Chapter 1436: Genius Designer
Sané, the chief designer of the *Décision*, seeing the Crown Prince's serious expression, immediately stepped forward to explain, "Your Royal Highness, the original design indeed installed eighteen 32-pounder cannons, and there were no issues during testing in the Mediterranean Sea. However, during subsequent tests in the rougher waters of the Atlantic Ocean, we discovered that excessive heavy cannon fire prevented the hull from maintaining stability."
He cautiously glanced at Joseph. "As you know, the *Décision* is, after all, only 12.7 meters wide..."
Joseph knew that cannons of this era all fired from one side of the ship, which meant that if the hull wasn't wide enough, the recoil from numerous heavy cannon shots would cause the vessel to list sideways.
Even without considering navigational safety, such violent swaying made it impossible to guarantee firing accuracy.
And the waves of the Atlantic Ocean would only exacerbate the ship's roll.
Yet, for a primary battleship, ten 32-pounder cannons clearly offered insufficient firepower.
He looked at the chief designer. "Is it possible to widen the hull further?"
Sané shook his head helplessly. "That would introduce a cascade of problems, Your Royal Highness. Most directly, it would significantly increase hydrodynamic drag and reduce cruising speed.
"In fact, thanks to the powerful steam engine, the *Décision* is already much wider than typical fourth-rate ships. For example, the *Jason* is only 12.3 meters wide."
Bear in mind, France's standard third-rate battleships are only 13.7 meters wide, yet their lower gun deck can accommodate twenty-eight 32-pounder cannons.
Joseph searched his memory for future ship stabilization technologies and said to Sané, "Perhaps you could try incorporating a stabilizer fin design."
"A stabilizer fin? What is that?"
Joseph casually picked up a nearby quoin and gestured with it. "It's about attaching two angled, narrow strips to the bottom of the hull. They would hardly increase drag but would significantly improve the ship's resistance to rolling."
"Are you referring to a bilge keel?" Sané asked, quite surprised. "You're familiar with this technology?"
The bilge keel was a new technology that the Brest Shipyard design team had just developed late last year, kept under strict secrecy. Even the Crown Prince would need the shipyard's senior management to sign off before reviewing it.
Joseph was also very surprised. 'Is a bilge keel the same technology I just described?'
"Yes, Your Royal Highness," Sané replied, "it's exactly the same, save for the length being somewhat greater than what you mentioned. In fact, the *Décision* already has bilge keels installed."
Joseph couldn't help but inwardly marvel that French battleship designers truly were the best in Europe.
Historically, most naval revolution innovations originated in France; conservative British designers typically followed suit several years later. It seemed the stabilizer fin was no different.
He pondered for a moment, then proposed another stabilization technology. "What about an adjustable water ballast tank?"
Sané shook his head. "I'm quite certain I haven't heard of that, Your Royal Highness."
Joseph quickly walked to the stern stairs, descended a few steps to the bottom hold, and pointed to both sides. "It means adding two smaller ballast tanks on either side of the ship's bottom. If you fire cannons from the port side, you'd pump out the ballast water from the starboard tank.
"This way, the hull would tilt slightly to port, partially counteracting the recoil during firing."
Upon hearing this, Vaucclair, standing nearby, suddenly had his eyes light up. "Your Royal Highness, that's a brilliant design! By adding just two small ballast tanks of five to seven tons each on either side, we could greatly eliminate the roll caused by cannon fire!"
So-called ballast tanks were essentially "counterweights" at the very bottom of a ship, typically filled with fresh or even seawater to create a self-righting effect.
However, ballast tanks of this era were always located dead center at the bottom of the hull; a design with counterweights on both sides had never been conceived.
Sané, however, frowned. "Even for a five-ton ballast tank, completely draining it would take at least thirteen minutes.
"During intense combat, there likely wouldn't be enough time to adjust. I mean, an enemy ship could turn to the other side within minutes. Are we to wait for the ballast tank to refill before firing?"
Joseph quickly asked, "How do you operate this draining of the ballast tanks?"
"Drainage pumps, Your Royal Highness. All warships are equipped with them. Two sailors turn handles simultaneously to pump out the ballast water."
"Manually?"
"Yes, Your Royal Highness."
Joseph immediately said, "What if we used a steam-powered water pump? Equip it with a 20-horsepower steam engine, or divert power from the main steam engine to the bottom hold via a transmission system."
Sané immediately took out paper and a pen and began to calculate.
In less than two minutes, he excitedly looked up. "This should be feasible! A 20-horsepower water pump would only need a little over forty seconds to empty five tons of ballast water. Oh, and that's starting from a low-pressure state for the steam engine; if boiler pressure is maintained, it would be even faster.
"Even factoring in the sailors' operating time, it wouldn't take more than one minute!"
When unwieldy sailing warships engaged in battle, one minute was merely the blink of an eye.
The designer continued to suggest, "We could divide the adjustable water ballast tank into several compartments, deciding how much water to discharge based on the current sea conditions.
"This could even be used to improve the ship's sailing performance. For instance, when encountering a persistent crosswind, we wouldn't even need to adjust the angle of the main sails; the weight difference in the side ballast tanks alone could maintain the hull's stability!"
The shipyard director immediately raised a new issue. "But installing a steam engine in the bottom hold would take up a lot of space, and the funnel would be difficult to design."
Sané replied without hesitation, "We can just put it on the lower gun deck, and the funnel can extend out through one of the broadside gunports."
"But that would occupy a gun position..."
"Yes, accounting for reinforced protection for the steam engine and the necessary coal, it would mean the battleship carries about four fewer cannons. But the remaining twenty-two cannons could all be 32-pounders!"
Everyone in the ship's hold instantly grew excited.
A fourth-rate battleship carrying twenty-two heavy cannons would possess firepower directly comparable to a third-rate vessel.
While the latter could mount twenty-eight 32-pounder cannons, the *Décision*-class could completely dominate them by leveraging its superior maneuverability and protection!
Vaucclair expressed some renewed concern. "But this would require changes to the design blueprints, and the completion time for the construction plan would likely be delayed again."
Joseph immediately said, "Begin construction according to the current blueprints first. Once the modifications are complete, we'll build new ones.
"For the initial few ships, which will have weaker firepower, we can simply reduce the number of cannons further and use that weight to enhance their protection, deploying them to break enemy formations during engagements."
...
While Joseph and the shipyard's designers discussed battleship improvement plans, Queen Marie sat in the shipyard's guesthouse, gazing absently out the window and muttering to herself:
'How can I make people stop focusing on whether the King is in Paris?
'Someone needs to be in charge of daily government affairs and court matters.
'But Louis doesn't usually bother with any of that...'
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