Chapter 387 Bombing London

The "Camel" fighter was indeed backward equipment for Charles. At this time, his aircraft engine had reached 180 horsepower, while the engine installed on the "Camel" was only 150 horsepower.

In this regard, it should be said that the Germans were ahead. Her engine also had 180 horsepower, and it reached this horsepower long before Charles.

The only difference was that the Germans installed the most advanced engine on the Zeppelin airship to increase its speed and push it back to the battlefield.

(Note: The Germans stubbornly believed that the airship could bring victory to Germany. Although rockets and machine gun incendiary bombs had appeared to blow it up, the German airships still persisted until 1918. The last airship that was blown up was equipped with a 200 horsepower engine)

…

The night fell in London, England, and the hazy lights swayed on the surface of the Thames. The cool evening breeze gently brushed over the treetops, making the air mixed with a hint of imperceptible moisture.

The Navy Minister walked into the study in pajamas. He couldn't wait to pour a glass of whiskey and drank it all before turning on the light. Then he poured another glass and held it in his hand. He lit a cigar with ease, then turned on the light and sat in the rocking chair in front of the window, staring at the night view outside the window.

The cigar burned slowly between the Navy Minister's fingers. The lingering smoke seemed to materialize his anxiety, gathering more and more in the air and finally filling the entire study.

The Navy Minister was hesitant about the deal for the "Camel" fighter.

It's not that this deal is not worthwhile. It is imperative to exchange 5 artillery production lines for the safety of British airspace.

However, the Navy Minister's character is to have both, and more.

What he thought in his mind was that the British Army would not be able to equip new artillery in the next six months or even longer.

The point is...

The development of this 6-inch 26-cwt howitzer is not only aimed at the German 105MM howitzer, but also at the French army.

The French army also has 105MM howitzers, various types of tanks, and Charles's infantry regiments, all of which will be wiped out in front of the new artillery.

Now the artillery production line is to be sold to France, which means that the British Army will have no advantages and no secrets.

Therefore, when the Minister of the Navy received the telegram from General Winter, he was furious:

"This is simply blackmail! It's just an airplane, but he wants 5 artillery production lines."

"Does he know what 5 artillery production lines mean? We can win the war with it!"

"What's more, we are allies. Isn't it normal for allies to share technology?"

After thinking for a while, the Minister of the Navy did not reply to Charles, but sent a telegram to Clemenceau, a member of the French Army Committee, in which he bitterly accused Charles of various crimes:

"Five production lines, this is not a deal, this is to completely destroy Britain's new artillery, which is obviously not good for the war."

"It's not that we don't have aircraft technology, we just hope to share what we have, only in this way can both sides' fighters develop better and faster to defeat the enemy."

"This is good for both of us, but Charles stands in the middle and becomes an uncertain factor."

...

The Minister of the Navy hopes to put pressure on Charles through the government to cancel or reduce the "price".

However, Clemenceau was not a fool. He answered straightforwardly:

"I'm very sorry, sir. This is Charles' private property. He has complete 'industrial property rights' and we have no right to interfere."

"At the same time, we don't think there is anything wrong with Charles doing this."

"His request for your country's production line is also based on technical exchange considerations, which is also beneficial to both of us."

The Minister of the Navy was speechless. He was always staring at other people's obligations but ignoring his own responsibilities. It was not until he was "attacked with his own spear" that he suddenly realized that he had the same problem.

...

The Minister of the Navy gently rocked the rocking chair and fell into deep thought in its "creaking" sound.

Do we really have to use 5 artillery production lines to exchange?

Or, urgently modify these 5 artillery production lines and temporarily develop a "foreign trade version"?

But this doesn't seem to be appropriate. Charles is not a fool. If the artillery is a "foreign trade version", the aircraft he gives will also be a "foreign trade version".

As a result of this, Britain will suffer, because air supremacy is still in the hands of France.

Just as the Minister of the Navy was hesitating, there was a muffled sound in the distance, and a ball of fire rose in the darkness, and soon turned into a cloud of smoke that seemed to be there and not there.

The Minister of the Navy was so shocked that he sat up straight in an instant. He thought it was an accident somewhere, such as an explosion in a flour mill or a military factory.

But he soon found that this was not the case. The explosions were getting closer and closer, one after another in the same direction.

"What's going on?" The Minister of the Navy stood up and opened the window, looking over the houses to the place where the fire came from.

It looked like an enemy bombardment, but London was far away from the front line and it was impossible for artillery to hit here.

Just as the Minister of the Navy was puzzled, the piercing and long air defense alarm sounded, and the lights in the residential areas that were originally dark were lit one by one. People leaned out of the window one after another to look at the sky to see what happened, and some people even climbed onto the roof.

However, nothing could be seen in the dark sky, only explosions sounded one after another in the city of London.

The searchlight pole was turned on, and strong beams of light pointed into the sky like sharp swords, but still nothing was discovered.

(Note: In 1915, the British did not think that the Germans had any equipment that could carry out an air raid on London, so they had no air defense preparations. Searchlights were mostly used by infantry, with an illumination distance of about 1,000 meters, while airships were at an altitude of more than 3,000 meters)

Churchill ran back to his desk, frantically rummaged through the drawer to find a telescope, then quickly ran back to the window to look into the sky, his fingers trembling with nervousness.

The moon just broke through the clouds at this moment, illuminating a huge monster between the clouds.

The Minister of the Navy was horrified when he saw this guy. It was like the strange thing described in Wells or Jules Verne's science fiction novels. The silver hull was vaguely visible in the moonlight, and it seemed to be dropping something.

Then there were explosions from below.

"Your Excellency!" The door of the study was pushed open, and the guards who came late nervously guarded the Minister of the Navy.

"What is that?" the Minister of the Navy asked, with fear in his voice.

"It's an airship, sir." The guard replied: "The German Zeppelin."

The Navy Minister said "hmm" and glared at the guard:

"How did they get here?"

"Don't we have planes and rockets?"

"Why didn't we destroy it on the way, but let it fly over London and drop bombs on our heads?"

The guard chose to remain silent. This was not the question they wanted to answer. The angry Navy Minister obviously asked the wrong person.