Under the gentle blow of the sea breeze, a layer of fine wrinkles shook out on the sea surface, which dazzlingly reflected the sun's brilliance, like a thousand silver vortexes, smiling towards the blue sky. In the blue space between the sea, two dark gray warships, one in front and one behind, cut two large "people"-shaped trajectories on the sea surface, turbulent waves of joy on the sea surface, forming constant movements and full of lively pleasure.

The trial sailing took nearly 2 hours. The two warships accelerated and decelerated on the sea surface, and tested navigation performance such as 90-degree turn, 180-degree large rotation, "S" continuous bend, and "8" shape navigation, etc., all achieved good results, and showed the warship's good maneuverability, operability and airworthiness performance.

In the command room of the Qingdao, people kept reporting data of various navigation movements. Zhang Wei and Xia Ruichen were very satisfied with the data obtained, and the commander-in-chief of the trial sailing, Kewell, praised the performance of the Qingzhou. Although Scher rarely spoke, a hot light flashed in his eyes.

At this time, the tests of various navigation performances came to an end. Both warships were sailing in a straight line, and the queues were also changed from front and rear to parallel. The speed tester and engine cabin reported to Kewell that the speed was 18.4 knots and the steam engine power was 62%.

Kewell nodded, while holding a pipe in his mouth, he issued his next order: increase power, accelerate, and report the working status of the turbine at any time. Then he said to Zhang Wei and Xia Ruichen: "Let's see how fast this warship can be."

Kewell's order was passed to the engine room at the bottom of the military aviation. Although it was still early spring and the spring cold had not yet subsided, in the engine room, there was a heat wave rolling and steam. Several strong staff members were naked, waved shovels and shovels of coal into the fire door. In the furnace door that opened and closed, it was obvious that the flames were jumping in the furnace, and the staff responsible for monitoring the power of the turbine were still shouting: "Quick......Fast...Add coal, add coal, move faster...Add a little faster."

There are also people outside the country who are driving the high temperature and turning around the steam engine and the pot, sometimes listening with their ears and tapping with wooden sticks in their hands to determine the operating status of various machinery and equipment. The vehicles transporting coal-fired vehicles shuttle back and forth, sending trucks of coal from the coal storage cabin to the engine cabin, and then burning in the furnace, converting them into steam energy, driving the warships to continuously accelerate.

Zhao Ping endured the scorching heat wave in the turbine room, while staring at the digital changes of various instruments meticulously. In the past few days, Zhao Ping has basically become familiar with the mechanical state and changes represented by the values ​​of various instruments in the turbine room. Now he is learning the operating skills of these equipment.

Although all the crew members boarded the warships and had been on board a ship some time ago, they were still working on the warships, and the crew members were just observing or listening to the staff’s explanations.

At this time, all the data were constantly rising.

The ship speed is 20.1 knots, and the steam engine power is 70%;

The ship speed is 22.7 knots, and the steam engine power is 78%;

The ship speed is 24.2 knots, and the steam engine power is 83%;

…………

The speed has always reached 25.3 knots and the steam engine power is 88%, but the Kuway ordered the speed to remain unchanged. At this time, the atmosphere in the command center was also very tense, because 100% power only exists in theory. The actual power of the general Ship Hao steam engine will not exceed 90%, so 88% power is basically the highest power under normal conditions, and the speed has exceeded 25 knots, achieving the initial design goal. Of course, it depends on how long it can last at this speed. Generally, it must be maintained for at least one hour before the speed is considered to be of practical significance. At present, what everyone is most concerned about is that the power system suddenly fails.

Time passed by minute by minute, and both warships sailed at a speed of more than 25 knots. Every 5 minutes, the steam engine was reported in the engine room, and the boiler was running normally. Every time I heard this news, the command center would be more relaxed, but it immediately became tense again, waiting for the next news.

An hour passed, and a cheering sound suddenly came from the command center, and the steam engine was still reported in the engine compartment, and the boiler was operating normally, so Kewell still ordered the speed to remain unchanged.

The two warships sailed safely for more than 40 minutes. Then Kuway ordered the warships to slow down. Within 20 minutes, the speed of both warships dropped to 20 knots. At this time, a warm cheer broke out in the command centers of the two warships. Because in the era of using reciprocating steam engines, the maximum speed can last for about two hours. If you want to maintain more time at the maximum speed, you can only wait for the steam turbine to appear. The Fearless battleship ran an amazing record of 13 hours at the maximum speed during the trial sailing.

Cowell put his pipe in his mouth again, but after taking a few sips, he realized that the cigarette had already been extinguished, but he didn't notice it at all. After all, it was the first time in his sailing career that he ran at a high speed of more than 25 knots, so he was not nervous. So he reinstalled the cigarette core and lit it again and took a few deep sips, Cowell nodded with satisfaction and said, "This is really a good ship."

Zhang Wei laughed and said, "It's still guaranteed that German manufacturing is guaranteed. To be honest, I was very nervous just now, for fear of the boiler being short or the steam engine failing."

After a while, Cowell said again: "Okay, let's see where the maximum speed of this warship is, and accelerate the progress."

The two warships accelerated again, and after 30 minutes, the speed exceeded 25 knots again. At this time, Cowell said: "Strong pressure and ventilation, continue to accelerate."

In the engine compartment, several blowers immediately started working under the operation of the staff and forced the air into the boiler. The fire immediately started to burn more violently. Every time the gate was opened, the fire would gush out of the furnace.

The strong combustion in the furnace brings more powerful power to the warship, and its speed and power are constantly increasing. In the end, the speed reached an astonishing 26.5 knots, with a power of up to 95%.

However, Kowell did not dare to maintain this speed for too long. After all, strong pressure ventilation will intensify the ablation loss of the boiler parts and materials, and the steam pipeline seals are prone to leakage due to excessive pressure load, and there is a risk of serious damage to the power and transmission equipment. Therefore, after 30 minutes, Kowell ordered the speed to be slowed down and reduced the speed to 18 knots. Then it was officially announced that the speed test was successfully completed.

It was noon at this time, and everyone was having lunch on the warship and tested the effect of the warship's kitchen equipment. After all, to a certain extent, diet also represents combat effectiveness.

Since the morning tests were very successful, a small celebration party was held on both warships and raising glasses to celebrate each other across the sea.

In the afternoon, the ship-based weapons were tested, so the large and small artillery on the ship opened fire in turn, and flew around the sea, causing splashes of water on the sea, making the atmosphere quite spectacular.

After an hour of test firing, all the artillery carried out three test firings. The two warships had only one 155mm cannon, three 75mm cannons, and three 50mm rapid-fire cannons failed. Except for the 155mm cannons, the other artillery faults were eliminated on the spot.

By this era, the test projects should have been completed today and satisfactory results have been achieved. So Cowell ordered that both warships be replaced by the pick-up personnel to control the warships, and the staff of the shipyard provide guidance.

After the crew controlled the warship, the trial sailing lasted for more than two hours before returning to Hamburg Pier. Since neither of the two warships had major faults during this trial sailing, they were towed to the fort. After receiving the tow boat at the waterway entrance, the two warships were shut down one after another, and the personnel on the ship could also put down their work and come to the deck to enjoy the scenery on both sides of the strait. Some travelers even took out their mobile phones, took photos on the warships, and took photos together.

In the command center, there was also a relaxed and cheerful atmosphere. Kewell held his pipe in his mouth and said, "General, this trial sail is very successful. The maintenance of these two warships will take about 7-8 days. We will conduct the last trial sail, and then we can deliver these two warships to you in full."

Zhang Wei said: "What was the last trial voyage?"

Cowell said: "Actually, the test items have been tested. The last test voyage is actually prepared for you. During the next test voyage, your people will control the warships throughout the journey. The test content is basically the same as today. We are just providing guidance."

Zhang Wei nodded, and was somewhat impressed by the fact that the Germans were considering it very thoughtfully. After thinking for a while, Zhang Wei said: "Since that's the case, I hope there are two requirements in the last trial voyage. One is to choose to go to sea in a weather with relatively bad sea conditions. The sea conditions must be at least level 4 or above, or even level 5 or 6; the other is to extend the trial voyage time and be able to spend a night at sea."

After hearing this, Kewell understood what Zhang Wei meant, just to test the performance of warships in various environments, so he said: "I will respond to your request to the shipyard, but the sea conditions depend on the weather conditions. It is not a big problem to refuse for a few days, but it may not work after a long time. I think there is still a high possibility that the trial sailing time will be extended."

Zhang Wei also knew that the requirements for the trial sailing conditions were indeed accidental, so he said: "Okay, if there is no suitable weather, then forget it."
Chapter completed!