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

Chapter 1005 Carrier Warfare
The British weakness lay in the fact that this was their first time using an aircraft carrier; they had no concept of carrier-to-carrier combat and no complete carrier tactics, while the Charles possessed advanced knowledge of carrier warfare.

"British aircraft carriers have a single-runway, straight-deck design," Charles said, pointing to a model of a British aircraft carrier while discussing operational plans with Rear Admiral Pierre.
"This means they cannot take off and land at the same time."

"In other words, their aircraft cannot take off when they are in the landing procedure."

"If they launch more than 12 fighter jets from each of their aircraft carriers, there will be an air defense gap."

Major General Pierre immediately understood the meaning of these words:
"It takes more than an hour to launch 12 planes and another hour to land them."

"And their planes only had a total loiter time of about two hours."

"In order to ensure that no aircraft will be unable to land due to insufficient fuel, after launching 12 aircraft, only a small number of aircraft can be kept in the air for air defense, and the fuel supply is insufficient."

“Yes,” Charles nodded, “Now is the perfect time to attack the enemy aircraft carrier!”

……

Over the main battlefield, Colonel Will shot down three French seaplanes with great satisfaction, sweeping away the gloom that had been weighing on his heart and letting out an excited cheer.

Looking at the fuel gauge, he saw that there was only a quarter left, and he realized it was time to return.

There is a sequence to plane landings:

The first 12 fighter jets to take off consumed the most fuel, so they should return to base and begin the landing process first.

Then came the second batch of 12 aircraft, which could hold out on the battlefield for about another half hour, but they would soon have to withdraw.

Colonel Will took a signal flare from the storage compartment, loaded it skillfully, and fired one.

This is the signal to return to base.

Aircraft carrier operations often involve mathematical calculations, and these calculations must be precise. Even the slightest error could lead to an irreparable disaster.

The carrier group was about 50 kilometers behind the battlefield, and Colonel Will's aircraft group found them without much effort.

He first piloted the fighter jet around the aircraft carrier, trying to reduce altitude and speed.

Once both were within the appropriate range, he cut into the carrier's course from the rear and aligned with the runway under the guidance of signal flags.

Every landing was a life-or-death challenge, no less than fighting enemy planes in the air, and Colonel Will gave it his all.

Fortunately, after a period of turbulence and vibration, the fighter jet finally came to a steady stop on the runway.

Cheers erupted from both sides from the ground crew and their comrades.

This was a remarkable attempt, and Colonel Will was proud of it.

Taking off from the sea, launching fighter jets from a ship instead of seaplanes—this was unprecedented!
The Royal Navy was the first and only one.

Only the British Royal Navy could do that, which is why Britain became the empire on which the sun never sets!

Then, another fighter jet landed on the deck, and the USS Fury, a mile away, was doing the same thing; both aircraft carriers were frantically trying to recover their fighter jets.

However, just as the third fighter jet landed on the deck, someone suddenly shouted: "Aircraft, a group of aircraft is approaching!"

Looking in the direction indicated by the sound, I indeed saw a dense cluster of small black dots to the southwest.

"Is that our plane?" someone asked.

Colonel Will originally thought so too; that direction was just a vast ocean with no islands, so it was impossible for enemy planes to appear.

But then I thought about it again and realized it didn't make sense.

Britain only has two aircraft carriers, both of which are here. Meanwhile, the second wave of British fighters is to the west, making it unlikely they would appear in this direction, especially given the incorrect number. With these doubts, Colonel Will quickly ran to the empty deck, raised his binoculars, and pointed them at the target group.

This gave him a fright. Although the target group was far away, some of them clearly had inverted gull-shaped wings, which were the French Army's newest fighter jet, the "Jeanne A".

(Note: At this time, Colonel Will was unaware that the French army had other modifications to the inverted gull wing.)
"It's the enemy!" Colonel Will shouted. "Enemy planes! Prepare for battle!"

The sharp, drawn-out air raid siren immediately blared, and the soldiers who had just been cheering instantly fell into chaos—some were signaling, some were pushing their fighter jets, some were dispersing ammunition, and some were operating the anti-aircraft machine guns…

Most people run around aimlessly like headless flies.

If they had experience in aircraft carrier operations, they would know that in such an emergency, the aircraft, fuel, and ammunition on the deck should be immediately pushed into the sea.

But they don't know.

Some people had the idea, but the officers did not give them orders to refrain from taking any rash action, otherwise they might be punished, sent to a military court, or even treated as spies.

Then, in the rush, another mistake was made:
A fighter jet had been loitering in the air for too long, and it made a forced landing without clearing the runway.

After hitting several people, the plane tilted, lost its balance, slid off the deck, and fell into the sea.

Many people cried out in alarm, but they had no time to spare for a rescue and could only watch as the current swept the fighter jet into the bottom of the aircraft carrier and crushed it to pieces.

"Boom!"

"Da da da!"

The destroyers and cruisers opened fire.

However, they were all twin-mounted "pom-pom" cannons and anti-aircraft machine guns, and these small-caliber guns could not pose any threat to aircraft flying at high altitudes.

In the chaos, Colonel Will found a flare gun and fired two shots into the air at top speed.

One shot represents a retreat, two shots represent an attack.

The order was relayed to the several fighter jets that were stuck in the air.

The meaning is clear, and also cruel:
You are unable to land successfully under this emergency, and a landing could cause even greater disaster and accidents.

Since that's the case, you have no choice but to fight with your backs against the wall, using your remaining fuel to hold off enemy planes. Maybe you can buy time for the aircraft carrier and turn the tide of battle!

The British pilots were very brave; they had thought of this and resolutely turned their planes to meet the enemy formation.

But it didn't work.

Several Jenny A fighters swooped down with a whooshing sound, followed by a burst of machine gun fire like tearing cloth, and the SE5a fighters fell from the sky one by one like kites with broken strings.

The SE5a has a speed advantage over the Camel, but it is inferior to the Jenny A in all aspects, including speed, maneuverability, and dive stability.

In particular, the "dive stability" feature of the Jenny A's inverted gull wing effectively reduces flutter during high-speed dives, resulting not only in structural stability but also in shooting accuracy during dives.

Colonel Will was nearly driven mad.

Just then, he saw more than a dozen fighter jets flying in from the west.

It was the second group of British warplanes to land. Colonel Will was overjoyed and quickly fired signal flares at the group, ordering them to attack.

However, at this time, the French aircraft group circled the British aircraft carrier group instead of launching an attack.

At that moment, only one thought crossed Colonel Will's mind: "It's over, they're waiting for the fighter jets to run out of fuel!"

(End of this chapter)