Chapter 388 "Camel" Is the Best Choice

The Lord of the Admiralty, like everyone else, spent the night in fear in the center of darkness.

Only then did the British discover that they had nothing against the Zeppelin, the airship in the dark.

During this period, two planes reluctantly took off and tried to attack the airship, but the Zeppelin was hiding in the dark clouds and the planes were unable to launch an effective attack on it. Several rockets fired failed to hit the target.

(During World War I, many aircraft could not reach the height of airships. Although new aircraft could reach it, visibility at night was low and the aircraft speed was fast. Even if you knew where the Zeppelin was, it was difficult to ensure that it would not hit it.)

Everyone could only watch as the airship dropped bombs one after another, blowing up everything below and then flying away.

(The picture above shows the streets of London after being bombed by Zeppelin airships in 1915. There were few casualties, but it caused a lot of panic)

Early the next morning, when the sky became brighter, the frightened people slowly walked out of their houses and talked about the ruins that were blown up last night:

"God, there's nothing our military can do about it."

"Yeah, there's nothing they can do."

"If that's the case, does it mean that as long as the Germans have enough airships, they can blow us all up? What could be worse than this?"

…

During war, people always amplify their fear and feel that they are going to lose the war. This kind of panic will even spread like a plague, although last night's bombing only caused 35 deaths and 121 injuries.

The Lord Admiralty fumed at Major Keir in his office:

"You know nothing about airships and didn't know what they were when the enemy dropped bombs on us!"

"Today there is just one airship, but tomorrow there may be two, three, or even more!"

"If this continues, should we surrender to the Germans?"

Of course, Kyle knew that these were the angry words of the Minister of the Navy. He stepped forward fearfully, pointed at the map and said: "Sir, this situation occurs mainly because the Germans chose to attack in the dark..."

"That's an airship." The Lord Admiralty interrupted Kyle: "They are as slow as a snail. I want to know, how did they get across the English Channel to London?"

Kyle explained: "They can reach a speed of 80 kilometers per hour. Sir, they are not snails. Our aircraft can only travel 100 kilometers."

The Lord Admiralty was stunned. He had never known that an airship could reach such speed.

Kyle went on to analyze: "We can't stop them from flying over London. Because we don't know when they will attack, and we don't know their flight route. Unless we send hundreds of aircraft to take turns patrolling over the English Channel."

"So, we can only wait to be bombed?" The fat on the Navy Minister's face was twisted with anger.

"We can catch up with it." Kyle said with helplessness: "But our fighter planes are not fast enough. Even the new fighter Havilland DH2 cannot catch up after dawn."

The Navy Minister turned to look at Kyle and said in a low voice: "You mean, as long as our plane is fast enough, it is possible to catch up with these guys and shoot them down?"

"Yes." Kyle nodded: "This is easier than preventing them from entering London, because we know the direction in which they escape and their speed. The only problem is that we do not have such fast fighters."

The Admiralty immediately thought of Charles's aircraft, which could reach a speed of 180 kilometers per hour.

After hesitating for a while, the Minister of the Navy gritted his teeth helplessly and ordered: "Send a telegram to General Winter!"

…

Headquarters of the 105th Regiment in Paris.

Charles woke up early in the morning to receive intelligence that London had been bombed by Zeppelins.

The intelligence arrived last night. The staff considered that although it was important but not urgent, they did not wake up Charles. After all, this was a British matter.

Tijani got up earlier than Ciel and saw the news a few minutes earlier.

Seeing Charles come in, Tijani shook the telegram at Charles with a look of disbelief on his face: "The Germans are still using this thing? I thought it disappeared on the battlefield after you used the rockets. "

"What?" Charles took a look at the telegram and understood what Tijani meant.

"The Germans choose to fight at night, General," said Charles, "and in London."

At this time, the aircraft had almost no night fighting capabilities, and the British defense line was also on the western front like France, leaving the mainland almost defenseless.

"That's right, Brigadier." Tijani sat back in his chair thoughtfully: "I take it for granted, it can still play a role, although it can only be regarded as residual heat."

Then Tijani added: "The Germans are very smart. They use submarine warfare to blockade Britain, and then use airships to bomb the mainland. This may make the UK, which is already short of supplies, even worse."

Charles smiled and said nothing.

The German army was heading in the right direction. The internal and external attacks starved the British mainland of supplies, and ultimately achieved the goal of forcing it to surrender. Coincidentally, she did the same thing in World War II.

However, it was not tactically feasible.

Airships are expensive to build and slow. They cause very limited damage to enemies but are easily destroyed. They are almost non-cost-effective.

At this time, General Winter appeared at the entrance of the command department. At this time, he no longer cared about avoiding other "miscellaneous people". He walked directly to Charles and asked: "I want to know the flight data of the 'Camel', Brigadier General, I hope this I won’t make it difficult for you.”

"Of course." Charles replied: "The maximum speed is 187 kilometers per hour. If necessary, you can send a pilot to test it."

General Winter was relieved instantly. He believed that this was true. This was about the same speed as that measured by MI6.

"Is there a problem?" Charles looked at General Winter in confusion.

"No, no problem." General Winter replied: "I just want to know if it can catch up with the German airship."

Charles suddenly realized.

The British planned to use the "Camel" to stop the German bombing of London. To be precise, it was not "stopping" but to shoot down the airship on the way back.

This is not a good idea, Charles thought. The best way should be anti-aircraft guns, anti-aircraft guns that can fire incendiary bombs.

But Charles said nothing. He answered seriously: "Don't think about it, General. 'Camel' is the best choice. It will be a nightmare for airships."

"I hope so." General Winter took out a notebook from his pocket, opened it, found a page, tore it off and handed it to Charles: "We need 30 aircraft to form a flight squadron, equipped with ground crew and technicians, and spare engines and parts."

Charles pretended to hesitate and thought for a while before answering: "That's because of you, General. Otherwise I wouldn't give so much."

General Winter nodded gratefully: "I know, Brigadier General, thank you! Thank you very much!"