Chapter 92: Spreading Wings to Russia
At about five in the morning, Ludwig von Hersmann sat in a newly manufactured Junkers F13 light passenger plane, waiting for takeoff while reading a letter from Chloe in Roermond, the Netherlands. Chloe became pregnant in February 1920, so she stayed in the stable and affluent Netherlands, where her mother Elizabeth and Chloe's sister Margaret took care of her. In the letter, Chloe told Hersmann about the feeling of the baby squirming in her belly, and predicted that the baby in her belly was a boy. Looking at the letter, a feeling of happiness and satisfaction lingered in his heart.
Sitting in this corrugated aluminum skinned small plane with Hersmann were Anthony Fokker, who would soon become Hersmann's brother-in-law, Kurt Student of the General Staff Flight Office, and Paulus, Hersmann's secretary. Fokker, Student and Hersmann are now members of the Aviation Committee, and this time they will go to the Soviet Union with Hersmann for inspection.
Two people in leather jackets got into the cabin. One of them was Erhard Milch, who was the same age as Hersman. Historically, Hitler's Jewish marshal was a bit short and fat, with a round face that always had a friendly smile, not much like an officer.
He was originally an artilleryman, became a pilot during the war, and retired with the rank of captain. Now he has founded a small airline "Lloyd Transport". It specializes in air express business between Danzig-Riga-Tallinn. The small plane Hersman is riding now belongs to Lloyd Transport, and Erhard Milch himself is the pilot.
The other person is an old man in his early sixties with a very serious face. He sat in the co-pilot seat, then turned around and nodded to Hersman, "Lieutenant Colonel, welcome to our Junkers plane. I guarantee it is the most comfortable plane you have ever taken."
This old man is also a member of the Aviation Committee and the founder of Junkers Aircraft Company, Hugo Junkers.
"Mr. Junkers," Hirschman didn't think this small plane was the best plane he had ever ridden in his two lives, but he still complimented him, "This is indeed a groundbreaking product, an all-metal, non-bracket, non-strut single-wing cantilevered aircraft. It will become an imitation for aircraft manufacturers all over the world, and will also become a reference for military aircraft in future wars."
At this time, the engine of the plane began to roar, and then the propeller began to turn.
"Let's fly! Gentlemen, have a nice trip!" Elhard Milch shouted at the top of his voice, and then Hirsch felt the plane began to slide, and soon it swayed into the sky.
The cabin was poorly sealed, so it was very noisy. If you want to talk inside, you can only shout at the top of your voice.
"Mr. Junkers, can the Junker F13 be converted into a bomber? If it is possible, the Bolsheviks will buy at least 50. In addition, the CL-1 ground support attack aircraft is also needed by the Bolsheviks, and there is a demand for at least 100."
Hersman took Junkers, Fokker and Student to the Soviet Union, naturally wanting to sell aircraft to the Red Army. The Red Army was about to win the civil war. After the White Guards' adventure suffered a disastrous defeat, the Red Army took the opportunity to counterattack and recaptured Donetsk, Russia's heavy industrial base, a few days ago.
Although the coal mines and steel mills there have long been ruined by the war, the population there is the largest among the territories controlled by the White Russians. Once the Donetsk Basin is lost, the situation of the "Cossack Queen" will be quite bad. At this critical moment, Britain and France, who should have supported Olga, retreated and withdrew their troops from the Black Sea coast.
But at the same time, the Japanese in the Far East were unwilling to give up, and they invested as many as 70,000 to 80,000 troops. In April, it was proposed to Empress Olga of Crimea to go to Vladivostok to establish a government and continue to fight against the Soviet Union. However, it was no longer a struggle for the central power of Russia, but a war of division and anti-division.
The short-lived peace between the Soviet Union and Poland also came to an end as the White Russians were doomed. In early April, the Red Army simultaneously surrounded Kiev from two directions - one way from Belarus to the south, and one way from Cherkassy south of Kiev across the Dnieper River, completing the siege of Kiev.
Unlike the situation in another time and space, Poland had obtained Kiev for several months and supported the Ukrainian Autonomous State Government headed by Petliura, formally incorporating the Ukrainian Autonomous State into the Polish Federation. Therefore, Kiev was regarded as an important stronghold by the Polish army. Not only did it build a large number of fortifications, but it also stationed heavy troops (including the Ukrainian Defense Forces) and stockpiled food and ammunition.
Therefore, Kiev was not abandoned by the Polish army. Since April, the Soviet and Polish sides have launched a series of battles for Kiev. In this situation, Hessman thought that he could sell some more advanced aircraft to the Soviet Union. Both the Soviet Red Army and the Polish Army had air forces. While the ground forces were fighting, there was also fierce fighting in the sky.
"F13 converted to bombing, and CL-1 was also produced... The people of the Arms Control Committee were watching." Junkers shook his head. Although he was old, he started his business relatively late. His factory opened at the end of World War I. Therefore, he was not included in the key protection list of the Industrial Promotion Committee, and did not get the opportunity to open a branch factory in the Baltic.
"We can let FK-BF consortium do OEM," Hessman had a solution long ago. "Junkers is responsible for designing the bomber version of F13, and Junkers will also do the modification of CL-1. The test can be carried out at FK-BF's R&D center. It is open to all aircraft manufacturers in Germany, and only a small rent is required."
"OEM?" Junkers seemed to have heard this word for the first time.
Anthony Fokker took over the question and explained: "It means that we FK-BF will manufacture according to Junkers' design drawings and requirements, and the products will be labeled with Junkers and sold by Junkers. FK-BF will only earn a small amount of OEM fees."
This business model was of course brought by Hessman from later generations. The purpose is to allow every German aircraft manufacturer to maintain the design capabilities of military aircraft as much as possible - now most German aircraft manufacturers are turning to civilian use, and some will even temporarily withdraw from the field of aircraft manufacturing. The military aircraft design capabilities that these companies originally had will gradually be lost, and finally they will not be able to keep up with the times.
And it is obviously unrealistic to ask all aircraft manufacturers to open branches in Baltic. After all, when the German military itself will not buy military aircraft, German aircraft manufacturers will not get too many military orders. So it is a waste to open many branches in the Baltic. FK-BF is enough.
Therefore, Hersman came up with a model of multiple designs and one OEM. The production and manufacturing capabilities of each company are preserved by civil aircraft, and the military aircraft design is preserved by FK-BF's OEM.
"In addition, we also have to prepare to export aircraft production lines to the Russians." Hersman is a military fan, so he naturally knows how the arms dealers of the United States and Russia in later generations made money. "We can sell the aircraft first, then the production line, and engage in cooperative development at the same time. The aircraft may make less money, but the production line and cooperative development will definitely be very profitable."
"But in this way, the Bolsheviks will master the ability to design and produce aircraft." Junkers said, "Maybe they will become our competitors!"
"But we will also grow stronger because of the Russian market, and continue to maintain our leading edge over Britain, the United States and France (in fact, we don't have much lead over Britain and France)." Hersman said carefully, "And this model of selling fighters can be promoted to other countries after the success of the Soviet Union. Mr. Junkers, you know that the difficulty of aircraft assembly is not very high. Many underdeveloped industrial countries can do it, and Germany can continue to make huge profits by exporting parts or supporting factories to them."
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