Canteen System Assistance Notes

So Polikarpov let Lu Xiaopeng and other Chinese comrades experience what "wartime Soviet speed" was.

After observing the R-2800 engine test in August 1941, Polikarpov quickly began his own revisions. With the assistance of the Computing Service Center, he incorporated some of his previous designs from the -187, enlarging the original TP fuselage. He also incorporated suggestions from Chinese comrades, replacing all Siberian wood in the structure with an all-metal construction combining a steel frame and duralumin skins. He also modified the engine nacelles to accommodate the larger Pratt & Whitney engines.

Afterwards, he sent the aircraft model to the Lockheed L18 of Northern Airlines and flew directly to the Soviet Union to the Institute of Fluid Mechanics to verify the aerodynamic structure of the aircraft. Because the wing shape had been determined earlier, and the scale model of the fuselage had been blown in low-speed and high-speed wind tunnels in China, and there was the original ITP aerodynamic data as a basis, the entire verification process was quickly compressed to two months: in October 1941, the new TTP fighter using R2800 had a complete blueprint.

Factory 51, which had already moved into Touhunhe, quickly dispatched a number of elite technicians, metalworkers and fitters to fly to Guanzhong Liyang Airport and began to direct the various types of workers of the Eighth Route Army already in place there, as well as art students from the sculpture department of the Lu Xun Academy of Fine Arts, to start building the first prototype entirely by hand.

Because the American aluminum processing equipment was right next door, and Fushi had excellent special steel smelting capabilities, under the leadership of a group of legendary skilled workers and the full cooperation of the Eighth Route Army's industrial system, the first unarmed ITP prototype, equipped only with necessary instrumentation, rolled off the production line in early December 2, 1942, a mere four and a half months!

Immediately afterwards, Alexi Kubishkin, the ace test pilot who was selected to go to China, jumped into the plane and started the engine.

"Forget it, what was the speed of the level flight just now?"

Polikarpov, covering his face, asked Lu Xiaopeng beside him, then turned to look at the new "TP" that was entering the landing pattern. According to his calculations, this

The aircraft has a strong structure and powerful horsepower, and can reach a speed of more than 550km/h at low altitude.

The maximum level flight speed (without dive) can dive at a speed of more than 70km/h without disintegrating, and it has strong speed maintenance/recovery capabilities.

However, these are just calculations based on drawings and empirical judgments. The actual situation still depends on the subsequent test flights of each prototype.

Ultimately, I decided to be cautiously optimistic.

For safety reasons, the engine output of the first test aircraft was limited to 1800 horsepower. However, it lacked weapons, a hydraulic afterburner system, or an exhaust gas turbocharger (it only had a single-stage mechanical supercharger), making it lighter than its combat-ready counterpart. Furthermore, Ning Province's average altitude is 1500 meters, not truly sea level. This means the aircraft's full performance would likely be somewhat different from its current state.

"Teacher Nikolay, the results are in. Level flight speed—the optical station reports 580 kilometers per hour, and the radar room reports 575 kilometers per hour. During the final climb, the speed must have exceeded 20 meters per second! Your estimate of 15 meters per second is definitely too conservative!"

Oh... that speed seems pretty good... As far as I know, the frontline air battles between China and the Soviet Union were mainly conducted at medium and low altitudes. Such a fast low-altitude speed and acceleration response can at least allow air warriors to have sufficient tactical freedom.

What's more, we still have 200 horsepower and hydraulic afterburner in reserve!

The ample horsepower allowed Polikarpov to finally regain a long-lost sense of security. None of the Nazi planes could fly that fast these days! Even less so, the Japanese fascists! "Lu, don't get too excited—this is just a prototype. We've only gone a third of the way on our 'Long March'!"

After that, the 23mm cannon and 12.7mm machine gun were installed, and the aircraft's flight quality at different altitudes was tested to explore the flight boundaries and correct any problems. Finally, combat testing, process reverse engineering, and production were organized.

The first TP "" on the horizon, which would later be named our TK-3" long-range escort fighter, was lowering its landing gear under the control of Alexi Kubishkin and slowly descending towards the runway. The Chinese comrades at the airport could no longer contain their excitement and curiosity. They ran out of the small bungalow of the control station and stood on the parking position to look at the beautiful aircraft.

Ah, that's great, Polikarpov thought. What a brilliant bunch of guys. They pooled their wisdom to create something so remarkable.

The Soviet Union will need it, and so will our Chinese comrades. In the future, this fighter jet, manufactured in China, will soar in the skies of Europe and Asia to fulfill its intended mission.

Chapter 572: The Demon is 0.114 feet tall

Kummersdorf testing ground, Brandenburg, Germany.

It is very close to Berlin and even closer to the clusters of German administrative, training, and scientific research forces, and there is a railway passing through it. Under such unique conditions, it became the largest weapons testing ground in Nazi Germany at the time, responsible for testing a large number of new weapons and equipment, and also for evaluating the weapons of hostile forces.

Today, Mr. Heinrich Knippkamp, ​​who had been on the front lines and at the Army weapons testing ground, also came here.

He's been sleeping much better lately, feeling more energetic during the day, and his dark circles have diminished considerably, no longer needing to rely on medication to maintain his energy. The reason for this is that his work-related problems have been largely resolved recently—with less work, better sleep, and better food, his health has naturally improved.

Look, the rapid loss of tanks and armored vehicles on the front lines is overwhelming: on the one hand, we have to reduce losses, on the other hand, we have to increase tank operational efficiency, and on the other hand, we have to find ways to increase production capacity. This kind of worry is really a headache.

And now, hey, the St. Valentine tank assembly plant near Steyr, Austria, also known as the "Nibelungen Arsenal", has officially started production! Although it can only provide tank parts for now, it will soon be able to produce Germany's hardworking warhorse, the "Improved Panzer IV" like producing sausages!

Mr. Knippkamp, ​​one of Germany's leading figures in tank and armored vehicle development, naturally knew these relatively confidential matters. He understood that this improved Panzer IV would feature significant changes compared to the E and F models currently in production. These included, but were not limited to, a complete rearrangement of the vehicle's front armor, a new turret to accommodate a long-barreled 75mm gun, adjustments to the interior layout, and a strengthened suspension. It could practically be described as a completely new chassis based on the Panzer IV.

To this end, the Nibelungen Arsenal will need an additional two to three months to design a dedicated production line. The Panzer IV tanks produced there will likely receive a separate designation. Hopefully, they'll be able to cope with the situation on the front lines.

Thinking back to the current situation, Mr. Knippkamp's mood became somewhat gloomy again.

Although the German offensive was fierce, the front's advance began to slow down significantly. And if we only look at the area he was responsible for, even though he had captured and destroyed countless Russian tanks, the front-line tank units still faced enormous pressure from tanks and anti-tank forces.

The flying "turtle fists" (for some reason, the front line always has such a strange nickname for this Russian weapon) have become commonplace. Now, the situation on the Russian side has changed again - they have installed a long-barreled anti-tank gun with extremely low recoil on various mobile chassis, and launched a crazy attack on the soldiers and tanks on the front line.

T-60s, BA armored vehicles, Komsomol tractors, even Gazkas... turreted or not, open-top or fully enclosed—it seemed as if any vehicle could carry this gun, not to mention the far more numerous towed versions. In combat, this thing often fired jet-type armor-piercing rounds, capable of penetrating the armor of Panzer III and Panzer IV tanks from the front and triggering ammunition detonation. Moreover, unlike 45mm anti-tank guns, the grenades it fired were quite powerful, and many German squads attempting to attack its positions were defeated by its grenades and grenade shells, suffering heavy casualties.

The German troops on the front line captured some of the guns and were surprised to find that this long-barreled artillery, including the towing carriage, weighed only 340 kilograms... It was so light, no wonder it could be stuffed everywhere.

So, today, Knippkamp saw the crew of a Type 38T tank stop and aim its Russian-made Type 82 gun at a target plate covered with the front armor of a T3A4. The crew jumped down from the half-open makeshift turret, and the gunner wrapped a modified gun rope around his hand and shouted:

“Fire—!”

Bang! A visible black shadow flew out from the smoke from the muzzle brake and struck the severed front hull of the T-34. In the explosion, sparks flew everywhere. The T-34, lacking additional armor, proved unable to withstand the power of the armor-piercing round and was successfully penetrated.

The wood chips behind the target burst into flames. After the 38T drove away, the staff on the side hurried over to put out the fire and check the penetration.

Knippkamp called the crew members together and asked them about their experience with the modified vehicle. They all said that although the trajectory was slightly curved, the 82mm large pipe was much more powerful than the 37mm small pipe. In particular, its light weight did not place excessive strain on the chassis and suspension, reducing the maintenance burden on the crew.

But it is not without disadvantages: the commander said that the 82mm shell is too big, much larger than the 37mm "Little Rose", and the 38T vehicle is small, so the ammunition carrying capacity of the entire vehicle cannot be increased, and its sustained combat capability is questionable; the gunner said that this Russian artillery does not have the ability to automatically eject the shell, and the high and low pressure gas generating cartridges at the tail of the ammunition need to be manually cleared, which is inconvenient to operate.

It seems that if this Russian gun is installed, the 38t can retain the turret without using a fixed fighting compartment... Since this gun is so lightweight, are there other platforms that can be installed? Would a half-track vehicle work? What about a tracked tractor?

Knippkamp began to think. He looked at the armored grenadiers and tank hunters who were practicing using the "turtle fist" to attack tanks. The individual recoilless rifles they used were already German-made versions, and it was said that they were shipped in batches by a railing factory after converting the production line.

As far as I know, the Army Equipment Bureau is still discussing whether to produce a German version of the Russian *B82mm high-low pressure gun. Some people actually think that the chamber pressure of this thing is too low to fire armor-piercing shells, and the effective range is only 1500 meters, which is too short. There is no need to waste resources on such a "shoddy Russian product."

But even at 1500 meters, the 37mm gun couldn't penetrate the Russian T-34. No, even at 10 meters, it probably wouldn't penetrate it... Giving armored vehicles that weren't originally capable of mounting large-caliber guns the ability to directly threaten the T-34 was the most valuable thing, according to Knippkamp.

But whether it is to manufacture its own high-pressure and low-pressure artillery, or to organize tank hunters using "imitation turtle fists", they are only remedial measures after all. Now, the German army really needs new tanks.

Feedback on the previously submitted proposals has begun to trickle in. The proposal to use tapered-bore artillery was rejected by the Führer; the proposal to equip existing artillery with new tungsten-cored armor-piercing rounds is making good progress, but resource constraints mean it won't be widely deployed; the longer 75mm/50mm guns are certainly useful, but the resulting cost increases are painful...

I'm wondering what's going on with the previous inquiries I've made to several major domestic arms companies about whether it's possible to install an 88mm gun on a tank chassis. They should have completed their prototypes, right?

Mr. Heinrich Knippkamp recalled a recent briefing he'd reviewed. Two massive, heavy vehicles quickly emerged in his mind's eye: estimated to weigh over 50 tons, powered by a 650-horsepower Maybach engine, protected by over 100 millimeters of armored steel, and equipped with retractable "charge armor," skirts, and grilles to intercept flying armor-piercing rounds.

It also used its own staggered road wheels to improve the performance of the suspension system.

kindness.....

Hopefully those big guys can teach the Russians a lesson.

Chapter 573: Intensive Meetings

January 1942, Showa Japan, Tokyo, next to the Prime Minister's Office, the Cabinet Office. In another future, this place would be called the Chief Cabinet Secretary's Office.

Today, a high-level meeting is being held: those attending include Hideki Tojo, who serves as Prime Minister and Army Minister, Kenji Doihara, the new Army Education Director-General, Shigenori Togo, who serves as Foreign Minister and Minister of Colonial Affairs, Shigetaro Shimada, Minister of the Navy, and Osami Nagano, Chief of the Naval General Staff.

There is also Sugiyama Hajime, who has just transferred back from military councilor to serve as Chief of Staff.

Normally, this meeting should be held at the Prime Minister's Office, the Navy Headquarters, or the Army Headquarters. Because a "joint headquarters meeting" involving the Navy, Army, and Prime Minister is a high-level and important matter, it must be held in a specific location. However, the Navy Headquarters had just been burned, and the fire department was spraying water while they worked to salvage archives and repair the damage. The Prime Minister's Office was covered in smoke and black, a truly unsightly sight.

After much deliberation, the Showa people had no choice but to move the meeting to the Cabinet Office, which had suffered less damage.

The Emperor does not attend this meeting, it is a small meeting, so it is different from the Imperial Conference where actual decisions are made and the Imperial Conference where formal dramas are performed. It is more of a place to discuss serious matters and is used to report to the Emperor - after the navy and the army have basically reached a consensus, they will report to the Emperor.

On December 20, 1949, the Imperial capital of Tokyo was suddenly attacked by five unidentified heavy bombers. The enemy dropped over 10 tons of gasoline incendiary bombs, which landed outside Sakurada Gate and south of the Imperial Palace, causing extensive damage...

Sugiyama Gen was holding a report and reading it with sweat on his forehead. The theme of today's meeting was naturally the Tokyo bombing a few days ago - so many key places were burned down by flames, so many people were injured, and there were so many reports of casualties. There had to be an explanation.

Over the past two weeks, the army, which bore the brunt of the attack, finally managed to produce a relatively complete report of the incident with remarkable efficiency under immense pressure from all sides. First, the key clues to determine the attacker's identity were revealed.

"Following the 'murder incident,' the Army immediately organized an investigative committee and conducted a multi-pronged investigation. However, due to the widespread chaos, it was difficult to obtain effective information...On December 25th, the abbot of the Buddhist temple on Jinfeng Mountain reported that on the morning of the 20th, monks sweeping the temple grounds had seen five large aircraft flying in a group from east to west...After that, the investigation made a breakthrough..."

In other words, the initial clue to this investigation came not from the Army's national air defense network, but from a few monks sweeping the floor. "Ahem," someone in the meeting room coughed, signaling Sugiyama to skip this part.

Sugiyama Moto's nickname, "Bian Suo Mei," describes him as someone who is adept at playing both sides. He quickly observed the expressions of the people around him, hoping to determine the current situation:

Army Minister and Prime Minister Tojo lowered his head, not only reading the report in front of him, but also examining his hand, which had been broken by a falling wooden beam during the bombing. He looked like Mount Sakurajima, waiting to erupt.

Kenji Doihara wore a smile, yet also a serious expression, two incompatible expressions juxtaposed beautifully against one another. Perhaps this fellow, primarily a spy with limited military experience, was experiencing a brain overload, unable to think clearly—these more pragmatic technical reports were perhaps too difficult for him.

Foreign Minister Togo gritted his teeth. He feigned composure, but his fists were clenched tightly, clearly indicating a deep sense of turmoil. After all, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had rained down a few explosive and incendiary bombs, leaving only ruins. Navy Minister Shimada leaned back in his chair, his eyes narrowed.

As for Nagano Osami, who was sitting in the corner, he kept his head down and said nothing, rubbing his thumbs back and forth, not knowing what he was planning.

"Okay, okay."

Sugiyama Gen swallowed his saliva and skipped this part.

"After a telegram inquiry, the North Korean Expeditionary Force reported that they had also seen five large aircraft flying in formation from east to west that morning. Because the soldiers who witnessed the sightings had not received special anti-aircraft training, they were unable to identify the aircraft types. At the time, the aircraft were flying from the mainland, so no alarm was triggered."

The direction of the enemy aircraft's attack has always been a mystery. Some said it was naked bombers, some said it was US military aircraft taking off from mainland China, and some even suspected that these enemy aircraft came from Clark in the Philippines. Now, there is finally a clue - connecting Jinfeng Mountain with North Korea, there probably is a direction.

"Therefore, we judge that the enemy aircraft came from the west, from the direction of the mainland."

Sugiyama Gen closed the report with a conclusion that was as good as nothing.

"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has summoned the Russian ambassador, who stated they were unaware of the situation. Russia and our country are not at war and have a peace agreement. At this point, Foreign Minister Shigenori Togo spoke up, 'It's unlikely he did this.'"

"Oh, yes,"

Sugiyama nodded repeatedly, "Marshal Aka-Shi Dalin, like Saigo, is a man with a big beard and a big belly. He will definitely abide by the alliance.

"Then it must be a plane from North China."

As soon as he finished speaking, everyone's gaze returned to Tojo Hideki, and Sugiyama breathed a sigh of relief. His topic was over—the bomb that hit Tokyo was likely launched from northern China. As for the origin of the plane, everyone present assumed it without a second thought: it must have been the damned American bastards!

You see, this is not an obvious thing. The Empire just went to war with the Americans and severely damaged the American Pacific Fleet in one fell swoop, and beat its troops on land and made them flee in panic.

In order to avenge his defeat, the Mi people who dared not confront the imperial army head-on used the shameless villain

With this in mind, they sent heavy bombers to bombard the capital of the Empire. The fact that the Eighth Route Army had four heavy bombers was obviously not in the minds of these people.

Of course, the North China Communist Party is not a good thing! They actually ignored the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Belt initiative and, as a yellow race, lent the airport to the American people.

Damn it too!

Several people present thought of this simultaneously, but remained silent. Now that the cause of the matter had been determined, they needed to come up with a plan—and coming up with a plan, well, wasn't an easy task.

"This incident is a disgrace to the empire!"

Tojo Hideki broke the silence, his saliva flying, setting the tone first. As if worried that the others hadn't heard, he said it again loudly, "The shame of the Imperial Nation!"

"It's a shame!" he stressed. "The culprits who committed such a crime must be severely punished!"

Tojo finished his speech and looked at the remaining four people, who were either frightened or shocked, and asked his first question: "What are your opinions, members of the Imperial Nation?" "That's right, we must severely punish the rice-producing and violent consumers!"

Foreign Minister Shigenori Togo spoke. From the meeting room, he could see the still-smoking rubble of the burned-out Ministry of Foreign Affairs. No wonder he was furious: "Since the outbreak of the Greater East Asia War, the American bullies have dared to ally with Britain and other powerful nations to cut off our country's supply of vital materials. The brutal Chinese have dared to disregard the great cause of Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Belt, stubbornly resisting our military's goodwill efforts and even lending their airport to the American bullies. They must be severely punished!"

Everyone echoed and agreed to this matter.

"So, how do we punish the violent rebels?"

The issue of severely punishing rice farmers was unanimously ignored for the time being. Although Tojo was the Minister of War, he was still the Prime Minister after all. He couldn't speak solely from the perspective of the Army. He had to consult everyone's opinions on everything.

The conference room fell silent again, and the lively atmosphere disappeared. After a while, when the topic came up, everyone fell silent again.

"The perpetrators of this crime are the rice farmers and the violent Chinese."

Shimada Shigetaro touched his chin and finally spoke. He said with a bit of relief:

"Land warfare is not our forte, and in a direct confrontation, the navy's vessels can only defend the coastline. But as long as the Empire continues to support the navy, the navy will inherit the might of the tiger, fight bravely, achieve greater success, and send the enemy's fleet to the bottom of the sea."

Simply put, the Navy's main goal is to fight against the US. As long as we give them more budget, we can defeat them completely - and don't bother us with things like fighting against the Chinese. Shimada is really not afraid. There is no problem with the Navy discussing this at this point in time - the Chinese battlefield has always been dominated by the Army, and the Navy is just a supporting role.

, the navy's main warships were all overseas at the time of the bombing and could not have participated in the early warning;

What's more, the Navy came this time with the momentum of the victory at Pearl Harbor, so its words carried more weight.

"Why didn't your navy's coastal patrol ships respond?"

Suo Fei only dared to think about this in his head, not out loud. Nagano, a naval officer, could have simply retorted, "Isn't national air defense the Army's responsibility?" and then attacked the Army for taking up so much of the annual budget and yet failing to even do this. He was probably already planning how to attack the Army for this very thing.

"It's true that the navy fleet rushed to Pearl Harbor, but what about the garrison troops stationed on the shore? Facing the air attack, the navy, who is known for being able to see the stars in the daytime, did not react at all.

answer..……"

But at this moment, Kenji Doihara suddenly muttered: The volume was just right, just in a state of "whispering", but just loud enough to be heard by others.

The degree to which people hear.

"Nonsense! Our naval officers and soldiers are trained to identify enemy ships and conduct torpedo and artillery engagements," Nagano Osami's voice jumped up as expected. "But you! You should have taken responsibility, but you were completely unprepared for the American air raid, allowing five enemy planes to successfully launch the attack, thus bringing injustice upon the Imperial Nation."

"Ah, in this situation, your navy can't escape blame either! Your new fighter planes cost the nation countless dollars, yet they were still crushed by the communist army!" "At this time, Kenji Doihara became active. "If the army hadn't been lucky enough to seize several planes, I'd probably still be in the dark, continuing to be deceived by the traitors of the navy!"

"Navy fighter planes are invincible on the ocean. When British and American fighter planes encounter Sea Eagles, they are all destroyed like rain." "Ridiculous! Are you going to turn a blind eye to this crushing defeat?"

"enough!"

Tojo suddenly shouted, halting the situation from spiraling out of control, then coughed again as if choking. He tried to cover his mouth with his hand, but realized his arm was in a sling and cast, so he gave up. "In this situation, the most important thing is to prevent this from happening again! The Americans and British, having succeeded in their first attack, will surely become greedy and launch repeated attacks. We must make changes to eliminate this possibility and answer to the Emperor." He was silent for a moment, then managed a sentence: "I have already gone to the palace to meet with the Emperor. His Majesty has ordered that the rebellious Chinese be punished. The Army will order the expeditionary force in China to dispatch as soon as possible to locate the airfields where the American bombers are stationed and destroy them."

This gesture would earn them some of the blame—but it also meant an increase in the Army's special war funds. The two Navy officers exchanged glances, and Nagano Osami immediately announced, "The Navy could station a carrier-based aircraft squadron in Tokyo Prefecture to assist with air defense. Furthermore, to counter the new American B-17 bomber, increased war funds would be needed to develop a new localized warfare system."

The Navy shouldn't even think about seizing the Army's airfield! Even as he thought this, Sugiyama glanced at the tense Tojo Hideki and quickly added, "National defense is the Army's responsibility—the Army also needs a special budget to develop dedicated interceptor fighters."

Cough cough!

Seeing the situation about to devolve into another round of sarcastic competition over the budget, Tojo Hideki had to cough a few more times to interrupt the proceedings. Alas, why did these meetings never continue? Could any decisions be made at this rate? Fortunately, when he had previously entered the palace, he had consulted with a senior official from the Imperial Household Ministry for advice—there were methods for dealing with situations like this.

He cleared his throat. "Although the Baozhi have grown stronger this year, their strength is still not enough to threaten the Empire. However, as yellow people, they are attempting to undermine the unity of the yellow race in the Empire, siding with the British, the Americans, and the beasts. They are not selfless and dedicated to the great cause of the Empire. Their behavior is evil and they will surely be punished by heaven!"

He paused,