Chapter 577 Summer Thunder (9)

Due to Stalin's policy of "refugees as soldiers", which forced Hoffman to scramble, the originally planned summons of Machar on the evening of July 16 was postponed for two days. It was not until the evening of July 18 that Hoffman There was an opportunity to summon the main officers of this diplomatic-breaking operation.

"I have read the full report on the results of the interrogation of the British civilians captured this time. I would like to hear your thoughts. What are your opinions on this?"

"First of all, we can be sure that the United States has launched a huge shipbuilding plan domestically, and there is no shortage of resources, slipways, and funds. It only lacks enough shipbuilding workers. This is a prerequisite for the British to arrange the immigration of ordinary workers." Marshallton After a pause, he continued, "We also found that many dignitaries moved to the New World under this name. This also shows that the confidence of the Churchill government has been shaken. They may have the idea of ​​​​going to Canada to establish a government in exile. I faintly Yueyue heard rumors that British scientists and engineers had immigrated to North America in large numbers earlier than the transfer of skilled workers.”

"This shows that our blockade strategy is effective. The hundreds of thousands of tons of oil transportation every month alone would make Churchill breathless..." Hoffman said with a smile, "We can't make the Americans too comfortable, let alone We can't let them hide at home and build warships. We have to lure them out to fight. Do you know the significance and importance of this operation? "

"Yes, Führer, I completely understand."

Hoffman then turned to Ozawa and said: "General Horikichi is fighting very smoothly in India. If we open a battlefield in South America, it will be a very beneficial support and help to him."

"Thank you, Führer! I will do my best!"

"That's good, be careful along the way! Although I am also the Commander-in-Chief of the Navy, I can't go to Italy to see you off right now. The Ministry of Armament has also prepared some new gadgets that the fleet may need by then." However, let's say the next sentence. At this time, the smile on Hoffman's face slowly disappeared, "Go and visit Marshal Richthofen before you leave. He is sick."

Machar and others were shocked. They knew that Richthofen's excuse of illness was actually just to make room for Ozawa. Later, after Marshal Redl retired, this strategy was actually unnecessary. They didn't expect that he actually used it this time. He was really sick. From the tone of the head of state, it sounded like he was not very ill.

"Is it serious?" Mashar asked subconsciously, "I remember that he was in high spirits when he came back from Socotra last time."

Hoffman nodded and pointed to his head: "It happened very suddenly. The doctor found that he had cancer here. Surgery is very difficult. Currently, only conservative treatment can be adopted..."

In real history, Richthofen was only diagnosed with brain cancer in 1944. Although it was discovered a year earlier, there was basically nothing that could be done against the medical technology of the 1940s. Richthofen usually didn't see any problems and behaved completely like ordinary people, but only he knew that the intervals between the onset of headaches, dizziness and other symptoms were getting closer and closer, and the duration and onset process were becoming more and more painful.

Everyone is very grateful to Richthofen. Because of his efforts, Deutsche HNA has grown from scratch and grown from small to large. The next day they saw Richthofen receiving treatment in the hospital. Although he looked like an ordinary person, Marshal and others clearly felt that he was quite haggard and had low energy.

"I heard that you fought so well in the North Atlantic that Churchill was ready to run away to Canada, so I feel relieved." Richthofen said regretfully, "I am actually very interested in this operation and very interested in it." I want to go, but the doctors don’t let me go, and the head of state doesn’t agree. Ha… they don’t know that I’m actually in good health, and I can fly to the sky without any problem.”

Looking at the marshal who was still holding on, everyone felt sad, and Ozawa felt the deepest.

"Okay, okay, I'll be happy if you come to see me. I won't go to Italy to see you off..."

Marshal, Ozawa and others left the ward with heavy hearts. They privately asked the doctor that if he recuperated properly, the marshal's life expectancy would be about 2-3 years. If the condition worsened, it might only be 1-2 years. .

In addition to bringing back a bunch of medals and promotion orders, the fleet executives who returned from Berlin also brought back new models of aircraft - the new gadgets mentioned by the head of state, including the newly developed Ar-352 (Caiyun modified) carrier-based reconnaissance aircraft . Although the Ar-352 is smaller than the Ar-372 in terms of model number, they are actually two different models. The Ar-272 and Ar-372 are water reconnaissance aircraft of the same origin, while the Ar-352 is an out-and-out carrier-based aircraft. reconnaissance aircraft.

Aradao Company is much better than Dornier Company, which is bent on making big news. It did not go too far and adopted the 901 on the new model. It just started with the 801 and reserved the interface for installing the MW-50 system. At the same time, There is room in the system design, so that if the 901 engine is replaced in the future, the transformation can be carried out more easily. After several months of verification flights and prototype manufacturing, the entire process was very smooth and completed in one go.

The Ar-352 flew at a speed of 637 kilometers per hour without drugs during the test flight. After taking drugs, it can fly at the highest speed for 15 minutes, with a speed of up to 671 kilometers. This speed may seem ordinary, but considering that this is a three-seat reconnaissance aircraft, and it is slightly larger than the Japanese Caiyun original according to the size of the Germans, it is very valuable. Internal verification has been done. At an altitude of 4,000 meters, except for the Me-262, other active fighters cannot catch up with Caiyun at the same altitude. Even the Fw-190A8 that took drugs can only barely follow behind. Once Caiyun starts the drug mode, it will disappear from the sight of the fighter pilot in a few minutes.

What's more rare is that Caiyun not only flies fast, but also has a great range of more than 5,000 kilometers. If it is deployed in the Azores and equipped with auxiliary fuel tanks, southern England and Newfoundland, Canada are within the reconnaissance coverage, which makes everyone overjoyed - this range is much longer than the current most powerful joint attack aircraft, and it is almost catching up with 4-engine professional patrol aircraft.

The overjoyed Navy Department sent a letter of inquiry to the Arado Company, asking whether it can be converted into a torpedo attack aircraft. Arado's reply was more exciting than expected: the improvement of the torpedo aircraft model is currently underway and is expected to be completed in December.

In addition to the brand-new Ar-352, the fleet also received mid-term modifications of two other aircraft: Bf-219C and He-218D.