The decisive battle against the Third Reich

Menzies thought that he should first get a clearer photo, but at the same time, he didn't want the Germans to realize that the Allies had noticed the "iron frame". So Menzies took some effort to get in touch with the American bombers and asked them to make a plan to bomb Algiers... Bombing Algiers itself was in the interests of the Allies. The Allies could not break through the Gabès Line, but bombing the Algerian capital could hit the morale of the Algerians and the Darlan government. Of course, this was not Menzies' main purpose. After bombing Algiers, the bombers pretended to circle back from the desert and "accidentally" passed the location where the last photo was taken... Two of the bombers had high-powered telescopes installed on the bottom and lowered their flight altitude to take pictures. This time, a very clear photo was successfully taken, and Menzies noticed a suspicious spot when analyzing the photo. After magnification, it can be clearly distinguished that it is something similar to an airplane on the "iron frame". Menzies sent the photo to Churchill as soon as possible. "You are right to worry, Prime Minister!" Menzies said to Churchill: "Although I don't know what this is, they are definitely a new type of weapon of the Germans! We estimate that this iron frame is a launcher, just like we catapult reconnaissance planes on warships, they use it to catapult this small aircraft!" "Catapult takeoff? On land?" Churchill was puzzled when he heard this. Churchill served in the army when he was young, so he had a little understanding of military affairs. He knew that airplanes only needed to be launched on warships, and long runways could be built on land, so catapult takeoff was unnecessary. "We are not sure what this is about!" Menzies replied: "The specific weapon needs further investigation!" Churchill nodded and said: "We must find out clearly, and quickly!" Churchill was so anxious because he was going to meet Roosevelt in a few days. Churchill knew that because of the failure of "Sicily", he would not be able to convince Roosevelt without more evidence. Just when Menzies was actively organizing the investigation, Qin Chuan and others in Sarat also held a meeting. "Are we exposed?" Conrad asked.

"I think so, Colonel!" Qin Chuan replied.

"Why can't this be an accident?" von Braun asked, "We have investigated. The first B17 that flew over us was bombing the Timrag Basin oil field, and the second was bombing Algiers. Maybe they didn't find anything!" "I don't think that's the case, professor!" Qin Chuan said, "You know, the launch pad we set up is 48 meters long. It's not a small thing. It's easy to find it in the air! If the first appearance of B17 was an accident, then the second time was just an attempt to cover up the truth!" "I think the captain is right!" Hannah said, "We can't take chances. We should change the experimental base!" "No, Hannah!" von Braun said, "Do you know what changing a base means? We have to dismantle all the launch pads and move them to another place to rebuild them. This will take at least ten days!" "And this seems to be meaningless!" Colonel Conrad said, "Because we still have to build a 48-meter launch pad, and the enemy can easily find us again in the air!" Hannah was speechless, because in some ways both of them were right. So everyone turned their eyes to Qin Chuan, after all, Qin Chuan was responsible for the safety issues here.

After thinking for a while, Qin Chuan asked: "Professor, how is the plan for the vehicle-mounted launcher going?"

"We chose the second plan!" Braun replied: "That is, using a retractable launcher!"

"Is it because the thrust of the catapult is difficult to increase?" Qin Chuan asked.

"No, Captain!" Braun replied: "We can do this, the problem is that the body of the 'target aircraft' is too fragile. If it is ejected at a short distance with such a large instantaneous thrust, the 'target aircraft' is likely to disintegrate at the moment of ejection!"

Qin Chuan nodded to show his understanding. This is also the reason why the structure of the carrier-based aircraft used by modern aircraft carriers must be particularly strong, such as the landing gear and keel, which are higher than the requirements of land-based fighters.

Otherwise, the ejection during takeoff and the hook during landing may cause structural problems in the fighter.

The situation of the "target aircraft" is the same.

"When will it be completed?" Qin Chuan asked again: "I mean, it can be put into use!" "Maybe it will take a month!" von Braun said: "Captain, you are not asking us to test it in a month!" "For safety and confidentiality reasons, we should probably do this!" Qin Chuan nodded and said: "You know, once the vehicle-mounted launcher is put into use, we can build a tunnel for it, hide in the tunnel when it is not launched, and drive out of the tunnel before launching, and even make preparations in the tunnel before driving out... The time exposed outside will not exceed one hour, so that we can effectively avoid enemy reconnaissance!" "But Captain!" von Braun objected: "We may only need one or two more test flights to complete it, it may only take a few days, but you want us to wait for more than a month!"

"Captain!" Colonel Conrad interjected: "As far as I know, the African Corps urgently needs the 'target drone' to complete the test flight and use it to attack the island of Malta. If you wait more than a month... you don't think this will happen. Will it have serious consequences for the entire battlefield situation? "

When Colonel Conrad said this, Qin Chuan could not refute.

This is true, and now there is a contradiction: the safety and confidentiality of the "target drone" and the strategic needs of the African Corps must be chosen one or the other.

Thinking further, Qin Chuan believed that it might not be a bad thing to let the Allies get some news, because this would at least give Britain some reason to stay in the Mediterranean.

As for issues of safety and confidentiality...

What can the British do? This is the hinterland of Algeria. There is a German airport dozens of kilometers east of Salat. They can provide reinforcements to Salat at any time.

Moreover, his own troops are not vegetarians.

Thinking of this, Qin Chuan nodded: "Professor, Colonel, for the safety of the entire scientific research team and the 'target drone', we recommend that the final test flight be completed in a short time!"

"No problem, Captain!" Von Braun patted Qin Chuan on the shoulder to express his gratitude.