The decisive battle against the Third Reich

But what can Qin Chuan do?

Help Germany develop more advanced fighters?

Qin Chuan does not have this ability. He is not a scientist. Everything he knows is just some knowledge across the ages, but these knowledge cannot help Germany develop a fighter jet that can rise to higher altitudes to fight.

In fact, Germany was already developing a jet fighter at this time, that is, the ME262. However, the fighter model of this aircraft did not enter actual combat until 1944, but by then it was too late. Before the ME262 was mass-produced, the Allied B17 The bombing has caused a very heavy blow to the German industry, politics, and economy.

Qin Chuan could not give those scientists any advice on the research and development of ME262... Qin Chuan was an outsider in this area.

Counterattack with V1 missiles?

This is obviously unrealistic. V1 missiles can indeed hit London and even pose a threat to British airports, but... it is not realistic to block the airport. This is partly because the V1 missiles at this time are not accurate enough. On the other hand, the airport can be repaired at the same time as it is bombed. With the mechanized equipment of the United Kingdom and the United States, even if the airport is blown up, it will only take a few hours to recover and allow the B17 to take off.

In this case, no amount of V1 missiles is enough.

Qin Chuan buried his face in his hands in distress... He suddenly realized that everything he had done might be in vain, and he could not avoid becoming a victim in the defeat.

"This is a difficult problem, Frick!" Hannah comforted Qin Chuan in his ear: "And we still have time, so there is no need to rush!"

"My idea..." Conrad said: "It is to continue the ME163 project. Even if it has the shortcomings mentioned by the major, we have to give it a try, right?"

Qin Chuan didn't answer.

In fact, Qin Chuan didn't even hear what Conrad was saying, he was already lost in his own thoughts.

After thinking about it, Qin Chuan felt that something was wrong... Could this B17 be an invincible existence? So how does modern times deal with such high-altitude bombers?

Then Qin Chuan thought that China had actually encountered similar troubles: for a long period of time, reconnaissance aircraft like the RB-57D flying at an altitude of 20,000 meters randomly conducted reconnaissance over our country as if they were in uninhabited territory. , until our country successfully shot it down with a surface-to-air missile for the first time in 1959.

Yes, surface-to-air missiles!

The best equipment to deal with high-altitude targets is not fighter planes, but surface-to-air missiles, unmanned surface-to-air missiles...

Thinking of this, Qin Chuan couldn't help but feel his body light up, and said, "I have thought of a way, but I don't know if this method can be realized, or whether it can achieve the results we expect!"

"What can be done?" Conrad Hannah asked in unison.

"Why do we have to have people driving ME163?" Qin Chuan asked without answering: "Why can't it be driverless like V1?"

"You mean..." Hannah asked hesitantly: "Turn it into a bomb instead of a plane?"

"Yes!" Qin Chuan nodded.

"But this is almost impossible, Major!" Conrad shook his head: "You know, the reason why V1 can fly to the target is because the target is right there. It is an immobile building or airport or ammunition. Library and so on... We can calculate its distance, angle, and even correct its trajectory. But the target of ME163 is the enemy aircraft. Although the B17 target is large and the flying speed is not fast (note: the B17 has a top speed of 483 kilometers per hour), But it was a fast-moving target in the air..."

"ME163 flies much faster than it, doesn't it?" Qin Chuan asked.

"Yes, of course!" Conrad said: "The speed of 950 kilometers per hour is almost twice that of the B17, but..."

"That means it's entirely possible to catch up!" Qin Chuan interrupted Conrad.

"The question is how to chase it?" Conrad spread his hands in confusion: "The target is moving. We can't say to ME163, 'Hey, it's there, go up and crash it', or give it a picture to make it recognize……"

"You seem to have forgotten the TV guidance, Colonel!" This time it was Hannah who interrupted Conrad.

"No, no, I haven't forgotten this!" Conrad replied: "In fact, we have applied TV guidance to V1. But it still has the problem the major said: it is too fast and cannot accurately judge the distance in time. , it has already passed the target before the operator can react! In other words, the operator cannot control the detonation time, which is completely different from the V1 that attacks a fixed target..."

"That's not a problem, Colonel!" Qin Chuan replied: "In fact, the operator does not need to do this because we have a proximity fuze!"

Conrad couldn't help but half-open his mouth, then nodded slowly and said: "This may be possible. Combining the TV guidance and the proximity fuze, the operator only needs to keep an eye on his target and operate the ME163 to fly to the target... "

After a pause, Conrad continued: "Before we do this, we must solve another problem. The proximity fuse is extremely sensitive. We may trigger it when we adjust the attitude of the missile!"

Conrad is right.

The working principle of the proximity fuze is very simple, that is, it emits electromagnetic waves to detect the distance from the target. If the distance is continuously decreasing, it will not trigger. Once the distance becomes larger, it will detonate at that moment, thereby achieving the artillery shell closest to the target. The location automatically detonates.

This is no problem for artillery shells whose movement trajectory does not change much, but ME163 is different...

ME163 needs to constantly adjust its flight attitude during flight. During this adjustment process, the distance between the two may change from decreasing to increasing, thus triggering the proximity fuse prematurely.

"We can make some necessary calculations!" Hannah said: "For example... ME163 takes ninety seconds to climb to an altitude of 9,000 meters. I mean, if the target is at 9,000 meters, the proximity fuse is at the end. One thousand meters open!”

"That's right!" Conrad nodded in agreement: "In other words, the proximity fuze is locked at the beginning and then unlocked after entering high altitude. This will lead to a series of reductions in premature triggering of the fuze due to posture adjustment. mistake!"

Then Conrad added: "But it has a flaw. It may be interfered by enemy radio and lose its function!"

"Yes!" Qin Chuan agreed.

This shortcoming exists in V1 radio guidance and has not been solved, so it is just a transitional method that can solve the gap of being unable to deal with high-altitude targets in the short term.

"Then it's your problem, Colonel!" Qinchuan said to Conrad: "You are scientists, you have to find better ways to enable ME163 to adjust its attitude and track the target by itself, such as installing a micro radar or other Way!"