Iron Cross

The Fa-466 is equipped with more powerful engines than the Fa-423. They are two liquid-cooled DB605 engines with a maximum power of 1,800 horsepower. The payload is nearly 3 tons and can carry 24 fully armed soldiers or 12 people + 2 stretchers. Equipped with +2 nurses, the overall performance is slightly better than the Fa-423, but the total range is slightly shorter, less than 800 kilometers.

The rocket troops who just appeared were all airborne, but for the Air Cavalry Assault Battalion, which was formed based on the Brandenburg troops and elite paratroopers, airborne landings were too slow and troublesome for them. Their best thing was rappelling. The helicopter is released in a hover mode at low altitude. The air cavalry can land with one hand and use the FG44 assault rifle (based on the paratrooper version of STG43) with the other hand to suppress the ground. Others such as recoilless guns, rifle grenades, and Iron Fist rocket launchers are all standard. .

In addition to the big guys with double rotors, the single-rotor King Kong also made a secret appearance in another venue.

As early as 4 years ago, the ultra-light carrier-based helicopter Fi-282 was unveiled. It even successfully conducted a take-off and landing test in the 4x4 meter landing area on the cruiser. Nicknamed the Hummingbird, it can not only serve as an anti-submarine aircraft to observe submarines around the fleet. , it can also be used as a transport helicopter to provide small batches of vertical supplies (such as medicine) to ships, and can even complete artillery calibration missions.

However, the Navy's conservative requirement to be able to land on the deck of a cruiser-class ship has kept this gadget from growing much.

After Hoffman actively intervened, the Fi-282 model was upgraded to Fi-482, and the engine quickly increased from the 1W Sh14A to the 1800-horsepower DB605 engine. The unloaded weight of the entire machine exceeded 3 tons, and the volume was much larger than that of the Hummingbird. The armaments The Ministry gave it the nickname Albatross.

The model seems to be a derivative of 282, but in fact it is completely different from 282. It is not an exaggeration to say that it is a complete overhaul.

Of course, the albatross is not majestic enough. Hoffman has already arranged the majestic names, such as Black Hawk, Cobra, etc. There are a string of ferocious names that you will recognize. Of course, Apache, Comanche and other American styles are omitted. Let's leave it to the US military.

Different from the twin-rotor Fa-423 and Fa-466, the Fi-482 uses a single rotor and is equipped with a tail propeller. The overall shape is completely modern. The designers initially didn't understand why the head of state wanted to install this thing on the butt of a helicopter. They kept asking about the specific design principles and aerodynamic concepts. How could Hoffman explain it? They didn't dare to say it was his own idea. They only said it was. According to secret intelligence obtained from the United States, the US military R5\\R6 helicopters basically look like this.

The designers hesitantly installed the tail slurry for testing, and the flight condition was indeed stable and flexible. Although it cannot take off and land on cruisers, it is not a big problem when taking off and landing on aircraft carriers, including escort aircraft carriers.

Compared with the Navy's noncommittal attitude, the Army's top brass, including Guderian, cheered because the Fi-482 not only has thick bulletproof armor installed on key parts, but also has considerable firepower. It has a 30mmMK213 rotary cannon. When it fires tungsten core armor-piercing bullets, not to mention the Tiger, even the Tiger 3 can't parry it. If you install a 20mmMG213, you can carry 6 additional rockets. Of course, you can also install 4 20mmMG151s. In that case, you will carry a lot of ammunition and have a greater firepower density. It may be laborious to fight tanks, but it can be used to fight armored vehicles and infantry. Waiting for a soft target will be so refreshing, it will be like a whirlwind flying in the air.

Even the Americans now understand the development ideas of the Ministry of Armaments: ground attack is the main business, air defense is only a side job, and all German anti-aircraft guns that cannot attack the ground are garbage...

So a bunch of armored generals clamored to establish a land aviation - why can't there be a land aviation if there is a sea aviation? It even proposed to modify the specifications of the 1944-type armored division to ensure that each armored division will be equipped with a helicopter air anti-tank battalion in the future. The Air Force turned pale when they heard that. Fortunately, no one dares to shout now, "Everything that can fly in Germany is under my control." ", Jeshunek pretended not to hear. In order to achieve a balanced budget and control the scale of the establishment, Guderian believes that tanks and self-propelled artillery can be equipped with less equipment, and that such armed helicopters can be officially commissioned when they are truly mature.

He was deeply moved at the acceptance site and said: "The head of state talks about it every day and says that the future situation in Europe will be dominated by rapid response forces. I used to think that armored divisions with high-performance general tanks, full-track infantry fighting vehicles, and fully self-propelled artillery are rapid response forces." The reaction force now seems to have to change its mindset.”

At that time, Hoffman shook his head: "Your understanding is not comprehensive enough. You will have new feelings after reading it in two days."

"In two days?" Guderian became interested at that time, "What new equipment do you have?"

"Aren't you jealous of the Russian Il-2? Then you felt that the Hs-129 (not yet put into production) and Ju-87G were not ideal?"

"Yes! So now the 1944-type troops are equipped with Fw-190F. I think it is quite good. Of course, I will never refuse the good things arranged by the head of state. I am open to all new things. I am not old yet!"

"You won't refuse, but this thing must be in the hands of the Air Force." Jeshunek interjected first.

After arriving at the test site two days later, Guderian knew what it was: a fixed-wing attack aircraft with heavy armor, a 30mm MK213 rotary cannon and ground-attack rockets - the Sudden Eagle attack aircraft, which was actually a jet. style! It’s finally the Army’s turn to have a headache over which equipment to equip.

So Guderian decided to use the South African campaign to test it, hoping that the American armored forces could fight better this time. After all, it was pointless to fight against a weak opponent. It was refreshing to fight, but how could they ask for equipment and funds in the future? Without enough equipment and funds, where will the hats and seats come from? Guderian has become a marshal, but there are still a large number of people below waiting eagerly to climb up. People like Frank Baker are in the minority after all (an armored major general with a doctorate in dentistry, known as the Armored Dentist, with a very tough command style ), apart from being an officer, most people do not have a second livelihood skill.

It is definitely impossible for Germany to maintain such a huge force in the future. It can only keep the best officers who are most adaptable to the new war model and have the most training potential. Everyone is smart, except for a few who are really tired and don’t want to be in the army anymore. Many people are struggling to find a way to stay - go to American republics, fine; go to African republics, yes; even go to Asian republics! As long as it has a German sign, it’s fine!

Paulus, who once served as deputy chief of staff and was a confidant of the Führer and a celebrity, was flattered wherever he went. After sitting on the bench for a few years on the Western Front, the circle thought he had fallen out of favor and began to treat him a little coldly. Hot, now I heard that he was going to serve as the regional "president" of the Deutsche American Division, and his attitude immediately changed 180 degrees. He was extremely enthusiastic. In Paulus's words, it was really "the warmth and warmth of humanity."

In his opinion, among Kruger, Beck, and Halder, who was not prominent and majestic at the time? Who still remembers them now? When you mention them as a "treasonous group", I'm afraid the weeds in the cemetery will grow taller, right?

While the rocket soldiers were debugging parameters, the introducer's voice rang out again: "Although helicopters are epoch-making weapons, due to their slow speed, they are easily shot down by the opponent's ordinary fighter jets. To protect them, we need another epoch-making weapon. Please Please pay attention to the sky, the king of the sky - the Ta-183 jet fighter is about to appear! This model is nicknamed the Crow. It is the second generation jet fighter of our army and the first aircraft in human history to exceed the speed of 1,000 kilometers per hour. It can even approach the speed of sound during a high-speed dive. Even with an external auxiliary fuel tank or a 500 kilogram aerial bomb, it can reach a high speed of more than 800 kilometers. The four 20mm cannons can easily tear apart any large bomber and hit enemy fighters. Not to mention..."

In fact, the Crow has great potential and can be equipped with four 30mm MK108s, but the rate of fire and ammunition offset are really tragic. After consideration, experts from the Ministry of Armaments still recommend installing four MG213s or two MK213s. The current 30mm MK103\\MK108 aircraft gun series Basically, they have entered the phase of elimination. If you recall the past when the Bf-109 was only equipped with machine guns, everyone will feel turned upside down. Only the ignorant Americans still hold on to the 6-gun heirloom. Now there are no Hispano cannons that can be "exported and imported." The new American aircraft can only use 12.7mm machine guns. Finally, they remembered to change the 6-gun to 8 doors.

Everyone looked up at the sky and saw eight aircraft passing by at high speed in the sky. Different from the twin-engine and relatively large Me-262, these were all stubby single-engine jets, and they did seem to be faster than the Me-262. Be faster.

Ito lowered his voice and asked: "This is probably a manned V3, right? It flies really fast... I wonder if it can take off from an aircraft carrier?"

It looked a bit like a Silkworm cruise missile on the ground. The commander behind him could only nod hesitantly, expressing deep doubts about the aircraft carrier taking off. Maybe it wouldn't be a big problem when flying, but what about landing? It would be difficult to stop on the deck at such a fast speed.

Because the Ta-183 has been officially installed and entered the mass production stage, and the third-generation jet project in the hands of the Ministry of Armament has also entered a new demonstration stage, the second-generation product can be displayed openly to others.

Of course, the aircraft can be seen by people, but some things are still kept secret, such as the latest products provided by the Peenemünde missile base: X-4\\X-6 air-to-air missiles mounted under the wings of Do-412 and Ta-152. According to Hoffman's instructions, mature air-to-air missiles and excellent electro-optical and radar systems will become the basic equipment of third-generation (supersonic) jets in the next 10 years.