Remember, the ark was built by an amateur. The professionals built the Titanic.
Any work is easy for a person who is not obliged to do it, therefore so many inventions belong to enthusiasts. While generals are preparing for the past wars, and graduates are proposing to abandon "high technical risks", these people are moving forward progress.
"Everything that could be invented has already been invented," said Charles Dewer, an official in the US Patent Office (1899).
Lord Kelvin himself admitted annoying judgments, for example, "aircraft heavier than air are impossible" (1895). Two years later, he stated that "radio has no future."
Do you remember what the American generals answered Hiram Maxim? "Your Maxim-gan is just an impractical toy."
The opportunists and careerists of all stripes have screwed up a lot of useful projects. But especially grave consequences were the miscalculations in the navy, which cost the lives of thousands of sailors.
Only true professionals could think of the concept of a British battle cruiser. Practically unprotected "tub", which had to walk with a chest on a machine gun to fight on an equal footing with dreadnoughts. As compensation, active protection measures were proposed, in the form of an increased speed (by 5 knots compared to a conventional LC).
Well, and they have achieved their goal.
Left - "Derflinger", right - British "Invincible"
For the time being, fate kept these ships, but Jutland became the hour of truth for them. One by one, Queen Mary, Invincible and Indifatigable took off. In view of the instant death of the British LKR, only a few managed to escape from the entire crew. Losses ranged from 1,026 people. on Invincible until 1266 on Queen Mary.
Needless to say, of all the heavy ships of the British, only three LKR became victims of the battle?
Practice has confirmed the obvious absurdity of the idea of “speed in exchange for security”.
What was the one who initiated the construction of the Invincible thinking? To quickly "shove" the project and put part of the profit in your pocket. What else to think about in such positions?
However, what are we all about the British …
The Third Reich had its own degenerates. The designers at Blom und Foss succeeded in the impossible. With all the necessary funds, modern industry and a wealth of experience in designing large ships, they managed to build the worst heavy cruiser of the pre-war years. The fascists were still lucky that they did not fall under the Washington restrictions. Otherwise, their creation could simply not get off the slipway.
Being 1.5 times larger than the “Washingtonians”, the cruiser “Admiral Hipper” did not stand out in terms of firepower and had the worst protection among all American, Japanese and Italian heavy cruisers. In addition, German excrement (not to be confused with experiment!) Had a unique feature. It was falling apart on the move, which forced a couple of hundred civilian mechanics, electricians and engineers on board, bringing the Hipper's crew to an incredible 1,800 people!
The Britons and the Germans were not alone.
An unfortunate mistake was made by the samurai. One of the sons of Amaterasu suggested placing 24 oxygen "long-lance" in unprotected rooms on the upper deck. Each torpedo contained 490 kg of explosives and a 980 liter cylinder of pure oxygen. As a result, a single hit was guaranteed to turn the cruiser into a blazing wreck. Through careless storage, the Long Lances inflicted more damage on the Imperial Navy cruisers than their opponents.
In the construction of ships, everything is subject to the requirements of ensuring seaworthiness, stability and other equally important parameters. Excess weight has nowhere to come from. But open storage of oxygen torpedoes is something. With such success, you can abandon the cellars and barbets, simply pouring shells on the deck next to the tower.
With a full displacement of 15 thousand tons, the Japanese did not have an additional hundred tons to protect the TA and torpedoes. An important, deadly structural element was left in the open, devoid of any protection. And you say: specialists …
Mikuma after detonation of torpedo ammunition, Midway, 1942
The insane decision cost the lives of Furutake, Mikume, Chokai, Suzuya and thousands of their sailors. The only one who was lucky was the heavy cruiser Mogami. A couple of hours before the battle, his crew threw all the torpedoes overboard, which made it possible to survive and return to base.
While the Japanese experimented with their torpedoes, the French and Italians entered a relentless race for speed. The parameter is important, but far from the only one. And no one paid attention to the fact that in practice the speed in most cases is determined by the weather, the state of the sea surface, as well as the resource and quality of those. maintenance of mechanisms. Therefore, in practice, the promised 40 knots may not be available. And then it will become clear what the designers saved on: the strength of the power set, seaworthiness, survivability and the composition of the ships' weapons.
After the end of the war, the brilliant creators of Invincible and Hipper were replaced by their worthy successors.
Those who built Sheffield, which was destroyed by an unexploded missile. Sheer absurdity? And some thought it was serious.
Another time, Yemeni barmaley brought a concrete mixer and mixed 200 kilos of ammonium nitrate with aluminum powder (far from the most effective explosive, with a detonation speed of about 4 km / s). They brought the bag to the USS Cole and sent all the infidels to the shaitan. As a result of a not very strong explosion outside the side, the $ 1 billion super destroyer was completely out of order. Neither the local protection with Kevlar nor the automatic damage localization system saved it. The hull was shattered. The losses of the Cole's crew were equivalent to those of the battleship Eagle (withstood 76 hits).
And now, when the question is about increasing the security of ships, supporters of the traditional approach propose to seek advice from the creators of Sheffield and Cole! Yes, you can just as well consult with housewives.
Those who designed and those who ordered such ships did not think about anything other than personal gain. Traditional approach, minimum technical risks, maximum profit, minimum costs, displacement reserve, the ability to solve all problems in the simplest way.
This is what drives these people. There is no romance there.
In order not to be considered a militant amateur, it is worth recognizing that any innovation requires careful calculation when implemented. In particular, this concerns the conversation about the return of armor to ships. The author deliberately does not make bold predictions. Within a series of articles, he indicated only the potential for such a solution and the possible benefits. All further calculations should be carried out by people whose job responsibilities include such tasks. Existing conclusions are drawn from numerous historical examples. If in doubt, turn to the creators of Tone and Mioko, bulky armored ships that couldn't exist by today's standards.
Enthusiasm does not imply outright ignorance. To draw up any conclusions, you must at least get carried away with the issue and understand the specified problem. Finally, common sense and incomprehensible eternal logic. However, all this pales against the background of the incompetence of many "specialists". Which, for various reasons, either once or not at all interested in what they have devoted their lives to. Asking their opinions is useless. They are busy with routine work and are sure that the initiative can be punished. Not to mention the notorious "generals preparing for past wars" or "effective managers" whose only task is to generate profits.
Kars' ideas were used in the text.
