Chapter 388 Camel is the best choice
The Lord Admiral, like everyone else, passed the night in fear in the heart of darkness.
Only then did the British realize that they had nothing to offer against the Zeppelins, the airships of the night.
During this period, two planes managed to take off and tried to attack the airship, but the Zeppelin airship was hiding in the dark clouds, and the planes could not launch an effective attack on it. Several rockets fired failed to hit the target.
(During World War I, many aircraft could not reach the altitude of the airship. Although new aircraft could reach it, visibility was low at night and the aircraft was fast. Even if they knew where the Zeppelin was, it was difficult to guarantee that they would not hit it.)
Everyone could only watch as the airship dropped bombs one after another, blasting the area below into a mess before flying away.
(The picture above shows the streets of London after being bombed by a Zeppelin airship in 1915. There were few casualties, but it caused great panic)
The next morning, when it was light, people who were still frightened slowly walked out of their houses and talked about the ruins left by the explosion last night:
"God, our army can't do anything about it."
"Yeah, there's nothing they can do."
"If that's the case, does that mean that as long as the Germans have enough airships, they can bomb us all to the ground? What could be worse than that?"
…
During war, people always magnify their fear and feel that they are going to lose the war. This panic may even spread like a plague, even though last night's bombing only killed 35 people and injured 121.
The First Lord of the Admiralty was in his office, fuming at Major Kell:
"You know nothing about airships and didn't even know what they were when the enemy dropped bombs on us!"
"Today there is only one airship, but tomorrow there could be two, three, or even more!"
"If this continues, should we surrender to the Germans?"
Of course, Kyle knew that this was just an angry remark by the Minister of the Navy. He stepped forward fearfully, pointed at the map and said, "Sir, this situation occurred mainly because the Germans chose to attack at night..."
"Those are airships," the Admiral interrupted Kell. "They move at a snail's pace. I wonder how they managed to cross the English Channel and get to London."
Kyle explained: "They can reach a speed of 80 kilometers per hour, sir, they are not snails, and our planes can only reach 100 kilometers."
The Navy Minister was stunned. He never knew an airship could reach such speed.
Kyle went on to analyze: "We can't stop them from flying over London because we don't know when they will attack, nor do we know their flight routes. Unless we send hundreds of planes to patrol over the English Channel in turns."
"So, all we can do is wait to be bombed?" The fat on the Navy Minister's face was twisted with anger.
"We can catch up with it." Kyle said helplessly, "But our fighter planes are not fast enough. Even the new de Havilland DH2 fighter planes cannot catch up after daybreak."
The Navy Minister turned his head to look at Kyle and said in a low voice: "You mean, as long as our planes are fast enough, we can catch up with these guys and shoot them down?"
"Yes." Kyle nodded. "This is easier than stopping them from entering London because we know the direction they are fleeing and their speed. The only problem is that we don't have fighter planes that are that fast."
The Secretary of the Navy immediately thought of Charles's plane, which could reach a speed of 180 kilometers per hour.
After hesitating for a while, the Navy Minister gritted his teeth helplessly and ordered: "Send a telegram to General Winter!"
…
Headquarters of the 105th Regiment in Paris.
When Charles woke up early in the morning, he received information that London was bombed by Zeppelin airships.
The intelligence arrived last night, and the staff officer considered that although it was important, it was not urgent, so he did not wake Charles up. After all, it was a British matter.
Tijani woke up earlier than Charles and saw the message a few minutes in advance.
Seeing Charles coming in, Tijani shook the telegram at Charles with an unbelievable look on his face: "The Germans are still using this thing? I thought it disappeared on the battlefield after you used the rocket."
"What?" Charles took the telegram and read it, then he understood what Tijani meant.
"The Germans chose to fight at night, General," said Charles, "and in London."
Aircraft at this time had almost no night combat capability, and the British defense line was also the Western Front like France, with almost no defense on the homeland.
"That's right, Brigadier General." Tijani sat back in his chair thoughtfully. "I took it for granted. It can still play a role, although it can only be regarded as residual heat."
Tijani then added: "The Germans are very smart. They use submarine warfare to blockade Britain and then use airships to bomb their homeland, which may make the already scarce supplies in Britain even worse."
Charles smiled and said nothing.
The German army's direction was correct. The internal and external attacks caused a shortage of supplies in Britain, and ultimately forced it to surrender. Coincidentally, it did the same thing in World War II.
However, it is not tactically feasible.
Airships are expensive, slow, cause very limited damage to the enemy but are easily destroyed, and have almost no cost-effectiveness.
At this time, General Winter appeared at the entrance of the command office. He did not care to avoid other "strange people" at this time. He walked directly to Charles and asked, "I want to know the flight data of the Camel, Brigadier General. I hope this will not embarrass you."
"Of course." Charles replied, "The maximum speed is 187 kilometers per hour. If necessary, you can send a pilot to test fly it."
General Winter breathed a sigh of relief. He believed this was true. It was about the same speed as measured by MI6.
"Is there a problem?" Charles looked at General Winter in confusion.
"No, it's all right," General Winter replied. "I just want to know if it can catch up with the German airship."
Charles suddenly realized.
The British planned to use the Camel to stop the German bombing of London. To be precise, it was not to "stop" but to shoot down the airship on its way back.
This is not a good idea, Charles thought, the best way would be anti-aircraft guns, anti-aircraft guns that can fire incendiary bombs.
But Charles said nothing. He answered seriously: "Don't think about it, General. The Camel is the best choice. It will be a nightmare for the airship."
"I hope so." General Winter took out a notebook from his pocket, flipped it open, found a page, tore it off and handed it to Charles: "We need 30 aircraft to form a flying squadron, equipped with ground crews and technicians, and also spare engines and parts."
Charles pretended to hesitate and thought for a while before answering: "That's because of you, General. Otherwise I wouldn't give so much."
General Winter nodded gratefully, "I know, Brigadier General, thank you! Thank you very much!"
(End of this chapter)
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