Chapter 637 Maritime Reconnaissance Aircraft

Just like the French Navy has always regarded the British Royal Navy as its imaginary enemy, the British Royal Navy has always regarded the French Navy as its opponent.

Therefore, General Winter was well aware of the relationship between the French Navy Minister and the Brest fleet.

In principle, the French Navy is commanded by the Minister of the Navy.

However, the special terrain of France divides the navy into the Brest Fleet targeting the Atlantic Ocean in the north and the Toulon Fleet targeting the Mediterranean Sea in the south.

When the Minister of the Navy first took office, the problem was not big, but in the past two years, the Minister of the Navy has increasingly felt that the French Navy has basically no hope of catching up with the British Royal Navy. He believes that rather than wasting funds and materials on the Brest Fleet, it is better to concentrate on business. Toulon fleet.

The Secretary of the Navy once told everyone in Parliament:

"It was obvious that no matter how hard we tried at the Brest shipyard, it would be hard to achieve anything because the mighty Royal Navy was just across the way."

"But if we put money and resources into the Toulon shipyard, we could easily control the entire Mediterranean."

"It's hard for even the Royal Fleet to get involved, so why not?"

What the Minister of the Navy means is that the French Navy can block the Strait of Gibraltar if necessary, and even the British Royal Navy cannot pass it. This can make the French fleet the strongest in the local waters of the Mediterranean.

(The picture above shows the Strait of Gibraltar, the narrowest point is only 13 kilometers)

For this reason, the Minister of the Navy began to shift funds and resources to the Toulon shipyard, and even planned to cancel the Brest naval port and move all of it to Toulon.

This was resented and resisted by the Brest naval port and shipyard, so the French navy split into the Brest faction and the Toulon faction.

Now, the actual command of the Brest faction is the commander-in-chief Lieutenant General Guy Pratt and the shipyard owner Wells.

And Charles was the man who revived the declining Brest Shipyard.

It was he who made the Brest shipyard, which had almost disappeared from the public eye, once again become the focus of the world, and even became a major force that could control materials and determine the outcome of the war.

"You know why, Charles." General Winter picked up the coffee, leaned back in his chair, and crossed his legs.

He used "char" instead of "general".

General Winter took a sip of coffee and continued: "What we want is not just cooperation, but a plan. A plan that can block the Germans in the North Sea and prevent them from attacking our military transportation lines."

Charles replied expressionlessly: "You have done a great job. The Germans were indeed sealed in the harbor and unable to move."

"That's because we can decipher their code." General Winter frowned: "We all know that the situation will change in the future."

This is another "offense is greater than defense", the navy's "offense is greater than defense".

The British Royal Navy is the defender, which will inevitably require more troops.

But even though the strength of the Royal Navy is nearly twice that of the German Navy, it is still full of flaws.

"It will change." Charles acted calmly: "The addition of the French Navy can make up for the shortcomings of the Third Fleet. We have nothing to worry about."

General Winter shook his head and sighed softly: "Yesterday, the German fleet attacked part of our Third Fleet. At that time, we even had more warships than the Germans, but we still suffered 3 injuries and 2 were sunk. The cost was to only damage two of the opponent’s ships.”

Then he added: "You know why."

Ciel did know why.

It is difficult for the Third Fleet to deploy its forces in the narrow English Channel. More importantly, mines are deployed in many places in the strait. Although this can prevent the German navy from passing through, it will further hinder the mobility of the Third Fleet.

However, the German navy launched its attack from outside the strait and easily formed a perfect "T" formation against the British fleet.

(Note: In naval battles, it is important to use speed to form a "T" position against the enemy. Your own ship is a horizontal line in the "T", and the enemy's ship is a vertical line in the "T". In this way, each of your own ships is in a "T" position. None of the warships will be blocked and can fire at the same time, while only a few enemy warships can fire)

"This cannot be compensated by the number of warships." General Winter said: "Even if the French Navy joins, it will be cruising in the North Sea as the Fourth Fleet, not crowded in the strait."

Ciel laughed: "But it's still not enough, is it?"

General Winter nodded helplessly.

The North Sea is 965 kilometers long and 643 kilometers wide. The German navy may attack any point. How can adding a French fleet be enough?

The only solution to this problem was to be able to decipher the German code.

But now it's gone forever.

"The German Navy has taken the initiative, Charles." General Winter said with frustration: "They used submarines to obtain intelligence to understand our weaknesses, and then concentrated their fleets to attack this weakness. We have no power to fight back."

"Maybe we have another way." Ciel replied calmly.

There is no mistake in every song, one post, one content, one 6 one, one book, one book, take a look!

"What?" General Winter looked up at Charles. Isn't this guy trying to transfer France's Toulon fleet?

But Ciel's answer was beyond his expectation.

"Intelligence, General." Charles replied: "Know the movements of the enemy fleet. Only in this way can we regain the initiative."

"But." General Winter looked puzzled: "The Germans have changed the code, and we can no longer obtain accurate information in a timely manner..."

"There are many ways to get intelligence." Charles interrupted General Winter.

"You mean..."

"A few months ago, you bought the Caproni bomber from me." Charles looked up at General Winter: "Its role is not just bombing."

General Winter was stunned, and then his eyes lit up: "You mean, use the Caproni bomber to perform reconnaissance missions?"

Charles nodded: "The total range is 600 kilometers. If you don't carry bombs and carry two auxiliary fuel tanks, the range may reach 1,000 kilometers, which can take off from the UK to the Heligoland Bay in Germany and return."

Then Charles added: "In addition, its speed is faster than the German seaplane, and it is comparable to the German first The fighter planes we have advanced are not much different. It can be said to be the safest reconnaissance plane. I don't understand why you don't use it? "

(Note: At this time, the Fokker E2 used by the German army has a maximum speed of 140 kilometers per hour. The British version of the Caproni engine has not been upgraded and is still 137 kilometers.)

General Winter's frown was completely relaxed. After thinking for a while, he stood up and exclaimed:

"You are right, Charles, it's a good idea!"

"It's unbelievable that we didn't know how to do this."

"God, we have always regarded it as an army equipment and never considered using it at sea. We always use seaplanes according to habit!"