Chapter 512: Submarine Hunter

Meeting room at the Ritz Hotel in Paris.

Wells, who had rushed back from the Brest shipyard, sat in front of the warm fire and waited quietly for Charles. He stared at the dancing flames and held a glass of wine in his hand, shaking it slightly unconsciously.

During this time Wells had been busy in the shipyards producing landing craft, amphibious landing craft and depth charges.

Since the successful landing of the Charles in the Dardanelles, the shipyard has received a large number of orders from all over the world, including the United Kingdom and the United States.

Among them, the amphibious landing ship that can travel on land and sea has simply become a star equipment.

Wells chuckled incredulously at the fire. Amphibious landing operations have always been a problem in the world, but unexpectedly it was easily solved by a few small things invented by Charles.

This is the creativity and vitality that the shipyard needs. Wells thought, this is Charles' unique advantage. He can always think of these simple, practical and efficient things.

Unfortunately, these inventions did not contribute much to the development of the navy. The French Navy still struggled in the shadow of the British Royal Navy and never had much sense of existence.

Wells took out his pocket watch and looked at it. The appointed time was almost up. What surprise would Charles bring this time?

Then the door opened and it was Charles.

Wells quickly put down his glass and stood up to greet him. When he turned around, he couldn't help but be startled. Charles didn't come alone. He also brought with him a sloppy old man with a beard and glasses.

"Mr. Wells." Charles took the initiative to shake hands and introduced: "This is Professor Fossenden, and the matter discussed today is related to him."

"Hello, Professor Fossenden." Wells shook hands with the old man politely, turned his head and glanced at Charles, his eyes guarded.

"Don't worry, Mr. Wells." Charles motioned for several people to sit down at the small square table and said in a relaxed tone: "Professor Fessenden is the core R&D staff. I told you before that I have my own laboratory and R&D department. ”

Wells said "Oh", he remembered what Charles said before, when giving the torpedo charging formula.

"So, it's a new torpedo charging formula?" Wells's eyes lit up.

"No." Charles shook his head: "It's an 'echo detector'."

"Echo sounder?" Wells looked confused. What is this?

Charles raised his hand towards Fossenden and gave him the right to speak.

Fusenden was a little nervous and spoke intermittently:

"Yes, echo sounder."

"Because it is, it relies on echo to detect objects, and the sound will be bounced back when it comes into contact with the target."

"We are in the valley, and we can clearly feel this if we shout."

"We can then use the strength and duration of the echo to calculate the exact location of the target."

…

Wells looked confused.

What does this have to do with the Navy?

What does it have to do with shipbuilding?

Is he studying how far the whistle sound can travel?

Charles rolled his eyes. Fossenden had a very smart mind, but a clumsy mouth, and his expressions were always not on point.

Helpless, Charles could only take over the topic: "Professor Fossenden invented a device that can detect the position of a submarine."

Fessenden breathed a sigh of relief and nodded heavily: "Yes."

Wells, whose mind was already in a state of desertion, was instantly shocked. He looked at Charles and then at Fossenden with wide eyes: "What? Submarine? Can you, can you detect a submarine? A submarine underwater?"

Then he smiled and shook his head: "No, this is impossible, no one can do this."

Charles nodded seriously: "We did it, just like Professor Fussenden said, using the echo."

Only then did Wells realize that the "nonsense" Fessenden had just said was not nonsense.

"But, sound? Underwater sound?" Wells still couldn't believe it: "How can there be sound underwater?"

Many people believe that sounds cannot be heard underwater, and Wells is no exception.

"Of course there is sound underwater." Fussenden was puzzled by this: "Sound only needs a medium, and it can propagate in air, liquid and solid, as long as it is not a vacuum."

As a scientist, Fossenden could not imagine the scientific ignorance of capitalists, and the other party was even a big boss in the shipbuilding industry.

Wells did not delve into this issue. He looked at Charles in surprise and asked with difficulty: "So, is this true? Does it really exist?"

Charles nodded slightly: "It has been invented and passed the test. What we need to do now is mass production and installation on warships."

Wells's chest heaved violently. He looked at Charles dubiously and asked softly, as if the device would run away if it was louder: "Then, we can find the submarine underwater and use depth charges to destroy it." Blow up, huh?"

Ciel nodded again.

"That's great, Major General, that's great!" Wells suddenly became excited: "You are simply the savior of France, Major General!"

"This will become the pride of the French Navy. It will return the French Navy to a pivotal position and make it the focus of the world again!"

…

Charles could understand Wells's performance. This cross-era invention was like radar. It was beyond ordinary people's imagination and thinking. At first, many people even thought that this technology was some kind of magic.

"I hope General Guy Platt will be in charge of this project." Charles said, "Can it be done?"

General Gueprat was the commander of the French expeditionary force in the Battle of the Dardanelles. At that time, he did his best to help Charles and Tijani.

But the point is not this, but Charles believes that he has proved his loyalty to the country with practical actions.

"No problem." Wells smiled confidently: "We have the technology, and the navy will beg us to share it with them, and of course they don't care who is responsible for the project."

Then Wells hesitated again: "But we don't have combat needs now, Major General. I mean, the British control the ocean..."

"I have already talked to the British." Charles interrupted Wells: "You will work with the British fleet to hunt German submarines."

Wells was stunned and nodded thoughtfully: "Yes, only by participating in it can we avoid being marginalized and maintain our combat effectiveness to show our strength to everyone. This is the first step for the French Navy to become stronger."

Charles secretly praised Wells in his heart. He has a very good strategic vision, at least better than Tijani who thinks about the "art of war" all day long.

Charles ended the discussion with a few words:

"Professor Versenden will go to the shipyard to install the 'echo sounder' with you and be responsible for personnel training."

"In addition, I think this equipment is more suitable for destroyers."

Destroyers have faster speeds and cheaper costs, and are undoubtedly the best choice for hunting submarines.