Chapter 331: Exchange of Interests
After the Balkan War ended, the world seemed to fall into a long period of peace.
The arms race between the two major military blocs continued, expanding from the initial naval arms race to include the army, navy, and even the air force.
If the use of airships and airplanes by Italy during the Italo-Turkish War symbolized the European powers' attention to aviation technology, then following the successful global voyage plan by Australasia, airships capable of circumnavigating the globe became an equally important weapon as land and naval forces, receiving significant attention from countries around the world.
The first country to make progress in airship development was Germany, which owned the Zeppelin Company. Between late September and October, Germany publicly announced the formation of its air force, with plans to equip at least 30 large airships, 100 small airships, and dozens of aircraft over the next five years.
Although the numbers seemed small, Germany was the first nation to openly declare the establishment of an air force centered around airships and airplanes.
After Germany's announcement, the British, proud of being the world's leading power, also quickly followed suit. Within a few days, the UK declared the formation of its own air force, planning to equip more than 50 large airships and 100 small airships.
Given the pride of the world's strongest nation, the British naturally decided on a number of airships far exceeding that of the Germans, ensuring they would maintain a certain advantage in the new military branch.
Following Germany and the UK's example, within a month, the major European powers successively announced the formation of air forces. Even Italy, with the smallest projected air force, planned to equip ten large airships and dozens of small ones.
It's no surprise that these nations placed such importance on airships. The performance exhibited by airships so far had already astonished and alarmed many European countries.
Previously, the longest range for airships was only a few hundred kilometers. Since airships were not particularly fast, they were not considered much of a threat.
But now, with Australasia's global airship, not only had the speed increased significantly, but it was even capable of circumnavigating the globe with several stops along the way.
This meant that, without anti-aircraft measures, no region in the world was truly safe. Even the capitals of top powers like the UK and France could be bombed by enemies.
Until advanced defense weapons were developed, equipping airships in large numbers was absolutely necessary.
This was not only to ensure that they could pose a certain threat to enemies, but also to have some means of countering unknown aerial threats.
The importance European countries placed on airships can be summed up in one sentence: you can choose to ignore airships, but you cannot afford to be without them.
Although European countries had placed great importance on airship development, it was clear that it would be difficult for them to possess airships capable of circumnavigating the globe in such a short time.
Thus, Australasia's AU-3 airship became the primary way for European countries to acquire a global circumnavigating airship in the short term.
Although Australasia had previously stated that it would not sell airships to the military and would not allow foreign airship companies to resell them, there is a saying: nothing is absolute. All European powers believed that, with enough financial incentives, acquiring the airship technology, if not the airships themselves, would not be difficult.
From mid-October 1912, European powers gradually approached Australasia's aviation laboratory, inquiring whether they could purchase airships and airship technology.
After receiving these requests, Director Theodor was cautious and did not act without consulting Arthur. He quickly went to Sydney Palace to seek advice from Arthur.
At the time, Arthur was enjoying a leisurely time at the palace after visiting the Melbourne and Auckland shipyards.
When he heard about the requests from the European powers to buy airships and airship technology, Arthur couldn't help but laugh and said, "By all accounts, our airships, whether for civilian or military use, have irreplaceable value. But if the European countries are willing to offer us technology of similar strategic value, purchasing and exchanging airship technology is not out of the question."
Ultimately, airships could not compete with airplanes in terms of their capabilities in the sky. Even though Australasia had advanced research in airships, Arthur had to admit the fact that, compared to the most advanced airplanes, even the most sophisticated airships would just be sitting ducks.
Since Arthur already understood this significant gap, the importance of airships to him was far less than that of airplanes.
Since the European countries wanted airships and airship technology, there was no harm in giving it to them. The critical issue was what technology these European countries could offer in exchange for Australasia's airship technology.
Among these European countries, Arthur was most focused on the British Empire.
After all, the British Empire, as the world's leading power, had various naval technologies that Arthur greatly coveted and wanted to acquire.
Beyond that, the European powers all had areas of technological advantage, which Arthur also greatly desired and which Australasia urgently needed.
Although Arthur had never planned to make a huge profit off airships by exploiting European countries, since they were practically offering it to him, it would be a missed opportunity not to take advantage of the situation.
Under Arthur's guidance, Director Theodor held lengthy talks with the European powers, with the aim of exchanging advanced technologies and technical experts from these countries in return for airships and airship technology.
Thanks to Germany and the UK's focus on airships, European powers were now being forced to equip airships to maintain aerial superiority and airstrike capability.
The talks between the two sides went on for a long time, until Germany had begun equipping airships and announced plans to hold a military airship parade. At that point, the British could no longer stay idle and immediately offered to provide more technical support and personnel in exchange for the airships and airship technology.
First, on the British side, at Arthur's suggestion, Director Theodor requested numerous experts in naval gun design, as well as military ship propulsion system design experts.
With the development of super-dreadnoughts, the caliber of the main guns would increase to an astonishing 15 inches (about 381 millimeters).
Currently, other powers only equipped dreadnoughts with guns of about 305 millimeters in caliber.
Although the British had only mastered 343-millimeter guns, their success in swiftly upgrading their main guns from 343 millimeters to 381 millimeters after the outbreak of World War I demonstrated their excellent technical capabilities in naval artillery, something Arthur deeply envied.
Thanks to his good relationship with the British, and after Arthur's assurance that he would not sell the AU-3 airship technology to Germany, the British government happily agreed to Arthur's request, offering to send 300 experts to Australasia—100 each for naval guns, propulsion systems, and ship design.
These 300 experts would be sent to Australasia within a month and a half, along with their families, and would permanently reside in Australasia.
Grateful for the British generosity, Director Theodor generously agreed to sell 50 airships to the UK at a price below market value, specifically 70,000 pounds, and to hand over the AU-3 airship technology.
Arthur would likely make a profit of 1.5 million pounds from these 50 airships. In addition to the 300 British experts, this exchange was undoubtedly beneficial for Arthur.
As for the agreement not to collaborate with Germany, even without the British insistence, cooperation with Germany was practically impossible at this point.
Although Germany's airship technology was not on par with Australasia's, it was still a leader in rigid airship technology, second only to Australasia.
Moreover, after receiving the AU-2 airship from Arthur, Germany had never ceased researching rigid airships and had strongly supported the Zeppelin company.
Germany had approached Australasia, but unlike the other European countries, it only sought to purchase a few airships and made no mention of airship technology.
If all went as expected, Germany was likely on the verge of acquiring airships capable of circumnavigating the globe. After all, "circumnavigating the globe" was essentially the total distance of multiple long-distance flights.
According to the maximum range of the AU-3 airship during its global voyage, it was only around 8,000 kilometers, comparable to the distance between Los Angeles and London or Sydney and Hawaii.
Historically, the first airship capable of circumnavigating the globe would likely have been built by the Zeppelin company.
Now, with Germany receiving strong government support, it was possible that they would be the first to develop such a craft.
Apart from the UK and Germany, at Arthur's instruction, Director Theodor also reached agreements with other European powers.
Including France, Russia, Austria-Hungary, and Italy, Australasia secured many technical experts and a wealth of advanced technologies from these countries.
Naval guns, artillery, military propulsion systems, engine technology, medical technology, industrial equipment, industrial science, and thousands of technical experts would all contribute to significant advancements in Australasia's technology in the coming years.
With this influx of knowledge, Australasia would soon achieve a level of technological strength comparable to that of the great powers.
Having secured collaborations with these European powers, the aviation laboratory's production of airships could now proceed faster.
With the technology shared with these nations, their airship companies and airship technologies would quickly advance.
In a few years, airships like the AU-3, capable of circumnavigating the globe, would likely no longer hold the same value, and the profits from the airship market would decrease significantly.
At present, however, as the newest mode of transport with faster speeds, greater comfort, and the value derived from rarity, airships and airship tickets commanded very high prices. Any company that had an airship capable of circumnavigating the globe could immediately make a fortune, with stock market prices rising exponentially.
The scene was more chaotic than the previous rubber market. If the aviation laboratory had not controlled the pace of airship production, the market would likely have flooded with airship companies, leading to a stock crisis.
If the aviation laboratory released airship production, the orders from the great powers could likely be completed in just six months, with orders from private entities extending the airship market for several years.
However, the proportion of the airship market controlled by Australasia's airship companies would inevitably decrease.
Despite losing Germany's order for 30 airships, the orders from the UK (50), France (30), Russia (20), Austria-Hungary (15), Italy (15), and the United States (40) still brought Australasia 170 airship orders.
With the exception of the UK, the airships from other countries were sold at the original price, which was 80,000 pounds each.
In total, these 170 airships would bring Arthur 6.3 million pounds, or 12.6 million Australian dollars—quite a substantial profit.
This money could easily be invested into the navy, enough to build three super-dreadnoughts, which is no small amount.
Although Arthur had no plans to invest this money directly into the navy, no matter where it was allocated, it would be of great help.
Among all the airship orders, the inclusion of the United States was somewhat unexpected.
Initially, the European powers had contacted Australasia without informing the U.S. However, Arthur thought, having already taken advantage of the Europeans, how could the U.S., the world-famous nouveau riche, be an exception?
At Arthur's suggestion, the aviation laboratory made the European powers' requests for airship technology public, quickly drawing the attention of the U.S. military and government.
When the Morning Light airship landed in the United States, American generals immediately saw the strategic value of airships.
Upon learning that European powers were buying airship technology, the U.S. military couldn't stay silent and immediately pushed the government to act, seeking to equip the U.S. with airships on par with those of the European powers to protect American airspace.
To sway Congress, the military made repeated declarations about the strategic importance of airships, stressing that airships capable of circumnavigating the globe could reach any U.S. territory and pose a deadly threat to both the U.S. and its military.
At the same time, the U.S. military publicly claimed that if the U.S. could not equip itself with advanced weapons like airships, its military strength would fall behind that of the European powers.
Though the U.S. had no intention of participating in Europe's disputes, this did not mean they had no ambition to maintain their position as a world power.
The U.S. military's statements drew the government's attention, and the airship purchase plan quickly moved forward.
Of course, the U.S. was still behind Europe in terms of technology, and Arthur did not pay much attention to their technological capabilities.
Compared to the U.S.'s technological level, its industrial scale and economic power were still the main factors securing its position as a great power.
As for the U.S.'s military technology and military strength, it could only be described as a work in progress.
Since the U.S. had the money, Arthur naturally couldn't pass up the opportunity. After some negotiations with the U.S. government, it was agreed that the U.S. would purchase 40 airships at the original price, as well as pay 20 million Australian dollars to acquire the AU-3 airship technology.
Additionally, Arthur arranged for a loan of 500 million marks from the U.S. government and private sector, agreeing to repay it with interest over 15 years, totaling 650 million marks.
The reason Arthur opted for German marks in the loan was due to the fact that the majority of the funds would be used in Germany to purchase industrial equipment and technology.
Of course, when it came time to repay, it would also be in German marks.
As for the interest of 150 million marks, if the European situation followed the historical trajectory, Arthur had no doubt he could disregard it.
(End of Chapter)
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