Chapter 637 Maritime Reconnaissance Aircraft

Just as the French Navy has always regarded the British Royal Navy as its imaginary enemy, the British Royal Navy has always regarded the French Navy as its opponent.

Admiral Winter was therefore well aware of the French Navy Minister's relations with the Brest Fleet.

In principle, the French Navy is commanded by the Minister of the Navy.

But France's unique terrain divided the navy into the Brest Fleet in the north targeting the Atlantic and the Toulon Fleet in the south targeting the Mediterranean.

The problem was not serious when the Minister of the Navy first took office, but in the past two years, the Minister of the Navy has increasingly felt that the French Navy has basically no hope of catching up with the British Royal Navy. He believes that instead of wasting money and materials on the Brest Fleet, it is better to concentrate on operating the Toulon Fleet.

The Minister of the Navy once said to everyone in Parliament:

"It was obvious that no matter how hard we tried at the Brest shipyard, we would have little success because the powerful British Royal Navy was just across the way."

"But if we put our money and resources into the Toulon shipyards, we could easily control the entire Mediterranean."

“Even the Royal Fleet would have a hard time getting involved, so why not?”

What the Minister of the Navy meant was that, if necessary, the French Navy could blockade the Strait of Gibraltar, preventing even the British Royal Navy from passing through, which would make the French fleet the strongest in this local area of ​​the Mediterranean.

(The picture above shows the Strait of Gibraltar, which is only 13 kilometers at its narrowest point)

For this reason, the Minister of the Navy began to shift funds and resources towards the Toulon shipyard, and even planned to cancel the Brest naval port and move it entirely to Toulon.

This was met with resentment and resistance from the Brest naval port and shipyards, so the French Navy split into the Brest faction and the Toulon faction.

The actual command of the Brest faction was now the commander-in-chief, Lieutenant General Geprat, and the shipyard owner Wells.

And Charles was the one who made the declining Brest Shipyard rise again.

It was he who made the Brest Shipyard, which had almost disappeared from the public eye, once again become the global focus and even a major force that could control materials and determine the outcome of the war.

"You know why, Charles." General Winter picked up his coffee, leaned back in his chair, and crossed his legs.

He used "Char" instead of "General".

General Winter took a sip of coffee and continued, "We want more than just cooperation. We want a plan, a plan that can block the Germans in the North Sea and prevent them from attacking our military transportation lines."

Charles replied expressionlessly: "You have done a very successful job. The Germans have indeed been trapped in the harbor and cannot move."

"That's because we can decipher their codes." General Winter frowned. "We all know that the situation will change in the future."

This is another case of “attack is greater than defense”, the navy’s “attack is greater than defense”.

The Royal Navy is the defending force, which inevitably requires more troops.

But even though the Royal Navy's strength was nearly twice that of the German Navy, it still had many flaws and was unable to take care of both ends.

"That will change." Charles acted calmly: "The addition of the French Navy can make up for the shortcomings of the Third Fleet. We have nothing to worry about."

General Winter shook his head and sighed: "Yesterday, the German fleet attacked part of our Third Fleet. At that time, we had more warships than the Germans, but we still only damaged two of the enemy's ships at the cost of three damaged and two sunk."

Then he added: "You know why."

Ciel did know why.

It was difficult for the Third Fleet to deploy its forces in the narrow English Channel. More importantly, mines were laid in many places in the Channel. Although this could prevent the German Navy from passing through, it would further hinder the mobility of the Third Fleet.

However, the German Navy launched its attack from outside the Channel, easily forming a perfect "T" formation for the British fleet.

(Note: In naval battles, it is important to use speed to form a "T" formation against the enemy. Your own ships are the horizontal part of the "T", and the enemy's ships are the vertical part of the "T". In this way, each of your warships will not be blocked and can fire at the same time, while only a few of the enemy's warships can fire)

"This cannot be made up by the number of warships," said General Winter. "Even if the French Navy joins, it will patrol the North Sea as the Fourth Fleet, not squeeze into the Channel."

Ciel laughed. "But that's still not enough, is it?"

General Winter nodded helplessly.

The North Sea is 965 kilometers long and 643 kilometers wide. The German Navy can attack any point. How could adding a French fleet be enough?

The only way to solve this problem is to be able to decipher the German code.

But now it's gone forever.

"The German Navy has taken the initiative, Charles." General Winter said with frustration: "They used submarines to obtain intelligence and understand our weaknesses, and then concentrated their fleet to attack this weakness. We are powerless to fight back."

"Perhaps we have another way." Charles replied calmly.

"What?" General Winter looked up at Charles. Could it be that this guy wanted to transfer the French Toulon fleet over here?

But Charles' answer was beyond his expectations.

"Intelligence, General," Charles replied. "Understand the movements of the enemy fleet. Only in this way can we regain the initiative."

"But." General Winter looked puzzled: "The Germans have changed the code, and we can no longer obtain accurate intelligence in a timely manner..."

"There are many ways to obtain intelligence." Charles interrupted General Winter.

"you mean……"

"A few months ago, you bought the Caproni bomber from me." Charles looked up at General Winter: "Its function is not just bombing."

General Winter was stunned for a moment, then his eyes lit up: "You mean, use the Caproni bomber to carry out reconnaissance missions?"

Charles nodded. "The total range is 600 kilometers. If we don't carry bombs but carry two auxiliary fuel tanks, the range could reach 1,000 kilometers. This is enough to take off from the UK to the Heligoland Bay in Germany and return."

Then Charles added: "In addition, its speed is faster than the German seaplanes and is not much different from the German most advanced fighter planes. It can be said to be the safest reconnaissance aircraft. I don't understand why you don't use it?"

(Note: The maximum speed of the Fokker E2 used by the German army at this time was 140 kilometers per hour, while the British version of the Caproni engine was not upgraded and still had a maximum speed of 137 kilometers per hour.)

General Winter's frown completely relaxed. After thinking for a while, he stood up with a bang and exclaimed:

"You're right, Charles, that's a great idea!"

"I can't believe we didn't know this."

"God, we have always regarded it as an army equipment and never considered using it at sea. We have always used seaplanes according to habit!"

(End of this chapter)