Father of France

Chapter 249 Philippe de Gaulle
As for that failed all-nuclear fleet concept, can it be considered a success?

Even if it can be considered a success, France wouldn't be able to use it. However, if French Indochina could be preserved, nuclear power might still have a purpose.

The nuclear power of French aircraft carriers in the 21st century is still based on nuclear submarine reactors. It's more about prestige than practicality, and Koeman would definitely not do something like that.

"What do you need my help with?" Martin saw that Koeman was about to show off his skills, and knowing Koeman as he did, he knew he would definitely need to find someone to help him. "A mathematician?"

"That's a huge waste of talent. Any two engineering students could handle it." Koeman said there was no need to be so serious. It's just designing an aircraft carrier with an angled flight deck, right? In other words, it's just copying the hull.

Koeman wasn't targeting anyone in particular; no one in the world is better at this than him. No matter how little knowledge one has, if you can't even handle the PTT (Public Telephone Forum) stage, you're unworthy of being a keyboard warrior.

An aircraft carrier is not just a warship based on tonnage. The purpose of the angled flight deck is, of course, to achieve a larger deck area with a smaller tonnage, while also taking into account the development of carrier-based aircraft.

The iteration of fighter jets must also be taken into account in the design drawings; otherwise, the same awkward situation as the Rafale will occur.

France withdrew from the Typhoon project but developed the Gust series independently. As the last vestige of a long-standing imperialist power, Dassault's success is certainly admirable.

However, because France insisted on using one aircraft for multiple purposes, which was essentially to take care of its own carrier-based aircraft quota, it caused serious conflicts with other European countries that did not have aircraft carriers.

To accommodate carrier-based aircraft, the Rafale was ultimately designed as a medium-sized aircraft, and it has indeed done a good job within the allowed limits.

The consequences of this are similar to how the enemy of an airline in a typical country is the air force, except that the enemy of the Rafale is the French Navy. In order to use it on a 40,000-ton aircraft carrier, it can only become so stingy.

If we take the Richelieu-class as a base, a fully loaded aircraft carrier of nearly 50,000 tons would be able to be used at least until the Tomcat fighter jet enters service.

As for what to do after heavy carrier-based aircraft appear, then the next level of aircraft carriers can be built for use.

Over the next two days, Martin hired two mathematics majors to implement the PTT power strategy according to Koeman's vision.

The basic framework is easy to define: the waterline is narrower at the fore and aft and wider in the middle to reduce drag, and the angled deck is theoretically maximized to accommodate as many carrier-based aircraft as possible.

"Weapon development is all about seeing far and hitting far; everything else is crooked and unorthodox." Koeman's approach is somewhat reminiscent of Steve Jobs' garage startup. In fact, the current situation is quite similar. Ignoring his father, who is the Chief of the General Staff, the hardships are the same, and the passion is the same.

“That’s a very accurate summary.” After Coleman returned to Paris, Martin’s absenteeism increased dramatically. Fortunately, the gendarmerie didn’t have any performance evaluations. “I don’t know where you learned that from.”

"These are all ancient wisdoms." Koman revealed a profound smile. After liberation, the great Eastern country has been summarizing the experiences and lessons of previous dynasties. In fact, the previous dynasties were easy to summarize, but the Qing Dynasty became unprecedentedly complicated. European colonial countries swept across the world, conquering almost all countries on the five continents, regardless of race or culture.

Very few countries can be compared to the Qing Dynasty model. This is similar to what Coman said about the Ottoman Empire, or even France itself. How did the Industrial Revolution happen right under France's nose?
How could the Ottoman Empire, so geographically close to Europe, stand by and watch as the Christian nations it once easily defeated turn around and bully it?
Closing the country to the outside world is not a lesson learned. There is only one truly useful lesson: backwardness invites aggression. This is the real reason, and it's also the reason why almost every country can apply this principle to itself.

This is the truth, and it can even be applied to France in the 21st century. After all, India has already proven that the Rafale, as the permanent representative of Western fighter jets, is no longer up to par.

The PTT's "Strong Nation Strategy" has been very successful. A respectable aircraft carrier design was produced under the personal guidance of Martin, an observer; Coman, who only talked the talk but didn't walk the walk; and two college students who earned a total of two hundred dollars.

Holding the design drawings, Koeman was filled with emotion. Indeed, he also had the potential to shine in the field of Mahayana Buddhism. He muttered in a low voice, "Was Philippe de Gaulle in the Navy?"

“Atlantic Fleet, but as you know, he doesn’t have a suitable front-line command position yet,” Martin replied truthfully. “His current rank is lieutenant.”

“I’ll give him a gift.” Koeman put away the aircraft carrier blueprints, preparing to present a grand present to General de Gaulle’s eldest son. It wasn’t really appropriate for Koeman, a major in the military police, to produce a naval aircraft carrier blueprint himself; crossing boundaries was acceptable, but not too far.

Helicopters are worth considering because the army has applications in them, and there are application sites in North Africa, but aircraft carriers have little to do with Koeman in any field.

Who says Philippe de Gaulle won't be a member of the Generals' Council in the future? He has no conflict with Corman, and what conflict could there be between serving in the navy and Corman? France is definitely a continental country, and the navy can only rank second among the three services. Now it's even more awkward, and it might even rank third, because the importance of the air force has increased.

This wasn't just a problem for France; Britain faced similar issues. With the Soviet army being so powerful, Western European countries couldn't afford not to develop their own armies. The air force proved its importance in the final bombing raids on Germany during World War II, and even Britain, a maritime power, eventually cut naval spending to bolster its air force.

Martin, who was making waves in the Paris Gendarmerie, once again took on the important task of acting as an intermediary, finding Philippe de Gaulle's residence to make contact. Regardless of other circumstances, Corman had actually met Philippe de Gaulle once in 1946, accompanying General Dragon to de Gaulle's residence, so they had a brief encounter and were not complete strangers.

Having found Philippe de Gaulle's address, Corman changed into his military uniform and went to visit him. After opening the door, Philippe de Gaulle muttered in confusion, "You are... from the military police? We've met before."

"I've been to your house with Admiral Dragon. Admiral Dragon is my father." Koman nodded and introduced Martin beside him. "My comrade Martin, please forgive my intrusion in visiting you this time."

“Not at all, Coman!” Philippe de Gaulle remembered that the two had indeed met two years ago, and he immediately became familiar with each other. “Long time no see, where are you serving?”

“That’s a long story, but I’m happy to share if you want to hear it.” Following Philippe de Gaulle’s invitation, Coleman entered the room and began to recount his service in the overseas provinces, later in French Indochina, and incidentally in Madagascar, where he participated in suppressing a rebellion.

Koman's words lacked embellishment, but his rich experience—having traveled almost halfway around the world in two years—made his storytelling quite substantial.

Through these stories, the estrangement between the two, who were not very familiar with each other, slowly thawed. When Philippe de Gaulle went to get water, Koeman took out the aircraft carrier design blueprints he was carrying.

When Philippe de Gaulle returned, his attention was immediately drawn to him, his gaze completely captivated. When the roll of blueprints was fully unrolled, he involuntarily held his breath—before him lay the design of an aircraft carrier, unlike anything he had ever seen before, with its sleek and powerful lines.

Unlike the old-fashioned aircraft carriers with towering islands and crowded decks in his memory, the warship on this drawing exudes a modern industrial aesthetic. His white-gloved fingers gently brushed over the iconic angled deck on the drawing, his fingertips slowly moving along the runway that was inclined eight degrees to the ship's centerline.

"Where did it come from?" Philippe de Gaulle had barely managed to pull his attention away from the design drawings, and the joy in his eyes hadn't completely faded before the question was already out of his mouth.

"Can you keep it a secret?" Seeing Philippe de Gaulle nodding eagerly, Koeman answered to himself, "I can too! First, tell me what you think of this design."

“Excellent.” Philippe de Gaulle’s eyes gleamed with the sharp light of a professional soldier. “With it, landing and takeoff can be carried out simultaneously, a leap forward in efficiency and safety…”

While family factors undoubtedly played a role in Philippe de Gaulle's eventual rise to the position of Commander of the Atlantic Fleet, his own knowledge was also sufficient. Even if his views weren't particularly insightful, they proved that he was no naval novice.

“We can also tell it’s a good thing,” Coman said in a low voice, his eyes dark. “After we got our hands on these blueprints, of course we wanted to find a way to implement them in the French Navy. But everyone knows what’s going on with the Fourth Republic’s government right now. I’ve heard there’s a voice within the Navy that’s trying to imitate the British, which isn’t suitable for France, is it?”

Philippe de Gaulle nodded, then suddenly said, "You want me to submit this design because I am General de Gaulle's son, and in a sense, I represent him."

"We all want to prove our worth through our own efforts, but there's nothing wrong with this kind of family, is there? Isn't this a very innovative blueprint? Just answer that question."

Koeman said things about independence and self-reliance against his will, but he didn't really believe it. The biggest turning point in his life was the amniotic fluid. If he hadn't served as the French command in Damascus back then, he wouldn't be where he is today.

He wanted to use Philippe de Gaulle's position to show the naval high command the design of the angled deck and ski-jump takeoff. Now the choice was in Philippe de Gaulle's hands: whether or not to board the pirate ship.
(End of this chapter)