Republic of China: Ace Pilot

Chapter 585 Early Research and Development of Aerospace Technology: From Rockets to Missiles (Part 1)

Fang Wen looked up from the documents and stared at Cohen: "I want to know how military projects like the A-4 are implemented in the German military-industrial complex. Tell me what you know."

Upon hearing this, Cohen unconsciously rubbed his hands together, recalling those days of anxiety and fear.

After a short pause, he spoke: “The Peenemünde project is directly under the jurisdiction of the Army Ordnance Bureau, but the key components are produced by more than a dozen companies. For example, the turbopump I mentioned earlier was designed by Siemens, but the precision gears were processed by Krupp's subsidiary in the Ruhr region; the Zeiss gyroscopes had to have their lenses custom-made from the Schott Glass Factory in Baden-Württemberg and then shipped back to Jena for assembly.”

He paused, a hint of sarcasm in his voice: "This division of labor seems professional, but it's riddled with flaws. Last winter, due to a strike by Krupp workers, the delivery of turbopumps was delayed by a full three weeks, and Dr. Braun was almost replaced by the Ordnance Department. Moreover, all companies have to prioritize the needs of the Army and Air Force—the Air Force needs engines for the BF-109 fighter jet, the Army needs armor steel for new tanks, and raw materials for rocket projects are delayed due to routine military production."

As Fang Wen listened, he didn't think so. He believed that Germany, under the leadership of the Nazis, was like a war machine running at full speed. Even if there were some problems, it had already rapidly surpassed the military capabilities of other major European powers.

He continued, "Go on, tell me what you know."

"The large-scale expansion of the military has led to a significant increase in the intensity of arms production, and there is currently a shortage of some raw materials in Germany. Most of the molybdenum needed for high-strength steel comes from Chile; alcohol is fermented from a large number of potatoes, but since last year, potatoes have been prioritized for supply to the military, and our propellant production line has been shut down twice. In the end, we obtained a batch of whisky from a distillery in the Netherlands as an emergency measure."

“Whiskey as alcohol?” Fang Wen asked in surprise.

"Yes, the alcohol was extracted from whiskey, and the purity of that batch of fuel was not up to standard at all, which caused the combustion chamber temperature to run out of control during a test launch, blowing up half of the launch pad."

He suddenly remembered something, pulled out a yellowed slip of paper from the pile of documents, and handed it to Fang Wen: "This is a list of raw material suppliers that I secretly memorized. Some of them are from neutral countries. If you want to develop rockets, you will definitely purchase key components from Europe. Perhaps you can start from these neutral countries, but you must be careful of the Gestapo's spies. They have special teams in Amsterdam and Zurich that monitor the arms trade."

Fang Wen took the note, carefully folded it, and put it in his pocket. He thought that this kind of high-end equipment supplier might come in handy in the future.

"You just mentioned the Bf-109 and the new tanks. What do you know about that?"

Cohen sorted through the relevant information in his memory and found that, compared to the rocket project, fighter jets and tanks were the "military equipment" that the Nazis valued most at the moment.

“BF-109…” Cohen repeated the name in a low voice. “When I was in Peenemünde, I got along well with engineers who had served in the Air Force, and they often talked about this fighter. The BF-109E went into mass production last year, equipped with the DB 601 liquid-cooled engine, and has a maximum speed of 570 kilometers per hour. I heard that it is nearly 30 kilometers per hour faster than the British Spitfire MK I, and its climb rate is even more overwhelming. In the Spanish Civil War last year, the Condor Legion’s BF-109Bs made the Republican Army’s Soviet-made Il-16s almost afraid to take off.”

He then changed the subject, his tone turning sarcastic again: "But the production capacity of the DB 601 engine simply can't keep up. I heard that at Daimler-Benz's Stuttgart plant, half of the production lines are prioritized for making truck engines for the Army, and the remaining capacity is allocated to the BF-110 heavy fighter. The Air Force was urging for 1200 BF-109Es at the beginning of this year, but so far, less than 500 have been delivered."

This information is of interest to Fang Wen.

He had experienced the BF-109B firsthand and had some predictions about the improved versions of the same series.

But the BF-110 heavy fighter did not appear in the Spanish Civil War, nor did he ever see it.

Heavy fighter jets are also a major weapon in air combat in this era, and Taishan Aviation also plans to develop its own heavy fighter jet in the future.

Therefore, it would be best to learn from Germany's heavy fighter jets.

"Do you have more information on BF-110?" he asked.

Cohen suddenly remembered something, rummaged through his suitcase, and pulled out a photograph.

He pointed to the photo and explained, "This is a BF-110."

"Who is the person in the photo?" Fang Wen asked.

“He used to be my friend, but now if he sees me, he’ll definitely arrest me,” Cohen replied bitterly.

Fang Wen picked up the photo and examined it carefully.

From the outside, the aircraft is no different from other fighter jets, but it is much larger.

This type of fighter jet has been modified primarily in terms of combat capabilities, and it must be equipped with powerful firepower.

The weapon on its nose is proof of that.

There are four 7.92 mm MG17 machine gun firing ports on the upper nose, and two 20 mm autocannon firing ports on the lower nose.

But this is not its only weapon. The aircraft has a two-seat cockpit. The weapons in the nose are controlled by the pilot, while the rear cockpit is used to control the rear and side weapon systems.

Such a powerful firepower configuration can generate strong firepower output in air combat, especially against heavily armored bombers.

Upon seeing this, Fang Wen couldn't help but start conceiving a plan in his mind.

Do the heavy fighter jets of Mount Tai also use this model?

He denied that while this design enhanced firepower, it also significantly reduced the fighter jet's maneuverability, making it difficult to form a suppressive combat force unless there was a large-scale coordinated operation.

Germany's air superiority, created through its national industrial capacity, is not something that can be easily replicated.

The only path for Taishan Military Industry's fighter jets is to become more streamlined and efficient.

Unable to mass-produce military aircraft, China must gain a war advantage through advanced weaponry. For example, the currently developing air-to-ground rockets, once the guidance problem is solved, with their high accuracy and efficient destruction mechanism, can achieve the ability to fight multiple targets with one, thereby reversing China's current air disadvantage in the war.

Clearing his mind, Fang Wen spoke up: "Tell me what you know about the tanks."

Cohen continued.

"The army is now betting on two tanks—the Panzer III and the Panzer IV. The Panzer III is the mainstay, equipped with a 37mm gun. During a border exercise with Poland last year, the military felt that the 37mm gun was difficult to use against the Soviet T-26, forcing Krupp to replace the gun with a 50mm one. However, the 50mm gun barrel is difficult to produce, and the factories in the Ruhr region can only produce 80 barrels per month, which has resulted in the production of the improved Panzer III tank not increasing."

"What about the Panzer IV?" Fang Wen pressed. During the Spanish Civil War, Fang Wen had personally witnessed the battle between the Soviet T-26 and the German Panzer I. At that time, the T-26 was far superior to the Panzer I in performance.

Clearly, Germany had undergone the real-world testing of the Spanish Civil War and had recognized the inadequacy of its army's tanks.

Therefore, in the past two years, we have been working hard to develop new tanks, and now we have even developed the Panzer IV.

"The Panzer IV is defined as a battlefield support tank, equipped with a 75mm short-barreled gun, mainly used to attack bunkers and infantry. Its armor is thicker than that of the Panzer III, and its front can withstand direct fire from a 20mm autocannon," Cohen explained. "But there are more problems—the transmission is paired with a Maybach HL 120TR engine, which is particularly difficult to shift. Drivers say that 'driving a Panzer IV is more tiring than driving a truck'; moreover, the tracks are too narrow, making it easy to slip in mud. Last autumn, there was a rainstorm on the Polish border, and one-third of the Panzer IV tanks in the exercise got stuck in the mud and couldn't move."

He suddenly remembered something: "I also heard that the Army Ordnance Department is secretly working on a 'heavy tank' project called 'Tiger,' but it's still in the blueprint stage. Krupp and Porsche are vying for design rights—Krupp wants to use the Panzer IV chassis for modification, while Porsche insists on using a completely new electric drive system. However, the reliability of the electric drive system is too poor. Three motors burned out during testing last year, and the military now prefers Krupp's plan."

As Fang Wen listened, he quickly took notes in his notebook; these were all very important military intelligence reports.

After he finished recording, he also made a comparison in his mind.

In terms of weaponry, armor strength, and power, the 'Taishan Pine' medium tank is actually slightly stronger than the Panzer IV.

The biggest problem is that Taishan Military Industry does not have the same strong military production capacity as Germany.

However, the production target of 50-100 Taishan Pine medium tanks will not change. Production can begin once the Soviet T-26 chassis castings arrive.

Fang Wen's questioning session has now ended.

He looked at Jiang Wenjin, wanting to ask for her opinion, since if this person were hired, he would join Jiang Wenjin's rocket project team.

Jiang Wenjin was deep in thought, his brows slightly furrowed. Noticing Fang Wen's gaze, he understood what he needed to do and asked, "Mr. Cohen, you just mentioned that the A-5 project needs to improve the tail fin gas rudder. I'd like to know, is Germany currently researching 'vector thrust' technology? The biggest problem with our rockets right now is poor attitude control at low speeds. If we could add gas rudders to the tail fins, the accuracy would improve accordingly. But rockets are small; wouldn't that be very difficult to achieve?"

When the topic turned to his field of expertise, Cohen's eyes lit up. He looked at the blackboard in the conference room and said, "Can I use the blackboard to draw a diagram to illustrate this?"

Fang Wen nodded.

Cohen stood up, picked up a piece of chalk, and quickly drew a simple diagram of the tail fin structure: "The German Army's rocket artillery project is also doing the same research. They are in communication with us on this matter, but it is still in the laboratory stage. Peenemünde has a small team testing 'oscillating nozzles,' which allows the engine nozzle to deflect at a small angle, directly adjusting the attitude by changing the thrust direction. It is more sensitive than gas rudders—but this technology has a big problem: the high-temperature resistant material of the nozzle is not up to standard, and the inner wall of the nozzle is burned during each test."

He pointed to a dot on the structural diagram: "We tried coating the nozzle with a tungsten alloy, but tungsten is too difficult to process, and Germany's domestic tungsten mines have long been depleted. We rely entirely on imports from Portugal, which are ridiculously expensive. Before I left, some members of the team suggested buying new tungsten mines from South America, while others suggested using ceramic materials. Although ceramics are heat-resistant, they are too brittle. If you can solve the problem of heat-resistant materials, the technology of oscillating nozzles is actually not difficult to overcome."

Jiang Wenjin's eyes lit up. "A swing nozzle is a good idea. I think this research direction is correct. Do you have any test data on ceramic materials? For example, the high-temperature resistance limit and impact strength of different formulations?"

“Some of it is in the blue folder at the bottom of my box,” Cohen nodded. “However, the data is incomplete. I only had time to copy down some key parameters—it mentions an ‘alumina-silicon carbide composite ceramic’ that can withstand high temperatures up to 1800℃, but it lacks toughness. Perhaps you could try adding some metal fibers for reinforcement.”

At this point in the conversation, Jiang Wenjin turned to look at Fang Wen.

“General Manager, Cohen is a good talent. He is very professional in the field of special fuels and power, and he will be of great help to the rocket project team’s research. I agree to let him join the project team.”

“Okay, I’ll talk to him and bring him to your project team tomorrow. You can go back now,” Fang Wen replied.

"Okay." Jiang Wenjin got up and left.

Only Fang Wen and Cohen remained in the room.

Fang Wen said with a serious expression, "Now you have two choices. First, sell the information to me, you'll get a sum of money, and you can decide where you go afterward. Second, join Taishan Military Industry. I will protect you, but you will also have to use your knowledge to serve Taishan Military Industry. Which one do you choose?"

“I choose option two.” Cohen made his choice without hesitation. Having left Europe for unfamiliar Asia, especially in a time of war, he knew very well that having a powerful ally to rely on was the most important thing.

Fang Wen nodded: "Alright, it's settled then. I'll have someone arrange your life and work. As for your family, they can stay in Yangon, and someone will take good care of them. You can take one day off each month to visit them in Yangon."

He then took Cohen to the general affairs office of the Taishan Research Institute and put Lu Zexuan, the director of general affairs, in charge of the next steps.

Cohen's addition broadened the rocket project team's horizons and led to new breakthroughs in rocket propulsion technology.

The oscillating nozzle and ceramic materials have become new research directions for the project team.

This technology is a step ahead of the gas-propelled rudders, aerodynamic control surfaces, or spin stabilization currently used in rockets of various countries.

such as:

The V-2 rocket, which is still under development, has four graphite gas vanes installed behind the engine nozzle. When the gas vanes deflect, they directly change the direction of the high-speed gas flow, generating control force.

Soviet and German rockets, on the other hand, generate spin after launch, similar to the rifling principle of rifle bullets, using the gyroscopic effect to stabilize their flight direction.

The oscillating nozzle, on the other hand, uses a mechanical device to cause a slight deflection of the engine nozzle, thereby changing the direction of thrust and controlling the pitch, yaw, or roll of the rocket.

This new technology, which was originally intended for use in aerospace after the war, was developed ahead of schedule due to Fang Wen's decision.

In addition to high-temperature resistant materials, a sophisticated drive system (such as a hydraulic or electric mechanism) is also required.

Many of these technical aspects don't even exist in this era.

But Fang Wen, who comes from the future, combines his knowledge of the future with his special abilities to start a breakthrough in aerospace military technology.

(End of this chapter)