The Rise of the Third Reich

July 10, 1941, 2 p.m.

Sea of ​​Japan, 50 nautical miles offshore, "Chicheng" aircraft carrier.

Combined Fleet Aviation Staff Minoru Genda raised his head and glanced at the "eight-spoke sun flag" flying on the top of the ship island. This is a naval admiral's flag and belongs to Combined Fleet Commander Yamamoto Isoroku. The raising of the admiral's flag on the "Akagi" aircraft carrier means that Commander Yamamoto himself is now on the "Amako".

Commander Yamamoto's boarding of the ship this time was not an ordinary inspection, but for an important matter related to the course of the future war. He came for the Japanese Navy's latest cutting edge, the "Comet" carrier-based dive bomber.

At this time, the flight deck of the "Chicheng" was already busy. After the two "Comet" aircraft with overlapping wings were slowly lifted onto the deck by the elevator, the deck maintenance staff immediately pushed them to the take-off assembly point at the stern of the ship. Then the 500 kilogram training bombs that had been prepared were slowly stuffed into the bomb bay in the belly of the aircraft on a cart.

Genda Minoru rushed over and arrived at one of the "Comet" aircraft. He loudly asked the "Chicheng" aircraft carrier flight captain Mizuo Fuchida, Lieutenant Commander Mitsuo Fuchida, who had just climbed into the cabin: "Fuchida-kun, are you sure?"

Since Germany provided a batch of DB601E liquid-cooled engines to Japan through Sweden, the production speed of the "Comet" carrier-based dive bomber was significantly accelerated. Now it has reached 15-20 aircraft per month, which is basically mass production.

According to the earlier ideas of Yamamoto Isoroku and Kuroshima Kameto, before December 1941, which is the eve of the war between the United States and Japan, all Type 99s on all six fleet aircraft carriers of the Combined Fleet will be replaced with larger bomb loads. The "Comet" type is also faster.

But when the aircraft carriers of the Combined Fleet began to receive the "Comet" dive bombers, a very troublesome problem arose - the "Comet" carrier-based dive bombers were equipped with liquid-cooled ones with less resistance due to their excessive pursuit of high speed. The engine, which caused the "Comet" aircraft to fly too fast when landing on the ship, could easily fall onto the deck. After officially starting to equip the aircraft carrier, four aircraft crashed within a month, killing three crew members.

Considering that there are not many "Comets" on board the four fleet aircraft carriers (two more will not be completed until September), losing four aircraft in one month is really not a small number. That's why Yamamoto Isoroku personally boarded the "Chicheng" aircraft carrier to inspect the situation.

"Genda-kun, don't worry, I won't fall to death on the deck of the Akasei!" Lieutenant Colonel Mitsuo Fuchida replied with a laugh. He graduated from the 52nd class of the Marine Corps, and he and Minoru Genda are classmates. They are both "veterans" who have been flying for 16 or 17 years. Although the "Comet" aircraft is difficult to control, it can still be handled by the experienced Fuchida.

The pilot who piloted the other "Comet" was Major Takashige Egusa, who graduated from the 56th class of the Navy. He is also a "veteran" with more than 10 years of flying experience. In terms of flight time and driving skills, Hirschmann's son Rudolf is a "rookie" compared with them.

But how many such elite pilots are there who came from the Naval War School (the Japanese Navy only recruits more than a hundred cadets a year, and even fewer of them become pilots)? Just because they can fly the "Comet" does not mean that ordinary French carrier-based aircraft pilots can fly such a difficult aircraft. However, pilots like Fuchida and Egusa can fly, which at least proves that it is possible for the "Comet" aircraft to fly on the aircraft carrier.

After explaining to his old classmates, Genda Minoru quickly left the take-off assembly point. At the same time, the flight commander on the deck waved the command flag in his hand vigorously.

The engines of the two "Comet" aircraft began to roar wildly, and then the huge dive bomber flew across the deck. About ten meters away from the bow of the ship, the wheels left the deck, and the aircraft turned to the left and then circled. Fly high into the sky.

General Yamamoto Fifty-sixth stood on the tall bridge of the "Akagi" and witnessed the takeoff of the "Comet" aircraft, but his frown still did not open.

"Commander, the bomb load and speed of this 'Comet' aircraft are very ideal, far exceeding that of the Type 99. The problem of landing performance can always be overcome." Commander of the First Air Fleet Chuichi Nagumo Will whispered, standing behind the mountain itself.

"But we don't have much time left. The Imperial Council has just adopted a new national policy and is determined to go to war with the United States." Yamamoto Isoroku shook his head slightly, looking worried.

Isoroku Yamamoto is such a person with very contradictory behaviors and ideas. On the one hand, he is opposed to war with the United States. He has served as a naval attache in the United States and knows how strong the national power of the United States is. If the United States' industrial strength and resources can be rated 100 points, Japan can only be rated 1 point. But knowing that he could not defeat the United States, Yamamoto Isoroku formulated a very risky sneak attack plan, hoping to use a bold sneak attack to give Japan a huge advantage in the early stages of the war.

In order to ensure the success of the sneak attack, Yamamoto Isoroku spared no effort to enhance the attack power of the Japanese Navy's carrier-based aircraft units, hoping to obtain carrier-based aircraft with more powerful performance. And it has put forward extremely high design requirements for new aircraft models to Japanese aircraft manufacturers. The "Comet" carrier-based dive bomber is the first "new model" developed to replace the existing Type 99 carrier-based dive bomber.

"Commander, I heard that the Germans are planning to change the Comet's liquid-cooled engine to an air-cooled engine to improve the Comet's landing performance." Major General Onishi Takijiro spoke.

Rear Admiral Nishi Takishiro, chief of staff of the 11th Marine Air Force, was Yamamoto's confidant and was now involved in formulating the plan to attack Pearl Harbor. Today, I went with Yamamoto to watch the "Comet" aircraft take off and land on the aircraft carrier and dive to drop bombs.

"It's too late." Yamamoto Isoroku shook his head, "Replacing the air-cooled engine will change the aerodynamic shape of the aircraft. It will require a blow tunnel and re-arrange the test flight. It will take at least 6 months, and then mass production will be arranged. There is no 10- The combined fleet can’t receive the goods for 12 months, how can we have so much time?”

Because the nose of an aircraft equipped with an air-cooled engine is different from that of an aircraft equipped with a liquid-cooled engine, if you want to change it, it will be a major change. You must go to a wind tunnel and test flight. If it can be completed in 6 months, it is relatively fast.

In addition, after the modification, the model will almost be a new aircraft. To arrange mass production, there must be a process of ramping up production capacity. Changes are starting now, and it is a relatively optimistic estimate that the new model will reach production in 10-12 months.

Yamamoto Isoroku paused and then said: "If the 'Comet' can be used, we will use it as much as possible. Let the Germans do the replacement of air-cooled engines. If the Indian Ocean communication line can be opened, it can be used in 10 countries We will obtain ready-made aircraft models from the Germans in the next month. As for our research and development efforts, we should focus on the aircraft of '14 Test Ship Attack', '15 Test Ship Attack', '16 Test Ship Attack' and '17 Test Ship Battle'. "

14 Test Ship Attack was the later "Tianshan" carrier-based attack aircraft. 15 The water test battle was the later "Strong Wind" water fighter. The 16th test ship attack is the Meteor carrier-based torpedo bomber - a high-performance carrier-based aircraft that can simultaneously complete dive bombing, level bombing and torpedo bombing missions. The 17th Test Ship Battle was a follow-up model of the Zero carrier-based fighter, which was later named "Gale".

Since the Fokker Zero, the German model of the Zero fighter, has shown its prowess on the European battlefield, the Japanese military has greatly increased its confidence in the domestic aviation industry and hopes to develop several advanced models that are far ahead of its opponents to make up for the increase in national strength. shortcomings.

"Commander, the Comet is about to drop a bomb!"

At this time, the immortal staff officer Kuroshima Kameto, who had been paying attention to the "Comet" aircraft, suddenly shouted. The senior generals in the command tower stopped talking and raised their telescopes to start watching.

The "Comet" aircraft not only lands quickly on the ship, but also soars very fast in the sky. The maximum speed can reach 580 kilometers per hour, and it can almost be used as a fighter jet. The speed of level flight can reach 580 kilometers per hour, and the dive is of course even faster. It falls from the sky like lightning and hits two huge inflatable targets on the sea. One of the "Comets" that dropped the bomb first dropped the training bomb on the sea less than 10 meters away from the target, while the other one dropped the bomb more accurately and directly hit the target.

Yamamoto Isoroku and Nagumo Chuichi both nodded with satisfaction. The "Comet" is very fast, the bomb delivery is very accurate, the bomb load is large, and its range is also greater than the Type 99. These four points are very important for a carrier-based dive bomber.

Fast speed means that it is not easy to be shot down and can fly from one's own aircraft carrier to the enemy's aircraft carrier faster. Accurate bomb delivery and large bomb load mean that the "Comet" is full of lethality. The long range allows the "Comet" aircraft to take off from a place farther away from the enemy, thereby placing our own aircraft carrier in a safer position.

The two aircraft that completed the bombing did not raise their altitude again. Instead, they circled in the air for a few times and landed carefully on the deck of the "Chicheng". The landing speed was indeed a bit fast, but as long as training is strengthened, it should be Still overcome difficulties.

"Very good," Isoroku Yamamoto put down the telescope and said with a smile to Chuichi Nagumo next to him, "If Mizuo Fuchida can do it, then other carrier-based aircraft pilots must also be able to do it through training. What is needed now is to strengthen Training... If that doesn't work, we can also gather pilots who can fly the Comet. We must at least ensure that there are 27 Comet aircraft on each of the Akamai and Kaga. This way, we will still be able to fight against the U.S. Pacific Fleet head-on. Victory is guaranteed.”