Rise of Empires: Spain.

Chapter 466 Airships and Paratroopers
If the current first-generation tanks have already achieved basic combat capability and can even be directly deployed to the battlefield, then Spain's current progress in aircraft development is undoubtedly far behind.

It's actually quite easy to understand if you think about it. Tanks aren't actually that complicated; they're simply cannons mounted on cars or tractors, and then covered with a layer of sturdy steel armor.

The so-called improvements are nothing more than adjusting the tank's internal structure and replacing it with a more powerful and stable engine.

But airplanes are different. Airplanes are meant to fly, and their engines have much higher requirements than tanks. If a tank breaks down, it only loses its mobility; the tank's cannons are still usable, and soldiers can choose to leave the tank and temporarily serve as ordinary infantry.

But airplane pilots are different. Because airplanes are in the air, if an airplane engine malfunctions, there is only one outcome: the plane crashes and everyone on board dies.

For aircraft, the failure rate absolutely cannot be as high as that of tanks. Carlo would never initiate a plan to equip the military with aircraft on a large scale until the failure rate was reduced to an acceptable level.

Even aircraft training must be conducted with caution. Currently, Spain's aircraft development progress has only achieved manned flights of a few hundred kilometers.

If the timing of the World War had been the same as in history, Spain might have had airplanes during World War I.

If the world war had broken out earlier, Spain might have still had an air force, but all it would have been able to use were its large and cumbersome airships.

Compared to the slightly slower development of aircraft, Spain's research and development of airships is actually quite advanced.

The airship previously displayed at the military parade was Spain's second-generation product, named Dreamer.

Currently, the Spanish Air Force is equipped with a total of 12 Dreamers airships. This type of airship is capable of long-distance flights of over 1,000 kilometers and can reach a relatively good speed of 40 kilometers per hour.

Compared to an airplane, a speed of 40 kilometers per hour is extremely slow. For an airplane to actually take off, it needs a speed of over 100 kilometers per hour, even with the help of wind.

Once airborne, the speed increases even further, easily reaching speeds of over 100 kilometers per hour. The latest model under development in Spain has a maximum takeoff speed of 105 kilometers per hour and a maximum flight speed of 130 kilometers per hour, nearly three times the speed of an airship.

Despite their high speed, current airplanes are not yet commercially viable, let alone capable of carrying multiple passengers or heavy cargo.

Even in flight tests, pilots are selected as thin as possible to reduce the aircraft's weight and help it take off and fly better.

Compared to ground vehicles, airships actually have certain advantages.

Trains are currently the most common mode of transportation in European countries, and the speed of passenger trains has also developed very rapidly in the decades since the invention of the train.

The initial passenger trains had a speed of less than 20 kilometers per hour, which gradually increased to 30 kilometers per hour, 40 kilometers per hour, and now 50 kilometers per hour.

Currently, the speed of mainstream passenger trains in European countries can reach more than 50 kilometers per hour, and the speed of some main lines or express trains can even be increased to 70 to 100 kilometers per hour.

Due to geographical limitations, passenger trains in Spain are currently slower than those in other European countries. However, on some important branch lines, such as Madrid to Barcelona, ​​Madrid to Valencia, Madrid to Santiago de Compostela, and Madrid to Seville, train speeds can reach over 70 kilometers per hour.

In particular, the express trains between Madrid and Barcelona, ​​the two largest cities, can reach speeds of up to 100 kilometers per hour on some of the flatter and straighter railway lines.

Looking at this data alone, one might think that trains are currently traveling at high speeds. However, in reality, freight trains and passenger trains have completely different speeds.

In Europe, passenger trains can reach an average speed of around 50 kilometers per hour, but freight trains can only reach an average speed of less than 30 kilometers per hour, and in most areas they travel at a speed of just over 20 kilometers per hour.

The reason is simple: trains carry relatively heavy goods, so their speed is naturally slow. In addition, loading and unloading goods takes longer, which further delays the speed of freight trains.

Compared to these freight trains, current airships still have a significant speed advantage. After all, airships can also be used for cargo transport. The Dreamer airship has a payload of 2.2 tons and, with a crew of 9, can accommodate up to 20 passengers or 1.5 tons of cargo.

In addition to the Dreamer airship already in service with the air force, Spain's airship development team is also developing a new generation of airships, named Empire.

Although Spain's research and development focus is on aircraft, most of the researchers on the airship development project team are unaware of this. They have great confidence in their research results, and the airships are currently demonstrating significant capabilities.

The Empire airship is the most ambitious generation of products developed by the airship research and development team. According to the team's plan, the Empire airship will weigh an astonishing 11.8 tons, which will allow the airship to carry an estimated payload of over 5 tons, more than twice that of the current Dreamer airship.

The size of the airship is being expanded indefinitely. The airship research and development project team plans to use two or more diesel engines to power the airship, which will also greatly increase the airship's flight speed.

Based on the experimental data of the current airship model, if the Empire airship can be successfully built, it is expected that the airship will be able to fly at a speed of more than 70 kilometers per hour, making it comparable to or even faster than a train, whether carrying passengers or cargo.

Imagine an airship with a payload of over 5 tons and a flight speed of over 70 kilometers per hour; it would be quite useful.

In civilian applications, whether for passenger or cargo transport, airships offer the public more transportation options. Especially in the Strait of Gibraltar, where a bridge cannot be built, airships can provide more transportation choices between mainland Spain and Morocco, strengthening connections between the two regions.

Their role in the military field is self-evident. Although larger airships are more cumbersome, they can also transport more military supplies or soldiers.

Based on a payload of over 5 tons, this airship can transport more than 60 soldiers, allowing Spain to establish its own airborne force.

If only 60 soldiers were airdropped, it wouldn't offer much help on the battlefield. But what if Spain equipped itself with dozens or even hundreds of airships at once? Would that mean Spain possessed the capability to deploy thousands of troops over long distances in a single operation?
Once such an airborne force is established, Spain will be able to deploy troops over long distances to enemy cities and key areas in the event of a future war, capturing these important locations before the enemy can react. This would drastically change the battlefield, which is why the airship development project team attaches great importance to the Empire and airship development.

Although Spain sold information about the Dreamer airship to other European countries, not a single piece of research and development information about the Empire airship was leaked.

Even if other countries obtain the design data and information related to the Dreamer airship, it will take them a long time to fully master this data and build their own airships based on the design drawings.

Meanwhile, Spain's Empire airship had already made progress, which meant that Spain would still lead other European countries in the field of airships. At least in the short term, this lead would not be erased or narrowed too much.

When Carlo learned of the airship development project team's plans for the Empire airship, he supported their project and allocated them a large sum of research funding.

For Carlo, it was certainly a pleasure to see Spain flourish in a wide range of military technology fields.

Although airships had significant limitations, their usefulness was also quite evident. Their military applications were limited until the end of World War I, as European countries would then have developed their own aircraft, which would prove extremely vulnerable.

However, in the civilian sector, airships could remain in use for decades to come. Spain, having taken the lead in airships, was naturally unlikely to relinquish its advantage easily.

In addition to allocating a large sum of research and development funds to the airship development project team, Carlo also ordered the Air Force to form an airborne force and conduct relevant training in advance.

Paratroopers may sound easy, but training them is actually quite difficult.

The first issue is parachuting. Soldiers must overcome their fear and then skillfully control the parachute in order to land in the target area.

Throughout the entire parachute jump, the soldier must remain undetected by the enemy. Soldiers in the air are completely defenseless; if their parachute is hit by enemy fire, they will instantly lose their lives.

Even if they land successfully, they still need to undergo actual combat training. The mission of airborne troops is even more difficult than that of ordinary army troops. If they fail to complete their mission, they will not even be able to obtain follow-up supplies and can only rely on air transport for a small amount of supplies.

This is why Carlo ordered the Spanish Air Force to establish airborne troops as soon as possible, so that the earlier they are trained, the more effectively they can play their role on the future battlefield.

Although the Empire airship was the primary airship for paratroopers in Project Carlo, the Dreamer airship is also currently capable of conducting paratrooper training.

The only difference was that the Dreamer airship carried fewer soldiers; otherwise, there wasn't much difference.

Following Carlo's order, the Spanish Air Force immediately began the formation of its airborne troops.

Although it is called an air force, it is actually just a simple army composed of dozens of airships. The number of soldiers belonging to the air force is only a few hundred, which is quite meager compared to the army and navy.

Although it was modest, the importance of the air force goes without saying. Carlo attached great importance to the air force; the air force commander was of the same rank as the army and navy commanders, and air force soldiers even received better treatment than army and navy soldiers in some aspects.

The Air Force currently does not have enough soldiers to form its own airborne troops; it can only select some outstanding soldiers from the Army and train them to become qualified airborne troops.

Many army soldiers are quite interested in being selected for the air force. After all, the air force offers relatively high benefits, with rations and other subsidies generally being higher than those in the army.

More importantly, paratroopers are capable of flying. Although they travel in airships, who, currently, is capable of flying in an airship?
Airships are not commercialized nowadays, and apart from the air force, almost no one in Spain can fly in an airship.

This era is not like the future, where a significant portion of people have flown in airplanes and experienced the feeling of flying.

Most people in this era have never experienced the feeling of being a paratrooper, and many are still very curious about what it feels like to fly into the sky.

Because of this curiosity, coupled with the relatively good benefits of the air force, army soldiers were quite enthusiastic in the process of selecting paratroopers for the Spanish air force.

This allowed the Air Force to quickly select a sufficient number of soldiers, and the Airborne Forces officially began training a little over a month after Carlo gave the order.

Training paratroopers is not easy, and it takes a long time for ordinary soldiers to overcome their fear of heights.

It's impossible to have these army soldiers practice parachuting right from the start. Making them do parachuting training when they're not familiar with parachutes would only harm them.

These newly-formed paratroopers were first trained to familiarize themselves with airships and how to fly in the sky.

To allow these soldiers to get used to riding in an airship as early as possible, during the first month of airborne training, they spent almost half of the 24 hours a day flying, giving them a real taste of flying.

While it's exhilarating, some people who aren't used to being suddenly airborne may experience discomfort that can't be eliminated in a short time.

Although there are no statistics, it is certain that these newly recruited paratroopers vomited dozens or even hundreds of times in the air during their first month of training.

(End of this chapter)