Chapter 650 Funding the Navy

Antwerp Airport Command.

Charles and Vice Admiral Gueprat are discussing the direction of the French Navy.

"Influenced by the 'green water navy', our destroyers have always been small." Vice Admiral Geprat said worriedly: "The destroyers we produced before were only 800 tons, and we only have destroyers of this tonnage because Argentina ordered 1,000-ton destroyers."

Charles has read the relevant information and it is still a shame for the French Navy.

In 1910, Argentina ordered 1,000-ton destroyers from Britain, France and Germany at the same time. However, France's construction was slow and the trial performance was poor, so Argentina canceled the order.

In the end, France could only keep this 1,000-ton destroyer for its own use. This was the French "Adventure-class" destroyer, which was the most advanced destroyer in France during World War I.

(The picture above shows the French Adventurer-class destroyer, which entered service in 1914 and has a standard displacement of 1,000 tons)

"The question now is," Vice Admiral Geprat handed Charles the information about the destroyer and said, "Many of us are not sure whether to continue with the idea of ​​miniaturization of destroyers or to enlarge them."

Charles had previously discussed with Wells that the future development of the navy would be destroyers, but he did not point out in which direction the destroyers should develop, so this disagreement arose in the navy.

Xia Er said confidently: "Of course it is better to develop in a larger direction. 1,000 tons is far from enough. In the future, we need to develop 2,000 tons, 3,000 tons, or even larger tonnage."

"Why?" Geprat was puzzled. "If so, what is the difference between them and light cruisers?"

During World War I, light cruisers were generally 4,000 to 5,000 tons, so the two seem to overlap in tonnage.

However, Ciel knew that they were not the same thing.

"General," Charles replied, "We all know that the main targets of light cruisers, including those of larger tonnage, are enemy warships, right?"

"Of course." Geprat nodded. "They all fight in conjunction with the battleships. They can use their speed advantage to seize advantageous positions in battle."

"So," said Charles, "they are still mainly armored and armed, right?"

"What's the problem?" Lieutenant General Geprat looked at Charles in confusion.

What else can a naval battle be if not dominated by enemy warships?

Charles did not answer, but looked at Vice Admiral Geprat calmly and asked, "When torpedo attack aircraft appear, the function of warships will change accordingly, right?"

Lieutenant General Geprat said, "Obviously, it should strengthen its anti-aircraft firepower."

"Just an enhancement?" Charles smiled without saying anything.

Lieutenant General Geprat was confused: "Well, what else can it be?"

Charles replied:

"Today it's bombers with torpedoes, one day we can also put bombs on bombers."

“It currently has accuracy issues, but that will be fixed someday.”

"And as accuracy improves, does that mean that fleets are often sunk by enemy aircraft before they even see the enemy?"

Lieutenant General Geprat was stunned.

Although what Charles said was hard to imagine, when Lieutenant General Geprat thought about it more deeply, he felt that what he said was right.

At least this is true in this special sea area of ​​the North Sea, which is 643 kilometers wide. The "Caproni" bomber can almost fly back and forth with its auxiliary fuel tanks.

This is especially true for the English Channel, which is only 180 kilometers wide at its widest point. There is no need to consider the range issue at all. Even the short-legged "Camel" fighter can fly back and forth.

So, can enemy warships see their opponents?

Before they even see their opponents, their positions will be discovered by French reconnaissance, who will then send in torpedo planes and bombers to bomb them.

Charles then added: "What's the point of having cannons and armor if the enemy ships can't even see each other's ships?"

Vice Admiral Geprat thought for a while and answered thoughtfully: "I understand. The focus of destroyer development should be air defense, not anti-ship."

Charles nodded. This was the future development direction of warships.

This is even more true with the advent of aircraft carriers.

The battleship's main and secondary guns of various calibers were all useless.

Because the main task of warships is not anti-ship, and in most naval battles, enemy warships cannot even be seen, so what is the use of so many main guns? Directly reduce to one or two naval guns to deal with extreme situations.

Thick armor is useless.

The main attacks come from the sky rather than the sea. Bombers attack the deck from top to bottom, or torpedo attack aircraft launch torpedoes below the waterline. No matter how thick the side armor is, it will be useless.

Instead, various anti-aircraft firepower are used, including long, medium and short-range air defense, to provide layer upon layer of firepower protection for the aircraft carrier.

Of course, as the escort of the aircraft carrier, the destroyer must also take into account anti-submarine and anti-ship capabilities, but they are secondary to air defense.

This is why battleships will be eliminated in the future. Their main advantages, artillery and armor, are basically redundant and useless after the emergence of aircraft carriers.

Therefore, it was inevitable that battleships would be replaced by destroyers whose main function was air defense.

(Note: During World War II, many warships had to remove their secondary guns and convert them into anti-aircraft guns due to changes in battlefields and missions)

"So," Charles concluded, "the increase in the tonnage of destroyers is completely different from that of cruisers. Its main goal is air defense. Simply put, the weight of the cruiser's armor and artillery is gradually replaced by anti-aircraft firepower."

Lieutenant General Geprat's face was uncertain, sometimes happy and sometimes worried. After a long while, he sighed and said, "This is good news, but it is also bad news."

"Oh?" Charles asked with interest, "Why?"

Vice Admiral Geprat replied: "The good news is that if the future naval battle really develops as you said, then our losses will be much less than those of Britain and Germany, and there is still hope of catching up with them."

Ciel nodded in understanding.

France did not have many battleships, while Britain and Germany had dozens or even a dozen battleships each.

Once the battleships were abandoned in the naval battle, the losses of Britain and Germany would inevitably be greater.

Admiral Geprat continued: "The bad news is that our navy's construction is almost at a standstill, and we simply do not have the spare capacity to develop new destroyers."

After the outbreak of the war, France spent almost all its funds on the army, and the navy was ranked second, with only two destroyers under construction.

Charles didn't think much about it and agreed to it.

"I think I can help in this regard," Charles said. "I mean, the Bernard Group can provide funding for the navy."

Lieutenant General Geprat's eyes lit up: "Are you sure you want to do this?"

"Of course." Charles answered affirmatively.

This is a good opportunity to control the navy, how could he miss it easily?

(End of this chapter)