Fearless Finale - Five Great Mountains Class Battleship

Additionally, in terms of components that do not determine the primary performance, a large number of mature technologies and equipment have been adopted, thereby effectively controlling construction costs

Certainly, the shortcomings of the Five Great Mountains are also quite evident

Most importantly, during the war, the empire was unable to upgrade the Wuyue class and install the twin-mounted 350 mm main guns on it

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This is precisely the benefit gained from the sacrifice of speed at the level of the Five Great Mountains

Armament. Main guns: 9 units of the 31-year type 300 mm L45 naval guns (3 × 3); Secondary guns: 16 units of the 30-year type 130 mm L50 naval guns; Quick-firing guns: 8 units of the 32-year type 80 mm L55 naval guns

Undoubtedly, the improved "Hengshan" has seen significant enhancements in nearly all performance metrics, except for a substantial increase in its defensive capabilities, and has almost become a first-class new battleship

In terms of protection, the thickness of the horizontal armor has been increased to 90 millimeters

Protection. Main armor belt: 230 - 280 mm; Deck: 45 mm; Turret: 120 - 320 mm; Gun mount: 120 - 280 mm; Command tower: 310 mm

The primary issue is that neither of the two types of artillery required by the Navy has been successfully developed on time

After adopting the 4 units of the 47-year model fuel boiler, the power reached 45,000 shaft horsepower, the speed increased to 21 knots, and the endurance also improved to 15 nautical miles at 10 knots

The standard displacement has increased to 21,000 tons, and the full load displacement has reached 26,500 tons

Compared to the nearly contemporaneously constructed American "Delaware" class battleships and the British "St. Vincent" class battleships, the Wuyue class has slightly inferior speed and somewhat weaker firepower. However, it excels in terms of protection, even surpassing the American "Florida" class battleships, which began construction two years later.

In the thirty-ninth year, the Navy officially placed orders with five shipyards

It is evident that the Jiangnan Shipyard's foresight in adopting a triple turret design, anticipating the future installation of large-caliber main guns, was highly prescient. Additionally, the high power density fuel boiler is a key component in the improvements made to the "Hengshan".

After the war, aside from the "Hengshan" class battleship, the other three battleships were decommissioned in accordance with treaty regulations. It seems that to demonstrate the potential for further enhancement of the firepower of the Wuyue class, the Imperial Navy invested heavily in extensive modifications to the "Hengshan". At that time, in addition to replacing the main guns, a comprehensive overhaul of the power system was also conducted

If we distinguish between dreadnoughts and battleships based on the caliber of the main guns, the Wuyue class is the last class of dreadnoughts built by the Imperial Navy

Indeed, after the outbreak of the Second World War and the Battle of the Books, the Imperial Navy immediately made similar improvements to the other three ships of the Wuyue-class battleships. However, due to the constraints imposed by wartime conditions, there were some differences in the configuration of the secondary armaments on each ship

In terms of protection, engineers shortened the hull length and concentrated the configuration of the main gun, thereby reducing the length of the main armor belt. This allowed for an increase in armor thickness while maintaining the same armor weight, thereby enhancing protective capabilities. Additionally, a layer of compartment was added outside the coal bunker in the underwater section of the hull, improving resistance to underwater strikes, which essentially met the requirements of the navy

In order to minimize displacement and meet the naval speed requirements, Jiangnan Shipyard adopted steam turbines for the first time in the Wuyue class, completely abandoning the triple-expansion reciprocating steam engine. This can be considered a significant advancement; it was precisely after the adoption of the compact steam turbine that the Wuyue class was able to accommodate more artillery, install additional armor, and achieve the speed demanded by the navy within the limited hull space. This can be considered a significant advancement; it was precisely after the adoption of the compact steam turbine that the Wuyue class was able to accommodate more artillery, install additional armor, and achieve the speed demanded by the navy within the limited hull space

Undoubtedly, given the technological conditions at the time, no shipyard was capable of constructing a battleship that would satisfy the navy

When completed, the main specifications of the Wuyue-class are as follows: standard displacement: 18,000 tons; full load displacement: 19,500 tons. Overall length: 153 meters; beam: 27 meters; draft: 8.1 meters; crew capacity: 957 personnel

Because the Navy had already made requests early on through diagrams and documents, the engineers at Jiangnan Shipyard considered the future installation of larger caliber naval guns during the design phase. They abandoned the artillery configuration of the Huping class and proposed for the first time the installation of a triple-mounted 300 mm turret. This way, after the successful development of the 350 mm naval gun, it could be replaced with a twin-mounted 350 mm turret.

It can be said that the improvements made to the "Hengshan" are the most successful among the many old battleships of the Imperial Navy

As early as the Hu Bing class, before the construction of the improvised Kaihu class battleships commenced, the Imperial Navy proposed replacing the previous 300 mm caliber main guns with larger caliber guns, thereby possessing more powerful firepower than their adversaries. To this end, Jiangnan Shipyard designed a new hull based on the Hu Bing class. However, by the year 539 of the Ming calendar (1907 AD), the development of the 350 mm naval gun had still not been completed.

Undoubtedly, these flaws have left the Imperial Navy quite dissatisfied with the Wuyue class

In terms of power, the Wuyue class still employs the 12-unit coal-fired boiler produced by Jiangnan Boiler Factory, which is of the 35-year model. For the first time, the main engine utilizes four 38-year model steam turbines from Jiangnan Steam Engine Factory. The output power of the power system reaches 25,000 shaft horsepower. According to the engineers' calculations, the maximum speed of the Wuyue class can reach 20 knots. Although the actual maximum speed is somewhat reduced, it is still sufficient to meet the navy's requirements.

Similar to the earlier classes of battleships in the Imperial Navy, the design philosophy of the Wuyue class is very clear, emphasizing heavy firepower and protection while appropriately lowering the requirements for speed. Therefore, after increasing the width of the hull, the Wuyue class became the first battleship in the Imperial Navy to adopt a four-shaft, four-propeller propulsion system

The participants in World War II were: Hengshan, Taishan, Huashan, and Songshan.

During World War I, among the five Mount-class battleships, only the "Hengshan" was sunk, while the other four withstood the trials of war. This can undoubtedly be attributed to the emphasis on armored protection in the Mount class.

With meticulous design, the displacement of the Wuyue class has also been kept within the requirements set by the navy

At this point, the Navy had no choice but to lower its requirements and adopted the plan proposed by Jiangnan Shipyard. This involved the installation of three triple-mounted 300-millimeter main gun turrets, sixteen 130-millimeter caliber secondary guns, and eight 80-millimeter rapid-fire guns, while eliminating the torpedo launchers that were of no significance on the Lake B-class.

Power: 12 units of 35-year-old coal-fired boilers; Main engine: 4 units of 38-year-old steam turbines; Power: 25,000 shaft horsepower; Propulsion: 4 shafts with 4 propellers; Speed: 19.5 knots; Endurance: 5,000 nautical miles at 10 knots

The shortened hull, combined with the centralized arrangement of three turrets, effectively reduced the length of the main armor belt, thereby significantly increasing the armor thickness with the same amount of armor. Consequently, the excessively short hull increased resistance, making it difficult for its speed to exceed 20 knots

The main guns are replaced with three twin-mounted 48-type 350 mm L47 naval guns, the secondary guns are replaced with 12 47-type 150 mm L45 naval guns, and the rapid-fire guns are replaced with 12 49-type 100 mm L52 naval guns

At that time, the requirements of the imperial navy were as follows: to adopt a main gun of 350 millimeters, a speed not lower than that of the Lake B-class, a range of no less than 5,000 nautical miles at 10 knots, a defensive capability not lower than that of the Lake B-class, a secondary gun caliber of no less than 150 millimeters, and a quantity of no less than 16 guns. The underwater armor must withstand the explosion of 200 kilograms of TNT, the displacement must not exceed 115% of the Lake B-class, and the cost must not exceed 120% of the Lake B-class. The secondary gun caliber must be no less than 150 millimeters, and the quantity must be no less than 16 guns. The underwater armor must withstand the explosion of 200 kilograms of TNT, the displacement must not exceed 115% of the Lake B-class, and the cost must not exceed 120% of the Lake B-class

In terms of hull design, in order to reduce costs and shorten design time, the Wuyue class extensively adopted the technology of the Hubing class.

Firstly, the failure rate of the newly adopted triple turret is too high, resulting in the performance of the Wuyue-class often falling short in actual combat. Secondly, the power of the 300mm main gun is insufficient to contend with the new battleships that emerged during World War I, particularly in its later stages. Thirdly, the slow speed hinders its effectiveness during long-distance operations. Fourthly, the limited range of only 5,000 nautical miles compromises its sustained operational capability