Iron Cross

On the last day of January, accompanied by Keitel and Speer, Hoffmann went to the suburbs to watch the latest aircraft display.

Thanks to the experience of later generations, the emphasis on aviation power became the overriding core of Hoffman's adjustment of armament production. He not only served as the commander-in-chief of the Air Force, but also personally participated in the development and production of new aircraft models. After September 1942, every aircraft The production of any aircraft - whether it is the latest model developed and developed by Germany, or the introduction and rapid production of Japanese models, must go through his approval. He has devoted a lot of effort to the Air Force. The progress of the war has proved his vision and value. Whether it is the introduction of aircraft models or new aircraft equipment, the performance of the German Air Force is now perfect, with only the heavy bombers still not available.

Before watching, Hoffman asked Speer about technical exchanges and joint aviation development. According to the agreement, Germany will send some experts in the field of radar and tanks to Japan, while Japan will send most of its technical experts related to maritime aviation. Come to Germany.

"All Italian aviation designers are in place, and most of the data on Japan's new carrier-based aircraft are basically ready and are currently being sorted out and studied. However, only less than one-third of the Japanese experts have arrived because they still have some tasks to hand over at home. "Generally speaking, the Japanese Army is more supportive, but the Navy has some objections," Speer explained. "But the Army gave the Navy some compensation and then took away our catapults, arresting cables and other technologies."

Hoffman thought: Of course, the German experts sent were more focused on the army, while the Japanese experts transferred were all related to naval technology. The navy would definitely be dissatisfied. However, the Japanese Army was actually willing to compensate them, which sounded novel.

"What compensation?"

"The Army has promised to develop new aircraft in the future, and the Army and Navy will strive to use the same aircraft models and accessories."

What kind of compensation is this? A crowd of people behind Hoffman burst into laughter, but Hoffman and Speer could not laugh: Not only are the parts of the aircraft of the Japanese army and navy not universal, but even the screws are tightened in the opposite direction. Will they agree to this? Under these conditions, the Army definitely made concessions "sincerely".

The first new aircraft we watched today was the Fw-190C, which is a liquid-cooled version developed by Dr. Tank based on the Fw-190A. After the first aviation rearmament case, Tank's application for the use of liquid-cooled engines was given the green light. Not only was he allowed to choose liquid-cooled engines from Junkers and Mercedes-Benz, but he was even clearly told not to worry about production factors. , choose whatever engine is good.

Tank divided the Fw-190 project team members into two groups. One group focused on the improvement of the Fw-190A series. After the Bf-219 and other aircraft used the German improved version of Igarashi Metal, he expressed his willingness to try to provide Fw- 190A lost weight, but this request was stopped by Speer - the switch to a new metal structure will inevitably cause major changes to the Fw-190, and then the production line adjustment will affect the output. After the Bf-109 production is reduced, in order to protect the frontline fighter fleet, the production scale of Fw-190 can only be expanded but not reduced. Tank accepted the advice, devoted all his energy to the new aircraft, and decided to use new metals in the new model.

He experimented with three different engines on the Fw-190A, one is DB601 (DB605), one is Jumo-213E, and the latest DB603. After several months of selection and demonstration, DB601 and DB605 were abandoned first due to their relatively limited potential; secondly, Jumo-213E, which made him very hesitant. In terms of engine reliability, this engine is currently the strongest. However, the overall length of the Jumo-213E was too long, and it involved a lot of design changes. After several tests, the results were not satisfactory, and he was unwilling to give up, so he asked some people to be responsible for improvements. He focused his attention on the Fw-190C using the DB603 engine. Remodel.

This is a project that Hoffman pays close attention to. He not only approved the use of liquid-cooled engines, but also listed it as a very high priority. At the same time, the orders and design requirements given to Tanke became increasingly clear. Many times, Tanke even had an illusion. ——This aircraft is actually in the head of the head of state. He is just responsible for designing what the head of state thinks of. He guessed it accurately. Hoffman had not only the shadow of the Fw-190D but also the shadow of the Ta-152 in his mind. Therefore, the goal was very clear and the overall progress was much faster than the historical process: First, because of the installation of the Fw-190 Liquid-cooled engines are a national policy. Not only does Hoffman have this requirement, but in the face of more and more British and American heavy bombers and escort aircraft, the Air Force also has strong demands for high-altitude fighter jets. The second is to install the Jumo-213 before leaving. Improvement, and finally replacing the old road of DB603, starting directly in parallel and getting it right in one step, Dr. Tan Ke greatly reduced the workload - in history, because Tan Ke could not get the DB series engine, he could only use the Jumo-213 series engine, so The improved Fw-190D has a long nose. Now at least it does not have to go through the process of first extending the nose and then trying to lengthen the tail for trimming.

The Fw-190C that currently appeared before Hoffman is actually very close to the prototype of the historical Ta-152. Of course, compared with the Ta-152, it has a different appearance and power.

"This is a good aircraft. It has a very small turning radius and amazing climbing performance. It also has the highest speed at present." Tank excitedly pointed to the demonstration aircraft in the air and introduced, "In At an altitude of 9,000 meters, his speed has exceeded 710 kilometers per hour. He is currently the fastest fighter, oh, the fastest piston fighter. "

Everyone immediately laughed knowingly.

"Its firepower is also very strong. We have designed two firepower plans, one is a conventional air combat type, with four 20mm MG213 cannons; the other is a high-altitude interception type, with two MG213 cannons, and then another With the 30mm MK108 cannon, the aircraft’s empty weight is about 3,800 kilograms, and its fully loaded take-off weight is about 4,800 kilograms, which means it has a lot of defensive performance. "

Speer introduced to others: "I have been here several times, and the test pilots are very satisfied and think it is better than the air-cooled version of the Fw-190."

"Mainly due to the correct design ideas of the head of state - this aircraft is positioned as a pure fighter to seize air supremacy at mid- and high-altitudes and intercept heavy bombers at high altitudes. It does not have to take into account low-altitude performance, let alone carrying bombs. We conducted air combat simulations. When paired with the Bf-219, the airspace from 300 meters to 11,000 meters can be effectively controlled, and the superimposed combat effectiveness is the strongest at an altitude of 3,000-4,000 meters.”

Keitel asked: "What other issues remain?"

"First, the range cannot meet the requirements. The indicator given to us by the head of state is that the maximum range without auxiliary fuel tanks is 1,500 kilometers, but it can only reach a little more than 1,100 kilometers at present; second, the engine has stability defects. We have adopted the latest DB603 series engine. The horsepower has reached more than 2,000 horses, but it still cannot guarantee stable performance - I suspect that the substandard range is also related to the fuel efficiency of the engine; third, the next step of modification and improvement has yet to be explored, whether it is the MW-50 system, GM-1 system, The two-stage three-speed turbochargers mentioned by Mercedes-Benz have not yet been tested in the wind tunnel." Seeing everyone's thoughtful expressions, Tank added, "I even found a way to install the latest model from the British. Merlin engine, found that the range and stability have reached the standard, but the speed and horsepower are still a little short of the requirements - considering that this is a model that has been adopted by the enemy on a large scale, their next generation product will be better, so I must determine Higher goals.”

"When do you estimate the work will be completed?"

"If everything goes well, it can be finalized in September."

Speer asked: "This means that mass production can be put into production by the end of the year?"

Dr. Tan Ke thought for a while and said categorically: "As long as the engine performance is stable, I can definitely do it."

"Führer, what's your opinion?" Speer turned to ask Hoffmann next to him.

"Me?" Hoffman replied unexpectedly, as if he had just come out of his deep contemplation stage, "What did you say?"

"I'm asking for your opinion on this model - the doctor just said that except for the engine, other requirements have basically been met. He can have this aircraft finalized in September. If everything goes well, we will have it in the new year of 1944." Just use it.”

"Very good." Hoffman had actually read the relevant technical information and said after thinking about it, "This aircraft is very different from the original Fw-190. It seems inappropriate to call it Fw-190C again. I There is a suggestion to give him a new code, such as 152? How about calling him Ta-152?”

Ta is the abbreviation of Dr. Tan Ke. In order to encourage designers to develop more and better works, the Air Force issued an order that all new aircraft models will be named after the designer in the future, such as Bf-1109, but Bf-21219- —Because it was not actually a work designed by Messerschmitt.

"I am very grateful to the head of state for his affirmation and support of our work. I will definitely complete the task on time." Dr. Tan Ke's face turned red, and he was obviously still immersed in the title "Ta" - this is a rare honor.

"It seems that the DB-603 series engines still have at least a few months of optimization and improvement time." Speer said to himself, "I have to urge them to hurry up."

Hoffman didn't hear Speer talking to himself and asked: "What is the next one? Me-262?"

"Yes, they have installed new engines and improved the wing style, so the finalization time will be slightly later..."