Rise of Australia

Chapter 896 Pigeon Helicopter

At 8:7 noon on August 12, all French government officials and members of Congress in Paris were controlled by the army.

Just over ten minutes later, under the watchful eyes of many Parisian citizens and troops, the famous General Weygand entered the French government, and walked out about more than an hour later, heading to the French Parliament.

At 2:30 noon, a press and diplomatic meeting was held in the French Parliament. Current Undersecretary of Defense Ron, Armored Corps Commander Major General Charles de Gaulle and Army General Wei Gang all attended the meeting.

At the beginning of the meeting, Wei Gang made a shocking announcement that because of the treason of the current French government, he would abolish the current French government and establish a provisional military government.

Weygand said that the act of attempting to surrender to Germany was a serious betrayal of France, and that all members and officials who agreed to surrender to Germany would be sanctioned by Congress.

In addition to establishing a provisional military government, Wei Gang also stated that the French Congress would be banned until France won the war.

At the end of the meeting, Wei Gang also announced the appointments to the French Provisional Government.

Wei Gang himself served as president of the French provisional military government and concurrently as commander-in-chief of France. Ron, the former Undersecretary of Defense, became the Minister of Defense and Commander-in-Chief of the Army in the interim military government.

De Gaulle was promoted to Chief of General Staff, Minister of War and Commander-in-Chief of the Paris Garrison.

Obviously, these are the three giants of the French Provisional Military Government.

Because France itself is a highly partial country, the status of the French Army far exceeds that of the Navy and Air Force.

Especially after the current large-scale expansion of the army, the influence of the army has even far exceeded that of the navy and air force combined.

Weygand's own statement caused an uproar, and it also represented that France, one of the most powerful countries in Europe, had experienced considerable turmoil in a short period of time.

But what the media from various countries did not expect was that at this press and diplomatic conference, the British and Australasian media expressed support for Weygand's statement, and even publicly stated that France was returning to the right path.

What surprised the media from various countries even more was that two hours after France’s diplomatic press conference, the United Kingdom and Australasia expressed their recognition of France’s provisional military government and stated that the relationship between France and Britain and Australia would never be the same. Change.

Smart people have already figured out that Britain and Australasia are definitely behind this military coup in France.

After all, only if France is at the forefront of resisting Germany can Britain and Australasia become safer and reduce a considerable amount of losses.

But it doesn't matter whether these people can see it or not. After the troops led by de Gaulle fully occupied the French government and Congress, and after the British and Australian governments quickly expressed their stance, the situation in France as a whole has stabilized.

After taking control of a series of major figures of the Peace Party such as President Albert, Pétain, Gamelin, and Laval, the remaining Peace Party could no longer make any trouble.

What's more, the French interim military government has been recognized by Britain and Australia, which is equivalent to being recognized by most countries and regions around the world.

The opposition of the German and Italian islands was of little use, because they were already at war with France.

Wei Gang, who became the president of the French provisional military government, immediately announced the abolition of the undefended plan for Paris on the afternoon of the day he took office, and redeployed troops to the north of Paris to build a stronger defense line.

At the same time, an order from the Ministry of Defense was issued to the Maginot Line, requiring the Maginot Line to gather 20 troops and immediately move its troops westward to prepare to support Paris.

In the "Message to All French" published by the French Provisional Military Government to all Paris and France, we can also see the attitude of the current Provisional Military Government and Weygand himself, which is to resolutely carry out the Paris Defense War and defend Paris to the death.

With the changes in the French government, the army was also mobilized again.

The most embarrassing people at this time should be the French diplomats who are in contact with the German army. They were still trying to make contact with the German military, but their domestic government had gone through huge changes.

At this time, the mood was not good. Apart from President Albert and other imprisoned people, perhaps there were only the German and Italian governments.

They were only one step away from taking Paris without a fight, but were beaten to the punch by Britain and Australasia.

Compared with the previous French government, the French Provisional Military Government is obviously more difficult to deal with. Their attitude towards war will be more determined, which is not a good thing for the Germans.

Although this troublesome problem for the French government has been completely solved, the poor situation in France is also worrying.

In order to allow the current provisional military government to concentrate on fighting the Germans, after discussions with the British, Australasia decided to increase its support for France.

First of all, the Australasian Expeditionary Force will expand from 60 to 80, and Australasians will account for 30% of the total number, which is about 24.

Secondly, the Australasian government promised to support France with 1200 aircraft, 550 tanks and 2725 vehicles over three months.

This batch of weapons and equipment will be sold to the French government at a price that is 30% lower than the market price, so that the French army will have sufficient weapons and equipment to fight Germany.

The most crucial thing is the commitment from the British. Compared to Australasia, the British are currently the country that can really help France.

After brief discussions with France, the British promised that the troops retreating from Dunkirk would return to France within 30 days to help France protect Paris.

Secondly, Britain will unite the Indian army, the South African army and the Egyptian army to open up the East African battlefield and eliminate Italian colonial rule in East Africa and North Africa.

In addition, after the war is won, the Libyan colony occupied by Italy will be ceded to France, expanding France's colonial scope in Africa.

The successive promises made by Britain and Australasia successfully convinced President Weygand and the French Provisional Military Government to decisively choose to continue the war against Germany.

After taking care of the French government, both Britain and Australasia breathed a sigh of relief.

Britain can keep its own homeland away from the flames of war. It only needs to continue to invest troops and supplies in France to win this war at a small cost.

And Australasia doesn't have to worry, Germany will now be beyond its control. Now that Britain and France are stronger than ever, it may not be easy for Germany to win against the alliance between Britain and France.

What's more, there is a big country to the east of Germany that is eyeing it. This is what the Germans are worried about.

Once the war on the Western Front comes to a standstill, will the German government choose to continue the stalemate with Britain and France and compete with each other for national strength, or will it choose to look for new opportunities in the east?

For Arthur, if he could bring Russia down in this war, it would definitely be a great deal.

After this war, the strength of almost all the great powers will be greatly weakened, but Russia, which has not yet participated in the war, is obviously not among them. If Russia is not weakened, Russia will become Australasia's biggest enemy after the war, and the post-World War II pattern may even be one of Australia and Russia competing for hegemony.

If Russia can be consumed as much as possible in this war, not only will Russia lose its hegemony, it will at least give Australasia an advantage in the fight for hegemony.

Just like the United States in history, as long as it gets the upper hand, it can consume Russia to death even if it is attrition.

Returning to Australasia, in addition to solving the French government, Arthur also received another good news, which was Douglas Aircraft Company's research on helicopters.

The so-called helicopter is a variant of the aircraft, a brand-new aircraft that can take off and land on the spot.

Aircraft taking off and landing in place is a method that has never been explored in current aircraft design. This also means that aircraft design manufacturers need to abandon all previous aircraft designs and concepts, start over, and design a truly new aircraft.

Research on helicopters in Australasia can be traced back to the development of jet engines.

It is precisely because of the availability of more powerful aircraft that the development of such a helicopter that can take off and land directly has become possible.

And now, after a long period of research and development, Douglas Aircraft Company's first-generation helicopter finally has a test machine.

Although he had witnessed too many new weapons with his own eyes, when he heard the news of the successful development of the helicopter, Arthur couldn't help but want to go to Douglas Aircraft Company to check it out in person.

While Australasia now leads the world in aircraft, helicopters are a new and equally important field.

Precisely because helicopters can achieve direct flight and landing, helicopters have a wider range of applications.

Even under special circumstances, the helicopter does not need a landing pad at all and can land on a relatively flat ground at any time.

It doesn't even have to be the ground, it can be the roof of a building, an aircraft carrier, or other objects.

In various fields, helicopters play an irreplaceable role as aircraft, and they are definitely a very important boost for Australasia now.

Soon arriving at Douglas Aircraft Company, Arthur also officially saw Australasia's first helicopter, a transport helicopter named the Homing Pigeon by Douglas.

The overall design is very similar to that of later helicopters. This helicopter has a total of two propellers. The main propeller is located directly above the cab, which provides power for the helicopter's takeoff and descent. It is also the power source of the entire helicopter.

The secondary propeller is located at the end of the helicopter. Its main function is to generate a reaction moment that can offset the counter-rotation of the fuselage when the main rotor rotates.

"Your Majesty, please see, these are the specific attributes of our brand new homing pigeon helicopter." Douglas smiled while handing Arthur a copy of the helicopter's specific data and introduced: "

What you see is our testing machine. The entire testing machine has a total length of 10.18 meters, a lateral wheelbase of 3.07 meters, and a height of 3.82 meters.

The diameter of the main propeller reaches 11.6 meters, which is also the most appropriate length after our calculations.

In terms of power, we use the latest Diesel engine, which is expected to reach a maximum speed of 185 kilometers per hour.

The entire test aircraft weighs 1.175 tons, and the maximum take-off weight is expected to reach 1.825 tons.

As for the specific data in various aspects, we can only look at the results of the specific test of this testing machine. "

Arthur nodded and ordered with a calm expression: "Then let's start the test."

Today's test alarmed many generals in the Australasian military. After this long development, aircraft have already proven their vitality in the military and civilian fields.

Helicopters are equivalent to relatively special aircraft, and senior military generals also attach great importance to helicopters.

Especially after learning that Arthur would also visit the test site, the military became even more excited and crazy. You know, all kinds of weapons that Arthur watched the experiments in person have been proven to be crucial to the war.

This also means that, at least in Arthur's mind, the role of helicopters is not weaker than those weapons.

After receiving Arthur's order, tests on the new helicopter began quickly.

This test is also very simple. It is to test the maximum take-off weight and flight speed of the helicopter, and to test the stability of the helicopter.

These are almost the three elements of an airplane, load, speed and stability.

After several rounds of seemingly simple but actually very complex tests, the specific data of this test machine was finally sent to Arthur.

In terms of load capacity, the test aircraft performed better than its expected data. The maximum take-off weight of this helicopter was predicted to be only 1.825 tons, but in the actual test, it successfully flew into the sky with a weight of 1.915 tons.

Although it only has a load capacity of 90 kilograms, the extra 90 kilograms means that the helicopter can accommodate more supplies, and its strategic significance will be greater.

In terms of speed, the maximum speed of this test aircraft has exceeded 200 kilometers per hour, and the stable cruising speed can also reach more than 133 kilometers per hour.

Although the speed is far lower than that of a normal aircraft, no vehicle on the ground can compare with this helicopter, which already represents its significance.

What's more, this test machine is only the first generation, and it will undergo a lot of improvements and testing before it can be officially put into production.

This also means that the performance of the Homing Pigeon series helicopters can be improved. After it is actually put into production, its speed will definitely be faster.

The climbing rate of the test machine can reach 3.4 meters per second, and the practical ceiling is about 2750 meters. The oil storage capacity of ordinary fuel tanks is 127 liters. The test aircraft using ordinary fuel tanks can reach a full-load range of 145 kilometers and a maximum range of 425 kilometers.

If an auxiliary fuel tank is installed, the fuel storage capacity can reach 189 liters. On this basis, the fully loaded range can be increased to 227 kilometers, and the maximum range can be increased to 616 kilometers.

Although there are certain flaws in terms of range, considering the small size of the helicopter itself and the fact that it has just been developed, this flaw can be appropriately ignored.

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(End of this chapter)