Chapter 377: New Destroyer

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

With Wesley’s efforts, the new destroyer took three days to complete all the drawings. It would have been nice to have a computer. Wesley complained about this. Although he could now invent a computer, it would not work in the overall industry, so Wesley had to wait.

Wesley had improved the new destroyers based on the American Kirin-class destroyers in the later stages of World War II. This time, he had built four ocean-going destroyers directly. Benson had not said anything back then, so he had built ocean-going destroyers.

Killeen-class destroyer full-load displacement: 3,480 tons; main yardage: 119.02 meters in length, 12.50 meters in full width, 3.81 meters in draft; speed: 32 knots; crew: 367 people; main gun: Mk. 32 twin 5-inch high-level dual-purpose gun 3; torpedoes: 1-2 5-inch 21-inch torpedo tubes (all later dismantled); anti-aircraft weapons: 2 40-millimeter Bofors machine guns 4, 2 40-millimeter Bofors 2, 11 20-millimeter 2.

This was the original data, and Wesley had directly modified it. The tonnage reached a full load of 4,000 tons, and the main scale was basically unchanged. It was used with a gas turbine and a diesel engine, increasing the amount of fuel carried, and the maximum speed could reach 38 knots. The main gun was only the former main gun with a dual 155mm gun. The rest was equipped with eight Gibson 40mm dual-loading machine guns, and twelve Gibson 20mm quadruple-loading machine guns. There were two twin fish launch tubes, and two deepwater bomb launchers were placed in the rear, equipped with twenty deepwater bombs.

This was an epoch-making destroyer. Although the armament looked very weak, this was just right. The battle between destroyers was not fierce. The key was speed. Wesley’s design had only one chimney, and the superstructure was more centralized. It used the design of a spherical nose rake and flying scissors. The main destroyer was not only beautiful in appearance, but also simple and practical.

This type of destroyer could be used for decades and would definitely not be outdated, especially with dual-powered configurations. It was suitable for both low-speed and high-speed navigation modes, and only Wesley’s power company could produce diesel and combustion engines.

Although Wesley could also produce gasoline engines, he had invested in Ford Cars and become a major shareholder. This aspect was directly given to Ford, and Wesley himself produced trucks and SUVs, both military.

As soon as the battleship started working, Wesley went back on his word and continued training. He did not care about the production of the battleship at all, because the results were already set.

Under such circumstances, time quietly came to 1914. The troops Wesley trained had achieved good results, relative to the current army. Wesley also had the confidence to introduce tests, although the equipment was very lacking, especially the problem of landing ships.

The destroyer was completed and delivered to the Navy for sea trials. The results were satisfactory, but there were some differences in the armament, especially in the application of depth charges, which the Navy deemed completely unnecessary.

However, Wesley only smiled and then asked, “Do you want me to produce a submarine to attack you?”

That shut the Marine up. This guy was a big inventor, and he invented it so fast that he applied for patents one by one. And Wesley had described the purpose of the destroyer in detail again, and the Marine recognized the role of such a warship.

There were many functions, but they would not be used as a main battle warship. However, there were a lot of them needed, especially for the coastline and fleet. At the same time, Wesley told the Navy directly that such warships could be used for decades. According to Apple’s information, the Killeen-class destroyers were used until the 1980s. Of course, they had been modified many times.

The Navy had gotten a new toy and they had been excitedly testing it with four destroyers. William Benson had come directly to Wesley’s barracks. He had come with a big order. The shipyards were starting to work. He was not Wesley, who could willfully fight a big battle with his peers.

“Wesley, please allow me to call you that. Your design is amazing, especially that speed. How are the subsequent battleships?”

“General, the Navy did not place an order. How can I design it?” Wesley said directly.

“It doesn’t matter. There are four of the three types of warships below us as our experimental ships, but the other shipyards need to start work. But to accumulate their experience, they start with destroyers. Anyway, we need a lot of them.”

There were indeed a lot of things to be done. Not to mention the two main fleets in the east and west, the long coastline, the naval base, and the colonies were all needed. It was necessary to order a large number of destroyers, and such ships were not expensive. None of them cost about $800,000. Wesley’s production cost was very low, mainly because of technical reasons. At the same time, the money in this era was very valuable, at a total price of 200,000 pounds.

The Navy plans to build the first batch of 32 such destroyers and distribute them to the two fleets. At the same time, the Navy is ready to sell all the existing ships. They have their eyes on those outdated warships. Anyway, it is the time to update the ships. If they can sell them, they will sell them. If they can’t sell them, they will talk about it later. Moreover, this matter must be kept absolutely confidential.

“Yes, General, but I have conditions.”

“Of course you can say that, we can discuss it!”

“The first order is that I need the first four destroyers. After all, my deck can’t be idle. It just so happens that I don’t have to rush to work now. As for the remaining three models, I need to be slow. First, I need to build two types of cruisers, and the battleship has to wait. After all, the deck is not completed!”

“Okay, it’s settled.”

There was still no use for Wesley to take out the blueprint. William Benson had absolute confidence in Wesley’s skills again. He could see the whole picture at a glance, so he was full of confidence. Anyway, there was no deposit. Everyone had a tacit understanding.

The many shipyards split the remaining orders, got the design drawings, and began to place orders with Wesley’s power company and munitions factory, while the U.S. Navy issued a warning to the various shipyards to keep it a secret.

Now the smell of gunpowder in Europe is getting stronger. The Americans are rubbing their hands together. Many people agree with Wesley’s judgment. Once this war starts, it will be a few years. When the time comes, we will be rich. And the Americans don’t want their actions to provoke Europe. It’s wrong to calm them down. This war must be fought, or we won’t be here.