Now the bulk of the airframe order is obviously won by Wolf (the rest of the companies can be licensed to produce), but the engine order is obviously unusually eye-catching.

"Dear Führer, although the follow-up development of the Bf-109 series has encountered some bottlenecks, our company is not inactive, can we consider placing an order after looking at our latest design?" Dr. Messerschmidt interjected in a flat, but unwilling, tone.

"Of course, Doctor, this is just a plan, things are not finalized yet, you are completely free to say what you want."

"The first is our refinement and enhancement of the Bf-219 program."

After several rounds of front-line flight tests and wind tunnel verification, Messerschmitt developed the facelift of the Zero fighter into the Bf-219V7, which has little change from the original model except for the wingspan and length, but the optimized maximum speed has been increased to 629 km/h (the carrier-based aircraft is only 615/kmh because of the more equipment and heavier weight). Although it is not comparable to the current maximum speed of 670 kilometers per hour of the Bf-109G series, the short-leg disease has been cured, and the range without auxiliary fuel tanks properly exceeds 1500 kilometers. The Günther-Lal Blitzkrieg over the Don River was a practical endorsement of the new model, and he fully exploited the flexibility and durability of this aircraft, and all the top pilots who had flown the test flight adhered to the same point of view, in the current Eastern Front, there was no Soviet aircraft to match the low-altitude dogfights below 3,500 meters, including the latest La-5. The naval aviation, represented by Richthofen, also considered the Bf-219 to be worth far more than the Bf-109T, and if the maximum speed could be a little faster, it would be almost a perfect carrier-based fighter.

BMW also saw the potential of this aircraft. A series of advanced modifications have been carried out for this type of engine: including changing the carburetor to in-cylinder direct injection, and considering the addition of supercharging - although the technology of German turbocharging has not passed, the supercharging is very stable. They optimistically expect the new engine to increase its horsepower to 1,700 horsepower without increasing its weight by more than 100 kilograms, and it is expected that the speed will easily exceed 670 kilometers per hour (about 660 kilometers per hour for carrier-based aircraft).

In the current situation, the tactical guiding ideology of the Air Force has also begun to change: it is ready to carry out layered operations, considering that the combat and escort tasks at medium and low altitudes below 4,500 meters will be completely entrusted to the Bf-219, and the interception, assault and BZ tactics above 4,500 meters will be entrusted to the Fw-190. The biggest victim of this new strategy was the Bf-109 - the Bf-109, which seemed to be well-balanced in all aspects and capable of doing anything, suddenly lost the market, and its short legs were even more exposed, although Dr. Messerschmidt was introducing the characteristics of the Bf-219. But his face has not been very good-looking.

Prior to this meeting, the Messerschmitt company had specially arranged the Bf-109H program with outstanding high-altitude performance in response to the threat of British and American heavy bombers, but the Fw-190D program was in the forefront. The Bf-109H could not compete with Dr. Tanker's new design, either in terms of data or development time, so the high-altitude modification was completely reimbursed before it could get off the drawing board.

However, Dr. Messerschmidt did not completely give up resistance, saying: "This time the aircraft was produced using Japanese technology. We have also researched and validated a new airframe material using 50 Arashi Metal, which has an added nickel and magnesium content compared to the Empire's commonly used aerospace dura aluminum. Its advantages and disadvantages are very prominent, it has higher strength under the premise of the same weight, but it is more prone to fire. I tried to use this feature to re-produce the Bf-109 and got a completely new modification. ”

He quickly came up with a newly modified Bf-109I, which reduced the overall weight by more than 240 kg compared to the G series, and then increased the fuel tank to the scale of 700L, and made a lot of appearance adjustments through wind tunnel experiments, even the size of the rivets were adjusted. However, the weight reduction measures taken by the doctor are different from the Japanese way of thinking, because they are not shackled by the power of the engine. He did not simply use perforation to reduce weight, but put a lot of effort into the refinement and strengthening of the support structure, and the overall structural strength still retained the original level.

Hoffman asked: "Since this new metal is useful, and the formula was transferred by the Empire to the Japanese side and improved by it, why don't we use it ourselves." ”

Speer smiled bitterly: "It's not that we don't want to use it, the biggest key is that the empire lacks nickel resources, so we didn't use nickel in the aluminum alloy we used to make aircraft, and the rest of the nickel resources were concentrated on tank armor and warship armor." ”

"I see." All present expressed their understanding.

Hoffman smiled: "Then it shouldn't be a problem now, right?" After nickel mining in Finland, we will have enough nickel resources. ”

In the last round of resource development plan, Hoffmann revealed the Kotarati nickel belt in Finland to Speer, and reached an agreement with the Finnish government that Germany would fully invest in mining machinery and arrange enough Polish labor for mining, and the Finns would be responsible for the day-to-day management, and the results would be half of the results, and Germany could buy the rest from Finland at a 20% discount from the market price.

"Absolutely, but the mine will not be mass-produced until June next year." Speer thought for a moment and said, "The Japanese will give us 100 tons of nickel, which can produce about 8,000 tons of new metal alloys, whether it can be considered as a body material - at least Heinkel's He-218 must be made of this material." ”

"Yes." Hoffman clapped on the spot, "This metal can be used in all new aircraft, including Dr. Tank's model." ”

"And what about the Bf-109I series?"

Although the I logo is hung, except that it still resembles the Bf-109 in appearance, it is almost a redesigned aircraft, and the main supports, components, and even the rivets are specially made slim versions (with the same strength and weight reduction), Dr. Messerschmidt has no bottom in his heart.

Hoffman fell into deep thought: the current position of the Bf-109 is very awkward, because the tactical use has undergone a fundamental change, the positioning of this meritorious aircraft developed in the 30s has been shaken, its high-altitude capabilities are not as good as the Fw-190 series, and the low-altitude capabilities are not as good as the Bf-219 series, although it seems that all the duties such as volleying, escorting, and low-altitude dogfights can be assumed, but obviously none of them are the most top-notch, the only advantage is that the technology is mature, the production man-hours are low, and the pilots are more proficient in operation, Of course, after the doctor's magic change, the new model can effectively play its strengths, but this is almost equal to a new design, molds, production lines, and special equipment almost have to be updated, and the advantages of low production hours and costs immediately do not exist. However, think about it from another angle, in terms of technical indicators, Bf-109 is still in the advanced ranks, and it can be exported on a large scale, including Italy, Hungary, Romania and other countries, especially Italian aircraft are not good now, and good aircraft are urgently needed for air defense.

In Speer's eyes, this is a difficult plan to choose, it is a complete dilemma: continue to produce BF-109 according to the original specifications, then the high altitude is not as good as the Fw-190, the low altitude is not as good as the Bf-219, but the leg is still the shortest, of course, the cost and man-hours are the most efficient, if the production of the I series, although the performance and range have been optimized, but all kinds of accessories except the engine and even including rivets have to be re-produced, and so on this level of man-hours and then down, it is impossible not to have 1-2 years. He pondered for a long time, and finally cast his inquiring gaze on Hoffman, Mercedes-Benz was very nervous, which was closely related to them - 2 less Bf-109 planes meant 3 less engines.

"Continue to reduce the order for Bf-109, while freezing the subsequent modification of the model, the overall design is maintained on the G model, and the production of about 3,000 units can be considered in 1943, and the reduced number will be transferred to the Bf-219." "We need better aircraft, but our allies are still using inferior products, and their air forces are not large, and they can't have a massive, single-purpose air force like we do, and we can promote this aircraft to them, and the Italians, Romanians, Hungarians, Finns will be more than happy to accept it, and because the production costs are lower, we can exchange them for other more valuable supplies for the war effort." ”

Dr. Messerschmidt felt a desolation in his heart, the Bf-109 series was actually reduced to the point of relying on the advantage of low production cost to promote to neighboring countries, but Hoffman obviously didn't want to disappoint Dr. too much, and then comforted him: "Although the hope of the I series becoming the army's new generation of main fighters is relatively slim, I think there are still advantages in the field of carrier-based aircraft, in case BWM does not succeed in the transformation of the Bf-219 engine, the I series can be immediately topped, At the same time, the finalization of the Me-262 will be accelerated - this is the future of German fighters. ”

As soon as Hoffman talked about jets, the doctor's face looked much better, and he patted his chest and promised: "At the latest, our production jets can be delivered to the Air Force no later than March." ”

It didn't matter who Messerschmidt sold to, it was produced anyway, and after the order was changed from Bf-109 to Bf-219, the company's interests could still be guaranteed, but this made Mercedes-Benz anxious, although they pulled back a game on the new dive bomber He-218 series, if the Bf-109 order was reduced, their engine production would be in trouble.

Hoffman seemed to see their thoughts and comforted: "Don't worry, according to the plan, we will deliver 1,000-2,000 aero engines to Japan, and the Japanese may continue to order, so the DB601 series can be exported if it is not used in China." (To be continued.) )