I was a tycoon in World War I: Starting to save France

Chapter 1003 Aircraft Carrier Trap
Balfour was accusing the Minister of Munitions.

The deal to help the French build an aircraft carrier, made under the leadership of the Minister of Munitions, could now cause serious trouble for the British military.

But the Minister of Munitions laughed, smugly saying, "Yes, I did it. But if you think it's my fault, then you're wrong."

As he spoke, the Minister of Munitions turned his gaze to General Winter.

General Winter has been following up on this matter.

General Winter understood, and as he distributed the documents, he said:

"We set a trap while helping France build an aircraft carrier."

"We advised the French to retain the rear guns and told them that this would give the aircraft carrier the necessary defensive capabilities."

"They clearly believed that."

First Lord of the Navy Balfour was puzzled: "What impact will this have on the battle? You mean that keeping the rear guns will prevent their aircraft from taking off from the carrier?"

He didn't know much about aircraft carriers; the Minister of Munitions was in charge of research and development in this area.

He just thought: if it "cannot take off", France wouldn't be so stupid as to fall for it, would it?
"Of course not," the Quartermaster explained with a smile.
“They can take off, but we have done a lot of testing. A short deck would make take-off, landing and scheduling of aircraft very difficult.”

"It takes 10 minutes or even longer to take off one fighter jet. Just imagine how long it would take to take off six fighter jets?"

The people in the meeting room said "Oh," and understood.

This will take up to an hour, and that hour is only enough time to form up in the air, by which time the first fighter jet will have already used up an hour's worth of fuel.

General Winter added:
"The problem isn't just that. Aircraft carriers without a through-deck also have a lot of uncontrollable turbulence, making aircraft landings extremely prone to accidents and incidents."

"In addition, there isn't much space on the deck for aircraft to prepare and wait."

“The through-deck design is different. Our aircraft carrier can launch one fighter jet every six minutes on average, and can launch six fighter jets in about half an hour.”

The Minister of Munitions proudly concluded:
"Think about it, gentlemen."

"Even if the French send in aircraft carriers, it is certain that their aircraft will still be at a significant disadvantage."

"So what are we waiting for? Let's go and deal with them!"

There was warm applause in the conference room.

Even General Winter, who had been hesitant, now believed that Charles would lose the battle.

Charles wasn't a god, he thought, and no matter what kind of talent he possessed, he couldn't solve this "hardcore" trap.

……

However, Colonel Will, who was on the front lines, was not so optimistic.

Surprisingly, the French did not send any torpedo planes into battle; the first aircraft deployed were Camel and Sandpiper.

……

The battle was commanded by Lieutenant General Gappert, who set up his headquarters on Malta Island, right inside the airport.

Many officers advised Lieutenant General Gappert against doing so, saying it was too dangerous.

Charles contacted Lieutenant General Gaprate specifically regarding this matter:
"You are a Navy Vice Admiral."

"I think a warship would be a better fit for your command post than an airport."

"This ensures your safety while also providing you with a more ideal command platform!"

But Lieutenant General Gappert declined:
“I know, General.”

"But Malta Airport is crucial to this battle; losing it means we've lost." "Besides, you probably don't know how constantly the radios on the warships malfunction; I've had enough!"

The last sentence is true. Warships are in a high-salt, high-humidity environment. When sailing on the sea, even a small wave can cause them to rock violently. It is common for radios to malfunction and lose contact. They rely more on signal lights and signal flags to transmit orders.

After thinking about it for a while, Charles realized that Lieutenant General Gappert's words made sense.

While commanding a fleet in combat from a warship might be feasible, coordinating airfield operations with the navy is virtually impossible from a warship.

The problem is that the airfield where Gappert is located is likely to be bombed by British battleships.

Lieutenant General Gappert paid no attention to this; his command post was the airport's control tower, which was tall and conspicuous.

He joked with his subordinates: "As we all know, the British use a vertical-reflection synchrotron rangefinder. Even if we give them a target, they still won't be able to hit it!"

(Note: Although British warships are advanced, their observation and aiming equipment is relatively outdated; France and Germany have already adopted stereo rangefinders.)
The British fleet's attack on Malta was exactly what Gappert had anticipated.

His strategy was to use the French’s unique “green water navy” to outmaneuver the British fleet.

Battleships, acting as a support, maintain distance from enemy battleships and pose a threat.

This defensive tactic of using battleships at long range, destroyers at medium range, and torpedo boats at close range actually allowed them to hold their own against the British fleet, which was several times stronger than their own.

Inside the command post, the radio stations were buzzing with activity, and Lieutenant General Gayplatz stared intently at the map.

He was somewhat surprised by the current situation.

In his opinion, the "Greenwater Navy" should have had a hard time stopping the British fleet, which consisted of 7 battleships and more than 30 cruisers and destroyers.

The French army had only 2 battleships, 19 destroyers, and more than 50 torpedo boats.

Although the French possessed advanced torpedoes that made the British ships hesitant, the British fleet could certainly advance toward Malta if they so desired.

Lieutenant General Gappert was also prepared to fight and retreat.

Ultimately, the only way to stop these battleships from bombing the airfield was to rely on the 30 torpedo planes that were stationed at the airfield ready for battle.

However, the British fleet was blocked at the 150-kilometer mark.

If that's the case, and if the "Greenwater Navy" alone could defend against the British fleet, then what gave the British the confidence to declare war on France?

Just as Lieutenant General Gappert was wondering, the staff reported:

"General, enemy aircraft have joined the battle; they are the latest 'SE5a' fighter jets."

"There were more than 20 in total. They most likely took off from a nearby aircraft carrier."

Should our army engage in battle?

Air superiority is crucial in naval warfare.

When warships engage in battle, a large number of seaplanes will fight, providing information and intelligence to the warships below while fighting.

If enemy fighters were to join the battle, they would wipe out the French seaplanes as quickly as autumn leaves.

Then the sky belonged to the British, and the French fleet could not see anything beyond 40 kilometers.

We don't know if the enemy has reinforcements, or if bombers are approaching...

Lieutenant General Gappert was about to order fighter jets to be launched for reinforcement, but he swallowed back what he was about to say.

He suddenly understood why the British fleet couldn't break through the Greenwater Navy's defenses.

It's not that they can't break through, but that they want to set up the air battleground in the sea 150 kilometers away!

(End of this chapter)