Iron Cross

Facing Hartmann, who was climbing rapidly, the two men on the opposite side immediately followed the climb, but their efficiency was obviously not as good as that of Do-412.

"Silly bird..." Hartmann easily landed on top of a P51. The four 20mm cannons opened fire at the same time, and he shot down the enemy plane neatly with a vertical dive attack - the 99th result!

Then he aimed at the next target, but after firing, he was stunned. It was not because he broke through the 100 mark easily and comfortably, but because he only fired a few bursts, and the P51 opposite him actually It exploded into a ball of fire and fell from the sky. This scene left him stunned, and he suddenly remembered what the aviation engineer said last night when he introduced the aircraft's performance: "Do-412 has the latest air combat artifact MG-213. It is so powerful that you will definitely understand it by then."

Hartmann only knew that MG213 and MG151 were both 20mm cannons. He intuitively believed that the former was a revolving cannon, so it fired fast and powerfully, but he ignored the difference in ammunition. Although both used 20mm diameter ammunition, the former The ammunition used is 20mm×146mm, but the latter is 20mm×82mm ammunition. How can the power be the same?

It is a pity that the MG213 is heavier than the MG151 in both cannon and ammunition. The Do-412 was originally planned to install 4 MG-213s. However, the engine power was limited and could not carry such heavy weapons. In fact, the aircraft became 2 MG213 + 2 MG151. Even so, some engineers thought it was too heavy and hoped to adjust it to a four-door MG151 combination, but Mr. Dornier refused to agree.

Not only Dornier refused to agree, but even Dr. Tank also believed that this configuration was more beneficial. The combination of the newly manufactured Fw-190A8\\AG213+2-door MG151 and the aircraft using the full 4-door MG213 are naturally available: First, replace The Me-262 has a greatly increased thrust after installing an engine, and the other is the Ta-152 that the Air Force brought to verification.

The Ta-152's code name in the Air Force system is called the Ultimate Propeller Fighter. Different from history, Dr. Tank, who has priority and guaranteed supply, did not use the Jumo213 liquid-cooled engine this time, but directly used a 2,300-horsepower, two-stage three-speed engine. The DB603 liquid-cooled engine with supercharger and L-type intercooler can easily reach a maximum speed of 727 km/h. If combined with the two MW50+GM1 drug systems, the speed can be increased to 760 km/h, which is practical The ceiling is 14,000 meters. His fastest speed, fiercest firepower, and highest altitude made him the pet of Air Force bosses as soon as he was born. Kesselin, Jeshunek and others described him with only one word - "Perfect!"

Tan Ke himself didn't dare to say the word "perfect" because he met his opponent. There were initially two versions of the Ta-152, one was the Ta-152C, and the other was the Ta-152H. The former was focused on mid- and low-altitudes below 7,000 meters, while the latter was focused on mid- and high-altitudes above 7,000 meters, especially above 9,000 meters. The most significant difference is that The H-type has a wingspan more than 2 meters longer than the C-type, so it has better high-altitude effectiveness. His old friend Dornier was also unwilling to accept that the Do-412 could only be used at medium and low altitudes. He also secretly developed the Do-412H model in an attempt to get a share of the pie in the high-altitude interception field.

Aircraft from both sides often get together to compete and study. It was found that at medium and low altitudes, especially those below 6,000 meters, although the absolute speed of Ta-152 is faster than Do-412 (of course faster than P51\\P47, etc.), its maneuverability and flexibility are not as good as Do-412. In the high-altitude field, the Do-412H type that has been developed with great effort is no match - the liquid-cooled engine has a natural advantage at high altitudes, and this has taken into account the fact that the Do-412 failed to obtain a 2,300-horsepower air-cooled engine. If only The current 2000-horsepower 801 engine has a greater gap between them. In the end, both parties reached an agreement: below 7,000 meters, the Do-412 can perfectly replace the Fw-190 and Bf-219, and above 7,000 meters, the Ta-152 can perfectly replace the Fw-190 and Bf-109G\\K (this is Messersch Mitt's final improvement series to the 109 series, focusing on high-altitude volleys).

This unanimous view unabashedly exaggerates the ambition of the two men - to completely drive Messerschmitt out of the fighter market! The combination of Do-412 and Ta-152 means that Messerschmitt has nothing to do in the propeller field, and the successful test flight of the single-engine Ta-183 means that the jet field will also undergo earth-shaking changes in the next year. After hearing the news, Dr. Messerschmitt was angry and anxious. On the one hand, the company's main product, the Bf-319 (Gelee modification), was not yet popular. On the other hand, the inherent weakness of the Me-262's twin engines could no longer be adjusted. , he could only place his hope on a newer generation, and he became seriously ill because of this. However, Jiro Horikoshi, who presided over the 319 project, advised him not to worry, as everything has not yet been decided.

The pilots didn't care about the grievances and disputes behind the big companies. They just wanted to get good planes to fight. When Hartmann opened fire, the other combat planes also opened fire fiercely and continuously, attacking P51 and transport planes. Although the number of escorting P51 was twice that of German fighters, the numerical advantage did not equal the tactical advantage. In particular, the Fw-190A8s transferred this time were the most experienced veterans in dealing with 4-engine bombers on the Azores. Marshal's original intention of transferring them was to deal with the endless heavy bombers of the US military, because the Bf-219 was always unable to fight. Unexpectedly, they encountered transport planes that were weaker than bombers. It was basically like a tiger entering a flock of sheep and harvesting them at will.

I saw a Fw-190 flying near the C-54 Skymaster. Although the American machine gunners opened fire fiercely, the German pilots turned a blind eye and continued to fire at the opponent's wing. The 20mm thin-shell bullets hit like a storm. In less than 5 seconds, the wing of the plane was broken from the root. The ending can be imagined - the plane and the people fell down together! Other planes aimed at the huge vertical tail of the transport plane and fired. These were all veterans who were used to shooting birds. They knew that the American planes were thick and tough, and a few holes in general positions could not do anything to them, but the wing root and vertical tail were fatal. If they were hit, there would be no chance of survival. The MG213 exacerbated this panic. As long as 8-9 rounds hit, a 4-round bomber or transport plane would definitely be finished.

MG213 is not the most powerful weapon against transport planes. The most insane is the Fw-1 rocket. The brilliant light flying all over the sky when 24 rockets are fired at the same time makes people's scalps numb. All the paratroopers who have landed or are landing in the air dare not look up. This kind of rocket can blow up a huge transport plane with just one shot. If a paratrooper is unfortunately in the explosion range, he will be turned into a charcoal! In just 2 minutes, 4 transport planes that were desperately fleeing were easily caught up by German fighters, and then they were beaten into fireballs.

Fortunately, the German army still has gentlemanly manners. All American officers and soldiers who parachuted, whether crew members or paratroopers, will not be killed, because pilots know that they will inevitably have a day to parachute. If they kill the parachuting opponent today, they may be covered with machine gun holes all over their bodies when it is their turn to parachute tomorrow. This tacit understanding also extends to the attack on ships. It is natural to strafe the ship, but there is no need to kill the officers and soldiers who have lost the ability to resist after the ship sinks.

When the Germans launched an endless stream of powerful weapons, their opponents, the pilots of the P-51B fighters of the US Army Air Force, could only guard four or machine guns. What was even more tragic was that the ammunition belt often jammed due to the design problem of the angle of the ammunition feeding belt (the P51 is designing the D type, and the top priority is to solve this jamming problem). This is certainly not because the US ordnance designers are stupid and do not know how to install machine guns on the aircraft, nor is it that the United States does not have machine guns - the US domestic products have AN/N2 machine guns, and the UK also has the famous Hispano machine gun.

The fact that US military aircraft do not install machine guns is actually a system problem: on the one hand, the US fighters mainly competed with the Zero in the Pacific battlefield in the early stage. With regard to the fragile characteristics of Japan, the 12.7mm machine gun was more than enough to deal with it, and the effect was good, so they believed that the 12.7mm heirloom was invincible in the world; on the other hand, most of the US pilots were novices. If they were equipped with machine guns, they would be nervous and hold down the launch button, and they would be able to pour out all the ammunition in less than half a minute. If it was a machine gun bullet, there would be enough time for firing and firepower coverage.

This theory began to fail in 1943. First, the US military encountered more and more German aircraft. Not to mention the attack aircraft and bombers, the Bf-219 developed on the basis of the Zero fighter had much stronger defense than the Zero fighter, not to mention the thick-walled aircraft such as the Fw-190. Second, the Japanese naval aviation was also gradually replacing its equipment. A large number of Bf-109\\219 and Fw-190 began to be introduced. Japanese pilots were not stupid and of course knew which aircraft was more likely to keep people alive.

At this time, the United States was in a hurry and wanted to install machine guns, but they were dumbfounded! In the US military industry, all calibers up to 20mm are called cannons. Since they are called cannons, they must follow the procedures and specifications of cannons, including tolerances. Therefore, the tolerance of the domestically produced 20mm aircraft cannon in the United States is the same as that of large-caliber field cannons. This error is of course no problem for the 155mm long-legged Tom, but it is a complete failure for the 20mm aircraft cannon. It is very difficult to barely assemble it after it is made, and it cannot be fired at all - the barrel alone can have a tolerance of 1mm, which is really useless.

The Army Aviation Armament Committee discovered the problem and ordered it to be corrected, but the military-industrial capitalists were absolutely unwilling to give up this piece of fat meat. They argued with reason and refused to change the process - that would increase the cost a lot, and the price was locked. After the improvement, every gun produced would lose money. Under the current system, regardless of whether it can be used in practice, at least it is "qualified" in the inspection, and it can reasonably and legally ask the financial department for war funds... The result is that the United States has a warehouse full of machine gun reserves (unqualified products) but cannot equip it, with a number of up to 50,000 guns - not one factory does this, but all factories do this, otherwise how can they win the bid with low-priced "qualified" products in the weapons tender issued by the Ministry of Defense?

If it is a dictatorship like Germany, if a problem is found today, Hoffman will call people to a meeting in the evening and order rectification. Action must be taken the next day. If there is no effect, he will order people to be shot in two days. Now the head of state is more efficient than Hitler in killing people. Generals, marshals, Junker nobles, industrial tycoons, all disobedient people will be killed first. Hoffman knew that Hitler had suffered enough from his subordinates who pretended to obey but did not want to become a corpse in the bunker. He had to force himself to kill. But democratic countries cannot do this. They must go through the process again to adjust the bidding price and issue new specifications, but this is also very troublesome. What if some parliamentarians are too bored to look up the old accounts of the 50,000 machine guns and then hold them accountable? What if someone proposes that since it is a substandard product, the funds should be recovered? With the efforts of the lobbying group, the whole thing was simply left unresolved.

Aircraft machine guns are still urgently needed. Finally, a smart person came up with a solution. If domestic products are not available, just import British products. Import British Hispano machine guns at the domestic price plus part of the transportation costs and other costs. So a funny thing happened. The United States paid to import the aircraft cannons that Britain itself was in short supply of, and they also airlifted them back from afar with strategic transport aircraft. What's even more funny is that these cannons were produced with American aid materials. In other words, the British side actually only outsourced them, and the United States is fully capable of outsourcing the technology!

Some people also proposed that it was not a solution to always import cannons from Britain, and asked domestic manufacturers in the United States to imitate them. The result was even funnier. The problems that existed on the Hispano had been improved by the British side, and the American manufacturers made a mess of the M2 cannons with many problems, but the end result was that they were completely unusable! By the end of 1942, the US Army Air Force had stored 4 million rounds of ammunition, but could not find reliable cannons.

This situation did not change significantly until the end of 1943. Even in the fighter manuals for the 1944 tender, the fighter weapons of the Army and Navy were still the same 12.7mm machine guns that had not changed for thousands of years (historically, the problem of the US military cannons was not solved until December 1945). Faced with this situation, the British really wanted to laugh but didn't dare to. On the one hand, they continued to "OEM" the Hispano cannon slowly according to the US requirements, and on the other hand, they were busy removing the machine guns from the P51B\\P47 aircraft donated by the Americans and replacing them with Hispano cannons - the Americans were confused, but the British pilots were not.