Chapter 264: Torpedo Improvements
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Charles asked Tijani, not without a hint of irony, "Do you know anything about design?"
"No, not at all," Tijani replied matter-of-factly.
"Do you know math?"
Tijani laughed. "I've never passed a math class in my life!"
"So, what are you here for?"
Charles had already guessed the answer. This rich kid was here to "tag along with a hero."
Tijani shrugged, looking a bit indignant. "Come on, Colonel, I've got connections! Isn't that enough?"
Charles couldn't argue with that—connections were indeed a skill. After all, it wasn't his fault he was born into privilege.
On further thought, maybe Tijani's lack of technical skills was actually an advantage. It meant he would have to rely on the shipyard's technical staff for assistance, thus allowing the idea of "Charles's plans for a super-heavy tank" to spread quickly—perhaps even along with Charles's designs.
With this in mind, Charles gave a slight nod, gesturing for Tijani to sit down at the desk. Charles pulled a file from his briefcase and placed it before Tijani, tapping it lightly as he lowered his voice, "This is the tank I want, General. It's classified military information."
"Understood, Colonel!" Tijani replied, opening the file with great interest.
But after just one glance, he looked up at Charles, wide-eyed with surprise. "Thirteen meters long, three meters wide, and 120 tons… this is a monster!"
The "Charles A1" tank weighed only 8 tons. This was over ten times heavier.
"Of course," Charles said. "Precisely because it's such a giant, we need a naval engineering consultant. I need to know if a design like this is even feasible—can the steel structure withstand the weight, what ground pressure the treads would exert, and what standard of tracks would be necessary to support 120 tons."
"Colonel…" Tijani turned to the document, visibly puzzled. "Are you seriously considering building this?"
"Any objections?" Charles asked.
"No… no, not at all," Tijani scratched his head, a slight look of resignation on his face. "Looks like I was wrong. After seeing the 'Charles A1,' I thought tanks couldn't get any better. But now…"
Charles was slightly surprised. He hadn't expected this rich kid, who seemed to know so little, to have such insight.
While Tijani lacked the technical expertise, he seemed to sense the development direction of tank design almost instinctively, even picking up on it sooner than Colonel Estigny.
In truth, Charles was mistaken; Tijani's intuition wasn't entirely guesswork.
While most developers focused on battlefield needs or profit, Tijani saw equipment development as a form of art—a step in societal progress, with a violent beauty in its machinery.
Perhaps his lofty perspective allowed him to see further, more clearly, and with a greater vision for the future. It was a perspective that only someone from his privileged background could afford, one who could view tanks as toys and warships as works of art.
Charles didn't waste any more time. "I just need answers, General. Can you get them?"
"Of course," Tijani replied with a grin. "No worries, Colonel. I'll bring the design plans and data you need tomorrow, guaranteed!"
Charles gave a curt nod, turning to review the latest reports from Major Fernand as if to say, "Carry on; you can leave now."
Tijani didn't leave, though. With a sheepish grin, he leaned in closer. "We've hit a bit of a snag with the torpedo design."
Charles said nothing, staying focused on his work. If torpedoes were easy to perfect, they wouldn't need you to develop them.
Tijani didn't mind being ignored. He picked up a pencil, twirling it idly in his hand as he muttered, "The main issue is that the underwater conditions are too unpredictable. After launch, a torpedo is easily affected by hidden currents, and we can't even anticipate the direction, which makes it difficult to control."
"We've tried a lot of solutions, like increasing the torpedo's speed or installing sensors for self-correction, but the results haven't been ideal…"
Though Charles pretended not to listen, the problem Tijani described caught his attention, and his mind began to wander from the reports.
This was a similar issue to the one faced with artillery shells. The difference was that artillery in the air was mainly affected by wind, which was a lesser force compared to ocean currents.
Wind conditions could often be predicted within a certain area at specific times—northeast winds, southwest winds, their speed, and so forth. Artillery crews could then adjust based on wind deviations, achieving relatively accurate trajectories.
Torpedoes, however, had no such predictability, as ocean currents could have unexpected whirlpools or twists that sent torpedoes veering off course.
This issue led to notable misses at even close distances, and there were even cases of torpedoes circling back to hit their own ships.
(Note: In 1942, the British Navy had such an accident.)
In the modern era, gyroscopes allowed torpedoes to correct their course, resulting in a major leap in effectiveness.
There was, however, a simpler, more direct solution…
After a moment's thought, Charles replied, "Perhaps we could solve the problem with wire-guided control."
"Wire-guided?" Tijani looked at Charles without surprise. "You mean like the Brennan torpedo?"
Now it was Charles's turn to be puzzled.
He'd expected Tijani to react with astonishment, saying, "Of course! All we need to do is add a control wire to the torpedo's tail, and we'd be able to steer it towards the target! Brilliant! Why didn't we think of this sooner?"
Instead, Tijani merely looked slightly confused, mentioning something unfamiliar: the "Brennan torpedo."
Tijani's response left Charles surprised. "Wait, you mean to say there's already a wire-guided torpedo?"
"Yes, Colonel!" Tijani nodded firmly. "It was… around twenty years ago, I believe. The inventor was an Irishman named Brennan, so it was called the 'Brennan torpedo.'"
Charles was stunned.
This was World War I, and he'd assumed that military technology was still quite rudimentary. The idea that torpedoes had already reached the level of wire-guided control was surprising, especially since this method was still in use in modern times.
After a moment, Charles asked, "If we already have such a torpedo, why are we still having accuracy issues?"
Charles meant, "Why not just use it?"
Tijani shook his head. "It's quite limited, Colonel. Many of us are debating whether it's even worth using."
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