The Rise of the Empire

"However, it finally looks a bit pleasing to the eye." At the Munich Aviation Training Center, Ruprecht finally saw a single-engine biplane that fits the aesthetics of the traversers. From the purely appearance point of view, this aircraft is a bit close to the historical CL-1 aircraft. Of course, compared with this German World War I attack aircraft with metal skin and armor protection, most of this aircraft still uses It has a wooden structure, no armor, and the power of the engine is only 130 horsepower, but the appearance of the aircraft is not bad. According to the later Dassault boss, a good aircraft is first of all the standard of a beautiful aircraft. This aircraft should have the standard to crush its contemporaries.

"This aircraft has almost completely refreshed our aviation records. This is our first aircraft with a speed of more than 150 kilometers, and it is also the first single-engine aircraft with an empty weight of 620KG and a combat weight of 850KG. It has excellent Operability, and the combat radius has reached about 200 kilometers.” Daimler began to introduce this new aircraft called the J-5 fighter to the prince with great enthusiasm.

"The main weapon can be selected from one 12.7MM machine gun or two MG04 7.92MM machine guns. The former has about 500 rounds of ammunition, while the latter has 1,200 rounds of ammunition. If it is less, it can also carry 40KG bombs. Pilots can choose to drop bombs by hand or use the pylons under the wings to drop bombs.”

"This aircraft also has a cross-age advantage, that is, its structural strength is sufficient. Under the condition of full load, the J-5 fighter jet can dive at an angle of 45 degrees and a maximum speed of no more than 180 kilometers. Air combat The maximum overload can reach about 3G. In the test field, our maximum dive angle reached 60 degrees, and we conducted many tests, and the aircraft did not have any problems. This aircraft also has a good nickname, we call it Sparrowhawk!"

"I can say responsibly that if this aircraft can be used in service, there will probably be no work that can surpass this aircraft in the next 10 years!" Daimler finally concluded.

"Hehe, it's because you don't know how fast the future technology will develop." The prince said in his heart. The technology of this plane is about 5 years earlier than in history. In fact, the explosion of aviation technology in World War 1 has accumulated to this point. , as long as the design direction can be grasped, the performance of another engine will be greatly improved. This aircraft is already very good in appearance. As for the specific aerodynamic layout, it is not bad from the wind tunnel test. The only problem is The engine power is a bit small, only 130 horsepower.

"But it's good, at least it's enough to deal with the Russians. If there are no accidents, it can be used on the Eastern Front until the end of the war." The prince is quite satisfied with this aircraft.

"How many planes like this do we have now? What is the potential for improvement of this plane?" the prince asked after thinking for a while.

"We currently have 4 test aircraft, and the improvement potential of this type of aircraft is still great. In fact, the engine compartment at the nose of our aircraft can be smaller. According to your instructions, we have left enough space for replacing the new engine , and the strength of the plane is sufficient." Count Lilienthal said. He was responsible for the aerodynamic design of the flight, so he naturally had a say.

The weight of the aircraft can be deducted little by little, and there have been many aircrafts in history that have problems in later upgrades in pursuit of performance. For example, the BF109 fighter jet marked in history has been replaced with a larger and heavier DB605 engine. After that, a bulge appeared on the engine compartment of the nose,

I can't let go. And the reason why the performance of the later Zero aircraft did not improve was also because it was not equipped with a heavier and larger engine?

Therefore, the prince asked the aircraft to leave a certain amount of improvement redundancy. Even before the appearance of the J-5 aircraft, the prince asked the designer to consider replacing the engine with a 220-horsepower engine in the future. At the same time, the structure of the aircraft is required to be as strong as possible.

"I personally think that this aircraft can meet our needs for small-scale front-line support and air combat. If we reduce weight based on the J-5, we can completely reduce the weight by 100KG on the basis of ensuring air combat performance. The above, in this case, the performance of the aircraft will be greatly improved, at least it will not be a problem to increase the speed by about 20 kilometers."

"And if we can replace the engine with about 200 horsepower, then in the case of a combat radius of 100 kilometers, the aircraft can carry bombs of about 80KG to 120KG. And maintain good controllability. That is to say, this aircraft It is an aircraft that combines the requirements of air combat and ground support. This is also the essential difference between the J-5 aircraft and the J-1 aircraft." Lilienthal said.

"Very good, it looks like a fighter-bomber of later generations. Looking at this small aircraft with a height of 2.8 meters, a length of 6.5 meters, and a wing length of 9 meters, the prince is still very satisfied. The characteristics of the ground attack capability are even more satisfying. The Russian Air Force is not an opponent, and more aircraft still perform ground suppression. If the problem of frontline suppression is solved, then more twin-engine bombers can be released to carry out strikes on deep targets. No matter It is very cost-effective from the combat effect and economic point of view.

The only pity is that the engine power is not too large, otherwise, if the German aero engine can be as NB as the British, and if the aircraft is equipped with a 375-horsepower Rolls-Royce engine, Ruprecht does not mind making a A German version of the DH-4 light bomber. The maximum bomb load of this aircraft is about 250KG, and the combat radius is not only 100 kilometers...

"You can try to produce a squadron first, and the pilot training and tactical research can begin." Ruprecht said to Baron Schmidt next to him.

"Then what is the future command structure of the Air Force? Is it affiliated with the Army or is it a separate army?" asked Baron Schmidt on the side.

"The air force is a separate army." The prince said without hesitation. There are two types of ownership of the air force in the world. One is subordinate to the army, such as the Army Aviation and Hainan Airlines of the United States and Japan in World War II. The other is to directly establish an independent air force similar to the United Kingdom and Germany. These two ownerships have their own advantages and disadvantages. For the former, if the air force only belongs to the army, the air force will support the army more strongly. Contact Also more convenient. But the air force is relatively dispersed.

Of course, these problems are nothing to the rich and powerful American emperor. But if the aviation power of the size of the United Kingdom or Germany is assigned to the army and navy, then apart from other things, at least the Royal Air Force must not be easy to form a strategic bomber force. As for Germany, I am afraid that the loss of the Air Force will be even greater, because in World War II, the Luftwaffe could choose to enter or exit the battlefield according to its own situation. And if the air force is to be consumed like the Soviet Union, it is estimated that the German Air Force will collapse before the end of 1944.

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