I Became a Tycoon During World War I - Chapter 264

Chapter 264: The Improvement of Torpedoes

Charles asked sarcastically, "Do you understand design?"

"No, I don't," replied Tigani without hesitation.

Charles asked again, "Do you understand mathematics?"

Tigani laughed, "I have never passed a math test in my life!"

"Then what are you doing here?"

Actually, Charles had already guessed the answer. This rich second-generation was here to "chase stars."

Tigani spread his hands, looking somewhat aggrieved, "Please, Colonel, I have resources, is that enough?"

Charles immediately fell silent. Having resources was indeed a kind of skill—who told others they couldn't choose their birth?

Upon further reflection, it was actually a good thing that Tigani knew nothing.

Because that meant he needed to delegate the problems to the technicians at the shipyard, and soon, the information that "Charles plans to produce an ultra-heavy tank" would spread quickly, including Charles' design blueprints.

With that thought, Charles nodded slightly, signaling Tigani to sit down in the chair by the desk.

He took out a document from his briefcase and handed it to Tigani, lightly patting it, lowering his voice and saying, "This is the tank I want, General. This is a military secret."

"Understood, Colonel!" Tigani responded with interest, flipping open the document.

However, after just one glance, his eyes widened in surprise as he looked at Charles, "13 meters long, 3 meters wide, weighing 120 tons... this is a big one!"

The "Char A1" only weighed 8 tons, and this was more than ten times heavier.

"Of course," Charles replied. "Just because it's a big one, it requires naval technology consultants. I want to know if this design is feasible, like whether the steel can withstand the weight of the hull, the pressure the tracks exert on the ground, and what kind of standard tracks can endure the weight of about 120 tons."

"Colonel..." Tigani turned to the document, looking puzzled, his tone a little hesitant, "You don't really plan to produce this kind of tank, do you?"

"Any problems?" Charles countered.

"No, no... it's just that after seeing the 'Char A1,' I thought tanks should be like that, and nothing could be better. But now..."

Charles was a bit surprised.

He hadn't expected that this rich second-generation who seemed to know nothing would have such insight.

Tigani clearly lacked professional knowledge but seemed to "feel" the direction in which tanks were developing, and his thinking was even ahead of Colonel Estigny.

In fact, Charles misunderstood; Tigani wasn't relying purely on "intuition."

Most ordinary people's research would inevitably be immersed in the battlefield or driven by profit. Tigani, however, elevated it to another level: he saw equipment development as an art, as a process of human social progress, as a form of the violent beauty of war.

Perhaps because of his position, he could see further, more clearly, and with greater foresight.

Only someone from Tigani's background could do this. Ordinary people couldn't treat tanks as toys or admire warships as if they were works of art—they didn't have such conditions.

Charles didn’t waste time with Tigani, "I just want to know the answer, General. Do you have a solution?"

"Of course," Tigani replied with a grin, "Don’t worry, Colonel. I'll bring the design plan and the data you need tomorrow, and I guarantee you’ll be satisfied!"

Charles nodded, turning around to review a stack of telegrams just handed to him by Lieutenant Colonel Fernand. It seemed to signal to Tigani: “Busy, you're free to go.”

Tigani didn’t leave, though. He smiled and leaned forward, "Colonel, we’ve run into some difficulties with improving the torpedoes."

Charles didn’t respond, continuing to focus on his own matters. If torpedoes were simple, you wouldn't need to be working on them.

Tigani, who had been relegated to the cold bench, didn't mind. He casually picked up a pencil, fiddling with it while muttering to himself:

"The main difficulty is the complex hydrological conditions."

"Once the torpedo is fired, it’s easily influenced by undercurrents, and we can’t even predict the direction of the currents, so the firing direction becomes uncontrollable."

"We’ve tried many methods, like increasing the speed of the torpedo or adding sensors for self-correction, but none of them worked well."

...

Although Charles wasn’t planning to listen, he was still drawn to the problem Tigani had raised. Though he was flipping through intelligence reports, his mind was sidetracked.

This was actually a problem faced by artillery shells as well.

The difference was that airborne artillery shells were affected by wind, which, evidently, had a much smaller impact than ocean currents.

On the other hand, wind conditions could be measured within a certain range and time—such as a northwest wind or southeast wind at a certain intensity. Artillery units could adjust for wind drift, ultimately achieving a relatively accurate trajectory.

Torpedoes fired at sea couldn’t be dealt with in the same way, though. The currents might even have whirlpools that could send the torpedo off course.

That’s why, during this period, there were cases where torpedoes missed targets even at 150 meters, and even torpedoes fired by warships could veer off and destroy themselves.

(Note: In 1942, the British Navy encountered such an incident.)

It wasn’t until the installation of gyroscopes that torpedoes gained the ability to correct their own course, which marked a major leap forward.

However, there was also a simpler and more direct solution...

Charles thought for a moment before answering, "Perhaps we can solve this with wire guidance."

"Wire guidance?" Tigani calmly looked at Charles, "Are you talking about the Brennan torpedo?"

This time, Charles was puzzled.

He had expected that when he proposed the advanced concept of wire-guided torpedoes, Tigani would exclaim, "That's right, Colonel! All we need to do is add a wire to the back of the torpedo, and we can control its movement toward the target in the water! You’re brilliant, how did we not think of this!"

However...

Tigani’s expression was just a little confused, and he mentioned a term that Charles didn’t know: "Brennan torpedo."

Charles' reaction was just as unexpected to Tigani, whose eyes flashed with a hint of astonishment and respect: "My God, you don’t know the Brennan torpedo, but you still thought of using wire guidance to solve the accuracy problem."

Charles realized the implication and stopped what he was doing, turning to look at Tigani: "General, do you mean that the wire-guided torpedo has already been invented?"

"Yes, Colonel!" Tigani nodded firmly, "This should be... about twenty years ago. I’m not entirely sure, but the inventor was Brennan from Ireland, so it’s called the 'Brennan torpedo.'"

Charles was a little dizzy.

This was World War I, and he had always thought the equipment from this period was primitive and backward. He never expected that torpedoes had already reached the level of wire guidance. This technology was still in use in modern times.

Charles then found it strange, "If such a torpedo exists, why are there still accuracy issues?"

What Charles meant was: You can just use it, right?

Tigani shook his head and replied, "It has significant limitations, Colonel. Many of us are still debating whether to adopt this method."

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