Chapter 435 Stalin's Patience
Hersman knew that the Japanese had secretly accumulated a lot of oil, enough for them to launch a war, so he would not think of ways to break the embargo for the Japanese - without this embargo, the Japanese might still delay and wait and see. It's been a long time.
After the two sides reached a verbal understanding on the Dutch East Indies issue (the three parties of Germany, Japan and the Netherlands will then conduct formal consultations on this issue), the topic turned to Japan-Germany military and technical cooperation.
"2,000 DB601E engines?" Hersman took over a list from Lieutenant General Hiroshi Oshima, which listed many things that the Japanese wanted. The first one listed is the DB601E engine.
"This is a liquid-cooled engine. You wouldn't want to use it on a carrier-based aircraft, would you?" Hersman knew that the Japanese had a carrier-based aircraft "Comet" equipped with a liquid-cooled engine in World War II. bomber. This is a dive bomber that has good performance on paper, but often breaks the deck during use, and the accuracy of bomb delivery is not very high.
This is not to say that the performance of the "Comet" carrier-based dive bomber is bad, but because this aircraft uses a liquid-cooled engine with good aerodynamic performance, its landing speed and dive bombing speed are relatively fast, so it is difficult to control .
This type of aircraft requires carrier-based pilots who have undergone rigorous training to be able to operate it. Due to lack of resources, Japan could not train tens of thousands of pilots before the war. When wartime was consumed by wartime, there would naturally not be enough after the war. The old bird can fly the "comet".
"Your Excellency, Marshal, it is indeed used on a carrier-based aircraft. It is a carrier-based dive bomber named 'Comet'. The performance of this aircraft is very superior and will replace the Type 99 carrier-based dive bomber."
Kuroshima Kameto nodded and told Hersman the truth: "Admiral Yamamoto noticed that the performance of the Fokker 99 aircraft in the Mediterranean operations was not ideal, so he wanted to replace some of the carrier-based dive bombers with 'Comets' before the war started. 'Mode."
"Okay," Hessmann thought for a moment and then said, "but 2,000 DB601E engines are a bit too much, and our production is limited. Let's give you 1,000 units first. In addition, you can ask Mercedes-Benz to help you produce this engine yourself. An engine.”
The DB601E and DB601F are very advanced engines in the eyes of the Japanese, but they are almost eliminated in Germany. The more advanced DB605 has been finalized and will be almost ready for mass production by the end of the year. So now it is possible to transfer the DB601 technology to allies. Not only the Japanese can get it, but the Italians will also get the DB601 technology to improve their own engine production levels.
In addition, Spanish-Swiss companies in France are now preparing to resume production - after the overall situation in the Mediterranean was established, France's pro-German forces have grown stronger, although they will not immediately join the European Community and fight alongside Germany. But the Pétain government had agreed to send more volunteers and to allow French aircraft manufacturing companies and engine companies to produce military products for Germany. Therefore, the Spanish-Swiss company that produces liquid-cooled engines has also obtained the relevant technology of the DB601. After the German Mercedes-Benz Company ceases production of the DB601, the Spanish-Swiss company will take over all production tasks.
The DB601E engines that Hirschmann agreed to provide to Japan were eventually produced by Spanish-Swiss companies in France.
"10 sets of superchargers, 10 sets of jet combustion systems, 2 'sea beat' radars, 2 Fw-190s, 2 Ju88 bombers, 1,500 sets of airborne radios, 2 No. 4 tanks, 1 U-shaped submarine... …”
Hersman muttered the contents of the list. The Japanese asked for many things. Everything that flies in the sky, swims in the water, and runs on the ground is almost everything they don’t want.
Of course, these good things are not given for free, but must be paid or exchanged for goods. Therefore, the Japanese do not buy a lot of everything. Most of them purchase small quantities and take them back for reverse engineering. Only airborne radios and DB601E engines were purchased in large quantities, which were obviously needed urgently.
"The Fw-190 can't be given to you now," Hessman said with a smile after reading the list. "There is no problem with the others and can be given to you. However, we also have requirements. Give us two 'Comet' type ships. Take the dive bomber."
Like the Japanese Navy, the German naval aviation is also worried about the lack of useful carrier-based dive bombers. Although Germany leads Japan in the aviation industry, it lags behind in the design of carrier-based aircraft. After the introduction of the Zero carrier-based fighter jet and the Type 99 carrier-based dive bomber, the German Fokker Company basically mastered the technology of designing and producing carrier-based aircraft.
Currently, the design of Germany's second-generation carrier-based fighter and carrier-based dive bomber is being stepped up. Among them, the second-generation carrier-based fighter has been determined to be improved with Fw-190. However, the second-generation carrier-based dive bomber had to be built from scratch, so the progress was not very satisfactory. If there are two Japanese "Comets" for reference, the progress should be greatly accelerated.
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"Comrade General Secretary, the three armies of the Transcaucasus Front and the Central Asian Front have entered the offensive launching position and can advance into Iran and Afghanistan at any time. In addition, the Red Navy's Caspian Sea Fleet is also ready..."
In the Kremlin, Shaposhnikov, Chief of Staff of the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, was reporting to Stalin on the preparations for the liberation of Iran and Afghanistan. Facing the upcoming climax of the world revolution, Stalin certainly would not do nothing and watch the opportunity slip away.
However, Stalin was a very cautious person and would not take risks easily. So no matter how tempting the British and American envoys offered, he would not be deceived to attack Germany, his socialist comrade and brother. Unless he saw that the United States went first and fought with Germany to a loss, he would not hesitate to stab Germany in the back!
And now, the United States has not yet joined the war, Britain has been beaten half to death, and there are still millions of German supermen armed with planes and tanks on the European continent doing nothing. At this time, Stalin would not let his Red Army run into the muzzles of the supermen's guns and cannons.
But Stalin still wanted to take advantage of the situation in the Middle East being disrupted by Germany to attack and get something. So after the Eastern Mediterranean Sea Battle, he issued instructions to the People's Commissariat of Defense and the General Staff of the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, asking them to prepare to liberate the Iranian and Afghan people.
Yes, now only the Iranian and Afghan people need to be liberated, not the suffering Indian people. It's not that the benevolent leader of GCism doesn't care about the hundreds of millions of Indians in dire straits, but the benevolent leader still needs the British Empire, a democratic fighter to resist German tyranny.
In Stalin's view, the British Empire is a four-legged table, and the four legs supporting the table are the Royal Navy, Middle East oil and the Suez Canal, South African gold, and Indians.
Now the Royal Navy's table leg has been broken in half by Germany and Italy, and the Middle East oil and the Suez Canal will soon change hands. Only the South African gold and Indians are left. The two legs of the table look intact. If the Soviet Red Army rushed into India from Afghanistan and liberated more than 300 million suffering Indians, the broken table of the British Empire would fall completely. At that time, Britain is likely to ask for peace with Germany!
The Third International and the Military Intelligence Bureau of the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army have recently reported intelligence related to the secret negotiations between Britain and Germany. It is said that the negotiations between the two sides were promoted by the former British king, the Duke of Windsor, who hoped to use the method of dynastic marriage to exchange for a tolerant and decent peace.
Once Britain and Germany achieve peace, the United States will have nowhere to start even if it wants to join the war. It is impossible for millions of people to swim across the Atlantic to fight against the German supermen who are more numerous than them, right?
Once the United States withdraws from this world power competition, Germany's powerful military force is likely to turn to the Soviet Union...
So Stalin must now act carefully. He can neither tear his face and go to war with Germany, nor can he overturn the broken table of the British Empire. Now he must be patient and slowly promote the world revolution.
"How many Germans have arrived in Tehran now?" Stalin asked about the German army entering Iran.
"It is estimated that there are more than 10,000 people," Shaposhnikov replied. "They all belong to a German airborne division. In addition, according to intelligence, at least one armored division and two motorized infantry divisions have arrived in Istanbul. After crossing the strait, they will continue to take the train to Iran and Iraq."
One armored division, two motorized infantry divisions and one airborne division, as well as one fighter squadron, one bomber squadron and two anti-aircraft artillery regiments, are the full strength of the newly formed German Middle East Corps.
The Soviet Union has two armies with a total of 15 divisions in the two directions facing Iran, as well as a Caspian Fleet. The Red Air Force has also prepared more than 600 aircraft. It can be said that it has an overwhelming force advantage!
"The Transcaucasian Front will not move," Stalin said thoughtfully while smoking his pipe, "The Central Asian Front can move a little, and use an army to protect the Turkmen people in the Khorasan region from the oppression of Iranian reactionaries."
There are three provinces in northeastern Iran named Khorasan. Turkmenistan and Afghanistan, which are close to the Soviet Union, are not rich places, and there is no oil, so they are not very valuable.
"At the same time, the Central Asian Front will send another army group into Afghanistan." Stalin took two puffs of his cigarette, "But they are not going to overthrow King Zahir Shah, nor to touch the feudal forces there. We should strive for a peaceful entry. Our goal is not Afghanistan, but to open up a road to India."