Iron Cross

PS: The double monthly pass is here, shamelessly asking for a monthly pass...

Unlike Comet, a Japanese illegitimate child that was easily adopted and performed brilliantly, the Tianshan attack ship accepted by Junkers was much more troublesome and much more tiring to solve. First of all, the original Japanese "protection" engine was not powerful enough, and the BMW The actual improvement effect of the company's products produced according to Japanese drawings is very weak, and only engine replacement can be considered. The equivalent BMW801 in Germany has almost the same power (it is more than 10 kilograms lighter, which is almost negligible), but the BMW801 is stable. The performance and trouble-free time are much better than "protection", so BMW believes that "protection" of this engine has no future and refuses to spend effort to study further (in addition to its own follow-up development plan, BMW currently has R-2800, There are many engines such as Rongers to study, and I really don’t have the energy). Although Mercedes-Benz has offered an olive branch to the DB series, Junkers’ own Jumo213 series has not yet been launched. Moreover, the overall aerodynamic structure of the aircraft will be larger if it is replaced with a liquid-cooled engine. After changing it, I finally decided to use BMW801D. Based on this premise, Junkers has two ideas for solving the Tianshan takeoff: the first is to spray water, and the second is to eject.

By adding the MW-50 water-methanol fuel injection acceleration system to the engine, the engine power can be temporarily increased by 200 horsepower during takeoff, which is enough to cope with leaving the ship - this is also thanks to the cross-sectional ratio of the BMW801 engine." The "guard" should be smaller, and although the length is a bit longer, it is relatively easy to install after slight modifications, and the modification task after entering the wind tunnel is not heavy.

As for the second road, there is another big hole. After the Tianshan ship is attacked and loaded with bombs, it is a big guy weighing 5 tons, which is heavier than the Ju-87C. Japan does not have the corresponding aircraft carrier catapult, but Germany does, but the structural strength of the Tianshan Far inferior to the Ju-87, they were very careful every time they ejected for fear of causing irreparable damage to the body. The Junkers Company gave up decisively after several trials. Only after coming into contact with this incident did the German HNA executives understand why the bodies of American carrier-based aircraft always look so clumsy, while Japanese aircraft look much lighter. This is the secret.

As the replacement progressed, the second problem raised by the Japanese side was also solved: The pylon when Tianshan carried torpedoes was very strange. It was not on the center line of the belly of the aircraft but 30 centimeters to the right, in order to avoid the aircraft. First, there is the oil cooler on the left side. This will lead to an unbalanced center of gravity and is also one of the reasons why it is difficult to take off. Finally, Junkers took advantage of the opportunity to switch to the BMW801D and changed it to a centerline mount, which also improved the Tianshan's takeoff ability. .

According to the newly designed and adjusted Tianshan, it can finally fly in accordance with Japanese technical specifications. The maximum speed is slightly higher than the original, reaching 492 km/h. However, due to the installation of the MW-50 system and the replacement of the BMW801D, the fuel consumption has decreased. Larger than the original "Gu" engine, the maximum range dropped from 1,745 kilometers to 1,600 kilometers.

The Japanese side was elated about this. From their point of view, they believed that the Junkers Company had successfully solved all the problems, which was much better than the results of the Comet. It was simply perfect. However, Junkers felt that they had spent a lot of effort but had little effect. This 5-ton dinosaur is on the same level as the Ju-87C, and is a little faster (after being replaced with the latest Jumo213 engine, the Ju-87C can only reach a maximum speed of 440 kilometers per hour), but the Ju-87C is obviously faster Stronger and more durable, to say the least, even if the project is successfully put on the ship, it will only be replaced by the Ju-87C. It is not economical to arrange a separate production line, so there is no expectation of orders at all, only at the meeting With a sad face, he asked the Ministry of Arms to provide some compensation for the company's labor and efforts.

But Speer told him with a smile: "The Japanese Navy is very satisfied with your work. It is impossible to ask for funds. Yesterday they sent another batch of drawings, hoping that we can help improve them. Among them, the preferred target of an aircraft is indicated. Your company takes over.”

"What is it?"

"Meteor, Meteor's drawings of modified carrier-based torpedo bombers."

"This..." Junkers representatives suddenly became nervous. They really didn't want to take on such a thankless task. If they had the time, they might as well improve the Ju-88 and Ju-87.

But Speer's next sentence immediately made him excited: "After the success of this Meteor modified carrier-based aircraft, I want 1,000-1,500. In addition, the head of state also agreed to place an order for 400 Ju-290 modified aircraft."

The Junkers representative's breathing suddenly became thicker. After the Ju-52 transport aircraft market was taken away by the Ar-232, the company was heartbroken and focused most of its energy on the Ju-290, a new heavy transport aircraft. I hope Can reverse the decline, in terms of profit, one Ju-290 is as good as ten Stukas. Faced with the naked carrot in the hands of the Minister of Arms, he obviously had little resistance, so he could only grit his teeth and say: "Okay, we will take this project!"

Now it was Heinkel's turn to be jealous, and he immediately jumped up: "Our company has experience in improving Japanese aircraft! Aichi Company learned its wing stamping technology from us, so why not let us handle this project?" ? We don’t want funding or compensation from the Ministry of Arms, we just want orders.”

There was a burst of laughter at the meeting, and even Dr. Messerschmitt, who was not very interested, laughed.

The order quantity was actually informed by Speer under the instruction of Hoffmann. The latter did not quite understand why the head of state had so much confidence in this model, but given that Hoffmann had always had a very accurate vision and the naval aviation did need high-performance aircraft. He accepted the torpedo plane. In order to lure Junkers, he readily agreed and prepared a gift package of transport aircraft - which was also approved by Hoffman.

Facing Heinkel's efforts, the representatives of Junkers glared angrily, with sparks almost sparking in their eyes - Speer now knew Hoffmann's intentions and must let them compete with each other. However, the scene should not be too stiff. He laughed and smoothed things over: "Your company has other tasks. The head of state admires the He-219 night fighter very much. Considering that the air defense task is very serious, he hopes to see it in mass production before March next year." production machine, the order quantity is also 1,000.”

Whether it is a night fighter or a carrier-based torpedo aircraft, although it is a small order, the profit will not be too small. Upon hearing the news that the He-219 project was officially approved, the chief expert Dr. Heinkel excitedly waved his fist and even pointed towards The representative of Aradao Company took a look in the direction and saw that the company's Ar-240 and Messerschmitt's Me-410 were also competing for this project, and now it seemed that they had clearly taken the lead.

Dr. Messerschmitt could only shake his head and smile bitterly. After the Bf-109, the descendants of the Bf-110 seemed to be finished. The technology of the Me-163 rocket interceptor was transferred to Japan. Now Messerschmitt is the only company. The only new aircraft models that can be counted on are the Bf-219 and Me-262, and there are also some orders for the Me-323 series of transport aircraft. The market influence is not as good as before, and he is thinking about the direction of breakthrough.

"After evaluation, experts from the Ministry of Armaments believe that the Hs-129 attack aircraft project submitted by Henschel Company and the Ju-87G project submitted by Junkers Company are highly overlapping, and the latter is better in terms of applicability and production line. In view of the issue of equipment unification, the Army It was recommended to adopt only one type, and the Ju-87G was finally selected. "With Speer's final decision, the representatives of the Junkers Company were proud, and the representatives of the Henschel Company were dejected. After winning the order for the Tiger tank, they still continued. I wanted to take a further step in the aircraft field, but unexpectedly I lost the ground attack aircraft project that I had high hopes for.

The situation of Aradao Company was slightly better than that of Henschel. Speer finally gave an order for 100 water reconnaissance aircraft. The drawings used Japanese Zero water reconnaissance aircraft to replace the company's old model Ar-196. Speaking of which, many seaplanes were introduced by Japan from Germany after World War I. However, 20 years later, Japan has become one of the most advanced in the world in this field. Both the design category and the depth of research and development far exceed that of its German counterparts. Originally, Japan gave A large pit of Type II water warfare was created to arm Japan's unique diving aircraft carrier. Dönitz and other submarine parties were very interested in this. However, Japan had technical reserves for extremely large submarines. The largest German submarine was only more than 1,000 tons. Spee I felt it was unreliable, so I put it aside for the time being.

"In addition, I would like to inform all manufacturers of good news. Since the source of tungsten supply has basically been solved, the Army has decided to stop the production of 37mm anti-tank gun tungsten-core armor-piercing bullets. Therefore, the MG151/20mm cannon can be equipped with tungsten-core armor-piercing bullets, except for special models that deal with heavy bombers. "There is no need to force the installation of 30mm cannons on other fighter aircraft." Although the MK108 that has been put into use is popular for its great power, it is also very difficult to deal with fast targets such as fighter jets due to its low ballistics. Forcibly installing 30mm cannons is not necessary. This destroyed the aerodynamic layout of many aircraft. At Hoffman's suggestion, the Ministry of Armament relaxed the relevant requirements.

Of course, this is also related to Germany's technical reserves. As the only country that mastered thin shell technology during World War II, it was also a 20mm aviation artillery shell. The German high-explosive bomb had a charge of up to 18.6 grams. The best 20mm artillery shell of the Allies also had a charge of 18.6 grams. It only has 11 grams (Japan only has about 7 grams). This is why the MG151/20mm is much more powerful than the 20mm cannons of other countries. Japan is envious of this and has introduced related technologies. Unfortunately, it still cannot produce it. I could only buy a lot of physical objects through the exchange of drawings and materials. After being replaced with tungsten-core armor-piercing bullets, the power of the MG151 can be more fully exerted. Except for the 4-round heavy bombers of the British and American aircraft, the armor and fuel tank sealing layers of other fighters and bombers are no longer a problem for German aircraft.