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

Chapter 917 Advisory Group

The New Year's bell rang over the small town of Darwaz, telling people that the time had entered 1917, but the bell could not slow down the thick smoke that was madly spewing out of the chimneys.

The machines in the factory were running almost day and night, producing tanks, tractors, motorcycles for the front line...

In the office, Charles was looking through documents while drinking coffee.

He stayed here for a few days.

From Christmas till now, he has roughly inspected the progress of the development of Lower Darwaz.

The tank gun was basically completed, and Charles merged Stokes' research institute with Matthew's tank research and development department.

When Matthew saw this tank gun, he shouted excitedly: "This is exactly what we need. Great, we can turn two guns into one gun. Do you know what this means?"

He hugged Stokes and kissed him excitedly, and everyone thought he was crazy.

But Charles knew he didn't.

Because Charles knew what this meant, the 1mm gun in the "Charler B75" would be removed, and the saved space and weight could be used to install a heading machine gun.

In addition, it can enhance the coordination between tank crew members. The driver does not need to coordinate with the 75 gun gunner as before. The shooting efficiency of this method is terribly low.

In addition, the tank can be equipped with necessary observation and aiming equipment, such as rangefinders transplanted from the navy.

Charles let Matthew do it. After all, it only required simply replacing the two guns of "Charler B1" with a dedicated tank gun, which would greatly improve the overall combat capability of the tank.

There were also great advances in Versenden's laboratory, and he and Pan Wan built a primitive computer.

Although it was “one” computer, it took up the entire warehouse.

Pan Wan said to Charles with some regret: "Although it can work normally, we have used it to decipher several codes, but..."

Pan Wan seemed reluctant to expose his own shortcomings and hesitated when he spoke of this.

Versenden had seen many storms and waves, so he responded straightforwardly:
"We thought it was still a long way from being practical because there would always be a few wires or tubes that would go wrong."

“We can’t guarantee that every component will work properly.”

“And if just one component fails, our results will be wrong.”

Simply put, it is not very safe.

"Then," said Ciel, "why don't we start with improving safety next?"

"That's what I think too." Versenden said helplessly:
"But even though we set extremely high standards for the manufacturing process of vacuum tubes, we still couldn't meet the requirements."

"This is determined by the number of vacuum tubes we need."

"Perhaps we could consider replacing it with something else," Ciel reminded.

"Another thing?" Versenden was stunned. "But there is no such thing in the world, General."

"Then find it out," said Charles. "My suggestion is that you should look for elements between conductors and non-conductors, because they often have some special conductivity that meets our requirements."

Versenden's mouth was half open in shock.

Yes, semiconductors conduct electricity under certain conditions and do not conduct electricity under certain conditions. Isn’t this what computers need for “1” and “0”?

And if it were possible to replace vacuum tubes with solid objects.

God, that would be much more stable and much less bulky and heavy.

Charles is truly a genius, an undisputed genius!
(Note: The practical PN junction diode was invented in 1930.)
……

Charles was relieved that these R&D departments and laboratories could operate normally without him, just like the R&D department of an aircraft manufacturer. It was just that their R&D speed was not fast, and sometimes they would spend a lot of time on trial and error.

For example, Versenden worked hard to improve the manufacturing process of vacuum tubes in the hope of improving safety.

At this time, as long as Charles gave them a reminder, they could be led in the right direction and speed up the process.

It won't be long before Versenden discovers the crystal diode, Charles thought.

Once we enter the era of crystal diodes, not to mention dominating the computer field, we will first launch a dimensionality reduction attack on the enemy in communications.

Replacing the fragile, bulky, and power-hungry vacuum tubes in radios with transistors means that radios can be easily installed on airplanes.

By then, there will be not only bombers that are large in size and have large spaces, but also fighter jets, tanks, command vehicles, etc. that have small redundant spaces.

As a result, these units can communicate with each other during combat, achieving an unprecedented level of coordination.

Just as Charles was imagining how to comprehensively upgrade his aviation force, armored force, mechanized force, and artillery force, Colonel Laurent walked into the office.

"General." Laurent handed over a telegram: "I received a call from London. The Minister of Munitions said that the Parliament has agreed to the cooperation plan. They have sent an advisory group and will rush to the Brest shipyard tomorrow."

Charles said "Oh", which surprised him a little.

He originally thought that given the British efficiency, it would take at least one or two months to get it passed by both the House of Commons and the House of Lords. Unexpectedly, it was completed in just one week, and an advisory group was even organized.

It seems that the British are very eager to end this war, and they may not be able to hold on any longer.

A smug smile appeared on Charles' lips. Only in this way can we force out your good stuff.

But the speed was a bit beyond expectations.

It doesn’t matter, Charles thought, he could delay for a while to “inspect” Britain’s sincerity. After all, this is an aircraft carrier.

After thinking for a while, Charles said to Laurent, "Call back and change the location to the Toulon shipyard."

"Yes, General." Laurent responded and left.

……

The Toulon Shipyard is undoubtedly the largest shipyard in France. It was established as a naval base in 1599 during the reign of Henry IV.

In the past decade or so, due to France's strategic inclination towards the Mediterranean and its conscious avoidance of competition with Britain in the Atlantic, it has obtained more resources and achieved great development.

The shipyard's owner, Dupuy, is a traditional aristocrat, and the Delorme family has been operating here for more than a century.

However, Dupuy believes that the worst decision he made in his life was not betting on Charles like Wells did.

The messy office was filled with smoke. Dupuy sat at his desk in dishevelled clothes, smoking one cigar after another. He had been unable to sleep or eat because of the resignation of the Secretary of the Navy.

If the matter was traced back, he would not be able to escape the blame, but fortunately, Charles did not seem to investigate further.

At this moment there was a knock on the door: "Mr. Dupuy!"

When Dupuy heard the voice, he jumped up as if he was pricked by a needle. It was Vice Admiral Geprat, the new Minister of the Navy.

He hurriedly went forward to open the door, hurriedly straightened his clothes, lowered his head and bent down to welcome Lieutenant General Geprat in.

"Tomorrow there will be an advisory group here," Gai Pratt said, "get ready!"

Dupuy was startled.

Advisory group?
Are you here to investigate me?
(End of this chapter)