Chapter 648: Unsuccessful Plan
Since merchant ships were observing the battle closely, news spread quickly.
That afternoon, newspapers from various countries published special supplements to report on this victory.
The military's "Meritorious Service Newspaper" remains as low-key as ever.
It did not make many comments on the battle, but only released several pictures of German warships being sunk from the perspective of warships and bombers, especially the battlecruiser "Sedliffi", using an entire page to record and explain the entire sinking process in detail.
The title is: Salute to the officers and soldiers who are fighting bravely on the front line. Your victory is the pride of all French citizens!
Other newspapers did not have access to photos, not even photos from the angle of merchant ships.
It was difficult for ordinary people to own a camera during this period, and taking photos in such a scene could result in being identified as a spy.
But the Little Daily still used its expertise, presenting a cartoon of a bomber carrying a torpedo, with several sinking warships below.
The text reads:
"This is undoubtedly another exciting victory. Our genius inventor, Charles, unexpectedly brought the torpedo into the sky."
"Do you know what this means?"
"Naval warfare may be rewritten as a result. It will no longer be a battle between warships, but their opponents will also be aircraft."
"It's unbelievable. No one thought that airplanes could rival battleships. Their costs differ by hundreds or even thousands of times!"
The whole of France was shocked by the news.
The reaction from the younger generation was relatively muted, with many of them failing to realise how special this victory was and simply viewing it as another victory for the Shire.
But the middle-aged and elderly people were extremely excited. They were the generation that suffered the decline of the French navy and thought they would never see the rise of the navy, even with the existence of Charles.
But suddenly one day, they found that victory and hope were right in front of them, so vivid that they couldn't believe it.
Many people were so excited that their eyes were filled with tears. They read the newspapers again and again, and then bought a copy of each newspaper, always hoping to find some different news from them.
…
The Times:
"This is undoubtedly a major victory. We have once again defeated the German fleet's surprise attack."
"But sadly, the victor was not the British Royal Navy but the French fleet, the fleet we once despised."
"But the point is, they actually sank the German battlecruisers with planes."
"Does this mean that they can also sink our battleships with their planes?"
"Although I believe France will not do this, we still need to think about a question: What is the advantage of the British Royal Fleet?"
"Are we still the most powerful navy in the world?"
…
American newspapers devoted relatively little space to reporting on the incident because Americans at that time were generally still under the "Monroe Doctrine" and only cared about their own development and not about wars outside America.
But as soon as Colonel Johnson saw the report on this, he immediately made a report to his superiors: "I think we should immediately develop bombers that can carry torpedoes. If we don't have them, we should buy them. It is worth spending any money because this may be the direction of future naval battles!"
Then he sighed: "God, Charles is ahead again. I really hope he can come to the United States. If he comes, we will own the whole world!"
…
War Office Building, central London.
Although it was late at night, the building was still brightly lit. The staff and signalmen were busy, and meals were delivered to each office one by one through the guards.
The order came down:
"Confirm whether it is true that the bomber carries torpedoes, and which model it is."
"Immediately start the experiment of using the Caproni bomber to carry torpedoes!"
"Send someone to contact Charles and bring in torpedo bombers if possible. At any cost!"
…
In an office on the third floor facing the inner garden, Navy Minister Balfour was busy with a pile of documents.
(The picture above shows Balfour, who served as British Prime Minister from 1902 to 1905, and as Secretary of State for the Admiralty during World War I. Later, as Secretary of State for Irish Affairs, he bloodily suppressed the Irish independence movement and was called "Bloody Balfour". His most famous document was the Balfour Declaration, which proposed the establishment of a Jewish homeland in Palestine in 1917)
Charles' victory was a nightmare for the Royal Navy. The bombers attacked the warships with torpedoes at an extremely fast speed and with great precision, leaving the warships with almost no time to react.
As the Secretary of the Navy, Balfour had to urgently evaluate this way of warfare in order to decide the future direction of the navy's development.
"Sir." Suddenly a staff officer hurriedly handed over a document: "This is an unsuccessful plan left by the previous 'Secretary of the Navy'."
Balfour took the document and looked at it. His eyes widened instantly as he looked at the staff officer: "Are you sure this is true?"
"Yes." The staff officer replied, "This was an experiment conducted in 2014. At that time, the former 'Secretary of the Navy' had conducted an experiment on the use of aircraft torpedoes, but it was only conducted once and was completely abandoned after the failure."
"Bring him here immediately," Balfour ordered.
The former "Secretary of the Admiralty" is the current Minister of Munitions, and his office is on the same floor.
After a while, the Minister of Munitions appeared in Balfour's office. He had a smoking cigar in his hand and seemed to have drunk a lot of alcohol. His face was as red as blood under the light.
"What's the matter, Sir Balfour?" asked the Quartermaster General, glancing at the furnishings around him, with a lingering smell of alcohol on his mouth.
This was originally my office, he thought.
Balfour threw the document on the table: "Is this the experiment you did in 2014?"
The Minister of Munitions flipped through it and replied, "Oh, I almost forgot if you hadn't mentioned it. It is true, but it was considered impossible at the time."
"Impossible?" Belfort narrowed his eyes: "But now it has become a reality."
Did he know that the Royal Navy might have missed an opportunity to dominate the world?
If Britain had discovered this technology first and tried its best to develop it, there wouldn’t be such an embarrassing situation today!
"I know." The Quartermaster General replied. He turned the document to the end and pointed with his finger:
"You should read this conclusion, sir."
"The plane was too light at the time, with only 80 horsepower, but it carried a 600-kilogram torpedo."
"When the torpedo was thrown into the sea, the plane instantly lost balance and almost crashed and killed everyone..."
Balfour took the document and looked at it carefully. It was indeed a failed experiment as the Minister of Munitions said. Everyone thought it was impossible to complete, so it was shelved and unknown to the public.
After a while, Balfour asked with difficulty: "Do you think this will be a threat to our navy?"
The Minister of Munitions smiled and said, "This is what you need to consider, Sir!"
You are the Minister of the Navy, and as the Minister of Munitions I have to consider escort.
(End of this chapter)
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