Survive as a World War II Soldier - Chapter 74



Only Noblemtl

#074

Arthur III felt as if he had been hit in the head with a hammer when his younger brother Douglas said that the world was not beautiful.

Arthur III’s life has always been beautiful since he left his family and entered Annapolis a long time ago.

Seniors who cared about me simply because I was the son of an Army general and had entered Annapolis.

The same was true for my classmates.

Most of my classmates, who were older than me, also liked him rather than being jealous or envious of him.

Military life was also smooth sailing.

Upon graduation, he joined the Asia-Pacific Fleet and participated in the war with Spain and the war with the Philippines, gaining practical experience.

And thanks to that connection, he was able to become Admiral McCaulla’s son-in-law.

Is it because I have been serving in the military so smoothly without any problems?

Arthur III, unlike his younger brother who was burning with desire for advancement, was not particularly greedy.

‘I thought I could just live comfortably since that bastard Doug took care of my mother’s grudge anyway.’

He was surprised for a moment to hear his brother’s prophecy, which was not a prophecy, that war would break out again, but he decided to do what he could in his position.

‘The big trouble will be done by guys like that Douglas.’

And in his view, there were many talented people in the Navy who were just as talented as his brother.

If the Army had a bunch of crazy guys like his brother and his brother’s bragging rights, the Navy had a bunch of great juniors like King, Nimitz, Halsey, and Spruance.

So, I thought that people like me who were indecisive should just keep quiet and get out of the way.

Aren’t all accidents caused by people without the ability to step forward and cause trouble?

That was why he no longer actively sought promotion, making excuses that he liked submarines.

Doesn’t he look exactly like him, quietly supporting his allies and attacking the enemy as if he’s there and not there?

I thought it was the role of Douglas and his capable juniors to fight splendidly at the forefront.

If this torpedo incident had not actually been related to a submarine, it would not have been brought to light.

Even the fact that he went to his younger brother who had some money instead of making a formal request to his superiors or trying to resolve the issue within the Navy was because he wanted to resolve the issue easily.

‘It’s difficult to conduct live ammunition experiments due to budget constraints, so wouldn’t it be okay if we could just provide some support for that?’

And the younger brother showed no mercy to his stupid older brother.

“Shouldn’t you be more like a senior when you’re a senior? Hyung, you’re not the youngest in the Navy anymore, you’re a senior.”

Arthur III glared at his younger brother’s sharp words as he beat him up.

“Okay, I got it. I got it. Stop hitting me now. I’ve come to my senses.”

##

The awakened Arthur III was amazing.

Although he has been likened to Patton of the Navy, Arthur III was quite different from Patton.

The crucial difference was interpersonal relationships.

Arthur III came to me and whined about solving the problem easily, but he turned the Naval Staff upside down.

But what was scarier was that there was no mention of anyone being yelled at or grabbed by the collar during the process.

Arthur III, who had a proper conversation with Chief of Naval Operations William Harrison Standley Lee, who was one year his senior, not only became the person in charge of torpedo development in Newport, but also showed his talent in extracting more money from the budget that was difficult to obtain.

Of course, Marshall and other members of our army laughed at the story that the amount extorted was 500,000 dollars.

“That guy is MacArthur too, huh?”

“That’s right. If your younger brother is so talented, how could your older brother be stupid?”

“Well, isn’t it stranger that I’ve been quiet until now?”

“That’s true too.”

Anyway, Arthur III’s actions became a topic of conversation within the navy, but that was it.

But the story of the joint Army-Navy alliance that he brought up as soon as he arrived in Newport was different.

Of course, the seals were all foaming at the mouth, saying that was nonsense.

“What on earth do you know about the land dogs that you’re meddling in the Navy’s affairs?”

“Ha, isn’t that too much? I sent you to Newport because you were spitting blood and saying that torpedo development was important.”

“It’s ridiculous. Why are we jointly developing the weapons we use with those guys?”

“Tell him to get out of here.”

“No, why does the Naval Air Force need torpedoes? No, if they need them, they can get them from us.

“If you develop it yourself and give it away if necessary, why are you interfering? Why are you interfering?”

But we had a panacea prepared.

What is it?

There is no disease that can be cured only with financial treatment.

“This time, the budget has increased tenfold? So, $500,000? Huh? Will that do? If you want to avoid the situation of experimenting with a dummy filled with water and sand, shouldn’t it be around $5 million?”

Honestly, considering how much money our Army spends on weapons development, I thought $5 million was a bit small, but the seals, especially those in Newport, were so starving that even that amount of money was enough to cure them.

The bubbles disappear without a trace and the tail wags so well.

Of course, even within our army, there were some low-lifes who complained about the $5 million and asked for it to go to them instead of the seals.

Those guys allowed me to have a warm time of fellowship with Arnold and his fellow Air Force members.

“Can we have torpedoes too?”

“For now, we will give priority to the Philippines.”

“Oh, oh. Do I have to go that way to fire the torpedo?”

“We will also be dispatched from our side when conducting experiments in Newport.”

“Good. I’ll go and flatten those seals’ noses.”

I didn’t know, but the Air Corps guys still remember Mitchell being betrayed by the Naval Air Corps a long time ago.

Somehow, when I heard that they were going to jointly develop something with the Navy guys, they agreed with both hands and absolutely had to do it.

They say it’s joint development, but honestly, what do we know about torpedoes?

The development is done by the seal guys in Newport, and we’re mostly in charge of test firings and nitpicking.

Wasn’t the original job of the water owner the final inspection?

“Why does the water depth in Hangzhou seem a bit deep?”

“That can’t be true.”

“No, let’s shoot a few more shots.”

“see.”

“uh···.”

“Even something this basic isn’t designed properly. Ha, really···.”

The Mark 14’s chronic problem of depth issues was quickly eliminated.

I heard that they were testing it by filling it with water and sand before we got involved, and that made a difference in weight compared to real bullets or something.

“The Navy makes all of these?”

“Yes. During World War I, we ordered from outside, but the delivery was not done properly.”

With bombs and deliveries being delayed, isn’t it natural that torpedoes, which are complicated to make and produced in smaller quantities than other items, would be pushed down in priority?

So, turning to in-house production wasn’t a bad choice.

“But is this really a factory?”

“Yes. What is the problem?”

The torpedo factory introduced by the Navy to the eyes of our air force members who experienced World War I, a battle fought on the basis of quantity and with over 1 million infantrymen deployed…

“What kind of factory can’t even make two shoes a day? It’s a home-based industry.”

“···”

Especially, how pitiful the seals’ swarms must have looked to the army, which had become aware of modern supply and logistics thanks to MacArthur.

“Don’t you know about division of labor and standardization?”

A reliable weapons production system that ensures the same quality regardless of who makes them and which factory makes them was of the utmost importance.

As a result, the Newport Naval Ordnance Department was dragged into the Army Ordnance Department’s service to learn how to draw proper blueprints.

In addition, the metric system had to be forcibly adopted in the process.

And finally, what completely crushed the high noses of the Navy guys was none other than the torpedo launch tests conducted in the Philippines.

“It won’t explode, right?”

“That, that can’t be true.”

“Isn’t this a defective product?”

Ralph Waldo Christie was furious.

Finally, in the final tests at Newport, all the new torpedoes functioned properly.

All three types were perfect: Mark 13 for torpedo bombers, Mark 14 for submarines, and Mark 15 for ships.

So now we’re about to start production properly, and these damn land dogs are picking on us.

“Let’s give it a shot in the Philippines.”

“yes?”

“Oh, we’re going to use it there mostly. I want to go there and shoot some shots.”

These ignorant land dogs have been treating torpedoes as if their performance changes depending on the location.

It was an outrageous request, but money was the enemy.

The initial budget the US Army offered was $5 million, which was ten times more than the Navy was willing to pay.

But as with all things, if you work hard, you’ll eventually run out of money.

Honestly, that also felt wronged to Christie.

I thought they were ignorant bastards, so they were firing test shots like machine guns.

How much does one torpedo cost?

Anyway, those bastards have no idea how much fun they’re having making up for the budget they stole.

“This is money that our president gave us out of his own pocket.”

“yes?”

“To be honest, there are a lot of complaints within the Army about the development of this torpedo. To be honest, they developed three types of these, but we are only using one.”

No, who asked you to help me?

“Anyway, since we’ve already started, he gave me his own money so that I wouldn’t make you some ridiculous guy who would just go after his allies because he was short on money, but rather make you a proper guy.”

“···”

“Is that a grateful attitude? Can’t you be a little more sincere?”

“I was so moved I couldn’t speak.”

“Oh, well. That could be possible. If I were to speak to our president…”

I don’t know how many times I’ve held back the urge to yell at you, my great General, to call me your commander.

No, actually, it was Christie who first went to see Arthur III.

And it sank.

“I really hate seeing my little brother. How on earth do you do your job?”

“that is···.”

“At this age, do I have to look after my younger sibling who is four years younger than me? Huh?”

“sorry.”

“Do it well, do it well.”

Anyway, after going through such difficult times, I thought I would finally be freed from those damn dogs…

“No, it really blew up in Newport. Tell me. We did the experiment together.”

He tried to get help from the Army Air Corps crews who had been on the test launch at Newport, but to no avail.

“I won’t use that kind of defective product. No, I can’t use it. I heard that our president even used his own money to support it. Why would he make that kind of garbage?”

Christie and other Naval Ordnance Bureau personnel had to endure humiliation in front of Rear Admiral Mitchell, the commander of the Philippine Garrison, who was glaring and losing his temper.

“What the hell is the problem?”

“It seems like that magnetic detonator isn’t working properly.”

“why?”

“No, I don’t know.”

“under.”

Self-detonating device.

This was an item designed to increase the destructive power of the torpedo.

This device, which exploded at the moment when the amount of radio waves increased and then decreased in response to the magnetic field generated by the warship, was none other than Christie’s work.

If this magnetic detonator works properly, the torpedo can explode the moment it passes the keel, splitting the enemy ship in two.

In fact, the reason why the higher-ups strongly insisted on attaching this to a torpedo and destroying the enemy ship in one shot was none other than Mitchell.

The incident in which Mitchell easily split the East Frisland in two with a single bomb was still considered a disgrace in the Navy.

‘Those damn bastards can do it with cheap bombs, so of course they should be able to do it with torpedoes that are several times more expensive.’

‘I heard that German U-boats also use it?’

So what was developed was a self-detonating device, and it was this work that allowed Christie to rise to where she is today.

But for some reason, this device that worked fine in Newport stopped working here in the Philippines.

Either it doesn’t explode, it explodes early, or it explodes late.

At that moment, while Christie and other Navy Ordnance Bureau personnel were racking their brains and agonizing, Mitchell and other Army personnel also had serious expressions on their faces.

“What on earth is our president’s real identity?”

“That’s right.”

In fact, Army Air Corps personnel dispatched to the Naval Ordnance Office reported immediately after the final test that the torpedo was perfect.

However, the order from Chief of Staff MacArthur, who received the report, was none other than to try again in the Philippines.

“You knew it would fail, didn’t you?”

“Uh. But what is the real reason?”

Mitchell also had an expression on his face that said he couldn’t stand being curious. That was when.

“Commander, a message has arrived from the mainland.”

“okay?”

“This was sent by Chief of Staff MacArthur.”

Mitchell, who received the telegram from his adjutant, slapped his forehead.

“Ha, yeah. I see.”

“What on earth does it say?”

Mitchell turned to the experts in response to others’ questions.

“Winds and ocean currents vary depending on the region, so magnetic fields can’t be the same.”

“oh my god.”

“Right to those seals…”

Mitchell chuckled as he grabbed the person who was going to tell him.

“What are you doing?”

“yes?”

“Can’t you tell me after a few more days of harassment?”

“That may be true, but···.”

Still, those who had become close to the seals while developing torpedoes together for nearly two years looked a little sorry.

“I’ve created a technology that will make you and those seals roll your eyes.”

“yes?”

Of course, there was no one who could go against Mitchell’s words.

And the next day.

Everyone had to open their mouths in shock at the sight of the bomb bouncing through the water and blowing a huge hole in the side of the ship.

“Oh, what did we just see?”

“A water drop?”

“Was that the bomb that was thrown from the plane just now?”

“I guess so.”

“under.”

Christie had a question on the tip of her tongue: What on earth are those damn dogs doing in the Philippines?

Christie was better, at least.

He didn’t have the knowledge to know more than the difficult technology he was seeing.

On the other hand, the naval aviation unit that came along looked so shocked that they were almost out of their minds.

“Why? Teach me? It’s not that hard. How about throwing it like that and making a hole on the odd line?”

The sight of Mitchell speaking with a snicker was like a nightmare.

someone’s pain