On a cloudy morning, in the waters of western Ireland, an IK-60D twin-engine bomber with a clover logo painted on its wings and no tactical number on its fuselage flew alone at an altitude of about 1,500 meters. This medium bomber www.biquge.info Irish Air Force's version of the German-built Ju-28 retains the Germans' favourite fancy cockpit (i.e., the typical structure with a large metal frame and plate tempered glass for an ideal view).

Flying near Muton Island, the bomber's bomb bay door slowly opened. Moments later, a bomb shaped like a miniature airplane exits the bomb bay under the force of gravity, and the body remains level as it falls. At first, its trajectory looks no different from that of a normal aerial bomb, but when it falls into the air, its parabolic trajectory begins to change visibly with the naked eye, and it is clearly not the air resistance or wind that causes it to change. At this time, in the transparent nose of the IK-60D, a pilot in military uniform and a fur hat has his eyes firmly on the bomb sight, and in his hand he controls a cigar box with two small handles, while at the back of the cockpit, another officer is looking at the special bomb through the auxiliary scope.

At this time, in the concrete bunker used for coastal defense security at the northern tip of Mouton Island, a group of people were observing this unique bombing test with the help of artillery mirrors and binoculars. In addition to the Irish and German military, many of them are professors and staff from the University of Limerick - thanks to the continued investment of the Irish government, the University of Limerick has made rapid progress throughout the 20s, and today it is one of the strongest science and engineering institutions in Europe, with a considerable number of elite talents in the fields of mechanics, power, chemistry, engineering, electrical and electronics, and unlike traditional high-level institutions, their research focus is biased towards practical and creative technology. And not just at the theoretical level. For example, the School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering played a fundamental role in the development of the MC series radar in Ireland, and the School of Mechanics and Power made a very important contribution to the vigorous development of the shipbuilding and aviation industry in Ireland.

The long-awaited moment finally arrived, when the bombs that rained from the sky landed accurately on the reef north of Muton Island. The reef is about 220 meters long from east to west and 90 meters wide from north to south, the size of a battleship, and the bomb landed very close to the white cross painted in the center of the reef. Seeing this, the people in the bunker immediately high-fived each other, knowing that this special project has gone through a long and tortuous research process since its launch in 1924, and now it has finally come to fruition, which is worth celebrating, as for what kind of changes this technological achievement, to be exact, this novel weapon, will bring to the current mode of naval warfare, researchers can hardly imagine at this time, and among the soldiers beside them, some people have already shown surprise......

Respecting the wishes of Dr. Stauberg, the radio-operated rudder to adjust the flight trajectory of the bomb was named after the eldest princess of Ireland and was called the "Angel I" flying bomb. Designed for a combat weight of 1,600 kilograms, the new weapon could penetrate the horizontal decks of most warships if thrown from a height of 4,000 meters. After the official production, it is expected that the monthly output can reach more than 500 pieces, half of which will be used for training, half of which will be put into actual combat, and its carrying and control platform is the first choice IK-60D, and the same type of bomber Dornier D-55 in the Luftwaffe is also competent.

Natsuki was very pleased to receive the news of the successful flight bomb test. The reason why Ireland's aviation and electronic technology is in the leading position in the world is inseparable from his vision and determination as the highest decision-maker, and judging from the trend of historical development, radar equipment and guided weapons are all key technologies, and whoever can take the lead in mastering them will occupy the commanding heights of military technology and will be able to occupy the upper hand in future wars. And as a "prophet" of history, he is also well aware that this new type of weapon can only serve as a surprise weapon until the technology is fully mature, and it is not enough to be the sustenance to win the war. With the weight of the "Angel I" flying bomb, even if the carrier-based aircraft is forcibly carried into the air, it cannot provide a stable operating environment, so it can only rely on land-based aviation bases to carry out operations in the initial stage, and the success of the test does not mean that the technology is mature, and it stands to reason that a large number of tests and improvements are needed to truly meet the requirements of actual combat. As far as the Allied camp is concerned, the most realistic reliance in the next three months is to repair as many existing damaged ships as possible, mobilize all available naval forces, and strive to contain the naval offensive of the United States and Britain in European waters.

In the face of his own euphemistic refusal, General von Carson, who had arrived on an important mission, did not return to Paris gloomily, but on behalf of the German Crown Prince, he visited the Irish people, visited the wounded, and accompanied by the Irish generals, toured the Limerick garrison and the reserve unit under training. Clearly, the Irish military and civilians had passed the emotional slow of the British bombing at the beginning of the war, and with the successive victories of the Allied troops in the British mainland, the Irish began to look forward to the better times after the war, and the thought of the arrogant British giving a taste of domination made the older Irish feel very relieved.

A few days after the previous meeting, von Carson returned to the Irish royal palace to pay his respects to the king. Natsuki told him about the flying bomb that had just been successfully tested, a project that took nearly 10 years to invest a total of 64 million marks, and the German military paid half of the cost, but the German leaders regarded the investment as a friendly sponsorship, and they lacked enthusiasm for the idea of flying bombs, and felt that high-performance dive bombers were the right direction for the development of air-to-ship technology.

Von Carson listened very carefully to Natsuki's introduction and elaboration, although he had not been exposed to the concept of flying bombs before, he still quickly realized the amazing prospects of this weapon -- if Germany mobilized its own industrial resources to manufacture the "Angel I" type, the monthly production would increase dozens of times, even if the technology of this weapon was not mature enough, as long as it had the same or even slightly inferior attack accuracy as the dive bomber, it would be a very powerful weapon against the US and British fleets.

Afterwards, von Carson told Natsuki that Crown Prince Wilhelm had always considered him the ideal candidate to be the commander of the Allied fleet, and that if he could not take up his post because of the concerns he had previously stated, the German General Staff would consider appointing an Irish admiral of German descent to the post.

After thinking about it for a while, Xia Shu politely declined the "kindness" of the German General Staff. In fact, the real question is not whether the Irish generals have this ability, but once the command of the Allied fleet is handed over to the Irish generals, then the heavy responsibility of maintaining the war situation also falls on the Irish, and whether Natsuki becomes the commander of the Allied fleet or not, will take on the unshirkable responsibility for the next naval competition.

Natsuki vaguely said that it is not completely impossible for him to go out of the firing line, and he must first meet several conditions: first, Italy and Austria-Hungary must be allowed to formally enter the war, gather their main fleet to the Gibraltar line, and deploy army units to the west coast of Spain; Second, it was necessary to stabilize Soviet Russia on the Eastern Front, and sign a formal non-aggression pact with it, even at great cost; Thirdly, absolute command of the ships of the German Navy should be given to the commander of the Allied fleet, and the Luftwaffe should cooperate with it to the greatest extent possible.

After another long conversation, von Carson seemed to realize Natsuki's true intentions, and he set off for Paris that afternoon. When they said goodbye, none of them expected that many expected and unexpected things would happen in the next period of time, making the relatively simple war situation very complicated all of a sudden.

The first change came from East Asia. Taking advantage of the fact that the European and American powers were involved in the war and had no time to look eastward, the Japanese finally could not bear the ambition that had been suppressed before, and the Japanese garrisons stationed along the South Manchurian Railway suddenly launched an attack on the Chinese army garrison under the pretext that the Chinese army had provoked an incident, and the scale of the war expanded rapidly, and in just 48 hours, the well-prepared Japanese army invaded and occupied more than 20 Chinese towns along the South Manchuria and Anbong railways, and ignored the protests of the Chinese government and continued to attack the military towns and transportation hubs in northeast China. Japanese troops deployed on the Korean Peninsula also crossed the border to engage in the fighting. During this period, the U.S. and British governments not only turned a blind eye to Japan's military operations, but even accepted military observer missions from Japan in British India.

Immediately afterwards, King George V, who was originally thought to be sworn to stay on the mainland, appeared in Ottawa, Canada, announcing that the British royal family, government and army were gradually withdrawing from the mainland, but the British Commonwealth military and people would not give up their resistance, and they would continue to resist the war aggression of the Allies with the help and support of the American allies. On the same day that King George V issued the Ottawa Declaration, most of the Japanese capital ships abruptly left their home ports, and given that these modern warships were of little use in East Asia, their destination was most likely the Indian Ocean adjacent to the Persian Gulf - although Ottoman Turkey had not yet entered the war, and large numbers of British and American troops had been massed in the western border areas of British India, eyeing the Middle East controlled by the Central Powers.

The whereabouts of the Japanese fleet were still uncertain, and the Ottoman Turks rebelled in the 5th Army in northern Persia and the 7th Army in Egypt, and the rebels quickly defeated the troops loyal to Istanbul, seized the port and railroad, and announced a march on Istanbul, which greatly shocked the Turkish elite, but the government forces sent to Persia and Egypt to pacify the judgment either stopped on the grounds of damage to the road facilities or the mutiny of the soldiers caused the troops to get out of control.

Fearing that the chaotic state of the Ottoman Empire provided an excellent opportunity for American and British troops to invade the Middle East, Germany quickly sent additional troops to Anatolia and the Middle East by rail and shipping, but the railroad to Baghdad and Kuwait was destroyed by the rebels, and then the Suez Canal was also attacked by rebels, and the shipping route was blocked by shipwrecks, which greatly affected the connection between the Allied forces in the Middle East and the rear, and all signs indicated that the American and British troops would soon open a new front in the Middle East.

(End of chapter)