Nassau-class, also began to act swiftly.
Among these, only Italy and the island nation had relatively small plans. Italy's Dante Alighieri-class would consist of just one ship, and construction would begin only a year later, while the island nation's Kōbe-class would likely not exceed two ships.
The two countries at the bottom of the naval power rankings, Italy and the island nation, were fortunate in that they had some plans for building Dreadnoughts, but it would still take time before they could begin construction.
On the other hand, two renowned countries, France and the Russian Empire, had no immediate plans for Dreadnought construction.
Although the Russian Empire wasn't without a Dreadnought plan, its design and research capabilities were not strong, and it currently lacked a perfect battleship design.
In history, Russia's first Dreadnought was the Gangut-class battleship, which was designed with the guidance of British shipyards after Italy's Dante Alighieri-class was completed.
However, since the Dante Alighieri-class was still only a design sketch and the Anglo-Russian relations hadn't improved, the success of Russia's Gangut-class remained uncertain.
(End of Chapter)
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