Film and Television: Starting from the Journey to Guandong

Chapter 125 Investing in England (1w)

Another "result" brought about by industrialization is real industrial food with long shelf life, low transportation cost and low price, among which canned food bears the brunt.

In fact, the technique of sealing cans was invented by a Frenchman named Nicolas Appelt.

At that time, Napoleon wanted to solve the food supply problem for the army, and Appert combined his existing practical experience to invent the technology of sealed metal cans and high-temperature sterilization, which greatly extended the shelf life of food, and therefore received support from the French government. reward.

However, the French, who are very particular about eating, did not take canned food seriously. Instead, it was the British who carried it forward.

An Englishman named Peter Durand followed Appelt's footsteps and applied for a patent for a sealed can. He also made reference to many of Appelt's inventions and sold it to a British businessman.

In 1813, the first British food canning company was established.

With the British's advanced industrial technology and production lines, the British can produce everything from meat and fish to vegetable soup and candied fruits.

One of the core aspects of canned food production is high temperature.

Research on microorganisms has found that some dormant bacterial and fungal spores (such as botulinum spores) can survive temperatures above 100°C.

Generally, food should be eaten immediately after it is cooked, as long as the temperature is enough to kill live bacteria;

However, bacterial spores can wake up, grow and spoil the food in the anaerobic environment of cans, so they must be eliminated - steaming at a high temperature of 130° for nearly 20 minutes.

Before Pasteur’s research on bacteria, people had already reached the conclusion through continuous experiments that “high temperature can ensure that food does not deteriorate”;

Later, research on microorganisms led to the standardization of production processes and the improvement of food safety.

However, long-term high-temperature sterilization will cause the food to lose its original taste, so it has to be covered up with heavy seasonings, and the taste will naturally be lost.

However, for many people, taste is not a priority.

Britain's colonies and armies around the world were in great need of these cans to provide them with "food from home."

Colonial officials at Asan, for example, would have lunches of "tinned fish, bacon, foie gras pâté, asparagus and cheese" with tinned beans, candied chestnuts and bottled almonds and raisins.

On the tables of the upper class, there are canned salmon, canned mushrooms, bottled beans, as well as pickled cucumbers, condiments, jelly and jam. These are "admirable things", but just looking at the word "canned" makes people appetite. Nothing.

For the sake of convenience, many colonial delicacies were transformed by the British into fast food. For example, Asan's curry required careful blending of various spices, but the British piled all the powder together to make a mixed bag. Put it together with the chicken and cook it all together.

Later, of course, canned curry also appeared, which didn’t even require cooking.

By the end of the 19th century, due to the development of technology and the cheapness brought by mass production, industrial food spread to the dining tables of urban people. Industrial products such as margarine, condensed milk, and cocoa began to become household staples;

Meat from the colonies and the New World (Australia, New Zealand, Argentina, etc.) was weighed in advance and then sealed and packaged for sale in grocery stores;

Canned fruits imported from Hawaii and Malaysia are also on the shelves.

Ordinary working class people can also create false "luxury enjoyment" through canned food——

“…Evening tea consisted of canned Canadian salmon served with bread and butter, canned Australian pears and carnation condensed milk.”

Don't laugh at people's shabbyness. In that era, canned food and other industrial foods were very important to the common people.

During the two wars, Britain's global agricultural trade was severely hit.

Under the strict rationing system, canned vegetables have become almost the only source of vegetables for the common people, and the lunch meat produced in China is simply a delicacy.

Even some of the upper class lost their exclusive chefs due to the financial constraints of the war, and were unable to cook European-style cuisine, so they had no choice but to join the ranks of "dark cuisine".

When the economy recovered and people began to consider their appetites again, the term "British cuisine" was no longer available. The folk food culture was almost discontinued. High-end food had to turn to French and Italian food, while common people's food Provided by descendants of immigrants of all types.

The only thing that can be called a delicacy in later generations is the famous fish and chips, which can be called the "national dish" of Britain. There are tens of thousands of stores across the UK, eight times the number of McDonald's.

At the first station, it was popular among British soldiers to use "fish" and "chips" as communication codes to distinguish between ourselves and the enemy.

In the 2010 national survey of "Top Ten British Characteristics", fish and chips topped "The Queen" and "The Beatles" with 73% of the vote, becoming a British cultural symbol.

If fish and chips have a deep "British" brand, then this brand comes from the period of industrial isolation: in the process of high-speed operation of machines and rapid expansion of cities, new lifestyles brought new food tastes.

In fact, British people don’t like to eat fish very much.

As an island country, the UK is much less enthusiastic about fish than Xiaoben.

Despite having a long coastline of 11450 kilometers and occupying excellent fishing ports such as Brixham, which brought the largest fish catch in Europe, fish was not the main source of meat in British food culture until the Victorian era. It is a lower grade ingredient than beef and mutton.

During Shakespeare's time, fish was also widely believed to be "nutritive" and eating too much was not beneficial.

In Shakespeare's famous work "Henry IV" there is:

"Such unsmiling children will never achieve anything... All they eat is fish, so they all suffer from a kind of anemia."

Until later generations, the per capita fish intake in the UK was still far lower than in the small book.

The fertile arable land of the broad plains in the southeast and the excellent pastures blown by the temperate maritime climate provide ample room for local livestock breeding in the UK and bring more choices to the British table.

However, food choices often do not come from personal taste. In the past, geography and religion have made choices for people.

After entering modern society, the intertwined paths of technological development and social evolution have taken people's taste choices in new directions.

For example, the invention of the tugboat fishing net in the 18th century led to a surge in fishery output from large-scale fishing in the UK. Fish, a cheap food ingredient, first fed the people in coastal areas.

In the 19th century, when British railways developed rapidly, iron steam trains passed through the quiet countryside of England, transporting fresh fish and meat to the whole country, especially to the emerging cities with explosive population growth, where tens of thousands of people were impacted by the wave of industrialization. factory working class.

For them, fresh and cheap fish is the most cost-effective choice for protein supplementation - or in other words, it is the choice made for them by the new era opened by the railway, the game between cities and population.

But the choice from "fish" to "fried fish" actually comes from another group of people.

The traditional British fish cooking methods are nothing more than "boiling, roasting, pan-frying, and deep-frying". Among them, the famous dark dish "Stargazing Pie" is to expose several whole fish with their heads exposed, and put the tails into a circle in a circle. bake.

The method of coating the whole fish fillet with the head and tail removed in flour and then frying it comes from Jews outside the UK.

In the early years of the 20th century, Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe came to Britain to avoid persecution.

Possessions may be lost in a foreign country, but the taste of the food you are accustomed to is found at every opportunity: pickles, beetroot, herring, smoked salmon – and fried fish.

Fried fish is a traditional Jewish food. On the Sabbath, when cooking is not allowed, it is a Jewish custom to prepare fried fish in advance at noon on Friday for easy preservation.

The original method of frying fish was to wrap the fish in bread crumbs. Later, it was gradually replaced by batter dipped in soda, beer or "family secret recipe". This method of making is relatively simple and the fish meat can be kept intact.

So how did fried fish go from a humble immigrant meal to Britain’s most famous national delicacy?

There’s no getting around the “companion” of fried fish – French fries.

Coincidentally, it took almost two to three hundred years for potatoes, the raw material of French fries, to be discovered by the Spaniards in Peru in 1539 and brought back to Europe, to defeat bread and oats and become the staple food of the British.

Just as the increasing catch of fish and the high-quality protein it provided in the 18th and 19th centuries fed the expanding population, potatoes, a solanaceous plant, were successfully grown on a large scale on the island of England, and could also support more people with more calories. survival of large populations.

Especially during the Little Ice Age in Europe in the mid-18th century, when the output of traditional crops shrank, potatoes still stood out as the mainstay of feeding mankind.

No wonder Engels was also full of praise for potatoes, saying that they were "as important as iron to industrial life."

Today, Britain is a major potato producer and seller, producing and selling 250 million tons of potatoes a year, a quarter of which is consumed in the form of French fries.

It is unknown in history which genius invented French fries, a snack that is popular around the world.

However, what is certain is that during the Victorian period, under the same wave of industrial isolation, more and more people left the fields and began to work in factories, and as a result, they gradually developed the habit of completing three meals a day outside of home. Eating habits.

Working on the assembly line 14 hours a day and 6 days a week, workers urgently need convenient, fast, high-calorie food to maintain their strength. Potatoes, which are high-yielding, high-calorie, high-quality and cheap, are undoubtedly the most suitable food.

According to statistics from the British BBC, in 1881, the per capita potato consumption in the UK was 6 kilograms per week.

It is conceivable that urban factory workers, with very limited cooking tools, fuel, and time, would flock to the factory entrance or temporary stalls on the street during their short breaks, where simple potato products are already displayed, or Boil, bake, or bake. Industrial isolation reshaped the British dining table.

By the 19s and [-]s, stalls that cooked potato chips in a deep-fried manner were dominating the takeaway food scene on the streets.

Perhaps fried food can bring more satisfaction to the tip of the tongue and maintain the supply of calories for a longer period of time.

According to the British Oxford English Dictionary, the word "chips" first appeared in Charles Dickens's "A Tale of Two Cities": "Fry the chips in oil and fry them thoroughly."

However, the French fries in fish and chips are considered British French fries, which are slightly different from the "French fries" in American fast food: the latter are mostly made from frozen potatoes that are peeled and cut into uniform lengths by a machine. Cooked in the shape of thin strips.

The chips in fish and chips are made by washing the potatoes without peeling them and cutting them into thicker strips. The potato skins are deep-fried until they are crispy, which is also a pleasure for British people.

But when French fries first arrived in the UK, they were also facing decline, because the popularity of their competitor fried fish did not show any sign of weakening.

Not long after the French fries stall was set up in front of the factory, Jewish immigrants also set up their own fried fish stall.

Two kinds of food finally met: one was the humble Shabbat meal of immigrants, and the other was the fast food that flooded into the city's industrial workers to fill their calories.

Due to their advantages in the source of ingredients and cooking methods, they are the food choices of the working class.

At first, these two stalls competed with each other for customers, and soon the clever Jews realized: Why not combine the two into one and sell them?

After that, due to the establishment and popularization of factory canteens and the trend of "entering the house" in the catering industry, the scale of street food began to slowly shrink, and fish and chip stalls turned into fish and chip shops.

Still Charles Dickens, in another of his books, Oliver Twist, described early fish and chips in an East London neighborhood during the Victorian era:

"On sale in that dingy shop were many silk handkerchiefs of various sizes and patterns. Although the Fled shop was small, it still included a hairdresser, coffee shop, beer shop and fish and chip shop."

In reality, the operator of Britain's first fish and chip shop, Joseph Marlin, was a Romanian Jew. In 1860, he owned a shop called Marlin's on Old Ford Street in London.

It is said that there was once a fish shortage in London, so during that time the store switched to selling French fries, and the business was actually good.

So when the fish shortage crisis ended and fried fish returned, the store still retained its chip stall, and also added fish and chips combos to encourage people to buy fish and chips together.

Customer response to the fish and chips has been overwhelming.

When business is booming, the line at Marlin's can be half a mile long.

These two ingredients hit it off in the UK. The fish and chip business in the UK took off rapidly in the 20th century. In 1910, there were more than 25000 "fish and chip shops" in the UK.

By 1920, the number of stores had increased to 35000.

Until later times, nearly half of the fish eaten in Britain was eaten with chips.

Fish and chips are a big thing for the British.

The packaging that used to be wrapped in ink newspapers has long been replaced by more environmentally friendly paper lunch boxes, and the stalls set up by simple oil pots have also been transformed into chain or standard bright stores.

The early fish and chip shops had little choice when it came to fish but to buy the first fish to arrive in port each morning.

Thanks to the rapid advancement of transportation and cold chain technology, more than [-]% of the fried fish in fish and chip shops in the UK in later generations was cod or haddock. There was also a "North-South dispute" over how to eat fish and chips:

From the south to the center of England, the fish fillet used in fried fish is cod. After the central area and going north, it is haddock that plays the main role.

In addition, the oil used for fried fish in the south tends to be vegetable oil with a light taste, while in the north, such as Yorkshire, fried fish must be "seasoned" with butter to have an authentic taste.

The British call the French fries in fish and chips chips, and they are usually cooked with the skin cut into thick strips;

The peeled and more elongated fries in American KFC or McDonald's are called "French fries", which translates to "French fries".

However, although they are called French fries, the earliest inventor is recognized as a Belgian.

During an investigation by Belgian journalist Jo Gérard, an internal record book of a family in southern Belgium mentioned the earliest record of making French fries: In 1680 (during the Dutch rule), locals began to use fried potato chips to cook them. .

Another theory is that French fries were invented by residents living along the Meuse Valley in southern Belgium.

Because of its habit of catching a small, elongated fish that grows in the waters of the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg, it is cooked and eaten whole by frying.

During the Little Ice Age in Europe in the 18th century, frozen river surfaces also froze the sources of small fish.

The local people had the idea to cut the potatoes into long and thin fish shapes, and then deep-fried them in a pan. French fries were born. From this point of view, French fries were different from fried fish from the very beginning. The fate of solution.

At the second stop, more than two-thirds of Britain's food was imported. Due to the German attack on the maritime supply line, food was in short supply. The British government implemented a rationing system for its citizens, but this ration list did not include "fish and chips."

The British top leaders understand that fish and chips are the most effective food to fill people's stomachs, and they have also been the "placebo" of the British working class for a long time - whether in the first or second station period, "fish and chips" Supply is always guaranteed.

British leaders are encouraging British families to grow their own self-sufficient, easy-to-harvest potatoes;

As for the supply of fish, half of the British fishermen are nurturing the country and the other half are ensuring the safety of the waters.

Since Uncle Hee's troops deployed many deadly mines in the waters around the UK, the UK called on a large number of fishermen to find the mines (Grimsby became the most important mine clearance area in the UK).

The way to clear mines is to use a specialized minesweeper. There is a zigzag metal sweeping line on the ship. When it gets close to the mine, it will cut off the metal wire hanging the mine. The mine will quickly surface and sink after being hit by artillery fire. .

During World War II, more than 6 fishermen were drafted to clear mines, and more than 16000 mines were cleared. As a result, more than 14500 people lost their lives, and more than 250 ships were sunk while on duty. In exchange for safe fishing areas, .

But the British are more serious about fish and chips than that. In order to fry the white and tender cod steaks in the fish dough, the British did not hesitate to launch the navy many times in the "Cod War" from 1944 to 1976. , to defend their right to eat fish and chips.

1944 was the day when Iceland was just founded. For this newly established country, the abundant cod fishing in nearby waters was the main resource for its survival (fishery resources once accounted for 70%-80% of Iceland’s export resources). ). But as early as the 15th century, this was a carnival place for fishermen from all over Europe to enjoy a good harvest, and the British had one of the best "cakes" among them.

In 1893, the Danes who ruled Iceland filed a claim against the British, believing that overfishing caused by the trawlers invented by the British had seriously harmed their fishing interests.

Since the 20th century, British trawlers have been fishing in Icelandic waters every day.

As of the second stop, the British had fished in Icelandic waters more than twice as much as they fished in other waters.

The catch in 1952 reached 142 million tons, which was likely to drain Iceland of its survival capital.

A series of disputes between the United Kingdom and Iceland over "cod" began.

二站之后，冰岛先后于1958年、1971年和1975年，单方面宣布扩大禁渔区到4海里、12海里，以至最后的200海里。

And for the trawlers of British fishermen, a net-cutting machine was invented to defeat the purpose.

On January 1973, 1, the Icelanders cut the trawl nets of 8 British fishing boats at once, completely angering the United Kingdom.

In order to compete for people's rations and precious fishery resources, both sides sent fleets into Icelandic waters. Britain once sent up to 17 warships, including 19 destroyers and 50 frigates, and a naval battle was almost imminent.

In terms of military strength, Iceland is naturally no match for the United Kingdom. However, in the Cold War pattern after World War II, Iceland jumped from a marginal island country to a key area of ​​the two major world systems, and Iceland also took advantage of this.

In the first two "Cod Wars", Iceland repeatedly threatened to withdraw from NATO and join the woolly bear camp with maritime demands;

On the other hand, it put pressure on the ugly country, threatening to close its military base in Iceland if it did not resolve the issue in Icelandic waters.

Under pressure from NATO and other countries, Britain could only acquiesce to Iceland's 12-nautical-mile no-fishing zone rights.

The winner of the third "Cod War" was still Iceland. During the meeting to formulate the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, Iceland simply used the concept of "exclusive economic zone" and proposed that within an area 200 nautical miles from the territorial sea baseline, a country has freedom to exploit its fishery resources.

Iceland's efforts to actively strive for a public opinion environment won the sympathy and support of most countries in the world. In the end, the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea adopted the "200 nautical mile" standard for the scope of the exclusive economic zone.

All in all, everything in this world has its roots, and every cause must have an effect.

The trading business between Zhu Chuanren and Maris also started on this day, ranging from various light industrial products to potatoes and canned goods. As long as Zhu Chuanren could obtain and produce them, all were loaded on ships and shipped to the UK.

What Maris needs to do is to open up British customs and exempt them from taxes, so that their goods can easily land in Britain.

However, Zhu Chuanren also did not expect that the most popular product was canned luncheon meat, whose domestic sales have not improved.

He didn't understand, so he asked Maris to conduct an investigation in the UK on why luncheon meat from the Far East was more popular than luncheon meat from the other side of the Atlantic.

The conclusion he got made him dumbfounded. It turns out that the British can also tell what is delicious and what is not.

The survey shows that 78% of customers believe that 'Good Friend' lunch meat tastes more delicious and contains higher meat content than other brands.

15% of customers think that the taste is about the same, but the price is much cheaper, and "Good Friend" luncheon meat is more cost-effective.

The remaining people think that the Far East cannot produce good things. This is an instinctive resistance and can be ignored.

In short, with its canned luncheon meat, the ‘Good Friend’ brand has completely blown the horn in the UK.

Immediately afterwards, chocolate pie also became popular in England. There is nothing else to say, it is cheap and delicious, nothing more.

Many British people are accustomed to eating chocolate pie as breakfast, with two slices of luncheon meat and a glass of milk, which has gradually become a habit for them.

Seeing this, Zhu Chuanren increased the marketing efforts of 'Good Friend' in England, promoting it as a century-old high-end food manufacturer from the Far East.

Under Maris's operation, Orion soon built its first overseas factory in Liverpool, England, and launched production lines for chocolate pies and luncheon meats.

Immediately afterwards, Zhu Chuanren spent another 13 pounds to win over Bentley from Rolls-Royce and officially took over this legendary car brand.

This investment is also related to Maris. He originally wanted to acquire it himself, but due to financial problems, he had to borrow money from Zhu Chuanren.

However, after Zhu Chuanren learned about it, he simply discussed with Maris that he would finance the acquisition and Maris would hold the shares on his behalf.

Doing so will not only fulfill Maris' car dream, but also allow him to hide behind the scenes and secretly control the car brand used by the British royal family.

This was not over yet, Zhu Chuanren sent people non-stop to buy whiskey distilleries in Scotland.

He felt happy when he thought that in the [-]st century, all the whiskey that the British and Scots were proud of would be in the hands of a Chinese named Zhu Chuanren.

It has to be said that it is better to do business and invest too late than too early. These days, due to the Great Depression, all walks of life in the UK have been severely hit, and so has the whiskey industry.

Zhu Chuanren bought more than a dozen whiskey distilleries in one go, spending only the price of two Bentleys in total, which was almost cheaper than cabbage.

The most important thing is that after he bought the winery, he did not engage in any mergers. Instead, he allowed each winery to adhere to its own winemaking philosophy and develop independently. On the surface, each brand is independent of each other, but in fact, behind the scenes, The boss is all the same person.

Zhu Chuanren was afraid that the stingy British guy would liquidate him later, so he never came forward in person from beginning to end. Maris was responsible for everything. This former concession general manager and a son of a wealthy family had almost become Zhu Chuanren's white glove.

Those who are attentive can find that Zhu Chuanren's investments are basically concentrated in the central and northern parts of Britain. The southern part is like a sinkhole, and he has not touched it at all.

why?

Of course it is to prevent future wars.

In the second station, one of the largest air battles in human history took place over Britain, and the central and southern parts were the main war zones. Zhu Chuanren only invested in the south after being kicked in the head by a donkey. Did he think he had too much money?

As for why he still invested in the UK despite the risk of being bombed, it was also because Zhu Chuanren knew the final result.

The British won the air battle. Although it was tragic, a win was a win.

Speaking of which, the Royal Air Force is a very young service. It was born on April 1918, 4. It is divided into three commands: Bomber Command, Coastal Air Force Command and Fighter Command.

Because the air force is a strategic pillar force, it is highly valued by the United Kingdom.

1934年3月，驻扎在英国本土的皇家空军作战飞机只有605架；1938年9月增加到1103架；到1939年9月，增长为1377架。

According to the British "M Plan", by March 1942, the Royal Air Force will have 3 flying squadrons, 163% to 50% of which will be new monoplane fighters.

Britain's strong support has given the fighter force several "unique magic weapons."

Let’s talk about the first treasure first, that is the experienced but unconventional commander General Hugh Dowding.

The "head" of the fighter force was born in Scotland in 1882. He graduated from the famous Royal Military Academy Sandhurst (West Point and St. Cyr in the United Kingdom) in 1900 and was an alumnus of Churchill and Montgomery.

During his first career, Dowding joined the Army's Artillery Corps and later joined the Army Air Forces.

After one station, Dowding's official career was prosperous. In 1929, he became the commander of the British Air Force in Palestine. From 1930 to 1936, he served as a member of the British Aeronautics Committee and was responsible for the construction of the Royal Air Force.

In 1936, he became commander of the Royal Air Force's fighter force with the rank of general.

During his tenure, a large number of new technologies and equipment were introduced to the fighter force, the most representative of which are radars and new fighter jets.

The second treasure of the fighter force is the brand-new weapon of the second station period-radar.

In the 20s, British and German scientists began to study how to use the reflection of radio pulses to detect objects beyond human visual distance, and to confirm the distance of the target through the duration between the emitted and reflected waves.

British technicians took the lead in putting radar technology into practical use. Their research results attracted Dowding's attention, and radar soon became the core of the British air defense system.

Beginning in 1936, Britain deployed a little-known "native chain" radar network along the southeastern coast, with radar stations extending from northern England to the far west of Wales.

By July 1940, the UK had built a total of 7 radar stations, including 51 in the southeastern coastal areas, forming a strict radar warning system.

The third treasure of the Royal Air Force's fighter force is the monoplane fighter represented by the "Hurricane" and "Spitfire", which were famous generation aircraft during the Second World War.

The "Hurricane" fighter began to be equipped with the Royal Air Force in 1936. Before the Battle of Britain, a total of 2300 aircraft were produced, and more than 1.7 aircraft were produced during the entire war.

The "Hurricane" fighter jet is the first British aircraft with retractable landing gear. It adopts a semi-metal structure, a single wing and a single seat, a streamlined fuselage, and the hatch can be opened backwards when sealed (to facilitate the pilot's parachuting).

It has a top speed of 519 kilometers per hour, a maximum range of 1040 kilometers, and eight 8mm machine guns on board. It is known for its simple manufacturing, easy maintenance, and sturdy fuselage.

The "Spitfire" fighter began to be equipped with the Royal Air Force in 1938. Before the Battle of Britain, a total of 1100 aircraft were produced, and the output during the entire war was 2.27 aircraft.

The "Spitfire" fighter jet was the only British aircraft in World War II that could keep pace with the German Bf-109 fighter jet in terms of performance. It adopted an all-metal structure, had a top speed of 657 kilometers per hour, and a maximum range of 1060 kilometers.

机载武器为8挺7.7毫米机枪(MKIA型)或2门20毫米机炮加上4挺7.7毫米机枪(MKIB型)，以火力猛，速度快、机动性好著称。

Compared with the mortal enemy Bf-109E (the main fighter of the Luftwaffe during the Battle of Britain), the "Hurricane" is basically inferior in performance, while the performance of the "Spitfire" is equivalent. Its turning radius is smaller than that of the Bf-109, at 4500 Empty cities below meters fly faster;

The Bf-109 has better climbing performance and can fly faster in an empty city above 6000 meters.

With these "three auspicious treasures", although the British Royal Air Force fighter force was not as powerful as the German Air Force before the war, it was still among the top three air forces in Europe.

On May 1940, 5, Germany launched an attack on Western Europe.

In the air battlefield, the French Saunier MS-406 fighter was defeated by the more advanced Bf-109 fighter, and the Germans firmly controlled the air superiority on the battlefield.

How is the performance of the Royal Air Force?

在5月8日到18日的10天时间里，皇家空军派驻法国的部队就损失了250架“飓风”战斗机。

在5月26日到6月4日的敦刻尔克大撤退中，皇家空军再次损失了150架“飓风”战斗机，战斗机部队1/3的力量就这样葬送在了欧洲大陆。

The reason is that in addition to the performance of the "Hurricane" fighter lagging behind the Bf-109, backward tactics are also the main reason.

In the 20s, the formation pattern of the Royal Air Force fighter force was a "V" shape of three aircraft, that is, the lead aircraft was in front, and the two wingmen were located to the side and rear of the lead aircraft, about 20 meters apart from the lead aircraft.

In actual combat, a squad of 6 aircraft or a squadron of 12 aircraft often form a larger "V" formation. The biggest feature of this tactical mode is that it can give full play to the team's firepower advantage. The biggest disadvantage is that the viewing effect is much greater than the actual combat effect. .

Once the formation is dispersed by high-speed German fighter jets, or the lead aircraft is shot down, the wingman and the lone aircraft will be mercilessly slaughtered by the opponent's skilled two-plane tactics!

The German Air Force abandoned the "V"-shaped formation after the Spanish Civil War and adopted a more flexible two-plane "one"-shaped formation. The tactics were relatively more maneuverable and flexible.

During the Battle of France, 3 "Hurricanes" from three squadrons of the Royal Air Force were flying in a "V" formation when more than 36 Bf-10s suddenly appeared from the clouds behind them.

Before the clumsy "Hurricane" could complete its turn to meet the enemy, the German pilots had already struck hard at the last "Hurricane" in the formation, shooting down four "Hurricane" fighters one after another, and then took advantage of their speed and flew away.

During the entire battle, the "Hurricane" did not even fire a single bullet, and some pilots did not even see the enemy aircraft.

With an advantage of 3 times that of the enemy aircraft, it came to such a miserable ending, which really embarrassed the Royal Air Force fighter force.

By July 1940, the German army had swept across the European continent. Norway, Denmark, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg and France had surrendered one after another. Only Britain was still fighting against Mr. Greece in the entire Europe.

The situation faced by the British Empire was unprecedentedly dangerous. Although the Dunkirk evacuation miraculously brought more than 30 troops back to the British Isles, all heavy weapons and vehicles were lost.

There are only 26 infantry divisions, one armored division and a number of independent units left in the British mainland regular army. Most of the infantry divisions have only half the normal number of soldiers and only 1/6 of the normal artillery.

There are only 780 artillery pieces, 160 anti-tank guns and 200 tanks left in the entire British Army!

As for the National Guard (the British militia organization) with a total number of 150 million people, the equipment is even more terrible. The soldiers used all available weapons, including private guns, Molotov cocktails and homemade flamethrowers.

The situation of the Royal Air Force is also not optimistic. The tragic defeat on the European continent caused the British to lose more than 1000 aircraft. The British air defense can only rely on less than 700 fighter jets and more than 4000 anti-aircraft guns. Among them, the ones that can really resist the German Air Force are 54 fighter squadrons that were preserved in every possible way during the Battle of France.

In the words of Churchill:

"In 1940, if only 15 German soldiers landed in Britain, we would be facing a terrible disaster."

After the war in Western Europe, Mr. Xi always imagined that Britain would make peace with Germany. He believed that it would be inappropriate to attack Britain "too much". That would only benefit Ugly and Neon, which have powerful navies, and they would "carve up" Britain's overseas territories. colony.

From June to July 1940, Uncle Greek proposed a "peace proposal" to Britain through the Vatican Pope and the King of Sweden, claiming that as long as Britain "respected" Germany's hegemony on the European continent, Germany would make peace with Britain.

However, the British people did not accept the humiliating peace. The war-fighting cabinet headed by Churchill flatly rejected Mr. Hope's "peace appeal." Even the BBC Radio announcer replied on the radio:

"Mr. Führer, we will put peace proposals in your mouth!"

The irony of the surrender made Hitler angry. On July 7, he issued Combat Order No. 16, with the operation codenamed "Project Sea Lion."

According to this plan, the German Army Group A will dispatch troops from 2 armies and 25 divisions to forcefully cross the English Channel, land in the area between Dover and Portsmouth, and then attack west and north towards London.

However, the Navy and the Army continued to argue over this plan: the Navy stated that it could not ensure the safety of a wide frontal landing, and the Army believed that the Navy's incompetence would throw the landing force into a meat grinder.

In the end, the German high command decided to use the air force to destroy the main force of the British air force, especially the British fighter force, before launching a landing operation.

This decision excited German Air Marshal Hermann Goering. He assured Mr. Hee that the air defense system in southern Britain could be destroyed within four days, and that the Royal Air Force would cease to exist within four weeks.

Objectively speaking, the German Air Force is indeed stronger than the Royal Air Force. They plan to invest 3 aircraft in three air fleets to seize air supremacy.

Among them, the commander of the 2nd Air Force is Marshal Kesselring. This unit is stationed in Belgium, the Netherlands and northeastern France, and is responsible for attacking the southeastern part of the United Kingdom;

The commander of the 3rd Air Force is Marshal Speller. The unit is stationed in northern France and is responsible for attacking southwestern Britain;

The commander of the 5th Air Force is General Stumpf. This unit is stationed in Norway and is responsible for attacking the northeastern part of the UK. The 2nd and 3rd Air Forces are the main force, and the 5th Air Force is the assist.

(End of this chapter)