Chapter 853 Britain's Dream (Fourth Update, Please Subscribe)
Two airships were flying clumsily on the sea. They were approaching each other, and both sides were even shooting with machine guns. Although bullets kept hitting the airships, they were still flying freely.
At the same time, the spacecraft even approached and collided directly... but there was still no problem.
This is an air battle!
A simulated air battle involving the Royal Navy's flying boat force.
While the air battle was going on, on the famous White Cliffs, Admiral Milne and a group of naval generals were observing this "air battle" through telescopes.
"Sir, according to the tests we are conducting, it can be proved that air combat between airships seems to be unrealistic. Even if a Gatling gun is used to shoot, it will not have much impact on the spacecraft. This is because there are more than ten independent airbags inside the airship. If a bullet destroys an airbag, only a small amount of hydrogen will leak out, and it will not be ignited, let alone explode. As for the shells..."
Will, a spacecraft engineer who once studied spacecraft construction in the Ming Dynasty, shrugged helplessly.
"The strength of the rubberized silk is not enough to trigger the fuse of the shell. The shell whizzed past like a bullet. Whether it was impact, machine gun bullets or shells, they could not cause fatal damage to the airship..."
The engineer's answer made Milne very confused!
Compared with previous experiments, this experiment did not make any progress at all. Why has there not been much progress in the research of air defense weapons by various countries in the past few years? To put it bluntly, it is because machine guns and machine cannons are not of much use against airships.
It seemed that the airship was impossible to shoot down!
airship
It's really terrible!
"What if we attack the airship from the ground with a Gatling gun?"
Admiral Yelverton said, pointing at the airship.
"There are some hard objects in the airship cabin, such as light wooden beams. Of course, the most important thing is people. If we can't shoot down the airship, can we destroy the airship cabin through intensive bombardment and kill as many people as possible who are operating the airship?"
"It seems so ungentlemanly to attack people."
"Mr. Will, this is a war. There is no such thing as gentlemanly or ungentlemanly in war!"
Yelverton, the admiral of the navy, answered directly!
Under the bombing of the Ming Empire's airships, eight warships were destroyed, including four second-class ironclad ships. Such a cruel reality forced him to consider how to preserve the fleet during the bombing.
What hits is useless!
Then just beat them up. Beat them to death and the airship will be useless!
"Admiral, this requires a prerequisite, that is, the enemy airship must fly low enough. Only in this way can we attack them with machine guns or machine guns. In addition, even if we use machine guns to attack the airship cabin, it is difficult to confirm whether it has effectively killed the people in the airship. It will continue to fly! If it flies high, it will be difficult to hit it even with machine guns."
Engineer Will's answer made the Royal Navy generals look extremely amused.
"Fly high enough."
Milne frowned and then spoke.
"If they fly high enough, does that mean the accuracy of their bomb drops will also drop?"
When he said this, Milne's eyes lit up.
"We can equip warships with a large number of Gatling machine guns and use them to drive away the airships. They may be able to fly very high, but the bombing accuracy will definitely decrease. In the end, even the Ming Dynasty's airship bombing will find it difficult to hit the warships!"
Milne's words made Engineer Will nod his head repeatedly:
"If the airship flies to an altitude of 2,000, 3,000, or even 4,000 meters, it should be very safe. The accuracy of dropping bombs at this altitude is very poor, but..."
After thinking for a moment, Engineer Will said:
"It is indeed difficult to hit the target when dropping bombs from such a high altitude, but it is not completely impossible, General. If we keep the spaceship above the warship and maintain a corresponding speed, by constantly adjusting the angle and direction of the bomb, I think there is still a chance to hit the warship... Moreover, the airship can also bomb the enemy fleet before the fleet decisive battle. Even if it does not hit the target, it can still interfere with the enemy fleet and undermine the enemy's morale.
Of course, I think the airship can also attack the damaged warships after the fleet decisive battle. The speed of the damaged warships will usually drop significantly, and the Gatling guns will also suffer damage in the artillery battle, making them easier targets to attack. The airship can appropriately lower its altitude to increase its hit rate. "
Will did not notice how rich the expressions of the Royal Navy generals, including the First Lord of the Admiralty Milne and Admiral Yelverton, were when he said this. They even felt that this airship was sent by God to defeat the Royal Navy.
With flying ships, can't the Royal Navy roam the oceans again?
As the Royal Navy's generals stared at the airship in the sky with different expressions, Engineer Will said:
"Of course, the most suitable mission for airships is to bomb enemy cities or army units. Although they are very powerful, in my opinion, airships do not have the ability to replace warships. To a certain extent, if they are coordinated with other warships, they can play a greater role. In order to surpass the Ming Empire, the British Empire must build airships with better performance. They should be bigger, faster, and of course stronger. Most importantly, there must be enough of them! Only with enough airships can the British Empire maintain its leading position!"
"You're right, Mr. Will!"
Milne said as he gazed at the airship which had been lowered to only four or five hundred meters above the sea surface because its airbag had been punctured.
"We must have more and better airships. This is related to the future of the British Empire! Of course, it is related to the future of the Royal Navy!"
In fact, as early as six years ago, when the British Empire exchanged the colony of British Columbia for an airship, it was almost hooked on this project.
However, at that time, I was just getting started!
But what about now?
How could they not be tempted by the brilliant achievements of the Ming Empire's floating forces? Even the Royal Navy...had to adapt to the changes of the times!
In fact, in history, European powers still attached great importance to airships. It was natural that they regarded huge airships as artifacts. In the early days of World War I, Zeppelin airships bombed the British mainland many times, causing panic among the people across the country. This is the famous "Zeppelin Panic", but airships were born at the wrong time in that era - the advancement of aircraft technology led to the gradual marginalization of airships.
Now, airplanes have not been invented yet, but airships have become more mature under the intervention of Emperor Zhu. Except that there are no hard-shell airships because aluminum is too expensive, soft-shell airships have reached the level of the 1920s in another world.
This large airship has also continuously proved its value with real results! From the "Bombing of Versailles", to the French "Bombing of Luxembourg", to the "Montevideo Air and Sea Battle", time and time again actual combat has proved the value of airships to the world.
Faced with such brilliant achievements, the airship naturally became the artifact of this era.
Today's airships are magical tools!
No one will doubt this.
Before the Montevideo Air and Sea Battle, airships were just “strategic deterrent weapons” used to ensure the destruction of enemy cities, but now? Airships have become weapons that can sink battleships to the bottom of the sea.
So awesome!
Therefore, the British Empire must make every effort to catch up with the Ming Dynasty on airships and must occupy the sky with airships!
Just as the Royal Navy once owned the Earth's oceans.
The sky is also a sea, a blue ocean, and this sea of sky must belong to the British Empire!
(End of this chapter)
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