Chapter 224 Torpedo Bomber

Carter's flying club had nothing to stress about, and Shire issued orders to put them on alert and convert all pilots to fighter pilot training.

Gallieni recruited a large number of pilots from the society, and at the same time started to open a special flying military school to recruit young people who wanted to join the air force.

Only in this way can pilots for subsequent operations be guaranteed.

…

Charles immediately went to the aircraft factory to find Eric.

Eric invited Charles to sit down in the lounge of the aircraft factory and made a cup of hot coffee for Charles and himself.

After listening to Ciel's description, Eric couldn't help but exclaimed: "God, we should develop a single-seat aircraft in the shortest possible time!"

The "Avro" has good performance, but it is a two-seat aircraft, and the extra seat is completely unnecessary for a fighter jet.

But Charles didn't think it was urgent.

"The Germans also don't have dedicated single-seat fighter jets." Charles replied: "Although this needs to be done, it can still be slowed down."

"Take a moment?" Eric asked Charles doubtfully, "But apart from this, we don't seem to have anything else to do."

Charles smiled and said nothing, then asked: "How is the development of the engine going?"

Eric nodded hurriedly: "They are great, Colonel! You are right, you signed a group of crazy people, especially that Dorn..."

"The one who speaks French?" asked Charles.

Charles remembered this Donne as one of the few who wanted to bring his family to Paris for a long-term future.

Charles asked him why as a joke, and he replied: "I think differently from other people. I think Paris will not be in danger. The Germans have lost the chance to capture Paris. There is nothing to worry about."

Ciel didn't know whether to praise him or not.

From the perspective of World War I, he was quite far-sighted. The Germans indeed could not occupy Paris. But World War II...

"Yes, that's him!" Eric held the coffee cup in his hands to keep warm: "He was elected as the leader by the R&D staff..."

"Shouldn't it be the director of the R&D department?" Charles asked doubtfully.

"They like to call me that." Eric replied with a smile: "They are very casual. If they have any questions, they just call me 'head' and 'head'. They call me 'old man'."

"What about me?" Charles was a little curious.

"They call you 'the boss', and more people call you 'the Corsican boy.'" Eric laughed when he said this.

Charles was stunned. He didn't understand what "Corsican boy" meant. The next second I thought, this is a slightly insulting nickname given to Napoleon by the British.

"It's a good nickname." Ciel smiled softly. This may be British humor.

"They have only been here a few weeks, and they have already increased the engine's horsepower to more than 100." Eric sighed: "This is a great improvement, and it is still improving."

Charles nodded and expressed satisfaction. A 100-horsepower engine would be able to meet the current needs.

Charles didn't say anything more. He took the briefcase and took out a drawing and handed it to Eric: "Next step, we should produce this kind of aircraft."

Eric took the drawing and looked at Charles in surprise: "This... this is a big guy, Colonel."

Ciel said "Hmm".

Eric continued to turn over, and then looked up at Ciel: "It has three engines?"

"Yes!" Charles answered while holding a cup of coffee: "One on each side, and another one at the back. The only difference is that the one at the back is pushed."

After taking a sip, Charles asked, "Are you having any difficulties?"

"No, of course there is no difficulty." Eric held up the drawing and replied, "The R&D department can provide the engine and you can provide the drawing. All we have to do is produce it according to the drawing. This is what we are good at."

"It's just..." Eric frowned.

"Just what?" Charles asked.

"This may be something beyond my responsibilities, Colonel." Eric was a little worried: "But if you need an aircraft to fly into the air for combat, it shouldn't be so big. You should also consider its maneuverability, like this A big thing...it probably won't be able to turn in time and therefore won't be able to dodge enemy bullets..."

"I know." Charles interrupted Eric: "So it's not used for combat, it's used for bombing!"

Charles leaned forward and pointed to a location in the drawing: "This is the rack for the bomb."

Eric said "Oh": "Understood, Colonel! Throw bombs on the enemy's heads, what a good idea!"

Then Eric didn't ask anything, because this involved military secrets, and Eric knew what to ask and what not to ask.

In fact, there is nothing to hide military secrets from Eric, and the drawings are the most important military secrets. Charles didn't say much because Eric might not understand some military things.

The drawings Charles gave Eric were of the famous Caproni Ca.3 bomber from World War I, produced in Italy.

The reason why Charles chose this bomber is that it can directly increase the number of engines: in the early days of World War I, the horsepower of aircraft engines was generally around 80 to 100. This horsepower made it difficult for bombers to carry heavy bombs.

But the Caproni bomber is different. It adds an extra engine directly behind the fuselage, allowing it to carry 800 kilograms of bombs.

Later, when the engine was upgraded to 150 horsepower, there was no problem in directly replacing it with a high-horsepower engine.

More importantly, the Caproni bomber can carry torpedoes... This bomber was transformed by the Navy into a torpedo attack aircraft at the end of World War I and successfully mounted torpedoes to equip a torpedo bomber squadron.

It's a pity that it failed to work and ended in one battle, so there is no record.

This bomber suited the Shire's needs. The only problem is that Ciel only remembers the general shape and layout and cannot give detailed data.

But these can be solved with test flights.

Charles confessed: "This is just a preliminary design, you still need to find someone to further improve it."

"I understand, Colonel!" Eric flipped through the drawings without raising his head and replied confidently: "Leave it to me!"

Eric is very knowledgeable about aircraft. He is an expert in aircraft manufacturing. He can see that this drawing has determined all the general directions, and only some details need to be changed and improved.

…

After leaving the aircraft factory and sitting in the car returning to the headquarters, Charles was thinking that the next thing to do was to let Steed make the aerial bomb.

This thing is not difficult for Steed, just an enlarged version of the mortar shell.

Then, before the Germans are ready, bomb their airport first!

There are concentrated German flying elites there, as well as a large number of fighter jets that have just been equipped with machine guns. Dropping a batch of bombs will make all their efforts during this time in vain!

(The picture above shows the Caproni bomber. You can see the propeller behind the fuselage. Directly above it is the rear gunner. There is also a gunner on the nose, plus two pilots, a total of four crew members.)

(The picture above shows the naval version of the Caproni bomber during World War I, which could carry an 800kg torpedo)