Chapter 37

After a detailed discussion of the tank's other performance data, Wilhelm went on to talk about airplanes.

"Although the Treaty of Versailles restricts us from having airplanes, I can guarantee that we will restore the air force before 1935. I need new aircraft, specifically new fighters, attack planes, and bombers."

According to the treaty, the German army can only retain 7 divisions with a maximum of 100,000 soldiers. However, during World War I, Germany had already lost 2 million soldiers on the front lines. Now they can only have a 100,000-strong army without tanks, heavy artillery, or even machine guns! Germany is left with only a police force, and even external defense becomes a problem.

Regarding the navy, Germany is limited to 15,000 personnel, and they cannot have submarines, aircraft carriers, or battleships. The German fleet was brought to the British naval base and scuttled. If the requirements for the German army and navy are already strict, the Allied powers won't even let Germany have an air force. They don't want Germany to have anything that can fly except kites.

But that's why Germans are considered clever. Although the Allies restrict what Germany can have, they invented the world's first general-purpose machine gun. Mounted on a bipod, it becomes a light machine gun, and with a tripod, it becomes a heavy machine gun. If they won't allow tanks, Germany secretly develops and tests them. If they limit the size of the army, Germany recruits all retired soldiers to become police officers or spies, so that in case of war, they can quickly mobilize a force of hundreds of thousands. If they won't let them have an air force, Germany establishes aviation clubs and trains aviation personnel using gliders in secret.

"The mission of a fighter aircraft is simple: to shoot down enemy planes and achieve air superiority. I need this fighter aircraft to have excellent climbing performance, whether it's steady climbing at angles of 20 to 30 degrees or instant climbing after a dive using speed. It should also have excellent diving performance and structural strength that can withstand high speeds without breaking the wings. In simple terms, I want a high-speed fighter that can quickly dive from high altitude, attack, and then retreat."

"This fighter aircraft should have retractable landing gear, openable canopy, automatic flaps, lower wing, etc." Speaking of the canopy, when I used to play War Thunder, I always thought the FW190 would be so much better with a "teardrop" canopy. It seems like German designers have a grudge against pilots, creating such narrow canopies that could suffocate them.

The distinctive feature of this "teardrop" canopy is that it provides a 360-degree unobstructed view, and there is almost no distortion when looking at objects from the inside.

Although it's unclear whether German technicians can solve this technological challenge, Wilhelm still drew this "teardrop" canopy. This way, the improved version of the FW190 fighter aircraft's appearance was entirely displayed on the blackboard. Finally, he also marked the data for each component. "The fighter aircraft should be initially equipped with six machine guns, and later upgraded to 12.7mm or 20mm cannons, or a suitable combination of both. The maximum flight speed should be at least 600 kilometers per hour."

Compared to the limited space and improvement potential of the Bf 109, he prefers the FW190, which has more room for improvement and greater future development (resulting in many derivatives from A to S). [Germany's Bf 109, like Japan's Zero, follows a path of agility and lightness. Although it didn't go to the extreme like the Zero, it can still be considered an unconventional approach. When it encounters aircraft like the Spitfire that adhere to the orthodox path, the consequence is being beaten badly.]

Once Wilhelm made his statement, there was a collective gasp and uneasy expressions among the crowd. After all, the British fighters that were in service for the last two years had a top speed of just 250 kilometers per hour. Now Wilhelm was asking 600 kilometers per hour, which looked quite challenging.

Wilhelm noticed the reaction of the people and smiled. "I don't expect everyone to develop it immediately. Just like I mentioned earlier about tanks, you have five years for development. I think that should be enough time." In the original timeline, the German Air Force issued a tender for the Bf 109 fighter aircraft in 1934, and it took only a year and a half for the chief designer, Messerschmitt, from the Bavarian Aircraft Factory (Be), to complete its development. Although they were skipping the Bf 109 and directly developing the FW190 now, with five years and the design proposal he provided, it should be enough to successfully develop it, right?

Indeed, as soon as they heard Wilhelm's deadline, the faces of the people relaxed, and they nodded in agreement.

As for the Bf 109, Wilhelm was unsure whether to proceed with it.

The Bf 109 fighter aircraft was Germany's first practical military aircraft with a cantilever low wing and retractable landing gear. It featured more linear design elements and incorporated high-strength thin aluminum panels and precision castings, reflecting the advanced level of German industrial technology at that time.

Not only was it the fighter aircraft with the most enemy kills during World War II, but it also became the symbol of the German Air Force and the birthplace of their aces. The "Star of Africa," ace pilot Marseille, flew the Bf 109F model, nicknamed "Yellow 14," and achieved the record of shooting down 12 enemy aircraft in a single day. Germany's top ace, Colonel Hartmann, also extensively used the Bf 109K model, personally shooting down 352 enemy aircraft, creating an absolute record in the history of aerial combat.

However, this aircraft had clear disadvantages. Firstly, its single-wing design was highly outdated, making the Bf 109 inherently a conservative and outdated aircraft. The structural strength provided by the single-wing design was insufficient, leading to the landing gear being installed at the wing root. The small distance between the landing gear increased the difficulty of takeoff and landing. Additionally, the high nose obstructed the forward visibility, making the Bf 109 demanding to handle during takeoff and landing. Many new pilots found it challenging to adapt, and statistics showed that 10% of damaged Bf 109s were a result of accidents during takeoff and landing.

Due to limited improvement potential, the later versions of the Bf 109 reached a dead end. While continuously improving firepower and speed, they were forced to increase the aircraft's weight. This weight increase, in turn, required further enhancements in engine power and structural integrity. As a result, the weight continued to climb, ultimately leading to the extreme variant, the BF-109K4 (even though the K4 still possessed climbing performance and firepower that could rival any opponent, which was not an easy feat for a fighter aircraft from the 1930s).

Various reasons like these made Wilhelm hesitate about whether to pursue the Bf 109.