Chapter 104 Discussion

While Yannick and others were discussing the war situation in Spain, the senior military officials of the British Empire on the other side of the strait were doing the same thing.

In a spacious conference room, senior military officials looked at the pictures projected on the slide projector with solemn expressions on their faces.

An expert from the Air Force Intelligence Department explained next to him. "These two aircraft are fighter aircraft supported by the Soviet Union for Spain. The biplane is an I-15 and the monoplane is an I-16." He then gave the approximate performance data of the two fighter jets. Because the French aided the Spanish government forces (at first selling weapons directly, but later stopped selling them after the embargo, but still provided weapons through other countries), this information was easily obtained.

Hucas Waldowding, the current commander of the Fighter Air Force, said in disbelief. "Does this mean that the Soviet I-16 has completely surpassed our army's Bulldog fighter jets in terms of performance?" The British Empire has always prided itself on being an old industrial power (this is also an undisputed fact), but now even the Soviets It is really hard to accept that they have developed a fighter jet that is more advanced than them.

He muttered somewhat self-deprecatingly. "Fortunately, we did not support Spain, otherwise these backward fighter planes would still be laughed at?" Because of the domestic economic crisis, Parliament did not pass a plan to support Franco. Now it seems that this decision saved the face of the British Empire, no As for being the butt of laughter.

The expert comforted him. "Commander Dowding, you don't need to worry too much. We have several fighter jets that are about to enter service, right?" That's it, but everyone can't help but feel a little depressed. The British Empire is rarely surpassed in terms of armaments. of. The British Empire is still the strongest navy, and the army is also the strongest in the world, but the air force equipment has lagged behind others?

The deputy commander next to Dowding muttered depressedly. "I have long said that I would develop a new type of fighter jet, but a few years ago we didn't even develop the GC type fighter jet in depth. Now it's better, I'm being overpowered by others, right?"

Dowding shook his head. "Don't mention the GC-type fighter. Today's air combat can no longer be solved by old biplane fighters." The GC-type fighter they are talking about was formerly the Waterbird III biplane fighter, and its main improvement is to use the Jupiter 6 air-cooled fighter. It uses an engine (425 horsepower) to drive a wooden two-blade propeller, and has improved ailerons and a more streamlined fuselage, but it is obviously not suitable for today's air combat.

The expert changed the picture. Compared with the previous I-15 and I-16, this picture is very blurry. Only the general features can be seen, such as the slender fuselage, closed cockpit, and single-wing structure. wait. "This is a fighter jet sent to Spain by the Germans, but it is all driven by Germans and maintained by German ground crews. It is difficult for outsiders to even get close, let alone inquire about specific performance data."

"Because the Soviet pilots lied about their performance, we can't find the accurate exchange ratio, but it is certain that its performance is not inferior to the I-16, and it even has the potential to crush the I-16."

All the officers present were moved. "You mean this kind of I-16 fighter jet that can fly 350 kilometers can't beat the German fighter jets?!" In their opinion, the Soviet I-16 fighter jets are advanced enough, but they didn't expect the German fighter jets to be even more abnormal. ! Then can't the German fighter jets be called super fighter jets?

The intelligence officer introduced. "The intelligence obtained by our spies deployed in Germany is not much. It just mentioned that the Bavarian Aircraft Factory in Germany has developed a new fighter jet. The official code name is the BF109 fighter jet." He paused and pointed to the aircraft on the slide. Each part continues to be explained. "This aircraft should have an all-metal structure, with a fully enclosed cockpit, and its aerodynamic performance is very terrible. According to our intelligence team in Spain and our people in Franco, the flying speed of this German aircraft It has exceeded everyone’s imagination, and many people say that this aircraft can reach a speed of more than 500 kilometers per hour.”

Someone exclaimed. "Oh my God! You mean, the Soviet Union and Germany now have fighter jets that we can't match?"

Dowding was also a little unable to sit still. “What new aircraft can we put into production right now?!”

The adjutant next to him immediately replied. "Your Excellency Commander, we now have the Hurricane fighter jet that can be put into production immediately. Its technology is fully mature.

There is also a Spitfire that has flown several times since March last year without any major problems.

The fearless fighter jet with an all-round rotating turret will also make its first flight in the second half of the year. "

Dowding nodded, setting the tone for the discussion. "The Hurricane fighter jets will be put into production immediately, and the remaining aircraft must also be accelerated."

One of the old generals said with a sad look on his face. "This is not a good sign. Now the Germans are becoming more and more disobedient, and their armaments are getting stronger and stronger. Maybe one day..." If one day these guys go crazy again, who knows? How many people died.

Dowding sighed helplessly. "The navy's attention is now focused on the Soviets. The empire's military spending has been tilting towards the navy. If we want to make another enemy, the parliament will not agree." The super battleship blueprints brought from Germany last time were indeed The people on the navy side were suppressed. What's even more terrible is that it didn't take long for a secret report to come out that the Soviet Union had begun building this kind of super battleship, which made the top military officials even more panicked.

If the first ship fails, it will be fine. Maybe the Soviets will give up the idea of ​​continuing to build it. But if it succeeds, the Soviet Union will definitely continue to build this terrible warship. At that time, the British Empire's maritime power will be greatly challenged.

The best way is for Britain to build this super battleship to resist this threat. After all, they have the same blueprint.

Unfortunately, the current British Empire is powerless. The last world war cost Britain a heavy price. The British economy was weak after the war, unemployment was serious, workers struck frequently, and society was turbulent. The world economic crisis in 1929 made things worse, and the impact on Britain was even more difficult to estimate. After 35 years, the British economy gradually recovered, but it was still in depression.

Britain's military expenditure last year was equivalent to one-third of Germany and one-fifth of the Soviet Union. Because most of the military expenditure was spent on the navy and air force, there was no army with the ability to intervene. They couldn't even intervene in the Spanish Civil War and could only implement a non-interference policy.

Seeing that the faces of others were ugly, Dowding cheered up and said confidently. "It doesn't matter. What we need to do is simple. Just get ready and defeat the Germans once again."