Chapter 930 Rolls-Royce Kamikaze

I don’t know if it was because the critical situation on the Pacific battlefield promoted the harmony of the Japanese navy and army. There was no unpleasant quarrel at the Japanese base camp meeting on October 10. Moreover, the navy and army also reached an agreement on two issues: launching "Operation Czech-1" as soon as possible and "strengthening Japan-Germany cooperation" (actually asking Germany for help).

On October 12 (Berlin time), Lieutenant General Hiroshi Oshima and General Kiyoshi Hasegawa, the leaders of the Japanese Navy and Army delegation in Germany, jointly paid a rare visit to the Chief of General Staff of the German Wehrmacht Hersmann.

"Your Excellency, Imperial Marshal, our invincible Imperial Japanese Army recently achieved another unprecedented victory in the Pacific battlefield, sinking 9 US aircraft carriers and 1 battleship; sinking and damaging at least 12 cruisers and destroyers; sinking various types of transport ships and landing ships. There were about 40 ships and smashed the US military’s offensive on Christmas Island..."

General Kiyoshi Hasegawa first boasted in English (he spoke English, Oshima spoke German, Hersmann could speak both, and there was a translator on site) - in fact, it was not a boast, measured by ordinary standards. The Japanese have been playing really well in the Pacific recently. He didn't lose any ships, but he sank dozens of American ships, large and small, including large aircraft carriers and battleships. If it were any other country, it would be difficult to bear such a huge loss.

But the United States is rich!

It is a wealthy country that can build dozens of aircraft carriers a year. The number of ships they lost in September and October is definitely not as many as the new ones entering service... Even if the number of aircraft carriers has increased, the real loss of the Americans is 6 escorts aircraft carrier and 1 fleet aircraft carrier. In September and October 1943, at least 10 escort carriers were in service, as well as 1 Independence-class and 1 Essex-class!

Therefore, the Japanese would definitely not be able to win the war if they exchanged a dozen aircraft for one ship.

"The Americans are attacking Dutch Harbor now, right?" Hersman saw Hasegawa Kiyoshi finished speaking, so he asked about the latest battle situation.

"Yes." Hasegawa Kiyoshi nodded and admitted. "However, it is currently just a large-scale air strike and there is no sign of landing... We have found no trace of the US landing fleet."

What this actually means is that the Japanese army now does not know where the main force of the U.S. 7th Fleet is - the I-166 submarine sent by the Japanese to track the U.S. fleet lost contact on October 10, and it is estimated that all its members were reincarnated.

The remnants of the Japanese Army and Navy aviation units on Amakonak Island and Unalaska Island also evacuated on the 11th, so it was impossible to send out long-range reconnaissance aircraft for search.

So most of the North Pacific is now a blind spot. No one knows where the U.S. 7th Fleet is? The U.S. break-up fleet that entered the North Pacific at the same time was nowhere to be seen.

Now the main force of the Japanese combined fleet is heading towards the central waters of the Aleutian Islands at full speed, hoping to prevent the two American fleets from joining forces. However, considering the fuel consumption of 15,000 tons per day, the combined fleet's current operations obviously cannot be sustained for long.

"The Americans have great strength," Kiyoshi Hasegawa changed the topic and said, "Although they suffered heavy setbacks, they can still maintain an offensive in the Pacific. If they want to break this offensive and force the United States to sue for peace, Japan and Germany We have to work together.”

cooperate? Are you asking for help?

Hersman had long known that the Pacific War would end up like this. This was a war between 6 million tons of oil and 260 million tons of oil! Americans would be foolish not to play the local tycoon card. And what can the rich and wealthy do? Fly together? Fighting a ship? Only if you can win can you win!

The only thing Japan can fight for is to die. Therefore, when the European version of the Lend-Lease Act was proposed at the beginning of the year, Hersman regarded assisting Japan with suicide weapons as a key project.

And after Japan rejected Hersman's "unreasonable request," Hersman did not give up his efforts to develop "artificial intelligence weapons." In April, Hersman instructed the Air Force Armament Bureau and the Naval Armament Bureau to issue a second round of development tenders for "artificial intelligence missiles" - because the V1-J human-operated missile had failed in previous "service tests" (although Germany It will not be equipped with V1-J missiles, but it still conducted service tests very seriously). There were two major accidents in a row, resulting in the loss of two Ju88 bombers and all crew members. Therefore, the entire project was deemed a failure, and after repeated considerations on the offensive, Hersman agreed to cancel the production contract for the V1-J manned missile using an unreliable liquid rocket engine and re-tender for manned missiles using jet engines.

In addition, Hersman also believes that after Japan has been consumed by the United States, it is likely that it will not be able to produce 1,500 outstanding pilots who can fly V1-J rocket missiles (this kind of missile is difficult to fly and requires Hanna. A pilot of Laich's level is required to fly it). Therefore, the Japanese now need "high-quality suicide missiles" that are more powerful, more reliable, easier and more flexible to operate and more comfortable.

In fact, the kamikaze tactics used by Japan in history were very unsuccessful, and they did not sink many valuable warships. According to later statistics, the Japanese kamikaze force dispatched approximately 1,298 aircraft, and the proportion of successful hits on US ships was only about 5%, and the sinking rate was even lower.

In Hersman's view, such a "kamikaze attack" was simply irresponsible suicide. With the production of American ships, if we use this exchange ratio to collide, the Japanese will definitely become extinct.

So Hessmann proposed the "high-quality suicide" tactic - this is an idea that is very consistent with German thinking!

"General Hasegawa, Lieutenant General Oshima." Hersman said, "I have always tried my best to promote Japan-Germany cooperation. And I also understand your difficulties, so I have people design some weapons that are very useful to you... …artificial intelligence weapons.”

Artificial intelligence weapons? Sounds awesome!

Lieutenant General Hiroshi Oshima said immediately: "What kind of weapon is it?"

"Missiles," Hessman said, "are weapons controlled by personnel and can kill the enemy together."

Such artificial intelligence?

Hasegawa Kiyoshi and Oshima Hiro looked at each other, both slightly disappointed. Japan obtained similar weapons in 1941 and copied them, but later gave them up due to the improvement of the battlefield situation. After the Battle of Panama, the Japanese Navy actually picked up the V3 man-operated missile system that Germany assisted Japan at that time for research.

However, the results of the research revealed that this human-operated missile has great limitations and is no longer suitable for today's battlefield. First of all, the "missile" (actually an airplane) with a push-back engine is difficult to control. Only the best pilots can control this missile.

Secondly, the design of the V3 human-operated missile has serious flaws (mainly caused by immature push-back engine technology), the flight accident rate is high, the engine is easy to catch fire (the heat dissipation of the push-back engine is a problem), and its speed is relatively Today's U.S. carrier-based fighter jets are not fast enough and have no self-defense capabilities, so they can easily be shot down.

If what Hessman brought out now was still a weapon like the V3 man-operated missile, the two Japanese devils would have no interest.

Hessman had already stood up from his seat and said to the two Japanese: "There are samples here in Zuosen. Let's go and take a look. What else do you want? Let's talk about it after reading this."

Samples of artificial intelligence weapons are placed in a building next to the General Staff Headquarters specially used to store and display various weapons - this is a venue shared by the Arms Bureau of the German Navy, Army and Air Force. There are many displays in the building The hall stores actual objects or models of various weapons used by the German army.

On the top floor of the building, in a very grand exhibition hall with granite floor tiles and floor-to-ceiling glass windows, there is now an impeccable suicide weapon with exquisite design and workmanship - made by the British The "Silver Death" human-guided missile jointly developed by Rolls-Royce and the German company Henschel!

In fluent Japanese, a middle-aged German Air Force lieutenant (reserve recruiter) who appeared to be a bit fat gave the two Japanese generals a comprehensive introduction to the performance of the "Silver Reaper" missile, which at first glance looked like a small aircraft. and features.

He said: "This is a high-quality suicide weapon that combines the most advanced aviation technology from Germany and the United Kingdom, uses top-notch craftsmanship, and is hand-made by technicians at the British Rolls-Royce factory..."

A suicide weapon handcrafted by Rolls-Royce technicians, and it’s also a limited edition. This is of course a luxury item in a suicide weapon that most people would be afraid of!

"Take a look, you two." The fat lieutenant was the manager of the Mercedes-Benz Motor Company in Japan before the war. He could speak Osaka dialect, and he looked like an original Japanese profiteer. A suicide missile as perfect as a Rolls-Royce car said: "The shell of this missile is made of the most advanced high-strength aluminum alloy, and the workmanship is very exquisite. The safety of passengers and missiles has also been fully taken into consideration, and the safety of the missile has been used in key parts." As a bulletproof steel plate, nickel-chromium-manganese rolled steel can withstand American 0.5-inch (12.7mm) aircraft machine gun fire..."

"Safety should also be considered for suicide weapons?" Oshima Hiro raised an objection at this time - even if he is a German fan, he cannot imagine the purpose of producing a suicide weapon that pays attention to safety.

"Of course, the purpose of Rolls-Royce and Henschel in manufacturing this suicide weapon is not to kill the pilot flying it, but to use it to destroy enemy warships. Therefore, before completing the purpose of destruction, Safety must be considered, so the three major indicators of safety, reliability and comfort are fully considered in the design and manufacture of 'Silver Death'..."

"Comfortable?" Oshima Hiro frowned. Do you want the special attack team to finish the last journey of their lives comfortably?

"Yes, please take a look, you two. This is the cockpit of the missile. It has a drop-shaped bulletproof glass cabin with a wide view. The cockpit also has a pressurization function and can adapt to extreme climate conditions of more than 10,000 meters. The internal space is also relatively spacious and long. There is no sense of industrial depression when riding there. In addition, there are hand-stitched leather seats, which are very comfortable and can relieve fatigue and tension. There is also a DSC tape recorder that allows pilots to listen to some relaxing music. …Of course, leather seats and a DSC recorder are optional.

In addition, the 'Silver Reaper' missile also uses a very safe W1B jet engine produced by Rolls-Royce, which can provide up to 500 kilograms of thrust, allowing the 'Silver Reaper' missile to reach a maximum level flight speed of 800 kilometers per hour. And the range is up to 200 kilometers. If installed on our German Me264 long-range bomber, it can completely rely on the guidance of the airborne FuG300 radar to achieve beyond visual range strikes. "