Due to the lack of funds, the organizers of the Hamburg International Machinery Expo did not make a lot of momentum, but the unique arrangement made it quickly become a prominent position in newspapers and magazines in various countries after the opening..././ Most people are not interested in Germany's exquisite military equipment, but what path did Democratic Germany choose? The commentary article of the Soviet Union's Pravda is quite sharp - "Germany's military ambitions are rising", and the article also links the slander and attacks the German Communist Party has suffered at home, and infers that Democratic Germany is being eroded by evil forces from Nordic Europe. If the outside world does not interfere and correct it, it will soon become a major threat to the stability of Europe and even the world, and even become the source of the next world war.

In the eyes of many people, the Soviet remarks were too alarmist. The New York Times published the submission of a famous journalist and biographer who traveled all over Germany. This well-known reporter in the industry believes that Germany today is like a piece of clean white paper. Sixty million Germans are using their hard work and wisdom to build their homes. With the country's natural resources and technological characteristics and the path of industrialization with military industry as a breakthrough, it is beyond refutation.

The outside world's discussion, evaluation and even criticism are becoming more and more intense, which is exactly the free advertisement for the Germans' exposition. Two weeks after the opening, foreign guests came to Hamburg, Germany, surged, including enthusiastic pacifists, and many of them came to seek opportunities. When French Prime Minister Robert Schumann and Minister of Defense Alphons Juan and his group arrived in Hamburg, Lynn, as the president of the democratic Germany, came to greet and accompany the visit. Such a move surprised those who were purely watching the fun. When did Germany and France become as close as brothers?

At this time, the European Industrial Alliance only signed the coal-steel joint venture framework agreement by France, Germany, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Hungary and Biz. There are still many differences to be agreed on to form the industrial alliance. In addition, with the wait-and-seeness of Italy, Switzerland, Spain and other countries and the boycott of the Soviet camp, people do not realize that Western European countries have found solid common interests, nor do they think that the concept of the European Union has reached a stage of reality. However, as long as they analyze the European situation from a certain height, it is not difficult for people to understand the necessity of Germany and France to work together.

—Military threats from Eastern Europe, political and economic and financial "erosion" from the sea have put a lot of pressure on these two traditional European powers and neighboring countries. Especially France, the strong and unique national self-esteem makes them unwilling to be a follower of the United States like Britain, and want to restore their former military, political and economic influence in Western Europe. At the same time, they have to be wary of the Soviet army that is like a wolf and tiger to solve the difficult colonial problems. Inbreeding and far-striking attacks are indeed a wise choice.

Reception of Schumann and his party with the highest standards was actually "intentional". German industry is in the stage of large-scale reconstruction, and military projects are staggering. If they can obtain large and stable orders, they will inevitably have valuable help to the development of key industries. Therefore, during the tour of the expo, Lynn instructed the lecturers to accompany the lecturers to give special tips on the advantages of the mp44 assault rifle, mg42 general machine gun, FG series airborne radar, ground-to-air guided rockets and e50 tanks. Theoretically, they can comprehensively improve the technical content of the French team in land warfare and air combat, and large-scale use can greatly strengthen the national defense hard power.

After the end of World War II, France also experienced a painful start - military reconstruction, industrial integration, and financial adjustment. Due to the consumption in the Eastern and Western camp wars, the size of the French team could no longer be compared with before World War II. Its military equipment was also in a transition period. American weapons became the main equipment of the army, including captured German weapons, accepted British weapons and original domestic equipment. After listening to the army blueprint drawn by the German tour guide, Schumann and his Minister of Defense General Zhu An seemed not very interested, and their attitude also puzzled Lynn and his staff.

At the dinner ending the visit, Schumann whispered to Lynn, who was sitting next to him, while eating French snails specially prepared by the host, “Although the Maginot line has left us with infinite sadness, with France’s current military strength, defense is a rational strategy.”

At first hearing this, Lynn thought the stubborn Frenchman was about to repeat the car. When he widened his eyes and expressed his surprise, Schumann smiled sly: "Of course, we will not be stupid enough to spend ten years and countless money and manpower to build an unmovable line of defense. If Germany can withstand the threat from the East, the French will naturally be at ease!"

The meaning of this statement is more worth pondering. Lynn looked at Schumann carefully. The French Prime Minister did not seem to be looking for advanced equipment at this moment. Instead, he looked like a seller.

"Cooperation!" Schumann left the snail shell on the plate and looked at Lynn, "Only by working closely can we maximize the common interests of France and Germany."

"What do you think we should cooperate?" Lynn asked back.

"Use your strengths to make up for my weaknesses, and use my strengths to make up for your weaknesses!" Schumann's answer sounded very difficult to pronounce, but the truth was simple and simple.

“What about it specifically?”

"Share technical information and avoid repeated production." Schumann answered with a politically vocabulary. He then gave an example: "In recent years, we have been committed to developing vehicles and aircraft engines, and have achieved remarkable results in this regard. At present, our products can meet the needs of various types of bombers, transport aircraft, tanks, armored vehicles and transport trucks. Although engines are also a major strength of German traditional industry, if we want to take a shortcut to reorganize our arms, you can use French goods with confidence."

Linn immediately thought to himself that the quality of the engines in France was indeed good. During World War II, Germany adopted a large number of aircraft and vehicle engines produced in France. When the German army retreated, it only plundered or destroyed some equipment. With the existing technical information and personnel, France was indeed able to resume production quickly after the war. Regardless of the differences in mechanical standards, if Germany gave up engine research and development and production and relied on France, it would inevitably lead to a situation where strategy was controlled by others. However, thinking on the other hand, the French had this handle and could boldly indulge Germany in reorganization of arms and use Germany's population and land to defend France against strong enemies in the East. Thinking of this, Linn felt relieved.

"This is a very valuable suggestion. Conservatives will inevitably oppose it and hate it, but from a long-term perspective, it will untie the shackles that have been trapped in the hands of Germany and France for many years - think about it, in the past century, we have spent so much wealth and energy on guard against each other, and these consumptions have greatly restricted the development of the two countries. In the end, Germany and France are not as strong as one-third of the national strength of the United States!"

"Ah, I knew that the President was a real person of knowledge, completely different from those pedantic guys!" Schumann praised with a smile, and then leaned closer and said, "To be honest, France has successfully developed a jet-powered attack aircraft. Judging from the current equipment of the same type of equipment in various countries, no attack aircraft can be compared with our masterpieces!"

Lynn had heard of France's "storm" before, but the intelligence agencies in France had limited capabilities and failed to provide more detailed information. Based on Lynn's understanding, this was the first type of jet fighter in France after the war. It was not only equipped with the French ** team, but also sold to the Middle East and Asia, which was a relatively successful design.

"The air combat is croaking and the ground attack is also very powerful." Schuman added confidently.

Before seeing it, Lynn took advantage of the situation and said, "If Germany's airborne radar and guided rockets can be combined, the comprehensive capabilities of this fighter will definitely be higher!"

Schumann smiled and then wiped his hands with a napkin: "As long as Germany needs it, we will supply it first at the most affordable price. In a few years, maybe these war eagles will resist the armor craze from the East."

What a counter-seller, Lynn said in his heart. He still smiled on his face: "So, the French people are preparing to put aside their arms and concentrate on supporting neighbors behind their backs to resist powerful enemies?"

"It was impossible for the French to sing Marseille with a handkerchief." Schumann replied in an image metaphor, "Unlike Germany, we not only need to deal with European defense, but also need to put armed forces in some colonial affairs."

By this, Lynn knew what Schumann was referring to. Since 1946, the people of Vietnam, Laos and Cambodians launched a campaign against France's restoration of colonial rule. Due to the great weakening of World War II, they also damaged their vitality in the Eastern and Western camps. The French team turned into a soft persimmon. Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia formed a joint front, supported each other in the war, and worked closely together, repeatedly hurting the French colonial army. Many areas of the Indochina Peninsula were controlled by the rebels. After the allies and the Soviet Union signed an armistice agreement, France drew its main force from the European battlefield and sent tens of thousands of additional troops to the Indochina colonies in late 1949. However, with no obvious advantage in military strength or equipment, several counterattacks of the French team ended in failure.

Except for the foreign corps, the French team after World War II was like a sick chicken, with neither ambition nor ambition. Lynn tentatively said: "If the neighboring country needs it, we are willing to form a volunteer force."

Schuman shook his head decisively: "Some things should be solved by yourself."

Since France is unwilling to interfere in Indochina affairs, Lynn tactfully changed the topic and talked about the combat advantages of MP44 automatic rifles compared to American semi-automatic and automatic rifles.

"This time I bring a gift to Your Excellency the President. It is a semi-automatic rifle that we have recently developed and has excellent performance." Schumann politely declined Lynn's "sales", but France is France after all. Due to national strength, it still cannot achieve "self-sufficiency" in many aspects. When talking about the Indochina situation, Schumann was somewhat helpless. The elusiveness of the rebel guerrillas gave the French colonial army a headache, and was also suffering from limited air transport capacity, making it difficult to use modern means to deal with mountain and forest guerrilla warfare.

At this point, Lynn gradually heard the meaning of the French. On the Indochina battlefield, the French army once used airborne tactics, but although traditional airborne troops had the characteristics of flexibility and maneuverability, their combat resilience and durability were insufficient. Several large-scale airborne operations during World War II and the Eastern and Western camp wars had been interpreted with reality, and it was difficult to achieve ideal performance in the quagmire of guerrilla warfare. To change this limitation, it was necessary to equip the airborne troops with stronger and stronger weapons. During World War II, both the United States, the Soviet Union and Britain developed airborne tanks, and during the East and West Wars, the US and British Allied forces tried to use airborne tanks on a large scale in airborne combat. However, in front of the fierce Soviets, their airborne combat became a painful lesson, and also gave people a deeper thinking about modern airborne combat.

"What can we do?" Lynn asked in a friendly tone of his neighbors.

Schumann did not make a sound, but dipped his fingers in water and left the string of symbols "me-323" on the desktop.

The me323 nicknamed "Giant" is still a giant in the air force field. Its design originated from the large transport glider developed by the Luftwaffe to support the invasion of Britain - the me321. Its original development goal was to "carry a large amount of equipment to carry out emergency transportation and replenish the German troops landing on the British Isles." Although the sea lion combat plan was cancelled, the demand for rapid airlift of heavy military equipment still exists, but the focus was on the Barbarossa combat carried out by the invasion of the Soviets.

On October 18, 1940, the Luftwaffe asked Juncker and Messerchmit to propose the development of large transport gliders at the same time. Both of these development cases were very ambitious: the specifications of the proposal required a set of semi-tracked armored vehicles, towed 88mm cannons or a No. 4 combat vehicle. Juncker proposed the design concept of Juncker 322 nicknamed "Horny Elephant", but it was not favored by the Luftwaffe. Messerchmitt proved that it was a mature aircraft due to the outstanding contribution of the me321 in the East Line air transport.

Therefore, it was decided to design a larger transport aircraft based on it, that is, the me323. In view of the successful case of the me321, the Luftwaffe favored the development case of Messerchmitt. However, in order not to overburden the engine industry, which had already been tight in production capacity, it decided to choose the French gr14n star-shaped air-cooled engine. Just like the me231 and the me323 use a huge semi-hanging beam high single wing, with support cables between the fuselage and the wing. In order to reduce weight and reduce the use of aluminum alloy, most of the wing structures are combined with plates.

It is made up of cloth skin, the fuselage is made of metal pipes and wooden main beams, and the outside is covered with plastic painted skin, and the inside of the cabin is covered with thick cables to bear the weight of the load. The reinforced wings are equipped with six engines. In order to offset the torsional effect of the three engines on the single-sided wing, the propellers of the three engines on the other side are recycled counterclockwise. The aircraft uses a fixed 8-wheel landing gear. An air fairing is installed on the upper part and an aerodynamic brake is installed on the rear wheel to allow the aerial beast to stop and land within the 200-meter runway.

Normally, the me323 is equipped with 5 operators - 2 pilots, 2 flight engineers and 1 radio operator. In wartime, two additional gunners can be brought with them. The flight engineer's seat is on the wings on both sides, in the small cabin between the inner and the central engine. The purpose of this design is that the engineer can observe the condition of the six engines at any time during flight, so that the pilot can focus on flying (the pilot can still surpass the engineer and directly control the operation of the engine and propeller). Compared with the predecessor of the me321, the me323's load capacity is reduced by 10 to 12 tons. This is the price that must be paid to allow it to fly independently. Although there are 6 engines, the liquid take-off and landing booster rockets designed by Dr. Walker are often used together, and these rockets are installed under the outer engine. In total, they can accommodate

The 4-group rocket. The cargo hold of the me323 is 11 meters long and 3 meters wide and can carry two 3.6-ton trucks, 8700 loaves of bread, an 88-mm anti-aircraft gun and accessories, 52 barrels of fuel, 130 passengers or 60 stretchers. Except for a few modified me321, most of the me323 are brand new. The early production model uses two-leaf wooden propellers, which were later replaced by three-leaf all-metal variable pitch propellers. The me323's structural design is quite sturdy, unless it is enough to withstand a large amount of enemy artillery fire under the transport of fuel. However, due to the large size and slow flight speed, it can be said to be the best flying target. Another problem is that its range is too short, generally only 1,000 to 1,200 kilometers under load. Despite this, the me323 is still a very valuable air transport asset in Germany and is widely used.

Looking at the water stains on the table, Lynn was distracted for a moment. Whether in the Nordic period or the current Democratic German era, he never took this relatively successful heavy transport aircraft into consideration. However, France's combat operations in Vietnam have completely different properties and characteristics. The me323, which is strong and durable and able to fly with its own power, obviously has advantages that cannot be compared with the heavy gliders and large transport aircraft of the United States and Britain, but its manufacturing process is relatively complex and the technical drawings are strictly kept secret. It is not difficult to understand that the French have only engines and cannot copy this "prehistoric giant bird".

"How about the engine provided by us and the rest is handed over to you?" Schumann suggested.

Lynn thought about it. With France's current strength, the Indochina War lasted only shorter than history, which means that the French army's actual demand for heavy transport aircraft was not as big as the leaders' appetite. The me-323 may be only produced in dozens. After weighing the trade-offs, Lynn said: "It takes a considerable price to re-production of this aircraft. The Prime Minister has indeed made up his mind?"

"What? Your Excellency the President feels that he lacks confidence, or is it impossible to achieve it with Germany's current strength?" Schumann asked lukewarmly.

Lin Neng shook his head: "The development prospects of heavy transport aircraft are unforeseen by short-sighted people. If they are not determined enough and give up halfway, they will only waste everyone's efforts and become a laughing stock for future generations."

Schuman silently added another column of numbers next to the already blurred water stains: 200.

During World War II, Germany only produced 201 aircraft, and the French demanded 200 aircraft in one go. What is the medicine sold in this gourd? (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to come to Qidian to vote for recommendations, monthly votes, and your support is my greatest motivation.)
Chapter completed!