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

Chapter 924 Flight Driving
The next day, Charles issued an order that surprised everyone:

"In order to let Major General Pierre fully understand the take-off and landing of fighter planes and adapt to the changes in future wars, Major General Pierre is now transferred to the 5th Air Base as a staff officer and learn flight driving at the same time!"

The 5th Air Base is near the Toulon Shipyard, 13 kilometers away. Major General Poel can travel freely between the shipyard and the air base.

But this is not the point. The point is this humiliating order. There has never been such a precedent that a rear admiral would be sent to the aviation brigade to learn flight piloting.

Everyone thought that Major General Pierre was finished, but this was completely denied and thrown aside by Charles.

Others believed that this was Charles' way of giving Pierre a decent departure: to make Pierre unable to bear the humiliation and finally resign voluntarily, rather than being fired by Charles.

The British advisory group also thought so, and they laughed when they heard the news:

"Is that the rear admiral who argued with us about the deck of an aircraft carrier?"

"Yes, he was assigned to fly the plane, but I don't think he has the talent for it, after all, he always emphasizes the longer flight runway."

"If he learns it, I'd love to see him land on an aircraft carrier, and I'll be there to greet him!"

……

The British advisory group laughed wildly.

Stephen was very satisfied with the result. He didn't want to make fun of Major General Pierre because he knew that Major General Pierre was right.

The 80-meter runway was far from enough to support the landing of fighter planes, and the British even sacrificed an excellent pilot.

(Note: British Navy Lieutenant Commander Ernest Dunning successfully landed a Puppy fighter once, but failed the second time and fell into the sea and drowned)

Therefore, the British have concluded that it is necessary to remove all gun extension decks.

"That's a good thing." Stephen said with a smug smile, "I knew we didn't need to worry about the French aircraft carriers."

……

But the reality was not what Stephen thought.

It is true that Major General Pierre went to the Aviation Brigade to serve as a staff officer, and it is also true that he learned how to fly an airplane.

Major General Pierre did not even understand Gueprat.

"I am a lieutenant admiral in the navy." Major General Pierre looked at Charles in confusion: "Although I am willing to follow your orders, can you tell me why?"

My major is warships, and I will be commanding warships in the future. Why do I need to learn how to fly a plane?

Geprat asked Charles puzzledly: "Not long ago you said that he would be responsible for the transformation of the aircraft carrier..."

"That's it." Charles's answer was brief.

"What?" Geplat didn't understand.

Major General Pierre was also confused, but seemed to understand the next second.

"You mean..." Major General Pierre asked hesitantly, "If I want to transform and command an aircraft carrier, I must learn to fly an airplane?"

"No." Charles shook his head gently:
"It's not just about learning how to fly, but also about understanding the tactics of the aircraft, and the weather, environment and timing that are suitable for it to take off."

"Only in this way can you become an excellent aircraft carrier commander."

"Otherwise, it's just empty talk, like a captain not understanding how far the guns can fire, what they can destroy, or whether they will be affected by external factors."

For an aircraft carrier, aircraft are its "guns" and the bombs and torpedoes they carry are its "shells".

(Note: This is the basic requirement for modern aircraft carrier captains. The captain must have pilot experience.)
Pierre figured it out. He stepped forward and said, "Yes, Lieutenant General, I agree with you!"

Charles is right, Pierre thought, an aircraft carrier operates in a completely different way, its weapons are aircraft.

However, he still underestimated Charles.

Charles continued, "Leave the shipyard to Vice Admiral Geprat. You can come back occasionally to discuss the renovation plan with the Vice Admiral."

"Your focus should be on the airport."

"In addition to learning how to fly, you also need to train a group of pilots who can take off and land on aircraft carriers."

Pierre was stunned: "Lieutenant General, the aircraft carrier has not been built yet, so it may be impossible to train aircraft takeoff and landing."

Ciel replied, "Draw an area at the airport according to the planned deck size and schedule training according to that area."

Pierre and Gueprat looked at each other.

It is indeed a feasible training method, but they just don’t think about it in this way!

……

War Office Building, London.

The Quartermaster General, sitting at his desk, took the telegram from General Winter.

It was a message from Stephen at the Toulon shipyard: Charles had transferred Major-General Pierre out of the shipyard.

The Quartermaster nodded with satisfaction.

Although he worked hard to convince Parliament to agree to the project, the Minister of Munitions was actually the one who was least willing to complete the deal.

If it were anyone else, the Royal Navy would have no need to worry about being surpassed.

But the opponent was Charles, the military genius Charles.

Although the Minister of Munitions himself was not sure how big a role aircraft carriers would play in the future, what if Charles succeeded in developing it first?

Coupled with his advantage in fighter planes, wouldn’t the British Royal Navy be Charles’ target?
Fortunately, Ciel didn't seem to notice that he was being led in the wrong direction.

General Winter reminded:
"Your Excellency, Charles seems to want to convert several battleships in the Toulon shipyard into aircraft carriers."

"Does this mean that he will not fulfill his promise until the aircraft carrier is successfully modified?"

The Quartermaster General shook his head: "No, of course not."

He had already made up his mind that if he sent two more sets of data, he would ask Charles to join the Allied offensive team.

In addition, the Minister of Munitions intended to put some pressure on Charles, or to test him.

"Order Major Kyle." The Quartermaster General said word by word, "Tell him to spread the word in Germany that Charles is interested in negotiating with Germany."

Major Kell is the head of MI6, and he has spies in Germany.

General Winter was stunned: "Your Excellency, Charles only said a ceasefire, and he had no intention of negotiating with the Germans..."

The Quartermaster General had a sullen face and a hint of impatience in his tone: “Do as I say, Winter!”

"Yes, sir." General Winter replied helplessly.

After General Winter left, the Quartermaster General read Stephen's telegram again with a hint of pride on his face.

He couldn't wait to see how Charles would react if the Germans wished to negotiate with him.

By choosing to negotiate, Charles would have violated the Treaty of London and had an excuse to make peace with Germany alone.

If Charles did not negotiate and unilaterally chose to cease fire, it would be a sign of cowardice, and the Minister of Munitions could hype it up in the media.

So, whatever your idea is, make it known as soon as possible, Charles.

I'm waiting for you to join us and lead our army to defeat the Germans once and for all!

(End of this chapter)