Iron Cross

At the secret flight test ground outside Berlin, two strange-looking aircraft were already ready, their silver wings shining brightly in the sunlight. What catches the viewer’s attention most is that neither of these two aircraft actually have propellers – yes, they are both the world’s earliest jet aircraft. One is a test aircraft developed by Heinkel, code-named He-280. The engines are installed in the wing nacelles on both sides. It adopts a straight wing design with elliptical wing tips. There are twin vertical tails arranged on both sides of the flat tail. The power is two It has Heinkel axial flow turbojet engines, each with a thrust of 500 kg. The other is a verification aircraft developed by Messerschmitt. The codename Me-2280 is not much different, but you can still see the difference if you look closely. The nearly triangular tail intersects at the tail. The two Junkers are produced. The axial flow turbojet engine is installed directly under the swept lower wing, with a thrust of 550 kg.

This is an extremely important display, not only because the head of state is here to watch it in person, but also because the Imperial Air Force will determine the bidding results for the new generation aircraft based on the performance of this test flight and a comprehensive evaluation of the results of previous tests. The order quantity will be in thousands. The weather is clear and the wind speed is not strong at this moment, which is a good time for a test flight. According to the original plan, the project was to start at 2 o'clock in the afternoon, but now it is almost 3 o'clock, and we still have not received the start order. The test pilots, ground staff and related technicians on the side have repeatedly inspected the aircraft. Now they can only look at the conference room of the command center eagerly, hoping that the big shots will come out to observe early, while boringly bragging and chatting to pass the time. , after all, the feeling of waiting is not pleasant.

"Schulz, I heard that Fatty's downfall was because he offended the Führer? Himmler accused him of being a traitor?" Although the products of the two companies are rivals, the test pilots are very good friends. Let’s exchange our views on the aircraft together, “You are always a well-informed person, who do you think can take over from the Commander-in-Chief?”

"How can we discuss the matters of important people?" Schultz frowned, looked at the surrounding flag-guard soldiers on guard duty, and whispered, "If I were you, I would not get involved in this kind of thing. You can hide as far away from things as you can.”

"Come on, except for slandering the Führer, there is nothing else you dare to say. Didn't the Imperial Marshal look like a clown to you before?" Wendell's test flight was the Me-262, and he fought with Schultz. After talking to each other for a long time, I couldn't help but expose the other party's background, "Tell me, how uncomfortable it is to hold it in your heart. If it's worthwhile, I'll treat you to a club for a drink tonight."

"Didn't you see that the Yuan Dynasty capital was present in person today? The meeting has been delayed in ending. Seeing that the test flight time has been delayed from 2 o'clock to 3 o'clock, there may be a fierce quarrel inside. This is the first time I have encountered such a strange situation. Who can It’s hard to say when I will take over as Commander-in-Chief, but a new round of purges in the Air Force is probably inevitable—if you still remember the purges of the Stormtroopers back then.”

Wendell shrugged indifferently: "It's okay to scare the big shots by purging or something, but it doesn't matter to a pure-blooded Aryan like me. Maybe there will be a few vacant positions above."

"Forget it, I'll tell you if you want to hear it so much. I really can't guess the successor of the Commander-in-Chief, but as you said, Marshal Milch is stepping aside. The Gestapo has found him again. Now there is no one to protect him. The wind and rain are gone, so I will probably quit the test pilot team next time.”

"What does this have to do with you?" Wendell asked puzzledly, "If you could really establish a friendship with Marshal Milch, you wouldn't just be a captain after so many years."

"Really, think about it." Schulz explained patiently, "After Milch stepped aside, Dr. Messerschmitt had no opponents. With his skills and connections, plus the success of the previous test flights, Dr. Messerschmitt had no opponents. "With the performance of the Me-2280, there is almost no doubt that we will win the order. Without the project, I will no longer have to perform test flights."

Wendel remained silent. He knew that Schulz was right: in 1928, when Milch was still chairman of the German Civil Aviation and president of Lufthansa, Messerschmitt developed the M20 passenger aircraft. As a result, Milch's close friend was testing it. The M20 died in a flying accident. In grief, Milch believed that Messerschmitt was responsible for the death of his good friend, and lacked sympathy afterwards, and became his lifelong enemy. After the Bf-109 design was completed, Messerschmitt was almost unable to obtain government orders under Milch's nose, and had to turn to selling M37 and M36 transport aircraft to Romania to maintain business operations. After Milch learned of the incident, he publicly accused Messerschmitt of being a traitor and ordered the Gestapo to investigate. Fortunately, Messerschmitt had a close relationship with Deputy Head of State Rudolf Hess, so the matter was settled. In the development process of jet aircraft, although the Me-262 started slightly late, its performance has always been better than that of the He-280. Only because of Milch's obstruction did the Air Force hesitate to determine the status of the Me-262. If Milch were to fall, Dr. Messerschmitt would certainly be among the people applauding and celebrating.

"What are you going to do if you're not a test pilot? Go to the Eastern Front?"

"No." Schulz said self-deprecatingly, "Now no one is shouting 'All Germans who can fly are under my control'. The Navy is planning to establish its own aviation force. The Fuhrer approved an aviation army with about 400 aircraft. The Navy is now desperately recruiting personnel from the Air Force. Some of the people who came here are frustrated job-hoppers, some are troublemakers pushed out by their superiors, and some are crazy people eager for adventure... I am also going to the Navy. Maybe a change of environment will be good for my rank."

"Hahaha, I think you have all three parts! No problem, I have to treat you to a good meal to see you off..."

"Stop shouting... The Fuhrer is here."

Schulz's speculation is completely logical: because there are too many things involved, the Aviation Armament Coordination Meeting, which was originally scheduled to end in one hour, was forced to be postponed for another hour, which delayed the test flight time. The meeting started out very uneventful. After Keitel's speech, Speer, known as the head of economy and the soul of the wartime system, officially announced that he would take over the organization of aircraft manufacturing production and the allocation of raw materials from the Air Force Technical Department. In the future, the Air Force Technical Department will only assume pure technical functions. Although everyone felt it was difficult to accept, they also knew that it was inevitable - it was a wartime system, not to mention that this situation was by no means unique to the aircraft manufacturing industry. The tank manufacturing industry had already adjusted and optimized it one step ahead.

Someone privately muttered: "Looking at this situation, I'm afraid that the three armed forces equipment departments will be separated from the military branches and become subordinate agencies of the Imperial Armaments Department in a while."

"Three armed forces equipment departments? You underestimate the appetite of architects. A wartime system management committee that takes charge of the overall situation will be established soon. At that time, the Führer will be in charge and Speer will be in charge. The level of subordinate agencies is similar to the Imperial Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Labor (Todt Organization), and the Ministry of Weapons and Military Industry. The three armed forces equipment department is probably even lower. Haven't you heard of his slogan-everything for winning!"

Obviously, the participants were not convinced by Speer, who had suddenly risen to a high position and had not yet shown his talents. They believed that he had only risen to prominence by serving as an architectural designer for the Führer. Soon, their idea was hit by a storm-the Führer, who came to the meeting in person, instructed Speer to throw out the case of aviation armament reorganization.

"The Aviation Armament Reorganization Plan was personally reviewed and approved by the head of state. There is only one core - in the future, aircraft manufacturing will reduce the production lines of multiple models, concentrate the production and subsequent improvements of a single model, and carry out large-scale decentralized collaborative production at the same time, that is, different parts of the same model of aircraft will be produced by different manufacturers, and finally assembled in the final assembly plant, and no longer emphasize the design company to complete the production. This determination is unshakable. If you object to this or are skeptical, I suggest you go to the army to learn about the tank armament reorganization plan." Everyone took a breath of cold air. The tank armament reorganization plan is no longer a secret in the high-level circle: the production lines of the No. 2 and No. 3 tanks, which have made great contributions to the empire, have been ruthlessly terminated. In the future, the army will no longer produce No. 2 tanks, and the existing ones will be gradually eliminated, either sold to the Axis brothers in exchange for strategic materials, or returned to the factory for modification into self-propelled anti-aircraft vehicles (equipped with 4 20mm machine guns). The No. 3 tank was slightly luckier, and the chassis production line continued to be retained, specifically for the production of the No. 3 assault gun most needed by the infantry. The Führer had issued an order that all Type 3 tanks would be returned to the factory for transformation into assault guns before the end of 1942. Even the Type 4 tanks could not escape the fate of transformation. The short-barreled Type 4s were to be discontinued, and those that had already been produced would be gradually transformed into the long-barreled Type 4G.

The Army General Staff had originally complained about such a major change, but was silenced by Speer's firm guarantee - after the transition to the wartime system, the factories would organize production and increase output in three shifts, and would never delay military plans. Speer even set a bet: he guaranteed that within the next six months, on the premise of completing the transformation of the relevant old models of tanks as scheduled, he would also provide the Wehrmacht with new tanks equivalent to 150% of the original order, and all of them were the latest Type 4G. Considering that the gaps in the Type 2 and Type 3 tanks had to be made up, this number exceeded the original production capacity by more than double. If he couldn't do it, he would resign and go home. But if Speer completed the plan, all the generals who questioned it in the Supreme Command and the Army General Staff would stand guard for him for a week until all their turns were over. This bet frightened the originally aggressive generals. They grumbled, but no one dared to step forward to accept Speer's challenge.

This bet was so famous that it spread throughout the imperial armaments within two days. Now all military enterprises and military branches knew Speer's determination, and the aviation industry was naturally no exception. Everyone in the venue held their breath and waited for the next step.