Chapter 650: Aircraft
In fact, almost two years ago, at Akado’s request, Germany had begun the relevant design work for a jet fighter. Therefore, it could be said to be the first country in the world to start research on jet fighters. Moreover, in terms of the general direction, they did not take any wrong turns with the technology they used from the very beginning.
In the theoretical design stage, the various design departments of the German aviation industry had already established several basic design requirements for a jet fighter. For example, it had to use large-caliber cannons as its main weapon and employ a swept-wing design, a technology from a later era that had been proven to be mature.
In the beginning, because materials and manufacturing processes did not meet the standards, Germany’s jet fighter, like Britain’s current Meteor, was an extremely immature and failure-prone showpiece. But with Germany’s progress in new material technology, as well as continuous experimentation and development, the failure rate has been reduced to an acceptable level.
This was the main reason why the air force general Kesselring was in such a hurry to put the experimental ME-262 prototype into production. In Kesselring’s view, this twin-engine jet aircraft was fully capable of entering service with the German Air Force as a first-generation jet fighter. At least compared to the British jet, the German plane was safer and its performance was slightly better.
But in Akado’s eyes, although this ME-262 prototype had many advantages, it also had many shortcomings. From the perspective of a later era, putting a jet fighter into service now was, after all, too early for Germany.
Because the engine’s power output was insufficient, and also taking into account a series of safety considerations, the ME-262 prototype had adopted a conservative design of mounting two jet engines under the wings. This design meant the ME-262’s flight speed was not very fast, with a maximum of only 760 kilometers per hour. It could not completely surpass the pinnacle of piston-engine aircraft, the Ta-152. And in terms of technological maturity, the latter obviously had the advantage.
Another important reason was that the turbojet engine, at the beginning of its existence, was an absolute gas guzzler with astonishing power. This made the cost-effectiveness of using a jet fighter to attack an opponent very low. In other words, fighting a war with this type of fighter was too expensive and not worth it.
An even more important reason that the German Air Force had delayed the production of a jet fighter for so long was that the Luftwaffe was now increasingly playing an offensive role. It needed fighters with a longer range to protect its strategic bombers on their missions. It needed fighters with a longer loiter time to ensure its own air superiority could be used effectively. On the other hand, the demand for high-speed interceptors was not so urgent.
Unfortunately, although the new jet fighter did not have significant flaws in its range, that data was based on high-speed flight. When escorting bombers and covering friendly aircraft to gain air superiority, its combat radius was pitifully small. The same problem appeared with its loiter time. A short loiter time was not a problem when used as an interceptor, but it was not suitable for the task of circling over a battlefield for a long time to drive away enemy aircraft.
In addition, the need to redesign and build new production lines, train production workers, and the increased production hours for the aircraft, all added up to the conclusion that producing a jet fighter now was definitely a losing proposition.
“My general, there are still many unsatisfactory aspects of the ME-262 prototype. I hope that the German Air Force’s first-generation jet fighter will be a single-engine fighter, not a twin-engine one,” Akado continued to say to Kesselring in the bumpy car.
Kesselring’s heart skipped a beat. If a single-engine layout were used, the fuel consumption of Germany’s future jet fighter would be much lower, and both its range and loiter time could be correspondingly increased. It was just that the thrust problem would need to be better solved before the engine could handle the aircraft’s weight.
“My Führer, if that’s the case, we may have to wait a long time for engine design and materials. Can our existing air force strength counter the enemy’s jet fighters?” Kesselring was not纠结 over the issue of when the new weapon would enter service; what he was really worried about was whether the air force under his command could deal with the new weapon in the enemy’s hands.
Akado waved his hand and said to his subordinate, “Rest assured. According to intelligence from Gascoigne, the Americans are not in a hurry to produce the new Meteor jet fighter. On the contrary, they are working with the escaped Rolls-Royce engine engineers to improve a piston engine called the ‘Merlin,’ which they plan to install on their latest long-range fighter, the P-51.”
By comparison, the Americans, who did not have to worry about the fall of their country, were not as eager for the immature super-technology of the jet fighter. Instead, they absorbed the British’s unique insights into piston engine technology to improve their own shortcomings in that area. As for jet engine technology, the Americans and the Germans shared the same view: it still needed a lot more testing.
“When the American P-51 fighters begin to enter service, they will be able to take off from Iceland and escort their B-17 bombers to the British Isles. That is when the real test of the German Air Force’s capabilities will come,” Akado said, placing his hand on Kesselring’s shoulder and patting it. “Before that time comes, I will have your new weapon ready for you, and make the whole world tremble beneath the wings of German aircraft!”
Speaking of which, he suddenly remembered something and then asked with a smile, “I hear that our pilots on the Eastern Front have a set of combat rules? Sounds quite interesting?”
Hearing the Führer say this, Kesselring also temporarily forgot about work and replied with a smile, “Any plane that doesn’t have an Iron Cross on its wings must be shot down—that’s what they say among themselves, more or less. It’s just something the pilots say for fun. After all, they are frontline combat personnel, so they have to have a bit of arrogance.”
“No! They are not just saying it for fun!” Akado interrupted Kesselring’s modest words and said solemnly, “They have done it! In one year, we have fought all over Europe. All the planes that do not have an Iron Cross on their wings cannot fly in the skies of Europe! Your soldiers have fulfilled this joke with their lives. We should give them the highest respect!”
Kesselring was taken aback, then nodded. “Yes! My Führer!” This nod was, once again, one of heartfelt admiration.
In fact, Akado himself was also undecided on which design to use as the main model for the German Air Force’s future fighter. After the Second World War, two famous jet fighters were born in the world. These two fighters had actually fought each other in the skies over Korea, and their combat records could be said to be “six of one, half a dozen of the other.”
These two planes were the MiG-15 and the F-86. They were the first-generation mature jet fighters of the two superpowers, the Soviet Union and the United States. As for which of these two fighters was better, Akado himself was not a weapons expert and could not analyze it thoroughly. After all, Akado was not one to assess the loss ratio of the two sides by analyzing exaggerated combat results.
So he could only rely on his slightly vague memories from his past life to recall the respective characteristics of the two fighters. Historically, both the Soviet Union and the United States had absorbed the scientific technology of Nazi Germany after the end of World War II and had produced jet fighters that suited their national conditions based on their own experience.
For most of World War II, the Soviet Air Force was in a state of being suppressed by the Nazi Luftwaffe. Air superiority on the Eastern Front had not completely fallen into Soviet hands even in 1944. Under these circumstances, for the Soviet Air Force, interception and short-range air combat were their entire memory.
Based on their own experience, the Soviet MiG-15 followed the path of the German light fighter: high altitude, high speed, high climb rate, using vertical maneuvers for hit-and-run tactics. Like the Nazi Air Force’s ME-109 in the early stages of the war, its shortcomings were short legs and poor dogfighting ability.
The experience of the American Air Force was completely different from that of the Soviets. In the face of the powerful war production capacity of the United States and Britain, the Nazi Air Force, which relied heavily on technology and pilot skill, had no advantage. Around 1943, it lost air superiority on the Western Front. American bombers flew unhindered in the skies over Germany, and fighter planes accompanied the bombers, coming and going as they pleased.
So the American engineers, who had also taken German air force technology home to study, designed the F-86 fighter with a longer range and better horizontal maneuverability. Although its vertical maneuverability was slightly worse, it had a superior dogfighting performance and a greater range. There was no choice; to escort their own bombers, a long range was a must.
Akado personally preferred the American F-86 fighter, because Germany’s current situation was very similar to that of the United States. Both needed a long-range escort fighter to protect their strategic bombing. Moreover, in actual combat, the performance of the F-86 was no worse than that of the MiG-15, which was very tempting.
But the actual combat experience of the German Air Force pilots was closer to the performance characteristics of the MiG-15. Most German pilots preferred high-altitude, high-speed diving attacks, a hit-and-run tactic. So if they used the MiG-15, the actual combat performance of the German Air Force might be even better.
“My Führer, we’ve arrived at the newly built Patriot’s Cemetery on the outskirts,” Anna said, looking out the window, reminding the thinking Akado and the two military generals.
The car slowly pulled over to the side of the road. The reception party was already lining both sides.
Published: 2025-09-14T07:07:23.000+00:00
Last Edited: 2026-02-07T16:57:34.000+00:00
URL: https://www.patreon.com/caleredhair/posts/mtr-c650-138854864
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