Chapter 449 Aircraft Missiles

The next second, Rommel announced the adjournment of the meeting.

The reason was, of course, to keep it secret... It's not that I don't trust those generals, but that the fewer people know about some things, the safer they are.

Rommel has always done this well, perhaps because of the lessons learned from the previous battles in North Africa: there are many people on the North African battlefield, and there are also Italian officers, who often get into trouble because of leaking secrets.

"I don't think we have the ability to attack Malta, Captain!" Rommel handed Qin Chuan a cigarette and said, "Are you crazy? If we could barely do it before the United States joined the war, our two air wings could seize air superiority, force back the enemy's fleet, and then land, but now..."

Rommel spread his hands and said, "We can't even get close to Malta!"

"First of all, we are just making a gesture, General!" Qin Chuan said.

"Yes!" Rommel said, "But we must at least be able to threaten the enemy, otherwise the enemy will not take us seriously. Even attacking from Libya is much more realistic than attacking Malta!

"But attacking Libya is not realistic! "Qin Chuan said: "That will cause us to suffer heavy casualties!"

The present is different from the past. In the past, the armored forces of the African Corps could barely get air support from the air wing, but now the Allied fighters and bombers are several times more... The armored forces will be ruthlessly bombed by the Allied air force almost as soon as they leave the Gabes defense line.

"I know!" Rommel said: "That's why we are so troubled, because we should be grateful for blocking the Allied attack. Even if it's just a gesture, it may put us at unexpected risks!"

Rommel is right, even if this does not fit Rommel's character, it is reality.

But Qin Chuan said that there is no need to take such risks.

"General!" Qin Chuan said: "Do you remember how the Allies forced our fighters out of Sicily?"

"Of course!" Rommel replied: "They have high-altitude bombers... Do you mean we also use bombers? No, no, we don't have bombers that can fly that high! "

Rommel is right. Germany does not have long-range strategic bombers... This is mainly due to the restrictions of the Treaty of Versailles. At the same time, it takes time to develop long-range strategic bombers, and the cost is quite high, which is not something Germany can afford.

Italy does have long-range strategic bombers, which are the Piaggio heavy bombers mentioned earlier, but on the one hand, the number is small and the performance is poor. On the other hand, its flight altitude is only more than 8,000 meters. Bombing without air superiority is simply courting death.

"My idea may be a bit whimsical, General!" Qin Chuan said: "I mean... we may need an unmanned aerial vehicle. I don't know what it is, but I hope it can be like a rocket launcher. I think so. Since the rocket launcher can fly to the target with the warhead, why can't we let it fly farther? From Sicily to Malta..."

Rommel was so surprised that he couldn't close his mouth for a long time, staring at Qin Chuan blankly.

"I don't know if we have this equipment, General!" Qin Chuan said: "I just have such an idea, maybe... it's just an idea!"

"No, Captain! "Rommel replied: "We have such equipment, in fact... we can't say we have it!"

"Are you serious?" Qin Chuan pretended to be surprised.

In fact, Qin Chuan certainly knew that this was Germany's V-series missile. The Germans began to study unmanned aerial vehicles in the early 1930s because this equipment was not restricted by the Treaty of Versailles... At that time, no one knew what unmanned aerial vehicles could do, nor did they think it was a weapon, so the Germans could research it with confidence, and now they have ten years of technical reserves.

However, due to the outbreak of World War II, Germany, which was short of funds, suspended the development of unmanned aerial vehicles.

This is quite a pity, because Hitler and even the world did not recognize the value of this equipment.

It was not until June 1942 that the bombs of the Royal Air Force were dropped on German cities, and the German Air Force bombers lost more aircraft and pilots in the retaliatory bombing of England. So the German Air Force began to consider other methods to carry out air strikes on England... Only then did they think of unmanned aerial vehicles.

Then, two years later, the first "flying bomb" (the British called it "aircraft missile") was launched Flying to the UK, although it did not cause any casualties, the "flying bomb" deviated from the target by 24 kilometers, but it scared the British half to death and even caused panic among all the people.

Because the British did not know what kind of weapon it was, they only knew that this equipment could cross the English Channel directly from France to the UK, and they even thought that this equipment had considerable accuracy... In fact, the V1 missile had no accuracy at all at the beginning, and whether it could hit the target or cause casualties was completely a matter of luck.

But "the authorities are confused", the British at that time did not know this, they thought: if this equipment had accuracy, then it would be great, they could hit the UK from France, then wouldn't they be able to bomb London at will and bomb wherever they want? Or if it is used on the battlefield, with a range of 250 kilometers, then would any army be able to get close to Germany? Tanks, artillery, airports... were destroyed before they saw the enemy more than 200 kilometers away, was there any need to continue this war?

This psychological shock actually made a group of British people advocate peace talks with Germany.

"Yes, there is!" Rommel nodded, and then said: "But we didn't succeed in the research and development!"

After a pause, Rommel said: "Perhaps, we should contact Colonel Conrad, who is the person in charge of this project!"

This surprised Qin Chuan.

The call was quickly connected.

Rommel said to the phone: "Colonel, can you come to Sicily?"

"Sorry, General!" Colonel Conrad replied: "You know, I'm always busy, and anything can be solved over the phone, right?"

"Oh, Colonel." Rommel glanced at Qin Chuan and said: "Remember the name Frick?"

"Of course I remember!"

"Uh-huh!" Rommel replied: "He wants to see you, I hope you can discuss some issues with him... Otherwise, I'll ask him to wait until you are free..."

"No, no, no..." Conrad's excited voice came from the other end of the phone: "General, I'll be there soon! Tell the captain that I will take the fastest plane to you, Sicily, right?"

"Yes, Sicily, Enna!"

After hanging up the phone, Rommel put on a helpless expression: "You know? Captain, this colonel is a weirdo, only you can make him so anxious!"