Chapter 359 Naval Expansion Act

However, this shortcoming is not enough to overshadow the merits of the Ghost-4 bomber. The Ghost-4 bomber is definitely the most useful military aircraft of this era.

Imagine that when a large-scale war is breaking out, hundreds of bombers suddenly fly over the heads of the two armies.

The bombs that are dropped one after another and the buzzing sound of the planes lingering in the ears are enough to destroy the enemy's mental defenses.

You know, trench warfare in World War I was almost everywhere. And trenches can defend against enemy machine guns and artillery, but cannot defend against bombing from the sky.

When Australasia uses aircraft during the stalemate of the war, it may be able to change the situation of the war in one fell swoop.

Arthur attaches great importance to the Ghost-4 bomber, so he decided to directly order 500 bombers.

The cost of the Ghost-4 bomber is the most expensive of the three military aircraft, with a cost of 31,035 Australian dollars.

This also means that the cost of 500 bombers has reached 15.5 million Australian dollars, which is the most expensive of the three military aircraft.

Adding up all the orders for the three types of military aircraft, Arthur will order 1,100 military aircraft, with a total cost of more than 32.75 million Australian dollars, which is almost catching up with the government's military expenditure last year.

However, spending these funds is definitely worthwhile. After purchasing these 1,100 aircraft, the total number of military aircraft in Australasia has reached more than 1,700, exceeding the total of other countries.

This also means that Australasia's air force strength is currently the strongest in the world, and even a very exaggerated fault has appeared.

Needless to say, how important air supremacy is in war. The air force advantage held by Australasia will greatly help the Allies in future wars.

As for Australasia's outdated 123 generation military aircraft, they can actually be sold to the Allied allies at a lower price.

Anyway, for the Allied countries, Australasia's outdated third generation aircraft are also relatively advanced for them.

They can also rely on the aircraft sold by Australasia to study the technology in it and improve their own aircraft.

However, Australasia's aviation industry has been developing for such a long time that it has already attracted more than one-third of the world's aviation dynamics-related talents.

If other countries want to surpass Australasia in terms of aircraft, they must not only work harder on talents, but also need the help of some top scientists.

But the problem is that other countries are studying aircraft, and Australasia is studying aircraft even more.

Unless Australasia's research is hindered, otherwise, if Arthur wants to achieve a curve overtaking in aircraft research, it depends on whether he is willing.

The good news is that after the development of Australasia's military academy over the past few years, there is no shortage of pilots.

Even if 1,100 aircraft are purchased at once this time, the corresponding pilots can be equipped in a short time.

However, if the air force wants to form combat effectiveness, it may take some time to train.

According to the data provided by the Aviation Laboratory, the construction of these 1,100 aircraft will be completed at the earliest by the end of next year.

Fortunately, the Aviation Laboratory and the Aviation Academy of the Royal Military Academy have a lot of training aircraft. As long as their engines are replaced with the latest improved aircraft engines, they can be used for training.

Considering the training time of these pilots, the Air Force formed combat effectiveness from the end of 1914 to the beginning of 1915, and even if the war broke out as scheduled, the Air Force would be fully capable of participating in the war.

The order of trucks was just the tip of the iceberg of the arms race among European countries in 1913. Even if the Australasian Air Force had already achieved an astonishing lead, Arthur would not think that he had gained the upper hand in this arms race.

Speaking of this, we have to mention the current exaggerated arms race state of European countries.

The naval bills promulgated by various countries are simply like farts, because the actual number of warships built has long exceeded the provisions of the promulgated naval bills.

So far, in just more than half a year, Germany has started to build five battleships and three battlecruisers, and it is said that at least one more battleship will be built.

The British will naturally not give in, and in a tit-for-tat manner, they have started to build seven battleships and six battlecruisers.

The number of battleships built by Britain and Germany in one year is twice the number of navies of powers such as Australasian.

This is enough to prove the exaggerated industrial strength of Britain and Germany, but it also proves a status quo in disguise, that is, the financial situation of Britain and Germany will never be good.

You know, the cost of warships is only one of them. After building a warship, it is also necessary to bear the daily maintenance of the warship, the replenishment of weapons and equipment, and the training costs of soldiers, etc.

Australasia itself has only three battleships and two battlecruisers, and the cost is not small, not to mention the dozens of main battleships of Britain and Germany.

From the data for the whole year of 1902, it can be seen that the European powers are now generally in a state of financial loss.

The only two countries with good financial conditions are Britain and France, and they can barely maintain financial balance because of the recovery of a large number of colonies.

Germany, which has no large colonies, has a very bad financial situation.

Of course, the financial situation of Russia, Austria-Hungary and other powers is not very good, and they are all heavily in debt.

Especially Russia, although it has a large land area and population, its economy is relatively not very good.

If it weren't for the long-term loans from France and the continuous transfusion from the British Empire, Russia's financial situation would probably be the first to collapse.

Although the naval arms race is dominated by Britain and Germany, there will be no shortage of other countries in the Allied Powers and the Entente.

As a country with relatively good financial conditions among the European powers, especially when it has obviously fallen behind in the field of dreadnoughts, the French shipbuilding speed is not much slower. In the past ten months of this year, they have frantically started to build four battleships and four battlecruisers.

This is also unavoidable. The French response to dreadnoughts has been very slow.

If they don't work hard again, I'm afraid the French fleet will not be able to beat the Italian navy, let alone control the Mediterranean.

In the era of dreadnoughts, dreadnoughts are the strongest warships. What's more, there is now the birth of super dreadnoughts. If the French don't work hard on dreadnoughts, it is very likely to become an opportunity for the Allied countries to break through the blockade of the Entente.

It is worth mentioning that while France was building dreadnoughts, it also loaned a large sum of money to Italy, one of the allies.

This also allowed Italy to obtain enough funds to expand its army. The Italians also started to build three dreadnoughts and two battlecruisers, showing a trend of getting rid of the last-class powers.

Although the Austro-Hungarian Empire only built one battleship this year, the Austro-Hungarian Empire started to build two dreadnoughts last year and have entered the naval test stage. After all, it will not be long before they can be officially put into service.

Needless to say, Russia has ordered two battleships and two battlecruisers in Australasia a long time ago. Two of them have been officially put into service this year, and two have also entered the naval test stage.

In this way, Arthur was surprised to find that Australasia's naval strength has been surpassed by all the great powers.

Australasia's status as a great power seems to be in jeopardy, and there is a risk of being surpassed by a second-class power like an island country at any time.

It is no exaggeration to say that the naval strength of the world's major powers changes a lot every year, and they are all in a crazy expansion and catching up.

These days, if you don't have a few dreadnoughts, you are embarrassed to be called a naval power. If you don't have more than ten dreadnoughts and super dreadnoughts, you are embarrassed to be called a top power.

The disadvantages of Australasia's delayed naval development are also revealed at this moment. If you don't catch up in the navy, I'm afraid that Australasia's status as a power that has just been recognized for a few years will also be cancelled.

In October 1913, after trucks and airplanes, Australasia officially announced its second naval expansion plan after a cabinet meeting.

According to the provisions of Australasia's naval expansion bill, Australasia's naval expansion will start in early 1914 and last for five years.

During these five years, Australasia will build at least two super dreadnoughts and one battlecruiser every year to keep the size of Australasia's navy at the level of ordinary powers.

If this five-year naval expansion plan can be implemented smoothly, then in five years, that is, in early 1919, Australasia will have ten super dreadnoughts, three dreadnoughts, and seven battlecruisers, which is a true naval power.

Once this naval expansion plan was announced, it immediately caused crazy cheers and expectations from the Australasians.

No one does not want their country to be prosperous and strong. In fact, most Australasians hope to see the government expand the navy again. This is not only a manifestation of the country's strength, but also can better achieve the goal of protecting the country, the nation, and the people.

Although this naval expansion plan will cause Australasia's military expenditure to rise sharply, seeing the First World War approaching, Arthur also understands that if he does not spend a lot of money to prepare before the war, he will have to spend a lot of money to bear losses during and after the war.

Fortunately, Australasia joined the naval arms race relatively late, and there were no competitors, so the burden was not too great.

Even many private banks in Britain and France have expressed their willingness to provide interest-free loans to Australasia to help their allies expand their navies.

Especially after the French lent money to Italy, many French people have angrily asked the government why they lent money to their enemies.

If the French government's consistent tough attitude had not satisfied the people, I am afraid that the French government would fall in a matter of minutes.

It is also because of this incident that many French people asked the French government to focus on its allies. If there is spare money, it should help its allies instead of enemies.

As a member of the Allied Powers and an ally of France, Australasia naturally gained the attention of the French people.

After the announcement of Australasia's naval expansion plan, the French people publicly stated that if the government wants to lend money abroad, it should lend to Australasia and Russia.

In addition to France, Britain and Russia are also very supportive of the expansion of the Australasia Navy.

The enhancement of Australasia's naval strength can greatly alleviate the British Empire's naval pressure in the Indian Ocean.

This will also allow the British Empire to mobilize more troops from the Indian Ocean region to the Atlantic and European coasts to participate in the blockade and operations against the Allies.

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