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Chapter 590: A Holiday for the French Navy

Joseph's design layout for Sané was, naturally, exceptional, because he had directly based it on the famous battleship, the Napoleon, from half a century in the future.

While the Napoleon was the world's first steam-powered sailing battleship, its overall structure was remarkably sound, thanks to the meticulous design of French engineers.

For Sané, who was designing a steam-powered sailing battleship for the first time, this approach was also the easiest to comprehend. After all, while subsequent designs became increasingly intricate, they were also much harder to fully master.

Moreover, Joseph actually possessed a model of the Napoleon from his past life, one he had assembled with his own hands, making him quite familiar with its internal structure.

Sané's vessel, based on the Light of the Mediterranean, a light frigate from the Seven Years' War, underwent minimal modifications, allowing its preliminary design to be completed in just a few months.

Sané pointed with a slender wooden stick to the lower compartments in the aft section of the design drawing, explaining to the officers, "The crew quarters here have been relocated forward, expanded, and reinforced to accommodate two steam engines.

"They can provide over 100 horsepower of thrust, allowing the warship to achieve a speed of more than 8 knots using only its propellers. And when sails are used simultaneously, its speed can reach an impressive 12 knots!"

All the officers' faces lit up with excitement.

One must know that even in the Atlantic, the core of the British fleet—their third-rate battleships—rarely achieved speeds of 10 knots. Frigates could indeed approach 12 knots with a strong tailwind, but in the Mediterranean, their speeds would drop by 30 or even 40 percent. This was because the Mediterranean typically experienced only light breezes year-round.

Thus, the French Navy's new ships would be utterly uncatchable in the Mediterranean!

Sané continued, "Eight of the original broadside gun positions have been removed, and the freed-up space is now used for storing coal. Oh, the lower compartments also have coal bunkers. All the fuel combined can sustain the warship for 900 nautical miles.

"Of course, if maintaining maximum speed continuously, it can only travel 570 nautical miles."

While this range wasn't particularly long, it was largely sufficient for the relatively narrow Mediterranean. It's worth noting that the distance from Toulon to Tunisia is only about 400 nautical miles.

Furthermore, during non-combat periods, sailing could be used exclusively to conserve fuel.

However, Roquefeuille, the Brest Fleet Commander, slightly frowned, interrupting the designer, "Monsieur Sané, light frigates typically carry 28 to 30 cannons.

"Your ship has 8 fewer gun positions, meaning it can only carry 20 cannons. With all due respect, this firepower configuration seems a bit weak."

Joseph smiled and interjected, "General Roquefeuille, the Light of the Mediterranean actually only has 17 cannons.

"But you needn't worry, because it's not designed for traditional broadside combat.

"Do you recall the Navy's new tactical guidelines? The 'Ranger Tactics' that the General Staff is currently compiling—they are specifically designed to be compatible with these new warships."

Roquefeuille had seen the preliminary draft of the 'Ranger Tactics' and vaguely remembered it as a strategy primarily focused on harassment.

Following the Crown Prince's words, Sané pointed to the stern of the design drawing, saying, "The gun deck here will undergo some modifications to install three 24-pounder long-barreled cannons.

"The broadside gun positions, meanwhile, will be equipped with six 18-pounder long-barreled cannons, four 12-pounder cannons, and four 32-pounder carronades. There will be no bow cannons."

Roquefeuille quickly understood; the heaviest firepower on the ship was all arranged at the stern, indicating it was ready to turn and flee at any moment!

'You dare to chase me, and I'll bombard you with my stern cannons.'

French long-barreled cannons had always boasted a range advantage, and while this proved ineffective in fleet engagements during the Seven Years' War, when placed at the stern, it could achieve a unique effect.

He could already envision French steam-sailing ships using their speed advantage to circle around British battleships. The moment the British gave chase, they would immediately retreat, all while maintaining a distance within the effective range of their long-barreled cannons.

British bow cannons couldn't reach the steam-sailing ships, but the French stern cannons could continuously fire.

While three cannons might not deliver devastating blows to enemy ships, they could certainly inflict some damage. Little by little, the enemy would have to return to port for repairs. And who knew, a lucky hit on a vital spot like a mast could yield significant gains.

In fact, the Light of the Mediterranean had another advantage he was unaware of: propeller-equipped ships turned much more swiftly.

This was because the propeller's thrust would be diverted by the rudder at the back, thereby generating sideways thrust, which was far quicker than a sailing ship's method of turning solely by the rudder deflecting water during movement.

This way, even if the Light of the Mediterranean engaged an enemy ship broadside, it could quickly turn its stern towards the enemy, firing as it retreated. A sailing battleship, meanwhile, would still be slowly turning, enduring several rounds of cannon fire in the interim.

Nearly two hours later, Sané had given a rough introduction to the new frigate.

The naval officers' eyes gleamed with excitement. The French Navy had been suppressed by Britain for so many years; this time, at the very least, they could finally launch a counterattack in the Mediterranean!

The Minister of the Navy looked at Joseph with anticipation, asking very respectfully, "Your Royal Highness, perhaps you could reveal how many such frigates the Navy will receive?"

Joseph answered without hesitation, "Twenty."

Several high-ranking naval officials' eyes lit up; this was already more than enough.

It was worth noting that over the past three years, the Navy had only built one third-rate battleship and four light frigates—practically a pittance.

In the same period, the opposing British fleet had added one first-rate ship, three third-rate ships, and seven heavy frigates. Light frigates were too numerous to even bother counting...

This was even after the British had slowed their pace, seeing that the French Navy wasn't building many ships.

After three years of hardship, the French Navy was finally celebrating a holiday today.

The Marquis de Castries, in particular, was so moved his eyes welled up.

Unexpectedly, Joseph continued, "Once the Light of the Mediterranean-class is launched, Monsieur Sané will immediately begin designing a new steam-powered frigate based on The Maiden, propelled by three steam engines.

"Twelve ships of this class will be built."

The Marquis de Castries immediately became so excited he could barely breathe. The Maiden was a 32-gun class heavy frigate, much larger than the Light of the Mediterranean, capable of carrying 32-pounder cannons, and could already pose a threat to battleships.

And building 12 ships at once!

He suddenly asked Joseph nervously, "Your Highness, won't building so many at once reduce the number of other capital ships being built?"

Although frigates were cheaper, such a large number, combined with new technology, wouldn't be cheap overall.

Joseph smiled and shook his head, "Don't worry, these new frigates are all funded by additional appropriations."

It wasn't that he was being so generous; just yesterday afternoon, he had received a secret letter from Calonne in London, stating that the "project" there had raised over one million pounds sterling.