Chapter 2172： Attentive Jericho

"In yesterday's shelling, we estimated that the German fleet fired at least 15,000 main artillery shells. This has been investigated and confirmed by our relevant personnel. Although it is not accurate, the determination is still possible." Lieutenant General Duff was right. Jericho said.

"With 15,000 rounds, the German High Seas Fleet has a total of 96 18-inch guns, 78 350mm guns, and 10 12-inch guns," Jericho said. That's right, the British already know that the German High Seas Fleet has completed the ultra-fearlessness of the fleet in one year! After all, it is impossible to hide such a huge change. As for the 12-inch guns that were removed? Many of them were used as train guns in the previous phase of the army's engagement! It won't be wasted anyway!

"That is to say, nearly 200 main guns fired more than 15,000 rounds, and each gun fired 75 rounds, is that true?" Jericho asked.

"That's it, Commander Commander." Lieutenant General Duff nodded and said: "Moreover, most of their hits are heavy bombs. This is a bit different from our previous understanding. We always think that the German fleet will use super light bombs. Come to attack targets that are far away, but from the current situation, it seems that the Germans have developed new long-range grenades for attacking ground targets. The weight of these grenades is about the same as normal armor-piercing shells."

"The range of more than 40 kilometers, or even close to 50 kilometers, can no longer be achieved by simply increasing the elevation angle. If nothing else, these shells are likely to be fired with strong charges. According to our collection According to the data of the German artillery, their normal charge strength did not reach the mechanical limit of the artillery. Therefore, this time, for ultra-long-range attacks, it is possible for them to use strong charges, just like our 13.5-inch naval gun. "Thomas on the side said.

"So, if you take into account the daily training of the German Navy, if they conduct another such high-intensity attack, then the artillery of a considerable part of the battleships in the high seas fleet will be close to the end of life, is that true?" Jericho said .

"If their artillery life is similar to ours, then it should be replaced." Lieutenant General Duff thought for a while and said.

How long is the life of battleship guns? The lifespan of this thing is not comparable to that of ordinary land artillery. If calculated by the standard of normal armor-piercing projectiles, it is generally about 300 rounds. And the life span of the 15-inch drug guns of the famous Veneto-class battleships in history is only more than 100 rounds. There is no way, the price of super vertical penetration is that the tube life is too short. Of course, if you have a more advanced technology, such as the chromium plating process used by American naval guns, the life span will be longer.

That’s great, what will happen if the naval gun’s life is up? It is generally not possible to blast the chamber, but the walking of the shells will definitely be worse, which is obviously very unfavorable for naval battles. Therefore, in order to ensure the long life of the naval gun as much as possible, when using grenade to attack ground targets, it may use reduced charges to save costs. As the name suggests, reducing the charge is to reduce the charge and the muzzle velocity of the shell. Thereby reducing the ablation of shells.

The opposite of reduced charge is strong charge! It is usually to achieve a certain purpose to use a charge that exceeds the standard measurement. Under normal circumstances, this is to obtain a longer range or a stronger penetration. And this will undoubtedly increase the wear of the artillery and reduce the life of the barrel. (Actually, land artillery sometimes uses strong charges. For example, in World War II, the range of the German SFH18 howitzer is a bit close to that of the Russian 152MM howitzer, so sometimes strong charges are used, and this will Bringing great damage to the artillery barrel and gun mount.)

Obviously, the German navy used a lot of heavy bombs in this attack, and it also shot super long distances, so in the eyes of the British, they are frequently using strong charges. And this price is naturally that the life span of the artillery drops! And for a fleet that is ready for a decisive battle at any time, they can't always take a bunch of gun barrels that are about to be broken into the fleet duel? When the barrel is about to reach its end of life, it may not be a problem to use it to hit large fixed targets on land, but it is really uncomfortable if it is to be used for fleet combat. If there are multiple straddle shots but the problem is not hit. , On the one hand, it may be because of the dark face, and the more likely reason is that the walking caused by the wear of the barrel is too large! So, this involves another problem. A considerable part of the warships in the fleet need to change their gun barrels!

It’s not easy to replace the gun barrels of battleships. It’s definitely a time-consuming and laborious task to extract a gun barrel weighing dozens of tons or even close to a hundred tons from the turret and then press it again. If a fleet of the size of the High Seas Fleet is If you want to replace the gun barrels for most of the battleships, then this project is definitely a huge amount, after all, there are nearly 200 gun barrels! Such heavy artillery, equipment and personnel transfers cannot be hidden Therefore, in the view of Jericho and others, the German Navy may at most perform another land artillery mission and may consider replacing the gun barrel. , Because the high seas fleet will eventually face the big fleet at sea!

"Is there anything going on in the Mediterranean?" Jericho asked suddenly.

"The Spey fleet may be ready to rush out of the Mediterranean. In French Morocco, the Germans gathered more than 600 various aircraft. They circled and bombed the Strait of Gibraltar all day, attacking all visible targets. And the Spey fleet itself has arrived at the southern port, and they should be making the final supplies before rushing out of the Mediterranean." Lieutenant General Duff said.

"So, we can now draw up a rough timetable based on the actions of the Germans!" Jericho said. The war will not be unrestrainedly prolonged. Everyone is tired when the war is fought, even the Germans who are the victors. The war is for victory, for profit, not for dragging the opponent to die together. Therefore, the German Navy will try to shorten the duration of the war, and maintaining the state of the fleet before the decisive battle is a very important issue.

"According to our speculation, Earl Spey’s fleet cannot return directly to the North Sea. In this case, when their fleet arrives in the North Sea, the state will be very bad, and it will face our interception. Therefore, if the Germans are sensible enough, Their fleet will first arrive on the west coast of France, carry out supplies and maintenance, and then return to the German mainland." Jericho said.

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