Chapter 835 Game Between Italy and France

Although the DC-3 transport aircraft is better in terms of data, if Arthur is asked to choose the plane he will take, he would actually prefer the Boeing 3

There is no doubt that the DC-3 transport aircraft is a more efficient and popular transport aircraft than the Boeing 367.

Some of the designs of the Boeing 367, including the toilet, are obviously for the middle and upper classes.

Under the premise of using the same engine power, the Boeing 367 is larger in size and weight, and fuel consumption will increase more costs.

What's more, the Boeing 367 has a limited number of members (3 pilots plus 28 passengers) with some other facilities, which is 3 fewer than the smaller DC-3 transport aircraft.

This means that under the premise of the increase in the flight cost of the Boeing 367, the higher cost will be shared by fewer passengers, and the ticket price faced by each passenger will also be higher.

As airlines in various countries have developed to this day, the price of air tickets is still one of the issues criticized. Take Australasia for example. As the country and region where the aviation industry originated first, the Royal Airways of Australasia is one of the largest airlines in the world, and it can also get low-cost aircraft from Boeing and Douglas Aircraft.

In theory, the ticket price of Royal Airways should be relatively low, after all, the cost is indeed lower than that of other airlines.

But in fact, the official price of a ticket from Sydney to Wellington is 60 Australian dollars, 15 shillings and 7 pence.

At present, the per capita income of Australasia is only about 200 Australian dollars, which means that it takes more than half a year's income to travel between Australasia and New Zealand.

However, the good news is that when the new generation of transport aircraft enters the Royal Airways, the ticket price will also be reduced to a certain extent because it can carry more passengers.

Although the aviation industry is not the main choice for people's transportation in this era, its potential has been discovered by various countries.

If you want to use a ship, it will take at least 4 to 5 days to travel from Australia to New Zealand, and it must be a fast speedboat.

If it is a general small civilian ship, the travel time between the two places may be extended to more than a week, or even close to ten days.

But if you use an airplane, even the currently outdated DC-2 transport aircraft and Boeing 267 aircraft, as long as they carry enough auxiliary fuel tanks, they can reach the destination within 15 hours.

If it is the latest DC-3 transport aircraft and Boeing 367 transport aircraft, the time can be further shortened, and it only takes 8 to 10 hours to travel from Australia to New Zealand.

This is very helpful for the entire Australasia. Because the Australasia Empire is too scattered and has tens of thousands of islands and archipelagos of all sizes, it is more troublesome to manage.

With the development of the aviation industry, the time required to reach these islands is also constantly decreasing. This is actually equivalent to the imperial government's control over these areas is also increasing.

What makes Arthur more excited is that the DC-3 transport aircraft and Boeing 367 transport aircraft have completed the prototype test and have even entered the preparation stage for large-scale production.

This also means that as long as Arthur is willing, the two aircraft companies can enter the assembly line production at any time, and there will be a steady stream of advanced transport aircraft entering the civil and military fields of Australasia.

However, the strategic role of the new generation of transport aircraft is too high, and Arthur does not intend to announce the two transport aircraft too early.

This also means that before the two transport aircraft are made public, Australasia's airlines can only use outdated products.

Even if Douglas and Boeing's transport aircraft are provided to their allies in the future, Arthur will not sell the military version of the DC-3 transport aircraft, that is, the Sop-34 transport aircraft.

Jet engines are brand new technologies for all countries, and they will be concealed as long as they can.

Otherwise, when potential enemies such as Germany, Italy and island countries develop jet engines and jet aircraft too early, Australasia's advantages in aircraft will be offset a lot.

Arthur will not do this kind of behavior of shooting himself in the foot, which is also the reason why Australasia's jet engine technology has been concealed very well.

March 17, 1935, over Madrid, the capital of the Spanish Republic.

The weather was still clear, and it was a good day for the air force to go out.

Enrique drove a brand new Fiat CR.32 Arrow fighter with a comfortable look on his face, cruising leisurely over Madrid.

Since the last battle with the Air Force of the Spanish Republic, the Italian Air Force has no opponents over Spain.

Spain has only more than 60 aircraft in total, and most of them have been lost in that air battle, and the remaining ones are basically not combat-capable.

This also led to a terrible consequence, that is, the Italian Air Force was unimpeded in the Spanish airspace, as if traveling over the territory of its own country.

However, Enrique's comfort did not last long.

There was a strange sound in the sky soon, and Enrique also found the dark dot in the blue sky.

"Damn, what is that?" Enrique was a little confused, and quickly picked up the telescope to carefully observe the small dot in the distance.

"Damn, it's an enemy plane, enemy attack!" Enrique hadn't seen what the black dot in the distance was, and his comrade-in-arms Tolanque exclaimed from the co-pilot seat behind him.

"Damn, do Spanish planes dare to provoke us?" Enrique was a little surprised. He didn't think that those old-fashioned Spanish planes could threaten Italy's advanced fighters.

"Enrique, that's not a Spanish plane!" Tolanque behind him exclaimed again, bringing a news that made Enrique pale: "The tail of that plane is the damn French flag!"

"French plane? Are the French going to participate in the civil war in Spain?" Enrique's heart was full of doubts, but he didn't dare to be careless in this upcoming air battle.

Spanish planes are backward products, but French planes are not.

As early as when Italy and Germany signed the treaty, both Germany and Italy conducted detailed research on French planes.

The French currently have two types of fighters that are most equipped. One is the modernized single-wing fighter C1 proposed by the French Air Force, and the other is the lower single-wing fighter D.500 developed by Dewatina for the French.

No matter which fighter it is, it is not a good thing for Enrique. Because these two fighters were manufactured in the past two years, they are considered to be the most advanced fighter series of the French.

"Have you figured out what kind of aircraft it is?" Enrique was a little anxious and asked loudly to Tolanque behind him.

"Damn, I can only see a fuzzy frame, which is completely uncertain which aircraft it is." Tolanque tried his best to observe the appearance of the aircraft, but because of the distance, he could only see a fuzzy frame.

"Contact the combat department, Enrique. If those damn French dispatch more than one aircraft, we will not be their opponents at all." Tolanque suggested.

"What the hell, aren't these French planning to not participate in this war?" Enrique was a little frustrated, as if he was talking to himself, or as if he was asking Tolanque: "They are coming towards us, are they really going to fight us?"

As Enrique expected, the French plane had already started to attack Enrique when it was about to enter the range.

This also means that the air battle between the planes of the two countries started instantly. No matter what they thought, they only had one task left, which was to win this damn air battle and then return.

The news that the French plane appeared in Spanish airspace was quickly reported to the Italian combat department, and then to the Italian government.

Mussolini naturally received this news. Like the soldiers on the front line, Mussolini also couldn't believe that the French dared to interfere in the Spanish Civil War openly.

Obviously, they had retreated at the beginning, so what made the French choose to join this war again?

"Contact the German government. We need to be on guard against every move of the French." At the meeting of the Italian government, Mussolini instructed his men: "Let the army prepare for war. The French are definitely not groundless. We must prepare in advance."

Because he knew that French public opinion was anti-war, Mussolini planned to use French public opinion to put pressure on the French government.

The best way is to release the news that French planes appeared in Spanish airspace. This not only means that France will directly confront Germany and Italy, but also means that France is likely to start a war with Germany and Italy.

This is naturally absolutely unacceptable to those anti-war French people. This is also Mussolini's purpose, which is to disintegrate the actions of the French government through the public opinion of the French people.

Facts have proved that this trick is indeed very effective.

The First World War 20 years ago is still an unforgettable painful memory for the French people, and it still affects their views on the world situation today.

After hearing that the government's actions might lead to a full-scale war with Germany and Italy, the French people expressed dissatisfaction with the French government's actions and demanded a reasonable explanation from the French government.

Of course, the French government has already responded.

Facing the pressure of domestic public opinion and diplomatic pressure from Germany and Italy, the French government stated that the French aircraft with the French flag had actually been sold to the Spanish Republican government a few months ago.

Because it was a fighter jet that France had already eliminated, and because of the hasty transfer, the French flag on the fighter jet was not erased, but the person operating the fighter jet had become a Spanish soldier.

The French government's statement can be summarized in a short sentence, that is, the aircraft has been sold to the Spanish government, and everything has nothing to do with the French government.

Is this really the case? Not necessarily.

But without sufficient evidence, and the fact that the French government has begun to appease the people at home and calm the pressure of domestic public opinion, Germany and Italy can only give up pressuring the French government through public opinion.

As for threatening France with war, that is only the last option, and the German and Italian governments will not do so in the short term.

In the plan of the German and Italian governments, they would not find a way to attack the French until they won the Spanish Civil War and gained Spain, an ally with good strength.

At that time, Germany, Italy and Spain would be dispatched, and the French would have to face the pressure of the troops from the three parties, which would make the French army exhausted.

As long as the French mainland can be conquered, the vast colonies of France will become a no-man's land.

In this way, a huge colonial empire will collapse without attack, and Germany will become the most powerful country on the European continent and a veritable European hegemon.

Although the pressure of public opinion did not make the French government compromise, the French government was forced to disclose the number of fighters sold to the Spanish Republic, a full 120.

The number of fighters sold by the French to Spain even exceeded the original size of the Spanish Air Force, which also proved that the Spanish Republic had fallen into a complete disadvantage in this civil war and was eager to find other allies to seek opportunities to break the deadlock.

However, this also means one thing, that is, the number of available pilots in Spain is likely to be insufficient.

It is not that you can fly just by having a plane, you also need to have the ability and a good enough pilot to fly this plane.

This is why the planes sold by France to the Spanish Republic are all single-seat planes, otherwise, Spain will face a greater shortage of pilots.

In order to cope with the pressure of these 120 fighters, Italy urgently mobilized hundreds of fighters to Spain.

At the same time, the air combat situation on the front line also revealed the model of fighters sold by France to Spain, which is the first modern lower monoplane fighter designed by De Vatine in France, that is, the D.500 fighter designed and realized in 1933.

Coincidentally, the mainstream fighter used by the Italian Air Force, the Fiat CR.32 Arrow fighter, is also a new generation of fighters developed since 1933.

The CR series fighter is a fighter series developed by the famous Italian engineer Celestino Rosatelli, and was first born more than ten years ago.

Up to now, the CR series fighters have CR.1 fighter, CR.5 fighter, CR.20 fighter, CR.20ldro seaplane fighter, CR.20B two-seat trainer, CR.20bis fighter, CR.20Asso fighter, CR.30 fighter and the latest CR.32 fighter.

Developing so many generations of fighters in more than ten years is enough to prove how legendary the aircraft development career of the famous engineer Celestino Rosatelli is.

As the latest fighter that started mass production last year and was officially equipped to the army this year, the Fiat CR.32 Arrow fighter is not only the hard work of Celestino Rosatelli in recent years, but also the most advanced model of Italian fighter.

Being able to use hundreds of Fiat CR.32 Arrow fighters to fight against the French 120 D.500 fighters has already shown that Italy attaches great importance to France in terms of aircraft.

This is indeed the case. In the research and development of aircraft, France can be said to be more advanced among European countries.

Perhaps only Britain can surpass France. Other countries, such as Germany and Austria, which have strong scientific research capabilities, are currently lagging behind in the development of military aircraft due to various restrictions.

Of course, Australasia is an exception. As the first country to promote the global voyage of aircraft, no country is clear about the level of development of Australasia's military aircraft.

However, considering Australasia's excellent transport aircraft, DC-2 and Boeing 267, I believe that their military aircraft design will never lag behind.

This is also the view of most European countries, including Germany, Italy, France and Austria, on Australasia's aircraft design.

Even if they can't beat the British, their aircraft manufacturing level should be at the same level as the French, most Europeans think so.

The battle between French and Italian aircraft over Spain made another European continental power, the German Empire, jealous.

If we only look at the country's comprehensive strength, Germany has recovered more than half, and its comprehensive national strength is to surpass Italy.

But in terms of the development of heavy weapons, Germany is obviously not as good as Italy, which is also Germany's biggest problem at present.

In order to solve this biggest problem, the German government quickly promulgated the "Military Industry Reform Regulations" with the intention of vigorously developing heavy weapons.

The so-called reform regulations are actually to use all means to encourage the development of the military industry, especially the heavy weapons military industry.

Compared with the previous military expansion, the German government is no longer hiding this time. It is equivalent to publicly calling on France to vigorously develop the heavy weapons industry.

What can the French do about this? The people of Paris have just erupted in anti-war demonstrations. If they impose certain restrictions on the Germans at this time, wouldn't they be sending themselves to the guns of these anti-war factions?

Anyway, for the current French government, the reputation is their own, but the government is not. Getting by can keep their current status and gain the support of the people. This is the most important thing.

As for considering the country and guarding against Germany, the biggest worry, oh, that is not a problem that the French government should think about.

With the idea of ​​leaving the problem to the next French government, the French government completely relaxed and did not even respond to Germany's almost open provocation.

The German government was also happy with this. They could easily develop heavy weapons and equipment without worrying about the French reaction.

As for the British, the British are the least likely to take action.

France has not taken any action. Can we expect the British to stand up against Germany?

Looking at the history of Britain, for a country that advocates a regional balance policy, there is nothing worse than taking action yourself.

5,000-word chapter, please vote for me, please support!