CHAPTER 637: CHAPTER 637 "UWD" SEAPLANE

In mid-February in Germany, the climate warmed and the snow melted.

The North Sea had recently experienced a major storm, with waves as high as over ten meters sweeping across coastal villages, burying all crops under thick sand and mud.

A large number of houses were destroyed, and many civilians became homeless refugees, begging for a living.

This exacerbated the already severe resource shortage in Germany, with signs of uprisings in some areas.

Admiral Scheer had no time to attend to these matters. He stood on the sea-viewing platform at Wilhelm Port, his gaze fixed on a plane being tugged out of the harbor by a towboat.

It was a large seaplane converted from a Gotha G.1 bomber, named "UWD" by Admiral Scheer.

(Above is the German seaplane converted from the Gotha G.1 bomber, "UWD".)

The reason for the conversion was that Admiral Scheer believed the performance of the Gotha bomber was still insufficient to meet the navy’s needs.

Its speed was similar to Shire’s Caproni bombers, reaching 135 kilometers per hour, but its total range was only 520 kilometers; even with auxiliary fuel tanks, it could only reach 800 kilometers.

This might allow the Gotha bomber to reach the northern part of the North Sea, but it could only glance at it before having to return, otherwise, it would never come back due to fuel shortages.

And this brief reconnaissance time might not even spot the shadow of the main British fleet.

"This is not what we need." Admiral Scheer worriedly told his staff: "Our goal is to break through, which requires us to constantly grasp the movements of the Royal Navy’s main fleet. But right now, our bombers simply can’t do this."

Admiral Scheer obtained 6 Gotha G.1 from Fajin Han, who promised to accelerate production speed for a steady supply later, but this was far from enough.

Staff member Maxim analyzed: "The problem is that these planes have to return to the airport to refuel every time they go out for reconnaissance, thus wasting a lot of time and fuel on ineffective flights."

"What do you mean..." Admiral Scheer looked at Maxim, then he understood: "You mean converting them into seaplanes?"

"Yes." Maxim nodded: "Once converted into seaplanes, they won’t need to return to refuel, we can set up several supply points at sea, using submarines to carry fuel for these planes."

Admiral Scheer nodded in approval: "This could even compensate for the Gotha’s short range and further expand our reconnaissance scope."

Thus, taking advantage of the fierce sea conditions and strong winds in the North Sea during January and February, Admiral Scheer expeditiously upgraded the Gotha bombers into seaplanes.

Staff report brought Admiral Scheer back to reality: "General, it’s ready."

Only then did Admiral Scheer notice the "UWD" seaplane was already moored at sea, the towboat clearing the way, and patrol boats cleared a "runway" a few hundred meters ahead.

Admiral Scheer gently nodded, solemnly ordered: "Start!"

With the signal from the communication officer, the seaplane engine began to roar, like a beast making a low growl on the water surface, the two propellers below the fuselage spun faster and faster, soon becoming a blur, while the wind stirred waves underneath.

Then, the plane slowly moved forward, its floats struggling to accelerate through the waves, the resistance seemingly increasing, and the waves rising higher.

The speed increased further, finally in the eyes of the hopeful crowd, the bomber broke free from the water, rising into the air.

The officers below unconsciously cheered, some applauded to celebrate.

Admiral Scheer lightly sighed in relief, nodded appreciatively, and ordered Maxim: "The reconnaissance task is yours to manage, Colonel, we need to quickly find the enemy’s weakness and launch an attack."

Germany really needed a victory at this moment, to at least give people some hope, even if just a little.

Otherwise, the hungry populace would overthrow the emperor’s rule.

...

Shire had recently been in Antwerp.

With the successful breakthrough at Hasselt and capturing 200,000 German soldiers, Antwerp had thoroughly become a second-line position.

To be precise, not a second line, but a rear, more than sixty kilometers behind the frontline.

The main British forces had been withdrawn from here, including Admiral Avis, who was sent to the River Somme to fight.

The British stubbornly believed this was meaningful, hoping to gain a notable victory there.

This approach seemed more like a gambler’s.

Kitchener did not want sacrifices to go unrewarded or thought the Germans were about to collapse, needing just a bit more effort from the British Army to defeat the enemy and achieve a glorious victory.

Therefore, they kept piling men, resources, and ammunition onto the River Somme.

However, the Germans on the opposite side were doing the same, piling men, resources, and ammunition.

But the fact was, the front line only slowly shifted back and forth, with decreasing supplies and soldiers.

Shire still set up his command post at the airport.

Unlike before, the airport now had 12 Caproni bombers, the improved models capable of carrying torpedoes.

The Director of Aircraft Development, Dorne, personally led the team responsible for logistics and technical guidance for these bombers.

Dorne held the diagram and said to Shire:

"According to our tests, the speed before torpedo drop is best not to exceed 100 kilometers per hour."

"Additionally, the plane must maintain a stable posture, otherwise the torpedo will tumble in the air due to inertia, causing it to fail to launch in the correct direction."

"The height is best kept around 20 meters."

Shire sighed inwardly, speed, posture, height, it all had demands, more stringent seemingly.

(Note: During WWII, most torpedo bombers required a height between 10 to 30 meters.)

But this seemed not surprising, industrial levels during WWI always lagged behind WWII.

The path had to be walked, not solved easily even thinking ahead, especially with only more than a month for development.

"This places high demands on our pilots." Dorne reminded: "These are large bombers attacking enemy warships, it’s difficult to pull up immediately after bombing."

Shire replied with an "Um".

Shire was not worried about this; after intense battles, the aviation group had cultivated a large batch of experienced pilots.

Moreover, although Caproni was a large bomber, maintaining a speed around 100 kilometers per hour, it had more than a minute to react within the two kilometers to drop torpedoes, enough time for pilots to pull up.

The issue was, pilots might try to get closer for higher accuracy.

Those daring folks, who liked playing on the edge to challenge limits, just for the high cheer after success. Even Colonel Carter was one of them.

While Shire was discussing details with Dorne, the guard reported: "General, Admiral Gephardt has arrived, and he wishes to speak with you."