I Became a Plutocrat in World War I: Starting with Saving France Chapter 507: Revised - 507 Rocket Projectile

Shire chatted with the two, half explaining and half complaining:

"You know, we need ’Congreve’ rockets to destroy enemy balloons and also to bomb enemy artillery positions."

"I tried to produce rockets myself, but encountered difficulties with the rocket propellant, so I had to buy from Schneider."

"God, he’s tripled the price of rockets, which has kept our rockets in constant shortage."

...

Shire’s words were half-truths. The price tripling of rockets was real, but given the severe material shortages in France, it was relatively normal.

Schneider always had his eyes on steel and artillery and had no interest in dealing with these outdated, obsolete, and not very in-demand items.

He even thought that once the price was raised, other munitions factories and even Britain would increase production and capture the market with low prices.

Only Shire knew that the facts were not as Schneider perceived.

Rockets were by no ans "outdated," "obsolete," or "not in demand."

The reason Shire wanted to buy from Britain was that he knew Britain was ahead in this field, especially the Royal Navy.

The Royal Navy tried to use a warship equipped with large numbers of rocket launchers for amphibious operations or to strike sea targets at close range.

(The above image shows a WWII British LCT(R) launching rockets. This type of landing craft could carry up to 5,000 rockets for attacks on land or sea, with about 1,000 rockets fired in a single volley.)

(The above image is a close-up of the LCT(R) landing craft, with "Carpet" rockets densely arranged on the deck. This type of operation was extrely dangerous since a single hit could cause all rockets to explode, which might be the main reason for its quick obsolescence).

British rockets had "Carpet" and later "Land Carper," and the British constantly tried to improve the rocket propellant to make it more accurate. Their process was more advanced and safer than Schneider’s, better suited for mass production.

(Note: The production of old-style rocket propellant required rolling the semi-liquid semi-solid propellant at a certain temperature to make it even. This process was prone to explosion and not suitable for mass production.)

Shire now had a precise strategy, easily surpassing Schneider by purchasing technology from Britain.

But of course, Shire wouldn’t let others see how much he wanted it.

"This is not a rigid condition," Shire added, "I know many countries have this technology, at most it’s just a matter of money. If you don’t want to, I can change the condition..."

The key was "change the condition."

"No, no." The Minister of the Navy quickly interrupted Shire: "As for the propellant technology, we can even add the rockets being developed as a bonus."

Although the Royal Navy had invested considerable funding in rocket developnt, this project had been proven to never succeed: despite the researchers’ best efforts, they could not improve its accuracy, and a rocket without accuracy had no value.

Using a failed, soon-to-be-abandoned technology as a bargaining chip was most appropriate, because there was nothing cheaper!

"Really? That would be great!" Shire answered, "Thank you very much, Captain, you have saved a lot of trouble."

He said this without showing any joy on his face, as if it were a trivial matter.

Shire’s act successfully deceived the Minister of the Navy, who did not suspect anything and got up to shake hands with Shire:

"So, happy cooperation, Major General."

"I will imdiately contact the Navy, ready to coordinate with your country’s Navy."

"Of course, I will get the rockets and related technology to you as quickly as possible, faster than you can imagine!"

...

The Minister of the Navy kept his word. Early the next morning, two "Aphros" were already parked at Antwerp Airport.

The planes brought not only the rocket propellant technology but also an unfinished rocket sample and data. The two people who delivered the items were technicians, specializing in rocket propellant and rocket developnt.

"We’ve been ordered to teach your technicians to produce propellant and rockets before we can return."

"This might take a week if the equipnt is all there."

"If there’s no equipnt, it might take a few more days, depending on how fast you can acquire the equipnt. After all, these are exceptional tis."

Shire was almost overwheld by this sudden stroke of good fortune; clearly, this was a "big gift" from the Minister of the Navy.

Did the Minister of the Navy know what he was doing?

When he found out in the future, he would definitely regret it!

Shire suppressed his inner excitent and calmly nodded, standing up to shake hands with the technicians:

"Alright, thank you very much. I will imdiately send soone to take you to Paris."

"Have you heard of the ’Saint-Etienne’ armory?"

"Yes, that’s where you will be going. Don’t worry, I will make sure they treat you well. The armory is not short on funds!"

As the "Aphro" with the technicians took off again for Paris, Tijani looked at Shire in confusion and asked: "Rockets? What do we need those for?"

"Of course, to destroy enemy balloons," Shire answered casually, "We need rockets with longer range and better accuracy..."

"Please, Major General," Tijani interrupted Shire, "You seem to have forgotten what you said, ’Congreve’ will soon be replaced by an incendiary bullet, which is a bullet filled with incendiary material. Does it not have longer range and better accuracy than a rocket?"

The lie was rcilessly exposed by Tijani. Shire did say that, and those bullets were already in production, soon to be issued to the air force.

"Alright!" Shire replied helplessly, "That is to deal with the Germans’ 105MM howitzers."

Tijani was taken aback and then laughed: "Oh yes, I plan to have a carpenter make a bow and arrows to counter the enemy rifles!"

"I’m serious, General," Shire answered.

"You don’t expect to believe that, do you?" Tijani looked at Shire incredulously, "A 105MM howitzer can shoot several kiloters, with both range and accuracy. Rockets? Beyond one or two kiloters, you can’t guarantee where it will fly. And you hope to use it against the 105 howitzers?"

Tijani smirked: "That joke is not funny, Major General. The British cannons you are producing might still have a chance though."

He was referring to the 6-inch 26-pounder howitzers imported from Britain.

They were indeed excellent, but the range was still not enough to fully suppress the German Army’s 105 howitzers.

Shire didn’t explain much to Tijani. He smiled lightly and said: "Rember what you said today, General. You won’t need rockets!"

"Yes." Tijani nodded firmly: "I don’t need them!"