I Became a Tycoon During World War I - Chapter 285

Chapter 285: Charles' Influence

"The explosive should be the same as the one used in torpedoes," Charles said.

Tigani nodded in agreement. With the same volume and weight, the explosive mixture made of TNT and hexanitrodiphenylamine was 7% more powerful, which meant a higher chance of destroying a submarine.

"This thing needs to be simple and cheap," Charles continued. "Right now, we can use a time fuse. After production, we can test its sinking speed, and estimate the submarine's sinking speed to determine the depth..."

"Then we can drop the bomb at a direction or position where the submarine might escape," Tigani said excitedly. "It doesn't even need to hit directly—exploding near the submarine might work!"

Charles was somewhat surprised. This guy actually knew about these things?

It seemed Charles had underestimated Tigani. The principle was the same as that of a torpedo.

The reason torpedoes could easily penetrate the thick armor of battleships with only tens of kilograms of explosives was because of the immense explosive force created by detonating under water pressure.

The same applied to depth charges. Even if they didn't hit directly, the massive shockwave and the sudden change in water pressure could cause a submarine to take in water or malfunction, especially since submarines in this period were still quite rudimentary.

The downside was that depth charges needed to be used in conjunction with sonar to work more effectively. Sonar would pinpoint the exact location and depth of the submarine, and after setting the depth of the depth charge, it could be dropped with near certainty.

However, sonar had not been invented at this time, so after discovering a submarine, they would have to guess its depth based on its direction of descent and then drop the bomb.

The success rate would be much lower this way, but it was still better than having no means of action and just staring helplessly.

Besides, the Germans only had one submarine.

The other so-called "coastal submarines" were too small to operate far from their base; they even needed a warship to tow them near the battlefield.

In other words, Charles only needed to deal with that one large submarine, and the submarine threat could essentially be neutralized.

At least, that was the case on the battlefield at the Dardanelles.

...

At that time, Wells had just spoken to the Minister of the Navy over the phone.

For Tigani's special "artistic" interests, the father had been quite worried.

The training at Toulon naval base and the arrangements for the "Gaul" battleship's task force had all been managed by Wells himself.

Although France did not allow capitalists like Wells to have dealings with the military, Wells also served as a member of parliament.

Moreover, Wells held sway over much of the naval fleet construction, and many things did not need to be openly discussed—people would just give him face.

However, the reason this particular "arrangement" went so smoothly was largely because of Charles.

The Minister of the Navy responded as follows:

"I understand, Mr. Wells."

"Actually, you don't need to instruct me. I should have already arranged these things for you."

"Tigani is the commander of the 105th landing regiment. He will fight alongside Charles to represent France at the Dardanelles. This is our honor, our pride, and our hope."

Wells was somewhat concerned about the task force’s request: "I heard that German submarines have been spotted recently. The British have ordered battleships to return to anchor for safety. Is that true?"

"Yes," the Minister of the Navy replied. "Currently, we're only executing limited reinforcement missions. Battleships will only be deployed in emergency situations."

"Then, I hope my request for the 'Gaul' battleship won’t cause you too much trouble," Wells said, slightly embarrassed. After all, this was a war, and for his son to send a task force into danger, including a battleship, which was the main target for the submarine.

"No, no, you mustn't say that," the Minister of the Navy explained. "This is a war, Mr. Wells. It’s not about your son. Please believe that. We, or more specifically, many British, are hoping that Charles can help resolve this problem at the Dardanelles."

The use of "many" here was because some people did not want Charles to intervene.

For example, the British First Sea Lord and the British Secretary of War.

If Charles went to the battlefield,

and lost, people would say, "Even Charles couldn’t do anything; he warned you all beforehand!"

If he won, it would be, "Charles saved everything."

But from France's perspective, it was a different matter: If Charles won, it would be France's glory. Not only had he defeated the Ottoman Empire, but also Germany, and most importantly, he had "defeated" Britain.

Therefore, the Minister of the Navy fully supported it, giving whatever was needed. He even worried that one battleship wouldn't be enough, emphasizing during the call:

"If Charles needs it, we can consider deploying more ships."

"After all, they can just sit there at anchor and do nothing."

"But we need to let the British know that it’s not us doing nothing—it’s them!"

Those damned British, thinking that just because they had more battleships, they could command ours. We’ll show them that it’s not the case!

Wells then understood that the main reason for this was "Charles," not the Brest Shipyard.

When he hung up the phone, Wells felt somewhat unsettled. The influence of the Brest Shipyard was actually not as strong as Charles’? Those fickle bastards!

At that moment, the phone rang. It was Tigani calling.

"Is there anything else you need?" Wells said sarcastically. "How about I suggest you command the French navy?"

"No, father," Tigani replied. "Charles just mentioned a piece of equipment. We need to have it produced within a week..."

"Are you joking?" Wells nearly laughed. "Produced within a week? Rushing to get it to the battlefield?"

Wells' first reaction was that it was impossible.

This might be due to his stereotypical view of shipbuilding, where military vessels or anything else took years, even longer.

If something could be produced within a week, Wells thought it must be garbage.

"Yes, within a week," Tigani replied firmly. "It’s very simple. We think about 200 kilograms is suitable—a bomb, cylindrical, similar to a gasoline drum, with a timed fuse."

Wells froze.

This could indeed be produced within a week, and many could be made.

But...

"What use is this thing?" Wells asked, puzzled. "Are you planning to hold this thing and destroy the enemy's gun emplacements?"

"No, father," Tigani answered. "We plan to use this to destroy enemy submarines!"

Wells jumped to his feet as though pricked by a needle.

Destroy submarines? A time-delayed bomb that sinks and explodes near a submarine.

My God, another simple yet practical invention, and incredibly cheap—almost just the cost of the explosives, with no technical barriers!

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