Chapter 4: Bavarian Scenery

Under the sunlight, the shadow of the airplane resembled that of a swift ninja darting through the mountains, rivers, and valleys, crossing the crystal-clear rivers amidst steep ridges, traversing forests filled with ecological beauty, passing over lush green grasslands, and flying over herds of cows like clouds, finally reaching a small town nestled amidst the towering mountains.

Even in times of war, there are still tranquil and natural corners in the world!

Located in Bavaria, Lamprechtsheim doesn't enjoy much renown in Germany, and one of Messerschmitt's secret factories is situated in a valley to the east of the town. From the air, the extensive modernized factory buildings indeed contrast sharply with the spired architecture of the town. Fortunately, the chimneys here are neither tall nor numerous, and under the sunlight, only faint grayish-white smoke is emitted, posing minimal pollution to the surrounding environment.

Under the skilled control of the experienced pilot, the Junkers-52 landed smoothly on the runway inside this secret factory.

"Welcome to Lamprechtsheim Base, Major Logan!"

Leading the welcoming party was still a military officer dressed in the uniform of the German Air Force. Like the Messerschmitt company and other military-industrial enterprises, especially aircraft manufacturers, various factories and testing grounds of Messerschmitt are under the supervision and protection of the German military department. When the colossal war machine operates at high speed, the military and industry are even more closely connected.

"Hello, Lieutenant Colonel Vick!"

Major Logan had done some homework before coming here. Lieutenant Colonel Vick was 49 years old, having served in the Imperial Aviation Corps during the previous war. He later transitioned to civil aviation development and returned to the military when Germany began rearming. However, due to his age and lack of seniority, he couldn't become a commanding officer in frontline units. After spending a few years in flight school, he was eventually assigned to Messerschmitt as a supervisor.

"This is Dr. Friedrich, the chief engineer of the 'Warsaw South' project!" (Although he is not as famous as his boss, Dr. Messerschmitt, his capabilities are outstanding. The famous "giants" Me321 and Me323 were successfully developed under his leadership!)

"Hello, Major, welcome!"

"Oh, you must be Dr. Friedrich. I've heard about you before I came. You're the most talented designer Messerschmitt has had in the past decade!" Major Logan shook hands warmly with the middle-aged man wearing gold-rimmed glasses. Although they had similar builds and both wore glasses, Dr. Friedrich gave a completely different impression from the war correspondent Boggs: he seemed fragile and shy, lacking physical strength, perhaps belonging to the type of sedentary middle-aged man with extremely little physical activity and pale skin due to lack of blood circulation.

"You're too kind!" Dr. Friedrich seemed pleasantly surprised, his fair face even blushing slightly.

Major Logan smiled inwardly. While chatting with colleagues on the plane, he learned that Dr. Friedrich indeed had considerable expertise in technology, otherwise, he wouldn't have been appointed as the chief engineer of this important project. However, people have their flaws, and Dr. Friedrich's greatest weakness was his overly personality-focused approach to life, stubborn temper, stubborn character, and poor communication skills, all of which hindered him from becoming a top designer like Ernst Sindel or Hans Jacob (let alone masters like Hugo Junkers, Wilhelm Messerschmitt, Ernst Heinkel, and Claude Dornier)!

Drawing from his experience dealing with Thomas Muller, the eccentric weapons technician, Major Logan knew that dealing with such people couldn't follow the "usual path".

"Major, would you like to rest first, or go directly to the factory?" Despite the visitor's rank being a grade lower and his age nearly two rounds younger, Lieutenant Colonel Vick still addressed him with utmost respect, consistently using "you." When getting into the car, he intentionally gestured for Major Logan to enter first.

"Let's go to the factory!"

Major Logan replied without hesitation. Regarding this "Junkers Aunt," while it might be slow and lacking in defensive capabilities, making it unsuitable for heavy bombing missions, its stability and sturdiness were notable. With a bit of modification, it could become a relatively comfortable passenger plane. Despite spending three hours flying to the Junkers factory the previous day and another two and a half hours today, Major Logan still felt energetic and showed no signs of fatigue.

"Alright, to the factory!" Vick instructed the driver.

Major Logan intentionally had Dr. Friedrich sit next to him. According to his resume, this middle-aged aircraft designer, who had just entered middle age, participated in the design and development of the BF-108 liaison/trainer aircraft, the later improvements of the BF-110 twin-engine fighter, and some individual development projects at Messerschmitt. He had rich experience in aircraft structure and stress engineering, which happened to be crucial for the development of large gliders!

"I heard, Doctor, you're a native of Bavaria?" Major Logan deliberately avoided asking questions related to prototype development. Although he was more concerned about whether Messerschmitt's prototypes could undergo test flights by the end of July after learning about Junkers prototypes, he wanted to keep the conversation relaxed.

"Yeah, I was born in Freising, a small town south of Munich, and stayed there until I was 17 before moving to Munich!"

"Oh, I've been to Munich, the beer there is incredible! Is Freising also a beer-producing region?"

Proudly speaking of his hometown, Dr. Friedrich said, "Hey, it used to supply beer exclusively to the royal court!"

"Wow, really? That's amazing! I must taste it sometime!" Major Logan saw that the atmosphere of the conversation had relaxed considerably and asked with interest, "Is work going smoothly lately?"

Dr. Friedrich frowned slightly. "Can't say it's good because the project is urgent, and our engineers and workers are working overtime!"

"You've all been working hard!" Based on what he knew, Messerschmitt's most sought-after products currently were the BF-109 and BF-110, the main fighter planes of the German Air Force. However, their technical prowess was not limited to just fighter aircraft development and production. Although they faced resistance from Milch, Messerschmitt's arch-nemesis, who had already become the Deputy Commander of the Air Force, as the saying goes, "A gem will always shine." Messerschmitt gained fame with their remarkable performance in the 4th International Flight Competition in 1934. With these two fighter planes participating in a series of combat operations as the mainstay of the German Air Force, they had performed well so far, earning Messerschmitt a plethora of orders and immense reputation. Now, with the gradual stabilization of production models and quantities, their technical research and development capabilities were more than sufficient to handle the successors of these two main fighter planes. It was indeed a great opportunity for expansion!