I Became a Plutocrat in World War I: Starting with Saving France-Chapter 1001: Carrier Operations

The British had a weakness: this was their first time using aircraft carriers, so they had no concept of carrier battles and no complete carrier tactics, while Shire had advanced knowledge of carrier combat.

"The British carriers have a single runway straight through the deck," Shire said, pointing to the British Army carrier model during a discussion of battle plans with Major General Pierre:

"This means they can’t take off and land simultaneously."

"This means that when their planes enter the landing procedure, they can’t launch fighters."

"If each carrier launches more than 12 fighters, a gap in air defense will occur."

Major General Pierre quickly understood the implication:

"Launching 12 planes takes more than an hour, and landing takes another hour."

"Their planes have a total airtime of only about two hours."

"To ensure that no plane runs out of fuel with nowhere to land, after launching 12 planes, only a small number of planes can stay airborne for defense, and they’re short on fuel."

"Exactly," Shire nodded. "That’s when it’s best to attack the enemy carrier!"

...

Over the main battlefield, Colonel Will triumphantly shot down three French Army seaplanes, sweeping away the gloom that had been pressing on his heart and shouting in excitement. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

Upon checking the fuel gauge, with only a quarter left, he realized it was time to return.

The planes land in a sequence:

The first 12 fighters to take off consume the most fuel and should return to enter the landing procedure first.

Then the second batch of 12, which could stay on the battlefield for about half an hour more, should also be about ready to retreat.

Colonel Will took a signal flare from the storage compartment, skillfully loaded and fired a shot.

This was the signal to return.

Carrier operations often rely on mathematical calculations and must be precise; even a small error could lead to irreversible disaster.

The carrier group was about 50 kilometers behind the battlefield, and Colonel Will’s squadron found them without much effort.

He maneuvered his fighter around the carrier, carefully lowering altitude and speed.

Once both were within the right range, he then approached the carrier from behind, aligning with the runway under the guidance of signal flags.

Each landing was a life-or-death challenge, no less than dogfighting with enemy planes in the air; Colonel Will went all out.

Fortunately, after a series of jolts and shakes, the fighter finally landed steadily on the runway.

Cheers erupted from the ground crew and comrades on both sides.

This was an incredible attempt, and Colonel Will felt proud of it.

Taking off from the sea, launching fighter planes from a ship instead of seaplanes, was unprecedented!

The Royal Navy was the first and only one.

Only the Royal Navy could achieve this, and that’s why England became the Sun Never Sets Empire!

Next, another fighter landed on the deck, and a mile away, the "Furious" was doing the same; both carriers were tensely recovering fighters.

However, just as the third fighter landed on the deck, someone suddenly shouted, "Planes, a squadron approaching!"

Following the direction pointed by the voice, indeed, a cluster of small black dots could be seen in the southwest.

"Are those ours?" someone asked.

Colonel Will initially thought so too; that direction was just a sea with no islands, unlikely for enemy planes to appear.

But then he reconsidered, feeling something was off.

England had only two carriers, both here, and the British Army’s second batch of fighters was to the west, unlikely to appear in this direction, especially with that number.

With a sense of doubt, Colonel Will quickly ran to the open deck and raised his binoculars towards the target squadron.

What he saw shocked him; although the target squadron was far off, some clearly had gull-wing profiles—they were the French Army’s latest Jenny A fighters.

(Note: At this time, Colonel Will was unaware of other modifications of the French gull-wing.)

"They’re enemies," Colonel Will shouted. "It’s enemy planes, prepare for battle!"

The sharp and prolonged alarm of air defense sounded immediately; the soldiers who were cheering moments ago descended into chaos, launching signals, pushing fighters, distributing ammunition, operating anti-aircraft machine guns...

Most ran around like headless flies.

If they had carrier combat experience, they would know to immediately push planes, fuel, and ammunition off the deck into the sea in such an emergency.

But they didn’t know.

Some thought of it, but without orders from the officers, they dared not act rashly, afraid of being penalized, sent to a military tribunal, or even considered a spy.

Then came mistakes amidst the panic:

A fighter stayed airborne for too long and landed forcibly without the runway being cleared.

It ended up crashing several people, tilting the nose, losing balance, sliding off the deck, and dropping into the sea.

Many gasped, but with no time for rescue, they watched helplessly as the current pulled the fighter under the carrier, crushing it to pieces.

"Boom boom!"

"Rat-tat-tat!"

Destroyers and cruisers opened fire.

But they were mounted with twin "pom-pom guns" and anti-aircraft machine guns, insufficient to threaten the high-flying aircraft.

Colonel Will found a signal gun amidst the chaos and fired two shots rapidly into the air.

One shot signaled retreat, two signaled attack.

The orders were meant for the few fighters staying airborne.

The meaning was clear, though harsh:

You can’t land smoothly under this emergency; landing might cause bigger disasters and accidents.

Under such circumstances, you have no choice but to fight bravely to the end, using whatever fuel remains to block the enemy planes, possibly buying time for the carriers to turn the tides!

British Army pilots were courageous; they realized this and resolutely turned to face the enemy squadron.

But it was futile.

Several Jenny A fighters screamed downwards in a dive, and after a series of machinegun blasts like tearing cloth, the S.E.5a fighters dropped from the sky like broken kites.

The S.E.5a had speed superiority over the Camel, but against Jenny A’s, it was completely outmatched in speed, maneuverability, and dive stability.

Especially in dive stability, Jenny A’s gull wings effectively reduced shaking during high-speed dives, bringing not only structural stability but also shooting accuracy during dives.

Colonel Will almost went crazy.

At this moment, he saw more than a dozen fighters flying in from the west side.

They were the British Army’s second batch of fighters ready to land; Colonel Will was elated and hurriedly fired a signal flare commanding them to attack.

However, the French squadron circled the British aircraft carrier group without rushing to engage.

At that moment, Colonel Will’s mind echoed one thought: "It’s over; they’re waiting for the fighters to run out of fuel!"