Chapter 1117: Chapter 835: The Second Nuclear Test

In the development of various heavy weapons, the German government clearly placed a greater emphasis on the development of aircraft.

After all, tanks are subject to many terrain restrictions, but aircraft are not affected by terrain, only by weather.

Moreover, different types of aircraft can perform tasks such as transport, aerial support, paratroop deployment behind enemy lines, and long-range bombing; among all heavy weapons classes, they have the greatest utility.

In the field of military aircraft research and development, one aircraft plant stood out, which is now known as the Bavarian Aircraft Factory, a regional military enterprise.

This aircraft plant may not be well-known by name, but their new name a few years later, the Messerschmitt Aircraft Plant, became renowned during World War II.

As early as last year, the German government had privately solicited designs for a new generation of fighter aircraft, and it was the Bavarian Aircraft Factory’s designer Messerschmitt who designed the Bf109 model, a single-engine, single-seat, single-wing, all-metal piston fighter aircraft chosen by the German government.

This concept aircraft, also known as the Bf109, might sound unfamiliar because the Bavarian Aircraft Factory was renamed the Messerschmitt Aircraft Plant a few years later, and Bf109 or Me109, became Germany’s main fighter aircraft in World War II. It remained in service until the end of the war, fighting in all German campaigns from Europe to Africa.

Simply from the duration of service of this aircraft, one can judge how excellent the design concept it demonstrated was.

It was precisely because of the promising design of this aircraft that, after announcing the development of the military industry, the Bavarian Aircraft Factory immediately received significant attention from the German government and was seen as a military enterprise worthy of strong support.

With the support of the German government, the Bavarian Aircraft Factory quickly produced the first prototype of the Bf109 model, officially starting the testing of Germany’s advanced fighter aircraft.

While the Germans were devoted to developing fighter aircraft, a fierce aerial battle was unfolding in the skies above Madrid, Spain.

For the Spanish Republican Government, the capital city of Madrid was absolutely indispensable. If the capital were to fall, it would be a heavy blow to the morale of the Spanish government, and it would also cause great despair among the people.

For the Spanish Nationalist forces, capturing the capital Madrid had become the most important objective at that time.

Though Spain is considered a large country in Europe, its native land area is not very large, and the capital Madrid is located in the central region of Spain.

This means that whichever side controls the capital area can exert a huge influence over other regions around it.

The Spanish Republican Government has been able to hold out for so long against the Nationalists, as well as German and Italian troops, relying on the defense of the Madrid region and the public support for the Republican Government.

If the capital region were to fall, whether the Spanish people would continue to support their own government would become an unknown variable.

In the battle for Madrid, air combat became crucial for both parties.

If any side gained air superiority, it would pose a huge threat to the enemy’s ground forces. More importantly, both Spain and Germany, as well as Italy, lacked anti-aircraft weapons for their troops on the Spanish battlefield, leaving ground forces almost unthreatened by air forces.

In such circumstances, both sides put great emphasis on air supremacy, even planning a large-scale air battle for it.

On March 27, 1935, over 200 aircraft engaged in a massive air battle over Madrid, with over a hundred aircraft shot down that day, marking the largest scale air battle in human history since World War I.

The outcome of this air battle ended with a costly victory for the Italian Air Force. Of the 120 aircraft France had provided to Spain, over 60 were shot down, and more than 30 planes were severely damaged and required major repairs.

On the Italian side, of the 225 aircraft they had sent to Spain over time, similarly, more than 50 were shot down, and close to 40 aircraft were heavily damaged.

After this air battle, the Spanish Republic no longer had any capacity for air resistance.

Even France, which supported them from behind, could not provide hundreds of aircraft to assist Spain in the short term.

However, it was this large-scale air battle that made European countries realize the importance of aircraft and the importance of researching aircraft-related technologies.

According to intelligence reports, after this air battle, European countries began researching new fighter aircraft and invested a large amount of funds into their domestic aircraft manufacturers.

Arthur was unaware of the butterfly effect caused by the Madrid air battle. As the intense combat raged in the skies over Madrid, Arthur, too, was very excited, awaiting news of Australasia’s second nuclear test.

By then, nearly 10 months had passed since the last nuclear test. During this time, under the leadership of Albert Einstein, the nuclear weapons research and development team discussed the new atomic bomb design multiple times and simulated a vast amount of data, finally deciding to commence a new round of nuclear weapons testing.

Of course, during these ten months, the nuclear weapons research and development team did not only discuss the design of the atomic bomb; they also sought another element that could be used for nuclear testing, plutonium-239.

According to the research team’s estimates, plutonium-239 is an element that can react more readily than uranium-235, which means an atomic bomb using plutonium-239 could produce a greater explosive yield with the same weight of nuclear material.

To verify this hypothesis, the Nuclear Weapons Research and Development Testing Team manufactured two atomic bombs, named Reaper’s Scythe and Reaper’s Whip respectively.

As for which type of atomic bomb to build, it would depend on which element demonstrated greater power during the explosion of these two test bombs.

On April 1, 1935, on April Fool’s Day, Australasia conducted its second nuclear weapons test explosion officially commenced.

The location was still within the deserts of West Australian State, familiarly closing off the city and roads, and relocating all foreign tourists.

Since this had been done a year earlier, there were virtually no foreign tourists in the entire West Australian region.

This facilitated the testing of nuclear weapons and also ensured that within hundreds of kilometers of the testing ground, there were essentially no foreign spies.

“Everyone, check the equipment one last time, and after confirming everything is in order, our second nuclear test will begin,” Silverdale, Einstein’s assistant, was actually the one in command of this nuclear weapon’s detonation test.

“All data have been verified to be correct and accurate, we can begin the nuclear test,” Enrique Fermi nodded to Einstein and Silverdale after ensuring there were no issues with the data.

“Ladies and gentlemen, I announce that the Australasian Nuclear Weapons Test Research and Development Team’s second nuclear test begins now!” Einstein nodded and declared to everyone present.

“Countdown, 3, 2, 1, detonate!” Silverdale counted down slowly, and without any hesitation, pressed the button in his hand at the end of the countdown.

Boom!

Following the massive blast, a mushroom cloud, larger than the previous one, instantaneously rose from the desert tens of kilometers away.

The terrifying heat melted all the sand within hundreds of meters, while further out, the blast wave carried the sand and created a massive crater for kilometers around the detonation point.

“How’s it looking? Do we have the observational data yet?” Fermi asked impatiently.

Compared to the last explosion, this test was far more powerful in terms of scale and intensity.

As a scientist part of this project, Fermi was eager to see the kind of power this new round of testing would unleash and whether it would satisfy Arthur.

“The forward observation team has completed their work, and within ten minutes, the observational data will be brought back,” Silverdale said with a smile.

After ten minutes, the Nuclear Weapons Research and Development Experiment Team, based on all data brought back by the observation team, calculated various aspects of the detonated bomb.

“What are the final data like?” Silverdale asked Fermi.

“Some data are still being calculated,” Fermi replied with a smile. “But based on our calculations, the explosive power of this atomic bomb is at least five times that of the last one, which means we have succeeded.”

“Keep calculating, I want the most accurate and comprehensive data,” Einstein nodded, his face not showing too much excitement. “The explosion of the next atomic bomb is scheduled for one week from now. We need to choose the more powerful of the two atomic bombs, and I hope our hypothesis won’t disappoint us.”

The currently tested atomic bomb used conventional uranium-235 as its nuclear material, the first atomic bomb created by the Nuclear Weapons Research and Development Testing Team.

The difference from the first bomb was merely a redesign to improve the utilization rate of uranium-235.

In fact, all members of the Nuclear Weapons Research and Development Testing Team were more excited about the other bomb, namely the latest type using plutonium-239 as the nuclear material.

This new type of atomic bomb, which had significant changes in nuclear material and design, clearly had a greater potential compared to conventional atomic bombs.

Now that the conventional atomic bomb had already been successfully detonated, everyone, including Einstein, was looking forward to the explosion of the second bomb.

“Do we need to send the blast data to Saint Arthur Castle?” asked Fermi.

Generally, data from nuclear weapon tests needed to be sent to Saint Arthur Castle, which meant Arthur’s desk.

Not only was this a way for Arthur to understand the progress of nuclear weapons development, but it also served as oversight for the members of these nuclear weapons development teams.

“No need for now,” Einstein shook his head. “After the explosion test of the second atomic bomb in one week, we will send all the data of both atomic bombs’ blasts to Saint Arthur Castle.

I believe compared to this uranium-235 atomic bomb, the plutonium-239 atomic bomb is what we are truly after.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated on Novlove.com