Mediterranean hegemon

"Da Da Da!" Two chains of fire swooped down from the air, instantly breaking an unmanned glider target into two pieces... Loud applause suddenly rang out on the deck.

"So powerful?" Seeckt asked in disbelief, "You didn't do anything to the target plane, did you?"

"Of course not, General, you have to remember that the latest F-type carrier-based fighter has two 27 machine guns. Not to mention planes made of wood and skin, even pure steel Renault tanks can't stop it!" Goering, who was responsible for explaining on the deck, said proudly, "I guess you have seen the power of the assault truck before you came. Now you can also witness this power in the air. In the hands of experienced pilots, especially ace pilots, this configuration is very efficient!"

Sickt was speechless for a moment, and nodded maliciously after a while. The word "assault truck" reminded him of Goering who commanded the commandos to fight their way out of Munich. However, since he even planned to release Hitler, he would certainly not make things difficult for Goering again.

Originally, in order to smooth the relationship for Goering, Contini arranged for Goering to do the demonstration himself, but later he and Poti discussed it for Poti to perform the flying and fighting tasks, and Goering was responsible for introducing Seeckt and others. It was announced to the public that Poti was Goering's disciple after he arrived in Italy. Poti himself also recognized it. Now it's good. The disciples are so good. What else can Hermann Goering, the ace pilot of the German Air Force, say? Contini expressed his admiration for Goering's trick.

In fact, Goering was not bragging. Now the fighters in the world are not equipped with 27 aircraft machine guns. They are generally 72-792 machine guns, so they can carry more ammunition. But for veterans, they can accurately use the good ballistics of Browning machine guns to snipe at long distances. The two large-caliber machine guns carrying 00 rounds of bullets each are more useful than the thin tube of 792.

The F-Fighter is the first aircraft launched by United Airlines. Its origin can be traced back to the DVII series of Fokker fighters. The Americans used the Fokker fighters captured in World War I as a model to develop the Boeing-5 fighter, and then improved it into the FB-5 carrier-based fighter according to the requirements of the US Navy. From the appearance, there is not much difference. The only difference is that the engine has been continuously improved and upgraded. After United Airlines got the 9-cylinder air-cooled engine from Wright Company, it also bought the FB-5 aircraft. Then Contini poached designers from Company B and Fiat Company, combined the fighter prototype, Fokker fighter, American Curtiss P-Fighter, Boeing FB-5 and other models, and "innovatively" developed the F-Fighter.

To be honest, if you are not an expert, you can't tell the specific differences between these aircraft. They look almost the same.

However, Contini still had some ideas in the field of aircraft. The f- under his guidance had many shining points:

First, the steel tube and wood structure was completely abandoned, and the whole body components used high-strength duralumin, which was light in weight and good in performance;

Second, a large amount of aluminum alloy skin (not all aluminum) was used, the surface was polished very smoothly, and there was no exposed rivet, which greatly reduced the flight resistance;

Third, for the first time, a closed cockpit was used (without oxygen mask, the upper cover made of plexiglass had vents for easy breathing, and the engine cover was made for the first time, wrapping the huge nine-cylinder radial engine inside, all of which reduced the resistance;

Fourth, a 30-kilogram bomb or an additional fuel tank of the same weight can be mounted on the belly. In fact, it was found in the test that mounting a 40-kilogram fuel tank would not affect the aircraft's take-off and climb data...

Although the maximum power of the f- is 45 horsepower The Wright nine-cylinder engine is not as powerful as a liquid-cooled engine of the same weight, but the actual aircraft performance is not bad, with a maximum speed of 28 kilometers per hour and a maximum range of 470 kilometers without auxiliary fuel tanks.

The U.S. Navy also realized that this engine is easy to use and has handed it over to Pratt \u0026 Whitney. The code is r-340b. The United Power Research Laboratory is preparing to improve and perfect the engine power to 550 horsepower by the end of next year. By then, the aircraft can easily break the 300-kilometer-per-hour speed mark.

Although this level of progress is not enough for the aircraft to develop into the era of landing gear recovery and single-wing all-metal fighter emphasized by Contini, it is not behind in the horizontal comparison of various countries.

"The plane is very good, and the cost is not cheap, right?"

Contini nodded and said: "This carefully manufactured aircraft costs more than $250,000 per aircraft. If it is mass-produced and the raw material gong is added, it will cost more than $250,000 per aircraft. Yin G is awesome, I believe it is possible to reduce the price to 20,000 dollars, but it is impossible to reduce it further..."

"But many brand new second-hand aircraft in the United States only sell for a few hundred dollars..."

"Those are antiques from a few years ago. They are good as trainers, but too low-grade as front-line fighters. Even our United Airlines has retired all the fighters transferred from the Italian military. Now they are being used in the flying club."

The president is really rich. The bureaucrats in the German delegation drooled when they heard about it: the United Group's mere aviation force, plus the ridiculous mobile airport at sea and the things of the Club of Rome, the overall cost is close to that of the 100,000 Wehrmacht, but how many troops does the United Group have? Including the Volunteers, there are less than 5,000!

But Contini scoffed at this calculation: First, United Airlines now has more aircraft than Germany, and the quality is better than the Germans; second, United Airlines uses commercial flights to train every day, and the training of paratroopers is expensive, plus the training of commandos, brave men, and leader guards, these are all cutting-edge arms that are bought with money; third, United Group has remodeled the Roma, remodeled the railway guns, bought a lot of motorized and mechanized equipment, and purchased a large number of arms and military technology, and at the same time covered some unclear military expenditure accounts of the government, all of which cost money; finally, United Group has made all kinds of military products If the infrastructure and other expenses are taken into account, the Weimar Wehrmacht can just purchase ready-made goods from the arms giants or even use old stocks. These are two completely different concepts...

If you don't look at the specific and in-depth connotations and roughly conclude that the United Group = the Weimar Wehrmacht, it will definitely make people laugh because the military expenditure of the United Group may exceed that of the Weimar Wehrmacht next year. Contini is preparing to invest 2 points of oil revenue and 10 million US dollars in military expenditure for the territory in North Africa. In addition, the semi-automatic rifles, tanks, armored vehicles, submarines, and aircraft on the Italian mainland will all be running at full speed. If the navy pushes the Dante over again, it will be a huge amount!

Therefore, the United Group will never make a profit in the accounts. Contini's expected loss for 1992 is 900 million lire, and Leo believes that it will at least exceed 800 million. 900 million depends on the mood of the president. If he relaxes his grip, it is possible to break through 100 million.

"How about it? Do you want to learn this kind of carrier-based aircraft?" Contini said in an extremely lively voice, "You can give you 40 places... We now have a total of 24 pilots, and we plan to recruit 100 more next year. Of course, you can't force newcomers on me, at least they have to be pilots who have fought in wars!"

"Fought in wars, that's difficult..." Sickert sighed, "It's been 7 years since the end of the war, and next year will be the 8th year. How can there be so many old pilots left? You know, pilots are the most worry-free soldiers. A large number of civil aviation in Germany are waiting for them to take up their posts. I can only promise you pilots with basic skills, but I can't guarantee it for veterans."

Contini thought about it and it was right. Didn't Poti, who had never been on the battlefield, become a carrier-based aircraft pilot? It can be seen that fighting in wars is not a necessary condition. He nodded and acquiesced.

"What do you need?" Sickert knew that it was expensive to train carrier-based aircraft pilots. Contini would never do good things and would definitely ask for something.

"Give me 50 of the best submarine officers! Since we are training pilots for the navy, we have to make up for it from the navy."

Sickt was stunned for a moment, nodded in agreement, but added at the end: "Can our technicians also come to observe this aircraft carrier... no... floating offshore airport?"

"Of course..." Contini smiled, "Then we should also observe your country's submarine manufacturing and artillery manufacturing."

"Okay, but give us a copy of the patent for the No. 2 light machine gun and Garand semi-automatic rifle, including subsequent improvements. If you have also obtained a patent for the heavy machine gun including the aviation machine gun, give us a copy as well!" Sickert emphasized, "Free!"

"Give me 100,000 rounds of Mauser 79 pointed bullets. The consumption has been a bit high recently. The Army Department gong Yin G can't keep up, and it's troublesome to open the production line. Italy has 5 bullets. "

"Deal!" Although he agreed readily, Sickert couldn't help but sigh, "I really don't understand why you are tossing these military forces? Do you really plan to develop into an armed group and establish an independent country?"

"I am for the prosperity and long-term stability of Italy, to defend the economic interests of the United Group, and at the same time hope to do what I can for the Italian national defense force." Contini said righteously, "The Youth League will always unite around the fascists with the leader as the core , contribute to the great rejuvenation of the New Roman Empire, how could there be these ideas you think of? "

"No one will believe you... In my opinion, you are very ambitious!"

"Whether you believe it or not, I believe it anyway!" Contini said with a grin, "Besides, as long as the leader believes it, have you ever seen me care about other people?"

Sickt was speechless, and finally shook his head and left, but Contini knew that he was tempted by the weapons displayed today. To be honest, these are all good things that have been tested by history. He is too lazy to put the rotten stuff into his pocket! (https:)