Chapter 359 Naval Expansion Act

However, this shortcoming outweighs the flaws of the Phantom-4 bomber. The Phantom-4 bomber is definitely the most useful military aircraft in this era.

Imagine that when a large-scale war is breaking out, hundreds of bombers suddenly fly over the heads of the two armies.

The bombs being dropped one after another and the buzzing of the planes lingering in the ears are enough to destroy the enemy's spiritual defense line.

You know, trench warfare can be seen almost everywhere in World War I. While trenches can protect against enemy machine guns and artillery, they cannot protect against bombings from the sky.

When Australasia uses aircraft during the stalemate of the war, it may be able to change the situation of the war in one fell swoop.

Arthur attached great importance to the Phantom-4 bomber, so he decided to directly order 500 bombers.

The Phantom 4 bomber is the most expensive of the three military aircraft, with a cost of A$31,035.

This also means that the cost of building 500 bombers has reached 15.5 million Australian dollars, making it the most expensive among the three types of military aircraft.

Adding up all the orders for the three types of military aircraft, Arthur will order 1,100 military aircraft, with a total cost of more than 32.75 million Australian dollars, which is almost catching up with the government's military expenditure in the previous year.

However, it’s certainly worth spending the money. After purchasing these 1,100 aircraft, the total number of military aircraft in Australasia has reached more than 1,700, exceeding the total number of other countries.

This also means that Australasia's air force is currently the strongest in the world, and there have even been exaggerated faults.

It goes without saying how important air superiority is in war. The air superiority possessed by Australasia will greatly help the Allies in future wars.

As for the 123rd generation military aircraft that Australasia has fallen behind, they can actually be sold to Allied allies at a lower price.

Anyway, for the Allied countries, Australasia's backward third-generation aircraft are relatively advanced for them.

They can also use the aircraft sold in Australasia to study the technology and improve their own aircraft.

However, the aviation industry in Australasia has developed for such a long time and has already attracted more than one-third of the world's aerodynamics-related talents.

If other countries want to surpass Australasia in aircraft, they not only need to make greater efforts in talents, but also need the help of some top scientists.

But the problem is that other countries are researching aircraft, and Australasia is even more researching aircraft.

Unless research in Australasia is hindered, it depends on Arthur's willingness to achieve overtaking in aircraft research.

The good news is that Australasia's military academies have developed over the years and there is no shortage of pilot talents.

Even if 1,100 aircraft are purchased at once this time, the corresponding pilots can be deployed in a short time.

However, in order for the Air Force to develop combat effectiveness, I am afraid it will take a period of training.

According to data provided by the aviation laboratory, all 1,100 aircraft will be completed by the end of next year at the earliest.

Fortunately, the Aviation Laboratory and the Aviation School of the Royal Military Academy have many training aircraft. As long as their engines are replaced with the latest improved aircraft engines, it is perfectly fine to use them for training.

Judging from the training time of these pilots, the Air Force was able to form combat effectiveness from the end of 1914 to the beginning of 1915. Even if the war breaks out as scheduled, the Air Force will be able to participate in the war.

The ordering of trucks was just the tip of the iceberg in the arms race across Europe in 1913. Even if the Australasian Air Force had gained an astonishing lead, Arthur would not think that he had gained an advantage in this arms race.

Speaking of which, we have to mention the current exaggerated arms race in European countries.

The naval bills promulgated by various countries are simply like farts, because the actual number of warships built has far exceeded the provisions of the promulgated naval bills.

So far, in just over half a year, Germany has started building five battleships and three battlecruisers, and it is said that it will build at least one more main battleship.

Naturally, the British would not give in. In a tit-for-tat manner, they started construction of seven battleships and six battlecruisers.

The number of main battleships built by Britain and Germany in a year is fully twice the number of navies of great powers like Australasia.

This is enough to prove the exaggerated industrial strength of Britain and Germany, but it also proves the current situation in disguise, that is, the financial situation of Britain and Germany will never be good.

You know, the cost of warships is only one of them. After building a warship, you still need to bear the cost of daily maintenance of the warship, replenishment of weapons and equipment, training of soldiers, etc.

Australasia itself only has three battleships and two battlecruisers, and the cost is already quite high, not to mention the dozens of main battleships from Britain and Germany.

It can be seen from the data for the whole year of 1902 that the European powers have generally entered a state of financial losses.

The only two countries with relatively good financial conditions, Britain and France, were able to barely maintain fiscal balance only because the latter had a large amount of colonial blood.

Germany, which does not have large colonies, has a very poor financial situation.

Of course, the financial situation of Russia, the Austro-Hungarian Empire and other great powers is not very good, and each of them is heavily in debt.

Especially Russia, although it has a huge land area and population, its economy is relatively not very good.

If it weren't for France's long-term loans and the British Empire's continued blood transfusions, Russia's financial situation would probably be the first to be unsustainable.

Although the naval arms race is dominated by Britain and Germany, there will be no shortage of other countries from the Allies and the Entente.

As a country with a relatively good financial situation among the European powers, especially when it is already obviously lagging behind in terms of dreadnoughts, the French are not willing to give up on their shipbuilding speed. In more than ten months this year, they have started construction like crazy. Four battleships and four battlecruisers were built.

There is nothing that can be done about this. The French have been very slow to respond in terms of dreadnoughts.

If they don't make great efforts, I am afraid that the French fleet will not even be able to defeat the Italian navy, let alone control the Mediterranean.

In the era of dreadnoughts, dreadnoughts were the most powerful warships. What's more, there are now super-dreadnoughts. If the French don't put a lot of effort into dreadnoughts, it may very well become an opportunity for the Allied countries to break through the Allied blockade.

It is worth mentioning that while France was building dreadnoughts on a large scale, it also loaned a large amount of money to Italy, a member of the Allied Powers.

This also allowed Italy to obtain enough funds to expand its army. The Italians also started building three dreadnoughts and two battlecruisers, showing a strong tendency to get rid of the inferior powers.

Although the Austro-Hungarian Empire only built one battleship this year, the Austro-Hungarian Empire started building two dreadnoughts last year and has entered the sea navigation test stage. After all, it will not be long before they can be officially put into service.

Of course, it goes without saying that Russia has already ordered two battleships and two battlecruisers in Australasia. Two of them have been officially commissioned this year, and two more have entered the sea navigation test stage.

As a result, Arthur was surprised to find that Australasia's naval strength had been surpassed by all the great powers.

Australasia's great power status seems to be in jeopardy, with the risk of being overtaken by a secondary power like the island nation at any time.

It is no exaggeration to say that the naval strength of the world's major powers is changing drastically every year, and they are all frantically expanding and catching up.

These days, there are only a few dreadnoughts, and we are embarrassed to be called a naval power. Without more than a dozen dreadnoughts and super-dreadnoughts, it would be embarrassing to call it a top power.

The shortcomings of Australasia's postponement of naval development are also revealed at this moment. If the navy does not catch up, I am afraid that Australasia's great power status, which has just been recognized for a few years, will also be cancelled.

In October 1913, after a cabinet meeting, Australasia officially announced its second naval expansion plan, following trucks and aircraft.

Under the provisions of the Australasian Naval Expansion Act, naval expansion in Australasia would begin in early 1914 and last for five years.

During these five years, Australasia will build at least two super-dreadnoughts and one battlecruiser every year, keeping the size of Australasia's navy at the level of ordinary powers.

If this five-year naval expansion plan can be implemented smoothly, then in five years, at the beginning of 1919, Australasia will have ten super-dreadnoughts, three dreadnoughts, seven battlecruisers, and a proper navy. level of power.

Once this naval expansion plan was announced, it immediately aroused wild cheers and expectations among Australasians.

No one wants their country to be prosperous and powerful. In fact, most Australasians hope to see the government expand the navy again. This is not only a reflection of the country's strength, but also can better protect the country and protect the country. nation, the goal of protecting the people.

Although this naval expansion plan will cause Australasia's military expenditure to skyrocket, but seeing the First World War coming, Arthur also understands that it is not necessary to prepare at a high cost before the war, but to prepare during and after the war. Take the loss at great cost.

Fortunately, Australasia entered the naval arms race relatively late and has few competitors, so the burden is not too great.

Many British and French private banks have even expressed their willingness to provide interest-free loans to Australasia to help their allies with their naval expansion.

Especially after the French borrowed money from Italy, many French people have angrily asked the government why it would lend money to its enemies.

If the French government's consistently tough attitude hadn't satisfied the people, I'm afraid the French government's collapse would have been a matter of minutes.

It is also because of this incident that many French people ask the French government to focus on its allies. If they have spare money, they will help their allies instead of their enemies.

As a member of the Entente and an ally of France, Australasia naturally gained the attention of the French people.

After the announcement of Australasia's naval expansion plan, the French people publicly stated that if the government wanted to lend money to foreign countries, it should lend money to Australasia and Russia.

In addition to France, Britain and Russia also support the expansion of the Australasian navy.

The enhancement of Australasia's naval strength can greatly relieve the British Empire's naval pressure in the Indian Ocean.

This would also allow the British Empire to mobilize more troops from the Indian Ocean region to the Atlantic and European offshore waters to participate in blockades and operations against the Allies.

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