I Became a Plutocrat in World War I: Starting with Saving France-Chapter 818: The Right Direction

Knowing that the Germans have produced a triplane, Shire felt some pressure.

The reason is that air superiority is too important. Whether in land battles or naval battles, or in blocking the La Manche Strait, air superiority is indispensable.

Without air superiority, the army cannot receive information in time, the armored units cannot accurately penetrate the enemy's weak points, and may even be bombed by enemy aircraft.

The navy is almost only passively beaten, and the further the development goes, the more this is true.

So the next day, Shire took some time to visit the aircraft manufacturing plant.

However, upon arrival, Shire realized his worries were unnecessary.

...

By this time, the research institute at the aircraft manufacturing plant had been divided into several departments, including the design department, manufacturing department, and assembly department, as well as a separate R&D department dedicated to increasing engine power.

The former head of the R&D department, Dorne, seemed to be an all-rounder. He was running between several departments to guide and push the entire research institute to develop simultaneously.

But during this period, he spent more time in the design department.

Shire entered the office filled with drawings and models and immediately saw Dorne engrossed in drawing.

His hair was long and dirty, and his beard hadn't been shaved for a long time, looking like a homeless man on the street.

"Is everything okay?" Shire stepped forward and asked.

"Very well." Dorne replied without lifting his head.

After a moment, he felt something was different about the voice, abruptly raised his head to see it was Shire, and happily stepped forward to shake hands: "It's you, General, very pleased to see you!"

"I came to see what progress has been made." Shire said.

He couldn't mention the Germans producing the "Fokker Triplane". Otherwise, after the war, the English would come and trouble Shire.

"Progress is smooth, General." Dorne confidently nodded, half joking: "We won't give you a chance to fire us, the money you spent on us is very worthwhile!"

"Of course." Shire acknowledged: "It always has been."

Dorne handed a document to Shire: "Look at this, engine power has smoothly broken through 300 horsepower."

Shire praised; he remembered that during World War I only the Rolls-Royce had pushed the power of an aircraft engine to 322 horsepower in 1918.

And Dorne's R&D team has already reached 300 horsepower now, undoubtedly leading the world.

"And this." Dorne proudly handed Shire a drawing and a photo.

Shire was taken aback: "Is this a new model of the warplane? I thought it was a 'Camel'. "

"Good eyesight, General." Dorne laughed, face full of pride: "Many people thought it was a 'Camel' at first glance, but it isn't. It's our new model airplane improved with a 250 horsepower engine."

(Above is the 'Camel', below is the improved 'Curlew' model, the major improvements are a more powerful engine, a streamlined fuselage, increased wingspan, and a 'skylight' on the upper wing to expand the pilot's view.)

Without waiting for Shire to inquire, Dorne eagerly explained:

"Considering the 'Camel' fighter is overly sensitive, many pilots reported that it easily fell into the gyroscope effect on the battlefield."

"So we redesigned the shape and increased the wingspan, making it fly more stably."

"Additionally, we replaced some wooden components with metal parts, giving it higher strength."

Shire nodded at the data.

The overall performance improvement is significant.

For example, the increased strength allows this fighter to carry four 9-kilogram bombs, enabling it to conduct bombing while performing air combat missions.

Another example, the new design increased the range.

The original maximum range was only 400 kilometers, now it is 600 kilometers, a very important index for air combat, it can almost decide life and death at critical moments.

The biggest advantage is that the 'Camel' fighter, being overly sensitive, is unfriendly to novice pilots who, with a slight mistake, could crash and die.

The improved version doesn't have this problem and is more suitable for mass production and mass equipment, reducing pilot training cycles and training losses.

If there is anything lacking, it's that the maximum speed has hardly increased, from 190 kilometers per hour to 195 kilometers per hour.

Shire believed this was related to reinforcing the fuselage, which increased the weight.

However, it doesn't matter, this fighter's performance in all aspects is wholly superior to the German Fokker triplane, putting the French Army once again ahead of the German Army in air superiority.

"You all have done very well." Shire gave a definite answer: "This has solved many problems, and on behalf of the pilots and all those who wish to end the war, I thank you."

What satisfied Shire even more was that the institute now had its own ideas and directions. It no longer required Shire to provide blueprints for passive production, as it used to.

Having been praised by Shire, Dorne smiled broadly like a child.

Then he seemed to remember something:

"We encountered a contradiction in increasing the fuselage strength, General."

"Once the more powerful engine is replaced to increase speed, it requires higher fuselage strength. Otherwise, in flight the wings may easily break, snap, or even disintegrate."

"And increasing the fuselage strength will increase weight, which in turn limits speed and hinders improvements."

"So, some people think that increasing engine power is of little significance."

It's a cycle of adding more water to flour and more flour to water—after modifications, the maximum speed of the plane remains about the same, comprehensive performance fails to improve.

"It will be meaningful." Shire asserted: "It's just a plateau period; once the engine power reaches a certain level, the speed of the fighter will leap forward."

"I think so too." Dorne replied hesitantly: "But can a plane with such high speed be effective in combat? I mean, the pilot's reaction ability might not keep up with target changes."

Shire considered for a while, believing a more understandable goal should be set for the research.

He took paper and pen, explaining as he drew: "The new model fighter can carry bombs, which is good, but you should know that hitting a target with bombs in combat is very difficult."

"Yes, of course." Dorne nodded: "The fighter is moving at high speed, the dropped bomb has initial velocity and will be influenced by wind force, wind direction, altitude, and other factors. More often it's a gamble."

"Yes." Shire drew the dive trajectory of the fighter on the paper: "But there is a bombing method that doesn't require considering these issues much."

Dorne looked at the drawings and immediately realized: "You're saying, if the fighter dives toward the target at high speed..."

"Yes." Shire nodded: "At this time, the speed of the bomb is primarily directed at the target. As long as its speed is greater than the wind speed, the influence is minimal."

Dorne understood:

"So the probability of hitting the target increases, thus both increasing fuselage strength and speed are meaningful!"

"Great, General, you've solved another of our problems."

"No, you've pointed us in the right direction!"