Chapter 11: Flying Against the Wind

The "Birmingham" battleship anchored in the Hampton Roads anchorage in Virginia, took off from the specially laid deck; on January 18 of the following year, Eli successfully landed a Curtis aircraft on the deck of the "Pennsylvania", marking the birth of the aircraft carrier with a takeoff and landing.

Behind this well-known historical event, few people probably know that it was because the United States Navy Colonel Chambers persuaded the senior leadership of the US Navy at that time to conduct these two tests after learning that Germany was researching aircraft that could take off from warships. Eugene Ely, through his superb skills and fearless spirit, allowed the United States to complete this feat ahead of the Germans.

Whether Germany completed their carrier aircraft trials before World War I is unknown, but it can be confirmed that although they built the aircraft carrier "Graf Zeppelin" during World War II, it was delayed in entering service due to Goering's obstruction. That is to say, the German Navy never truly possessed an aircraft carrier.

However, all of this is about to change in the era where Zhang Hainuo finds himself. November 1925 marks the 7th anniversary of Germany's defeat in the war, and a bold attempt has been chosen to take place on this significant day.

On the still dim sea surface of the early morning, thick clouds temporarily blocked the sunlight. About 110 miles east of Salvador, a huge freighter was slowly advancing. It was the "Courage" with a tonnage of 10,000 tons, the second ordered by Schneider Shipyard from Weser Shipyard in Bremen. Like other ocean-going freighters, its smokestack and main structure were located in the middle and rear of the hull. The front section beneath the relatively spacious deck housed the main cargo hold. However, today, the front of its hull was exceptionally flat — a 45-meter flight deck was built with wooden planks in front of its smokestack, and 30 ropes with 40-pound sandbags tied at both ends were evenly arranged on the deck as arresting wires.

After the flight deck and arresting wires on the ship were inspected, the personnel on board retreated to safe positions on either side of the smokestack. At this moment, many people were standing on the bridge and wheelhouse of the freighter, all feeling excited and nervous.

To watch everything happening on the deck, the wheelhouse of the freighter was undoubtedly the best vantage point. Occupying this compartment now, besides the captain and helmsmen, were the planners and leaders of today's experiment, Hainuo von Finkensteinschtein, Roderick von Hessen, and Otto von Glencoe. In addition, standing beside Zhang Hainuo was another mysterious figure dressed in a black tailcoat. Since boarding the ship, he had been mostly silent, except for whispering to a few officials from time to time, quietly observing the busyness around him.

"Will this weather affect the pilots' flying condition? Can they accurately locate the ship from Salvador?"

Still a dozen minutes away from the scheduled time, the young man with cleanly shaved beard and neatly dressed in a suit asked Zhang Hainuo softly once again.

"Don't worry, Mr. Major. Our best pilots are flying today. He has served as a fighter pilot in the Richtofen Flying Squadron and as a chief pilot and aviation director in our airline. He has flown along the Brazilian coast no less than two hundred times. Unless there's a mechanical failure, his plane has never made a mistake!"

Zhang Hainuo called him Major because he was an active-duty officer in the German Navy. His presence here to observe this test was entirely due to another person — Admiral Erich Reeder, who now serves as the commander of the Baltic Sea Naval District.

In Reeder's handwritten letter, Conrad Patschy was depicted as a reliable, infinitely loyal, upright officer dedicated to Germany. The two had worked together in Kiel in their early years. In the letter, Reeder also mentioned that he often visited General von Laurence's villa in the suburbs of Kiel with Patschy, and once Hainuo happened to be a guest at his cousin's house. The four of them had a great time chatting.

Unfortunately, Hainuo didn't inherit that part of the real Hainuo. Whether he believed in Reeder's judgment or in the bright blue eyes of this German Baltic Sea Naval District Intelligence Director, his plan was always to prepare for the next war. Therefore, it was impossible for him to stay away from the German Navy all the time. Reeder was a steady man. Since he chose Patschy as his envoy, it at least indicated that he had the ability to control the situation within a certain range, which was also the "opportunity" that Hainuo had been waiting for. Originally, in his anticipation, he was supposed to wait until 1928 when Reeder was promoted to the Chief of Naval Operations.

In the original history, after Reeder served as the head of the navy, he appointed Conrad Patschy as the head of naval intelligence. Patschy worked diligently and energetically, but his integrity made it impossible for him to coexist with the national secret police. Later, he was criticized by Himmler because of the submarine reconnaissance incident. He was eventually reluctantly dismissed and instead served as the captain of the pocket battleship "Graf Spee". He returned to his original profession before the war broke out.

A few minutes later, the sentry on the lookout reported an aircraft to the west, and soon, Zhang Hainuo and others could see three black dots, one of which was a modified Curtis Jenny trainer aircraft and the other two were HS-2L seaplanes. Fred would pilot the trainer aircraft with a hook attached to its tail for deck landing tests, and then take off from the deck. This borrowed from the initial successful attempts of the Americans, while the other two seaplanes would be on patrol in the nearby waters and could perform rescue missions if necessary.

"Maintain heading, low-speed navigation. Hoist the green signal flag!" As the overall person in charge of this test, Zhang Hainuo gave the order to Captain Tabu Rosas of the ocean freighter. According to the previous agreement, the green signal flag on the mast meant "deck ready, ready to land" for the pilots.

As the distance closed, the two accompanying seaplanes left, leaving only the single-winged Jenny trainer aircraft flying straight towards them. To ensure a smooth landing test, Fred and his team had previously removed the excess parts from the aircraft, leaving only the core components necessary for takeoff. The fuel tank only contained enough fuel for the round trip between Salvador and the freighter.

From a distance, Fred waved his wings to indicate readiness for landing, but his old biplane did not rush to land, instead, it flew low over the freighter. At the closest distance, the people on board could clearly see Fred, wearing a flight jacket and wind goggles, waving towards them. The crowd responded with a hearty cheer.

At this moment, everyone on board had been carefully selected, including the crews of U-21 and U-148 submarines, 37 shipyard employees with experience serving in the German Navy, and 30 German stokers.

The enthusiastic applause did not last long because Fred and his biplane quickly moved away from the freighter. Forty-five minutes later, he and his plane turned to the front of the freighter. His gaze gradually shifted from upward to level, and at this moment, no one spoke. Even the sound of everyone's nervous breathing could be heard in the wheelhouse. They watched as the biplane continued its steady descent, with the freighter head-on, meaning the incoming aircraft faced a headwind. Every time its wings wavered due to the airflow, everyone's heart couldn't help but rise to their throats. Time seemed to stop. But the final moment arrived, and when the aircraft was less than 20 meters from the freighter, people saw the serious and tense face behind the spinning propeller.

At Salvador's rudimentary airport, there was a simulated flight deck identical to the one on this freighter. In the past few weeks, Fred and his pilots had practiced landing more than a hundred times, with a success rate of over eighty percent. Therefore, Fred was confident before the actual deck landing attempt. Nevertheless, Zhang Hainuo reminded him that if the position was not ideal before landing, he could pull up and try again, and there was no need to force it.

"May God bless our brave ones..."

Although the voice was low, Zhang Hainuo heard it clearly. He didn't have time to think about who was praying. Compared to the relatively long wait before, Fred and his old biplane had descended to almost parallel to the deck before anyone could react mentally. The two rubber front wheels touched the flight deck near the end of the deck, starting the ideal landing. As usual, the plane bounced gently as if landing on flat ground, but the hook at the tail of the aircraft quickly caught one arresting wire after another. Under the immense inertia of the aircraft, the sandbags at the ends of the first few ropes moved extremely fast from both sides of the deck to behind the plane. As more arresting wires were hooked, the speed of the plane slowed down. Although it had not come to a complete stop yet, Zhang Hainuo breathed a sigh of relief.

At the position of the 22nd arresting wire, the plane finally stopped. After a rumbling sound, the engine stopped running. When Fred raised his hands high and clenched his fists, the crowd waiting behind the deck burst into deafening cheers. The entire landing process took less than half a minute. After unprecedented anxiety and tension, people began to vent their emotions freely.

Zhang Hainuo gave a glance to his deputy officer in U-148, Werner Stahlde, who then rushed out of the wheelhouse. Soon after, the crowd surrounding Fred began to sing "Deutschland Über Alles."

"Congratulations, Mr. von Finkensteinschtein!" Patschy, who had been staring at the front throughout the landing process, took the initiative to extend his right hand, with more politeness than joy on his face, but his bright blue eyes sparkled with positive content.

"Thank you! Although such landings have been done thousands of times in other countries, for us, it has epoch-making significance!" Zhang Hainuo's words were filled with joy, humility, and fairness. By now, Britain already had the "HMS Argus", "HMS Furious", and "HMS Eagle", three truly meaningful aircraft carriers. The USS Langley of the US Navy and the Japanese Navy's "Hosho" also joined before 1923, leaving Germany with nothing until now!

Patschy nodded solemnly. As an officer working in the intelligence department, he knew more about this situation than anyone else here. Germany was not completely conservative in not having its own aircraft carrier. But looking at the current situation of the German Navy, not even a decent large warship could be found. The government was financially strapped, and the annual budget allocated to the navy was very limited. The Treaty of Versailles was like a heavy lock firmly restraining the German Navy's hands and feet. Until January of this year, the first warship built by the German Navy after the war — the "Emden" light cruiser — was launched in Wilhelmshaven. However, this was still a vessel with various flaws and very imperfect technology.

"Before, when Erich mentioned that you could shorten the time for the revival of the German Navy, I had some doubts. But after witnessing everything here, I realized how ridiculous my original idea was!"

Patschy had only been in Brazil for less than a month, but with Zhang Hainuo's company, he had visited the production equipment of Schneider Shipyard, the flight lineup and production line of the Eagle Aviation Company, and the submarine club of Walker Underwater Tourism Company. These had left a deep impression on him. He bluntly told Zhang Hainuo that the German Navy had restarted submarine research and manufacturing work by registering companies in the Netherlands and operating various shipyards in Germany, and had secretly established submarine schools in Kiel. However, this plan had to be carefully avoided from the Treaty of Versailles and the eyes and ears of the Allied powers, while also worrying about the resistance from conservative factions against military expansion at home. It could be said to be walking on thin ice!

In contrast, the Schneider Shipyard on the east coast of Brazil was ideal in both material and political conditions. U-148, representing the highest technical level of the Imperial German Navy submarines, and a large number of submarine experts and technicians from Germany were also the "innate advantages" of this shipyard. Apart from the K-class submarine — U-Boat 901, although the secret submarine company of the German Navy was also building new submarines, they could only accumulate technical experience by designing and building submarines for sale to friendly countries such as Argentina, Turkey, Finland, etc. The German Navy could only use the opportunity to debug submarines and train crews for these countries to cultivate its own submarine personnel.