Iron Cross

On November 26, Speer hosted the second aviation rearmament conference in Berlin. As early as a week before the conference, all aircraft and aero-engine manufacturers were already gearing up and eager to try.

In particular, the Heinkel Company, which had many models including the He-111 and He-177 axed in the first rearmament rearmament case and was irritated by the run on the Junkers Company, had already said in advance that it would take a good Fighting for a turnaround, because this time they have something good in their hands - inspired by Messerschmitt's snatching of the Zero fighter, Heinkel and Junkers purchased the Comet and Tianshan ships provided by the Japanese Navy. The attack aircraft made great efforts, and the result did not disappoint them. In particular, the Comet, a dive bomber developed by Japan based on the He-118 that was unsuccessful in the early bidding of the Heinkel Company, has outstanding performance. No one expected that this Japanese illegitimate child could actually shine, not only far surpassing the original Heinkel The design specifications and development expectations at the time of sale were even better than the new designs currently being developed by the company. The overjoyed Heinkel Company immediately developed it as a pillar project. After getting the drawings, it restored and improved it with three shifts of hard work, and made structural reinforcements (these were the first things the Japanese aircraft received from German designers). , engine horsepower was increased (the Japanese copycat was not as good as the original DB601 after all), and the wingspan and fuselage were fine-tuned according to the new weight and center of gravity, Heinkel came up with a new model of dive bomber codenamed He-218.

The data superiority of the latest model compared to the Stuka is too strong. The engine uses a very mature DB601E (1450 horsepower) engine, although the nominal data seems to be only higher than the Japanese version of the Aichi "Atsuta" Type 32 engine. 50 horsepower, but the Japanese themselves admit that the horsepower data of the Atsuta 32 is very unstable. The trouble-free time at the maximum horsepower is very short, and it is far less reliable than the DB601E. After the structure and body are reinforced, the weight increases slightly. Because of this reason The maximum speed is reduced to 572 kilometers per hour. The total weight is 2.78 tons. The ceiling is 10,000 meters. It can carry one 500-kg aerial bomb and two 30-kg small bombs under the wings. The maximum range is 1,200 kilometers, if the small bomb position is replaced by a small auxiliary fuel tank, the maximum range will increase to more than 1,350 kilometers.

Compared with the Stuka, except for its certain advantages in bomb load, it is no match for the He-218 in terms of speed, range, and ceiling. Especially in the field of speed, it lags far behind. In the eyes of fighter pilots, the Stuka is not a match for the He-218. Tuka is as clumsy as a big bear, while the He-218 is almost as fast as a bomber. After dropping the bomb, it is as light as a swan. He can slip away without paying attention (Historically, during the Battle of Mariana, the Comet Often rushing in front of zero battles), the time exposed to anti-aircraft firepower is less than 35% of the Stuka. Although the Stuka's body structure and anti-strike capability are stronger than the He-218, it really can't stand up to others running fast. ah.

In the words of a Heinkel representative, for bombing operations over 300 kilometers, one Stuka flight time is enough for the He-218 to fly twice, but things usually have two sides. This rapid characteristic makes the He-218 fly at low speeds. The operating performance is still very poor in this state, and it is impossible for other than skilled veterans to board the ship safely and reliably (the operating performance is slightly better than the Japanese version). However, Heinkel's vision is not limited to carrier-based aircraft, and It was invested in the Eastern Front, Norway and North Africa battlefields, with the intention of squeezing the Stuka's living space. Heinkel, who had been squeezed out of a large number of He-111 and He-177 orders by the Ju-88 in the last meeting, was determined to fight hard this time. Face back.

In the face of facts and test pilot evaluations, any defense offered by Junkers is feeble. The production tasks of the poor Ju-87 were cut off by 85% in 1943. The remaining orders were still considered by the Army as the Ju-87 As long as they can be reasonably converted into ground attack aircraft, they strive to retain them. Heinkel has received an order for 2,000 aircraft. Speer asked them to freeze the technical indicators before December 31 and officially start mass production in February; if they solve the problem If the carrier-based problem is solved, the order can continue to be increased by 1,000 aircraft.

The representatives of Heinkel breathed a sigh of relief, and the representatives of Mercedes-Benz also breathed a sigh of relief. Regardless of whether they are carrier-based or not, at least 3,000 DB601 engines finally have a place to go, and they will not have the embarrassing situation of being backlogged in the warehouse after production (after the general mobilization) Mercedes-Benz’s production capacity is also increasing rapidly)

The He-218 is not the only aircraft that is difficult to control at low speeds. Representatives of Wolff Company announced with dismay that the Fw-190A series carrier-based aircraft had once again failed. Not only did the distance required for takeoff exceed the requirements of the tender document, but the landing operation was also difficult. It was very difficult and almost impossible to complete on the Zeppelin aircraft carrier. Speer lost patience and announced on the spot that the project was canceled. Representatives of Wolff Company were not too disappointed because his goal was not. That's all, but what surprised him was that when he had just come up with the improvement plan for the combat bombing type and ground attack type and was about to give a speech, he was interrupted mercilessly by Hoffman: "The Fw-190 is a heavy-duty, The goal of mid-to-high-altitude fighter jets is to seize air superiority and destroy the enemy's main fighters and bombers. No extra kilogram of weight is allowed for bombing and ground attacks... All multi-purpose modification plans are suspended. It is recommended that you work hard to reduce weight and increase range. …”

The atmosphere of the meeting suddenly cooled down, "But, the head of state..." Dr. Tank, chief designer of Wolf Company, seemed to want to fight for the company, but Hoffman's determination was unshakable. He explained with a smile He said, "Wulf Company should not engage in things that have little to do with our industry. There will be so many orders for fighter jets that you will not be able to finish them. How is the development of your liquid-cooled series of fighter jets?"

At the first aviation arms conference, due to Hoffman's attention and support, Dr. Tan Ke accelerated the advancement of the Fw-190D project. Unlike in history, when he could not get the DB601 series and was forced to switch to the Jumo213 series engines, Due to the weakening status of the Bf-109 series and the surplus production of the DB601 series engines, Dr. Tan Ke is now very proud. Both Yumo and Mercedes-Benz are competing to please him, launching the latest engines for their choice, and even introducing the newly successfully designed , a new engine that was far from being successfully finalized was also provided to him. He only hoped to use his own engine on this new model. In order to fool Dr. Tan Ke, Jumo Company came up with Jumo-213E (experimental model), and Mercedes-Benz even more Exaggeration, I took out DB603L (experimental type) and DB603N (design drawings) respectively. After being equipped with a liquid-cooled engine, the new Fw-190 nose cross-section is smaller than that of the BMW801 air-cooled engine, but the length is longer (Fw -190D is known as the Long Nose Dora). At the same time, in order to balance the weight of the nose, the aircraft has an enlarged vertical tail, making the overall look more slender and slender.

"... After installing a liquid-cooled engine, the aircraft's wind resistance is reduced, its maximum speed is accelerated, and its performance at mid- and high-altitudes is particularly outstanding..."

"Stop!" Hoffman interrupted Dr. Tank's introduction, "I don't want to hear the propaganda about how superior the performance of the aircraft will be if these new engines are installed - we are at war, everyone needs to be realistic, right now How about a mass-produced engine that can be equipped?”

"Jumo-213D and DB603A."

"Which one performs better?"

"Jumo-213D."

"What if we use an experimental engine?"

"DB213E."

Now, the faces of the representatives of the two engine companies became very exciting. They stretched their necks and looked at Hoffman eagerly.

Hoffman is very clear about the design and manufacturing process of the Fw-190D in real history: Dr. Tank went for the DB603 at the beginning. Because he couldn't get the goods, he switched to the Jumo series, which delayed the overall development time. The model equipped with the DB603 engine is called the Fw-1 series engine and is called the Fw-190D. The difference is that the former only stays in the experimental stage while the latter shines. However, the competition between the two did not simply stay at this stage. At the end of 1944 , the Fw-190C series developed into the ultimate German piston fighter model, the Ta-152. Therefore, if you want a quick solution, the Fw-190D is a good transition, and if you want a complete solution, the Ta-152 is the way to go.

He sighed and finally made a final decision: "I hope to see the liquid-cooled version of the Fw-190 mass-produced in half a year. Engines from Mercedes-Benz or Junkers can be considered. Whose product technology is more mature and has better performance?" If it is superior and has more abundant output, consider using it. I hope you will work hard.”

This was tantamount to an inconclusive conclusion. Both Mercedes-Benz and Junckers representatives secretly breathed a sigh of relief. The inconclusive conclusion meant that there was still a chance. However, Hoffman's next words made them unable to sit still: "I am very optimistic about it." The future of this new aircraft, given that our air defense mission will be very heavy and the potential of the Bf-109 is about to be exhausted, there will be a huge order for it."

Speer added: "I need 5,000 in the second half of 1943, and 20,000 to 25,000 in 1944."

"What?" Everyone was so shocked that they were almost speechless - the figure for one year in 1944 was almost equivalent to the entire production of the Bf-109 series so far! Whoever gets this order means money rolling in.