Rise of Australia

Chapter 359 Naval Expansion Act
However, this shortcoming is not concealed for the Specter-4 bomber. The Specter-4 bomber is definitely the most useful military aircraft in this era.

Just imagine, 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 ear, are enough to destroy the enemy's spiritual defense.

You know, trench warfare can be seen almost everywhere in World War I.While trenches can defend against enemy machine guns and artillery, they cannot defend against bombing 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 Specter-4 bomber, so he also decided to directly order 500 bombers.

The cost of the Ghost-4 bomber is the most expensive of the three military aircraft, and its cost is as high as 31035 Australian dollars.

This also means that the cost of 500 bombers has reached 1550 million Australian dollars, which is the most expensive of the three military aircraft.

Adding up all the orders for the three types of military aircraft, Arthur will order 1100 military aircraft, with a total cost of more than 3275 million Australian dollars, almost catching up with the government's military expenditure in the previous year.

Still, it's certainly a good deal to spend those funds.After the purchase of these 1100 aircraft, the total number of military aircraft in Australasia has reached more than 1700, more than the sum of other countries.

This also means that Australasia's air force is currently the strongest in the world, and even a very exaggerated fault has appeared.

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

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

Anyway, for the countries of the Allied Powers, Australasia's backward three-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.

It's just that 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 terms of aircraft, they not only need to work harder on talents, but also need the help of some top scientists.

But the problem is, other countries are working on planes, and Australasia is working on planes.

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

The good news is that after years of development in the military academy in Australasia, there is no shortage of pilot talents.

Even if 1100 aircraft are purchased in one go this time, the corresponding pilots can be equipped in a short time.

It's just that if the air force wants to form combat effectiveness, I'm afraid it will take a period of training.

According to the data given by the Aeronautical Laboratory, the construction of all 1100 aircraft has been completed, and it will not be until the end of next year at the earliest.

Fortunately, both the Aviation Laboratory and the Aviation Academy of the Royal Military Academy have a lot of training aircraft. As long as their engines are replaced with the latest improved aircraft engines, they can be used for training.

Combined with the training time of these pilots, the air force was allowed to form combat effectiveness from the end of 1914 to the beginning of 1915. Even if the war broke out as scheduled, the air force was fully capable of participating in the war.

The truck order was just the tip of the iceberg of the 1913 arms race across Europe.Even if the Australasian Air Force has gained an astonishing lead, Arthur will not think that he has gained the upper hand in this arms race.

Speaking of this, I have to mention the current exaggerated arms race among European countries.

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

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

Naturally, the British would not back down, and started construction on seven battleships and six battlecruisers in a tit-for-tat manner.

The number of major warships built by Britain and Germany in a year is fully twice the number of navies of such powers as Australasia.

This is enough to prove the exaggerated industrial strength of Britain and Germany, but it also proves the status quo in disguise, that is, the financial situation of Britain and Germany will definitely not be good.

You know, the cost of a warship is only one of them.After building a warship, you also need to bear the daily maintenance of the warship, the supplement of weapons and equipment, the training expenses of soldiers, and so on.

Australasia itself only has three battleships and two battlecruisers, and the cost is not small, let alone dozens of main battleships in Britain and Germany.

From the data for the whole year of 1902, it can be seen that the European powers have generally entered a state of financial loss.

Only Britain and France, whose financial situation is still relatively good, and the latter's large number of colonies returning blood, can barely maintain a financial balance.

Germany, which has no large colonies, has a very bad financial situation.

Of course, the financial situation of Russia, the Austro-Hungarian Empire and other powers is not very good, and all of them are 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 the long-term loans from France and the continuous blood transfusion of the British Empire, I am afraid that Russia's financial situation would be the first to fail.

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

As a country with a relatively good financial situation among the European powers, especially when it is already significantly behind in dreadnoughts, the French have not slowed down their shipbuilding speed. In the past ten months of this year, they have started construction frantically. Four battleships and four battlecruisers were built.

This is also something that can't be helped. The French's response to the dreadnought has been very slow.

If you don't work hard, I'm afraid the French fleet can't even beat the Italian navy, let alone control the Mediterranean.

In the era of dreadnoughts, dreadnoughts were the strongest warships.What's more, there is still the birth of super dreadnoughts. If the French don't work hard on dreadnoughts, it is likely to become an opportunity for the Allied countries to break through the Allied blockade.

It is worth mentioning that while building dreadnoughts, France also borrowed a large amount of money from Italy, a member of the Allied Powers.

This also allowed Italy to obtain enough funds to expand its army. The Italians also started to build three dreadnoughts and two battlecruisers, which showed a great tendency to get rid of the last powers.

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

Naturally, the Russian side needless to say, the two battleships and two battlecruisers ordered in Australasia a long time ago have officially entered service this year, and the other two have also entered the navigating test stage.

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

Australasia's status as a great power seems to be in jeopardy, and it is at risk of being overtaken by a second power like an island country at any time.

It is no exaggeration to say that the current naval strength of the major powers in the world changes greatly every year, and they are all frantically expanding and catching up.

These days, there are not many dreadnoughts, and they are ashamed to be called a naval power.Without more than a dozen dreadnoughts plus super dreadnoughts, it is embarrassing to call it a top power.

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

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

Under the provisions of the Australasian Naval Expansion Act, Australasian Naval Expansion was to begin in early 1914 over a period of five years.

In the past five years, Australasia will build at least two super dreadnoughts and one battlecruiser every year, keeping the size of the Australasian navy at the level of ordinary powers.

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

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

No one wants their country to be prosperous and strong. In fact, most Australasians want to see the government expand the navy again. This is not only a manifestation of the country's strength, but also better protection of the country and The nation, the goal of protecting the people.

Although this naval expansion plan will cause Australasia's military spending to skyrocket, seeing that the First World War is coming, Arthur also understands that it is not necessary to spend a lot of money to prepare before the war, but it will be necessary during and after the war. Pay a high price to bear the loss.

Fortunately, Australasia joined the naval arms race relatively late, and there are no competitors, so the burden is not too great.

Even many British and French private banks have expressed their willingness to provide interest-free loans to Australasia to help their allies expand their navy.

Especially after the French borrowed from Italy, many French people have asked the government angrily why they gave loans to their enemies.

If it weren't for the French government's consistent tough attitude to satisfy the public, I am afraid that the French government's downfall would be a matter of minutes.

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

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

After Australasia's naval expansion plan was announced, the French people publicly stated that if the government wants to borrow money from abroad, it should lend to Australasia and Russia.

In addition to France, Britain and Russia also supported the expansion of the Australasian Navy.

The strengthening of the Australasian navy can greatly relieve the pressure on the British Empire's navy in the Indian Ocean.

This will also allow the British Empire to mobilize more troops from the Indian Ocean region to the Atlantic Ocean and the coastal waters of Europe to participate in the blockade and operations against the Allies.

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(End of this chapter)