"Imperial Marshal, we are ready to force the United States to launch an attack on the Hawaiian Islands. Pen ~ Fun ~ Pavilion www.biquge.info"

Because of the need for key assistance from Germany, Hiroshi Oshima did not have the slightest intention of concealing it, and explained Japan's plan for a decisive battle.

Hiroshi Oshima said: "Since the strength of the US Navy is growing so rapidly that our empire cannot catch up with it under any circumstances, it is better to have a final decisive battle in the Pacific sooner rather than later." At present, our side still has a considerable advantage in the Pacific Ocean, with an advantage in the number of aircraft carriers and battleships in the fleet, and it also holds the Hawaiian Islands, posing a considerable threat to the west coast of the United States. If the U.S. Pacific Fleet can be forced to launch a general offensive on the Hawaiian Islands within 43 years, the odds of victory will be enormous. Therefore, our side is ready to carry out strategic bombing on the west coast of the United States! ”

"What? Strategic bombing of the West Coast of the United States? Hersman almost jumped out of his chair in surprise when he heard this, "You have long-range strategic bombers that can bomb the United States?" ”

"We don't have ......," Hiroshi Oshima laughed, "but your country must have one." Your country's Fokker 42 passenger plane can fly six or seven thousand kilometers, presumably the bomber developed on the basis of the Fokker 42 must have a range of 8,000 kilometers, right? If the Hawaiian Islands can be used as a starting point, it should pose a threat to cities on the west coast of the United States. ”

Hiroshi Oshima was not wrong, the Germans did have long-range strategic bombers with a maximum range of more than 8000 km! And there's more than one.

The Me264, jointly developed by Metzschmidt and Fokker, has a range of 8,800 kilometers and can take off from the Azores to bomb New York. The six-engined Ju390, developed by Juncker, was also a success, with a greater range than the Me264 and a maximum range of 9,700 km. The Heinkel company also developed a long-range bomber, the He274, with a maximum range of 7,000 km.

All three long-range bombers passed the final test flight in the first half of 1943, and the Me264 was the winner. The long-range bomber is already in mass production, produced by Metzschmidt, Fokker, Junker and Hinkel, and is currently producing 60 aircraft per month.

Hersmann did not hide Germany's achievements in the field of long-range bombers, telling Oshima: "We do have the Me264 bomber, a heavy bomber with a maximum range of more than 8,000 kilometers, but it is not cost-effective to use this aircraft to carry out strategic bombing on the continental United States." ”

When the Me264 was originally designed, Hersman was going to use it to bomb the United States. However, because the performance of the Ju288, a high-altitude and high-speed bomber, was too good, the Americans desperately developed a high-altitude high-speed interceptor (the Americans were not stupid, of course they knew that the Germans' high-altitude aircraft were very threatening), made a one-time Spitfire at sea, and made the P47 high-altitude version on land (the P47 uses a turbocharged engine, which already has good high-altitude performance, and the high-altitude version strengthens the high-altitude performance). Until now, the Ju288 has not stopped blocking the Atlantic Ocean for the time being (Kesselring's order), not to mention the Me264, a four-engine heavy bomber?

However, the temporary withdrawal of the Ju288 from the Atlantic does not mean that the aircraft is eliminated, but needs to be fully upgraded. The engine should be equipped with a laughing gas combustion system GM1, and the remote-controlled gliding bomb carried should also be upgraded to Hs293A/D series missiles.

Once the upgrade is complete, the Ju288 will be able to attack from a longer distance, and it will also be able to fly higher and faster.

However, the maximum speed of the Me264 is only 560 kilometers, and the ceiling can only reach 12,000 meters, and it cannot even fly 11,000 meters when carrying bombs, and the speed is even slower. If it is used to bomb the continental United States, it will definitely be hit by the high-altitude P47 with heavy losses.

If you want to reduce losses, you can only resort to night air strikes. However, the Americans have radio proximity fuses, as well as night fighters modified from the P-38. It is also dangerous to attack a large American city at night, unless you use high-altitude penetration means to drop bombs at an altitude of 10,000 meters.

However, flying so high and at night, it was difficult for the pilot to find the target, which was a waste of bombs and precious fuel.

So by the time the Me264 entered service, the plan for strategic bombing of the United States had already been canceled, and the bombing targets of such aircraft became the Ural industrial region of the USSR. As a result, it is not the ultra-long-range version of the Me264 that is being produced now, but the heavy-duty version - the fuel tank is reduced and the bomb bay is enlarged. It can carry 10 tons of bombs at a time to bomb targets at a distance of 1,500 kilometers.

"Your Excellency the Imperial Marshal," Hiroshi Oshima said with a smile, "we know that it is not cost-effective to use long-range bombers to attack the continental United States, but our goal is not to force the United States to sue for peace with strategic bombing, but to force the American Pacific Fleet to strike without adequate preparation." So the bombing does not have to think about how much actual damage it inflicted on the Americans, only about the political and psychological effects. ”

It is more than 3,000 kilometers from the Hawaiian Islands to the west coast of the United States, and it is more than 7,000 kilometers back and forth.

But if the U.S. Pacific Fleet can be forced out to attack Hawaii, it will be a different story...... But can Americans really be fooled?

"Well, we can provide a batch of Me264." Hersman thought about it for a while, but agreed to help. However, he did not want to send Luftwaffe personnel to the Hawaiian Islands - Germany was now short of pilots rather than aircraft, so he was willing to provide Me264 long-range bombers.

Although the range of this bomber is very large, it can also fly to an altitude of 12,000 meters, but its technological advancement is far inferior to that of the Ju288. Because it is only high-altitude, not high-speed.

The engine used is not a 24-cylinder liquid-cooled type, but an 18-cylinder air-cooled BMW 802 type, and the Japanese have long had the same technology, so there is no problem of technology leakage. As for the turbocharger used to improve the high-altitude performance of the BMW 802, it is not a "non-sale" technology, and it has long been exported to Japan. However, Japan's superalloy technology is not good (superalloy is a restricted technology), and it has not been copied until now.

"In addition, we also hope that your country can launch an attack on Newfoundland when the decisive battle for the Hawaiian Islands begins!"

Hiroshi Oshima then made another request that surprised Hirschman greatly.

"Attacking Newfoundland?" Hersman shook his head repeatedly, "Ambassador Oshima, do you know how many planes and shore artillery the Americans have deployed in Newfoundland?" ”

If you look at a map of the world, you can see that Newfoundland is the springboard from Europe to North America. It is only 3000 kilometers from the west coast of the island of Ireland, 2600 kilometers from the west coast of Iceland, and even within the combat radius of Ju288.

In those days when Germany controlled the Atlantic sea, the Americans were constantly strengthening the defense of Newfoundland. A large number of shore artillery guns have been deployed at several sites suitable for landing, and at least 1,000 shore-based aircraft have been deployed on the island.

It is well known that shore-based aircraft can put more weight on combat performance because they have better take-off and landing conditions (in this sense, catapults are also combat effectiveness), so the combat effectiveness of shore-based aircraft is usually stronger than carrier-based aircraft with a similar technical level.

Moreover, the main shore-based fighters of the United States, the P51 and P47 (excluding the high-altitude interception type), have very strong ground-to-sea attack capabilities, and they can be used as dive bombers when they are hung with bombs, so they pose a great threat to the enemy fleet that enters their combat radius.

"It's just a feint." Hiroshi Oshima smiled, "And we expect that the decisive battle for the Hawaiian Islands should begin after the autumn equinox, when the waters near Newfoundland will have short days and long nights, which should be able to cover the fleet's approach." ”

But after the autumnal equinox, there are still high sea conditions! Hersman said that the ground troops in the cabin of the ship could still fight after crossing the North Atlantic after the autumnal equinox?

"Okay," Hersman stopped talking nonsense to Hiroshi Oshima, "let's do our best...... As for the Me264, we currently have 84 aircraft in stock, which can be given to you, the payment method and price can be negotiated slowly, you can send someone to pick up the plane first, and by the way receive training to drive the Me264. ”

……

Tokyo, Japan.

When Imperial Japanese Prime Minister Hideki Tojo received a telegram from Hiroshi Oshima, he had just had a close contact with the "Asian Molotov" and promised to ensure that the Soviet Union's North Pacific shipping routes would not be violated...... This was in retaliation for the refusal of Belarus to cede the island of North Birch (Sakhalin) and the rejection of the undetermined status of the Far East.

"Your Excellency the Prime Minister, the Germans promised to provide 84 long-range bombers with a range of more than 8000 km!"

It was not Foreign Minister Shigemitsu Aoi who reported to Hideki Tojo, but the Chief of Staff of the Army Headquarters, Motomoto Sugiyama. Because the acquisition of ultra-long-range bombers from Germany was an order from the War Ministry to Oshima, not an order from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

"Only 84?" Hideki Tojo frowned deeply, "That's too little." ”

Sugiyama shook his head and said: "Germany does not seem to have plans for strategic bombing against the United States, so they do not mass-produce long-range bombers, and 84 is already the largest number that can be delivered." ”

"But can 84 bomb the Americans?" Hideki Tojo asked.

Sugiyama Mototo smiled and said, "Then it depends on what kind of bomb is used!" ”

Hideki Tojo nodded and changed the subject: "In that case, let's send someone to Germany to pick up the airport...... The sooner you get the planes, you can also start the final battle plan of the Japanese Empire earlier! (To be continued.) )