Chapter 1002 The French Army May Also Have Aircraft Carriers
Colonel Will guessed correctly that the reason why the Minister of Munitions ordered the battleships to fight at a distance of about 150 kilometers from Malta was to consume the French fighter planes.
"150 kilometers is the maximum combat radius of French fighter jets." In the combat meeting room, the Minister of Munitions distributed a data analysis chart and a flight path diagram to the participants.
"150 kilometers round trip means 300 kilometers." The Minister of Munitions was quite confident in his plan:
"The total range of French fighter planes is about 400 kilometers, which means they only have 100 kilometers of fuel to fight."
"The actual situation is even worse than this, because fighter jets often have to perform various super-power flights during dogfights, and fuel consumption may be twice or even more than usual."
"So they probably only have about 50 kilometers of fuel, which is only enough for them to dogfight for 15 minutes."
Royal Flying Corps officers, including Chief of Staff Major-General Trenchard, nodded in agreement.
Many of them had participated in air battles with the German army and therefore had rich combat experience. They knew that this was the most suitable distance to lure the enemy into fighting.
If the distance is too far, for example, the battlefield is 200 kilometers away from the island of Malta.
Then the fighter planes that took off from Malta would not be able to reach the battlefield to fight, the French would not take any action, and the strategy of "luring the snake out of its hole" would not be successful.
If it is too close, for example, the battlefield is 100 kilometers away.
This left too much fuel for the enemy aircraft, and even if the British pilots were flying what they believed to be more advanced "SE5a" fighters, it would be unlikely for them to defeat the French Air Force.
150 kilometers is just right.
It allowed the French Air Force to fight and win, but it was at an absolute disadvantage in terms of loiter time:
No matter how advanced the French aircraft were, no matter how experienced or skilled the French pilots were, they had to return after fighting for 15 minutes.
Otherwise their plane would not be able to return to Malta and would have to "land" on the sea.
This is not just a matter of time and fuel, it also puts tremendous psychological pressure on pilots.
On the contrary, British fighter planes can easily defeat them.
The British fighter planes took off from an aircraft carrier more than 50 kilometers away. Even though some fuel was wasted when forming a formation, their airborne time was still several times that of the French fighter planes.
When the French fighter planes returned due to lack of fuel, the British fighter planes could take the opportunity to pursue them.
At that time, the French fighter planes will be in a desperate situation of being passive and beaten.
In other words, this tactic made the British fighter planes almost invincible.
But Major General Trenchard was not very confident:
"The French have the Jenny A, Your Excellency."
"If you remember, this new fighter just defeated the German Fokker D.VII not long ago."
"And the Fokker D.VII defeated our SE5a at Emden."
As Chief of Staff of the Royal Flying Corps, Major-General Trenchard was reluctant to continue.
But the conclusion is obvious: although the "SE5a" is the most advanced new fighter of the British Army, it is still no match for the French Army's "Jeannie A".
The Minister of Munitions nodded. "Yes, you are right. Our new fighter is likely inferior to the Jenny A. We may even suffer a complete defeat."
But he changed the subject:
"Think about it, gentlemen."
"The intelligence I received is that 'Jenny A' is a fully enclosed metal-clad fighter."
"What does it mean to know?"
Rear Admiral Trenchard seemed to understand: "You mean it might have a shorter range and consume more fuel faster?"
The Quartermaster pointed his finger.
"That's what I meant to say."
"Even if its range is similar to other fighter jets, it is still 400 kilometers."
"But we can still use the same tactics to deal with it. Or, we can see its strange wings from afar and fly in the opposite direction."
Major General Trenchard nodded slightly in agreement.
The Jenny A is easily identifiable; its inverted gull-shaped wings can be spotted from a distance.
Its speed is only about 20 kilometers per hour faster than that of the "SE5a". If they fly in the same direction, I am afraid that by the time it catches up, it will not have enough fuel to return.
The Minister of Munitions added:
"Besides, we have the advantage in numbers."
"During this period, we have expanded the production of the 'SE5a' and have been producing it day and night. So far, we have produced more than 300 aircraft."
"As for the French 'Jeanne A,' reliable intelligence indicates that due to its complex production process, the monthly output is only around ten."
Major General Trenchard looked confused:
"But our numerical advantage is completely ineffective, Your Excellency."
"Our fighter jets take off from aircraft carriers, and each aircraft carrier can only carry a maximum of 25 aircraft."
"That is to say, we can only deploy 50 fighter jets at a time."
The Quartermaster General nodded in the direction of Major-General Trenchard. "Yes, but the emphasis is on 'once.'"
As if to show off, the Minister of Munitions asked his staff to send down another piece of data.
"Look at this. Greece is over 800 kilometers away from Malta, and our 'SE5a' has a maximum range of 438 kilometers."
"And our aircraft carrier is located about 200 kilometers away from Malta."
"In other words, as long as the aircraft carrier sails about 170 kilometers toward Greece, it can receive our fighter jets taking off from Greece."
The Quartermaster General pointed to the calculated time at the bottom of the document and showed it to everyone: "It only takes 5 hours to receive it, and 5 hours to return to the battlefield. What do you think?"
Admiral Balfour understood: "This is a night time."
"That's it," said the Minister of Munitions, pointing to the Minister of the Admiralty. "You are very clever, Your Excellency."
In fact, he was praising himself in disguise.
"Everyone knows that planes can't fight at night, so what can we do at night?"
"Our aircraft carrier is returning to Greece, or more precisely, heading towards Greece."
"But unfortunately there are some operational difficulties: our fighter jets cannot land on aircraft carriers at night."
Prime Minister George flipped through the data. "So, we need to complete the replenishment of carrier-based aircraft by daybreak and return to the battlefield in five hours, correct?"
"Yes." The Minister of Munitions nodded.
"If the losses aren't high, we don't need to replenish them."
"By repeating this process, our new fighters will soon be able to consume all of the enemy's 'Jenny A's."
"But against the French Camel or Snipe, we have the advantage in performance and speed."
The military officers and dignitaries in the conference room nodded.
The Quartermaster General's battle plan was very detailed and ingenious.
He grasped the strengths and weaknesses of both enemy and friendly aircraft and used the aircraft carrier as a mobile airport to carefully design traps and wait for the French aircraft to jump.
But Navy Minister Balfour looked worried: "Your idea is good, Your Excellency, but you seem to have forgotten one thing. The French army probably also has aircraft carriers, and their aircraft carriers were even built under our guidance!"
(End of this chapter)
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