Chapter 397 HS-129 (Plus 2)

Throughout the 1930s, there was still a great misconception about the use of the Air Force.

For example, in most opinions, it is more cost-effective to use ground troops to attack ground targets, because aircraft are too expensive and much more dangerous.

Therefore, in this era, most of the aircraft, although bombing, generally carry out strategic bombing from high altitudes, and the target has no ability to counterattack. And when high-value point targets need to be addressed, dive bombers are often the first choice.

The Spanish Civil War was a testing ground for new weapons. Germany brought its own weapons to Spain for testing. In addition to weapons, they also had their tactical ideas.

The Stuka bomber, which made its name in the Spanish Civil War, was a great threat to ground targets.

Moreover, in addition to dive bombing, there are new discoveries, such as the armed version of the Henschel Hs123 and the cannon-Henschel He112, which have also been verified, indicating that the aircraft is an efficient weapon even without bombs . It can swept ground targets, that is, a special ground attack aircraft!

The experience of the Spanish Civil War led the Luftwaffe to agree to develop aircraft in an offensive role, and eventually signed a contract to develop a new "attack aircraft".

And the final performance of this contract is now HS-129.

This is simply a cross-generational invention with far-reaching influence. It can be said that the special A-10 attack aircraft of the United States in later generations was completely inspired by the HS-129.

It's exciting enough to think about it. This special attack aircraft can shoot frantically at ultra-low altitudes of tens of meters. It can be equipped with large-caliber cannons, machine guns, and at most a few bombs as ingredients. Turn any target on the slaughterhouse into a slaughterhouse!

It is so difficult to fight against it, this aircraft is simply armored. Unless the shell hits directly, machine gun bullets or shell fragments are tickles for it, fighter jets and anti-aircraft guns are not sure about it, and it is even more unmanned for general ground targets.

This aircraft is a flying tank!

At the same time, the design of it starts with protection first. If you want to sweep over the ground and display its prestige, it also has special needs.

On the battlefield, the damage to the aircraft from the ground is mainly from rifles and machine guns, so it is necessary to thicken the armor around the cockpit and the engine, and the windshield is also made of 75 mm thick bulletproof glass.

Because of the need to fly at a low altitude and shoot ground targets directly with machine guns, the cockpit should be as close to the nose as possible so that the pilot can see the ground. At the same time, there is another requirement for this kind of aircraft, although it is not a technical requirement, but it determines the success or failure of the design: the Imperial Aviation Ministry requires that this aircraft can only be equipped with "unimportant" low-power engines that are not used in other designs. So that the aircraft will not have a crowding out effect on the fighters and bombers that are listed as the main production force.

In the history of later generations, many claims are that the HS-129 was stimulated by the Soviet Il-2 attack aircraft. In fact, the research on this aircraft began after the end of the Spanish Civil War. After the stimulation, the development was accelerated.

But now, with the passage of Cyric, everything is different. As long as the projects supported by Cyric can be developed quickly, at the same time, Germany's better conditions than in history have also allowed the development of this aircraft. smoother.

In comparison, the double-engine Hs129 has higher survivability than the single-engine Stuka, and the Hs129's speed, ceiling, range, armor, and ammunition load are higher than those of the JU-87G. It can be said that this aircraft is comprehensive Beyond Stuka, you must know that Stuka still has fixed landing gear and no armor protection.

However, it is the double release of Hs129, heavy armor protection, and large firepower that make the Hs129 cockpit particularly narrow and poor flight maneuverability.

These advantages and disadvantages are shown on the Air Force's HS-129, but the Navy's aircraft has improved this disadvantage of poor maneuverability.

Very simple, the HS-129 has poor maneuverability. In addition to the factors such as armor, there is another factor, which is the engine. The Air Force's HS-129 uses a G.R.14M 14-cylinder air-cooled engine with a single power of 700 horsepower. .

The Air Force's demand for the number of aircraft is very urgent, and it is impossible to squeeze the production of other aircraft for this specialized ground attack aircraft, and for the Navy, this is not a problem.

Now, there are only a few hundred planes in the Naval Air Force. After this attack plane was spotted by the Navy, it first replaced the low-power engine.

What? Almost the same 14-cylinder twin-planetary air-cooled engine BMW 801 used in the FW190!

For the navy, using the same engine can effectively reduce maintenance problems, and the types of accessories to carry can also be greatly reduced. Moreover, luxury does not matter. Anyway, there are only a few aircraft on the ship now. The total will not exceed one hundred.

This engine, the initial model can output 1500 horsepower, and after being used in the HS-129, it has been optimized to reduce the power to 1200 horsepower, which is mainly based on a compromise between reliability and fuel consumption.

The higher the horsepower of the engine, the better the natural performance of the aircraft, but it is premised on sacrificing other aspects, the most important being life and fuel consumption.

For example, a small QQ engine, after being modified by engineers, can also output 500 horsepower, but it will be scrapped within an hour.

After changing this new engine, the disadvantages of the HS-129 due to thick armor and so on have been eliminated, and the mobility has been greatly improved, making the Air Force the envy of it.

The Air Force can't afford it, and can't bear it.

Now, this aircraft has just been developed, and only a few have been on the ship. This time, it is their first actual combat flight, and it also means to test the performance of this aircraft.

At this time, in the small cockpit, the pilot, Lieutenant Steinkamp, ​​was methodically preparing for takeoff.

If you look from the outside, the cockpit is actually not small, the width is the same as that of a fighter jet, but when you get inside, almost everyone has to curl up, this is because of armor protection.

The first protection is of course people. This ground attack aircraft is specially designed with a bathtub-like armor protection. The pilot is almost sitting on the bathtub, so that all kinds of artillery shells shot on the ground can be blocked.

At the same time, this bathtub also deteriorates the pilot's environment. A large bathtub means that the armor is heavier. Therefore, the smaller the bathtub, the better, which makes the space inside it very limited.

These are not what Steinkamp complained about. Of course, as a pilot, he was the happiest when he heard that even the British pom-pom could not penetrate his bathtub armor.

Smaller, smaller, acceptable.

On the wings on both sides, the engines were started in turn, and the good forward vision allowed him to align the takeoff runway skillfully.

It's his turn!

The accelerator is fully opened, the brakes are released, and the HS-129 attack aircraft, from the warship, rolls gracefully, and pulls up before reaching the front of the deck!

Using two BMW engines is simply a luxury and a waste! This is still the result of compressing the power. If you use the latest model of 2000 horsepower, it will definitely go against the sky!

Attack, attack!

Just as the Graf Zeppelin here was releasing the carrier aircraft, the other Adolf Hitler was also constantly releasing the carrier aircraft.

The two warships have the largest aircraft capacity, and each ship is equipped with 72 carrier-based aircraft. Now, for each aircraft carrier, 5 FW190s are left for fleet air defense, and the rest of the carrier-based aircraft are all released!

More than 130 carrier-based aircraft rushed towards Scapa Flow, less than 200 nautical miles away.

The air force fired the first shot, and their navy, which was finished in the past, must be beautiful! Not one left!