Cash-Loaded Fleet

Chapter 59 - New Weapons

The machine may have inferior performance, but there is a way to fight. Also, there's the unfamiliar term "RATO."

Minister Shiozawa, Chief Hyakutake, and Admiral Yamamoto inquired about these things with Binta.

"RATO stands for Rocket-Assisted Take-Off, a propulsion rocket attached to an aircraft. Equipping this can shorten the takeoff and landing distance. Germany has already implemented this, accumulating considerable operational experience. Recently, a similar device was completed at the Naval Technical Research Institute in our country. It would be ideal if each aircraft carrier should be equipped with British-made catapults. However, this would involve extensive construction, so adopting RATO is a practical alternative."

As a confirmation gesture regarding RATO, Minister Shiozawa, Chief Hyakutake, and Admiral Yamamoto nodded slightly and encouraged the continuation of the conversation. Honestly, Binta would like to know when something like RATO was created, but there are more important things to ask about now.

"The claim that even the Zero can compete with the P-47 or the new carrier-based fighter is because progress has been made in developing new weapons. Provisionally called Type I Mk. 1B air-to-air rocket, it has a radio transmitter and receiver in the casing, automatically exploding the warhead when approaching a target. If equipped on the Zero, it can attack enemies from beyond the range of their Browning machine guns. Also, with modern technology, an unguided simple air-to-air rocket can be miniaturized to around 30 kilograms, making it more convenient and easier to operate. Despite that, the Type I Mk. 1B rocket weighs 120 kilograms primarily because of its length of two meters. Furthermore, it has proximity fuzes, a large amount of propellant for extended flight, and explosive material to enhance its destructive power, contributing to its considerable weight. In any case, if the operation starts at the end of the year, we can sufficiently gather a number of rockets."

During the Circle 1 Plan, Binta proposed the development of guided weapons to the then Minister Kiyokazu Abo. With the minister's approval, the development of guided weapons began at the Naval Technical Research Institute. Of course, Binta funded the project. That was in 1932, and more than ten years have passed. The Type I Mk. 1B rocket is also one of the products created at the same research institute.

The Type I Mk. 1B rocket, once launched, simply travels straight towards its target without the ability to track enemy aircraft, despite having a radio transmitter and receiver. Therefore, it cannot be classified as a guided weapon. However, it remained a groundbreaking weapon as it can reliably capture enemy aircraft within its effective radius, surpassing traditional timed-fuse rocket projectiles.

Unknown to Binta and other high-ranking officers, a similar weapon with proximity fuzes was in the final stages of development in the United States. Known as VT fuzes, these were designed for anti-aircraft artillery shells rather than rockets. Smaller than rocket projectiles and required to withstand immense G-forces during firing, the technical challenges were incomparable to those in Japan.

"In other words, using the air-to-air rocket to gain the initiative, the Zeros dive in when the enemy is in disarray, and in their specialty, engage in close-quarters dogfights to eliminate them. Essentially, compensating for the inferior performance of the aircraft with mounted weaponry."

Hyakutake's words receive a nod of agreement from Binta, understanding quickly, as expected from someone holding the position of an admiral.

"Also, as a side note, another weapon for anti-ship purposes will be completed soon. It's called the Type I Mk. 1A radio-guided bomb, which, as the name suggests, involves remotely guiding a winged bomb to strike enemy ships. Unlike horizontal or dive bombing relying on free fall, humans control the bomb's direction until just before impact, significantly improving its accuracy compared to traditional bombing."

The Type I Mk. 1A radio-guided bomb is also one of the guided weapons developed at the Naval Technical Research Institute. In terms of radio control technology, Japan, which had not fallen far behind other major powers, considered it a highly feasible guided weapon from the early stages of development. However, challenges in attitude control and rocket technology prevented its realization until the situation took a favorable turn with the opening of the Japan-Europe transportation route. Valuable knowledge in attitude control and rocket technology from Germany accelerated the development of the Type I Mk. 1A radio-guided bomb.

Binta's detailed knowledge of new weapons stemmed from his significant financial contributions to the research and development at the Naval Technical Research Institute. As a Special Commander and a major sponsor, he rightfully held the privilege of receiving reports on research outcomes.

"Also, a significant advantage of the Type I Mk. 1A radio-guided bomb is not only its accuracy but also its ability to ensure the safety of the launching aircraft, such as carrier-based attack planes and land-based bombers. In fact, the latter may be more significant than the improvement in accuracy. The attack method for the Type I Mk. 1A radio-guided bomb involves the launching aircraft advancing to a point approximately 10.000 meters away from the target. Then, at an altitude of around 1.000 meters, the radio-guided bomb is dropped. The detached bomb immediately ignites its engine upon release and flies using rocket propulsion. The launching aircraft, for radio guidance, ultimately approaches to about 4.000 meters from the target. Thus, it cannot escape the effective range of enemy anti-aircraft guns. However, it can complete the attack before the machine guns and cannons can accurately target them. This significantly improves survivability compared to traditional shallow dive bombing or torpedo attacks."

American ships are equipped with excellent machine guns and cannons, and their numbers are noticeably greater than those on Japanese ships. Many Zeros and Type 1 land-based bombers have been lost to these formidable defenses. However, if one believes Binta's explanation, the Type I Mk. 1A radio-guided bomb can outrange these defenses.

As Binta explained, Minister Shiozawa, Chief Hyakutake, and Admiral Yamamoto exchanged worried glances. It will be the first time since the beginning of the conflict between Japan and the United States that they will face a disadvantage in aircraft. In the midst of this, the existence of the Type I Mk. 1B rocket and the Type I Mk. 1A radio-guided bomb seemed to them like a ray of hope or a timely blessing.