Chapter 627 This is not a coincidence, but a necessity
"I have already negotiated with the Brest Shipyard," Charles explained. "They will provide the aircraft manufacturer with torpedoes and technicians. Our R&D department will be responsible for mounting the torpedoes on the aircraft and putting them into effective use."
This was proposed by Charles when he was in the shipyard.
Charles did not tell Wells more details. He only told Wells that he would use the torpedo and further improve its performance.
Wells had no doubts because Charles had previously provided torpedo design ideas and torpedo charge formulas.
Even if he had doubts, there was nothing he could do. At this time, Charles had become the core of the development direction of the French Navy. Any problems encountered in the future would still need to be solved by Charles. Now that Charles had only made a small request, who would dare to refuse?
"No problem." Eric agreed readily: "We will set up the torpedo attack aircraft research and development department tomorrow."
He already had a preliminary idea in his mind, which would require several modified Caproni bombers, and then an area of water suitable for experiments, and it would be best if the area was blocked.
Charles gave a rough experimental direction:
"Initially, we can experiment with models of equal weight, shape, and specific gravity."
"The first stage requires ensuring that the torpedo enters the water in the best possible posture."
Eric sounded a little confused.
Through model tests he understood why, the torpedoes were expensive and it was impossible to just drop them randomly at the beginning.
but……
"General, what is equal gravity?" Eric asked.
"It's a matter of the weight of the different parts of the torpedo." Charles explained, "The weight of the charge at the head is different from the compressed air and combustion chamber at the rear. It may be head-heavy and tail-light. When it is dropped at high speed by a bomber, it will affect its posture when entering the water."
Eric understood immediately: "So, we need to make some adjustments to it according to the situation, and change the layout if necessary, right?"
"Yes." Charles nodded. "In addition, the internal parts of the torpedo must be strengthened, because the impact of the moment it enters the water from the air is likely to damage some parts and cause malfunctions."
This was one of the problems with American air-launched torpedoes in the early days of World War II.
This problem directly leads to the extremely harsh conditions for launching American air-launched torpedoes: the torpedo attack aircraft must fly in a straight line, at low altitude, and not too fast.
This made American torpedo attack aircraft almost suicidal in the war.
Warships during World War II generally had air defenses, but torpedo planes flew at low altitudes and low speeds in predictable straight trajectories, making them targets for anti-aircraft machine guns and cannons.
This was one of the reasons why the United States was completely defeated by the Japanese navy in the early stages of the Pacific War.
But on second thought, Charles felt that the requirements in this regard did not need to be too high at this time. After all, anti-aircraft guns had not yet been invented, and warships were only equipped with a small number of "non-professional" machine guns and artillery, which were almost unable to hit the target.
(Note: Hitting a target in a three-dimensional space in the air is not as easy as imagined. One of the difficulties is that the shooter cannot see the direction of the bullet or shell, so he cannot judge whether it has deviated or how much it has deviated. Therefore, he cannot correct the trajectory and can only rely on feeling. The solution is to use tracer bullets to assist shooting)
Eric listened and nodded repeatedly to show that he understood. After Charles said this, he knew what this research institute was going to do.
At the same time, he sighed in his heart: If this kind of bomber can be successful, the entire naval warfare mode may be completely overturned. The German battleships with a displacement of tens of thousands of tons can be easily solved by dropping a torpedo from this kind of aircraft.
What Eric didn't know was that Charles was not thinking about dealing with the Germans, but the British.
With torpedo attack aircraft, the English Channel will undoubtedly be under the control of France. Even the British fleet within 300 kilometers along the coast cannot get close. As long as they get close, they will become targets of torpedo attack aircraft.
(Note: The Caproni bomber has a range of 600 kilometers and a maximum projection distance of about 300 kilometers)
…
The lights in the officers' club were dim and the officers were talking loudly inside.
The topic is of course Charles' latest achievement: the Hasselt interlude.
"It was another perfect victory, and this time even more Germans were captured than in Antwerp."
"That's not the important thing, Field. What's important is that this is the second successful insertion."
"Yes, many people thought that the Antwerp penetration was because the Germans were unprepared, so it could not be copied and could not become a universal tactic. But now it has been proven that this is completely wrong. It can be copied!"
…
But some people still doubt this:
"What if this is another coincidence?"
"Yes, the Germans are still unprepared. They have transferred their main forces to attack Antwerp."
"I heard that the Germans in Hasselt only had two infantry regiments."
…
Garrel, who had just returned from serving drinks, placed the tray on the bar and complained to Lucia who was busy inside: "Can't they talk about something else? Is Charles the only man in the world?"
Lucia glared at Garrel: "You can either plug your ears or shut your mouth, Garrel."
Garrel laughed. "I forgot, there's someone here who just wants to hear about Ciel, and never tires of hearing it."
Lucia put the prepared cocktail on the tray, pushed it in front of Garrel and said viciously: "Table 3, get out of my sight!"
Garrel turned around and caught a glimpse of Charles coming in. He turned back and lowered his voice to tease, "I hope you can say the same thing to him."
Lucia followed Garrel's line of sight and she couldn't believe her eyes. Shouldn't Charles be in Hasselt at this time?
Before Lucia could react, Charles was surrounded by officers:
"General, it's Lieutenant General Charles."
“He’s really here!”
"Congratulations, General, you have won another incredible victory!"
…
This time, the officers were not as tactful as before and did not give Lucia time and space. They asked one after another:
"General, can you tell us about this battle?"
“And there’s Antwerp interspersed, that’s not a coincidence, is it?”
"But both times, the Germans were unprepared."
…
Charles could understand the psychology of these officers.
They wanted an answer, an answer that would convince them, or a theory that they might use one day on the battlefield.
Not only can it save your life, it may also create a miracle like Charles'.
Charles nodded to Lucia, asking her to wait a moment, and then simply walked into the crowd and sat with the officers.
"This is no coincidence, gentlemen," said Charles, "but a necessity, including the fact that the Germans were caught off guard."
The officers were all stunned.
How can being unprepared be inevitable?
As long as the Germans pay attention and take targeted measures next time, can't this loophole be plugged?
(End of this chapter)
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