Chapter 135: Trust

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At the same time, in London, England, at the Vickers-Supermarine aircraft design company, on which the Royal Air Force had placed high hopes, a group of RAF commanders were also looking grim-faced over the news they had just received.

“Intelligence from France,” an expert from the air force intelligence department said, looking around at his colleagues. “In the Spanish air war, the performance of the Soviet Red Army’s most advanced fighter, the I-16, has completely surpassed the Bulldog fighter currently in use by our military. This is not good news for us.”

“Now you’re thinking about developing future fighters? It’s too late!” an air force pilot sighed and complained. “What were you doing before? A few years ago, we came up with the GC-type fighter (nicknamed the Gamecock), but in the end, there was no funding to equip it. We finally managed to produce a few, and then we sold them to the Japanese.”

“That’s right! A few years ago, our chief designer, Mitchell, was returning home on a military transport ship and disappeared without a trace at sea. It’s ten to one the damned Germans were behind it!” an aircraft engineer chimed in from the side.

“Alright! Let’s not get sidetracked! Regarding designer Mitchell’s disappearance, we are very sorry. But what we are discussing now is how to deal with the increasing number of aerial threats,” an air force colonel said, tapping on the table. His expression was clearly a bit strange. “Also, don’t bring up that damned Gamecock fighter again. The problem we are about to discuss is not one that can be solved by old biplane fighters.”

“It’s obvious that the Soviet’s advanced I-16 fighter has appeared in the skies over Spain. This very fast fighter has made all of our planes obsolete. But that’s not the main topic of today’s meeting. The main topic is that the I-16 is suffering heavy losses over Spain!” the air force intelligence officer said, continuing with his briefing once everyone had quieted down.

“My God! Are you saying that the Soviet I-16, which is said to be able to fly at 186 miles per hour, has actually been defeated? By Italian planes?” an aircraft designer asked in disbelief.

The British intelligence officer placed a photograph on the table. In the photo was a blurry shadow, but it was clear enough to make out several features, such as a slender fuselage, an enclosed cockpit, and a monoplane structure. “Franco’s Nationalist army is using a super fighter that we have never heard of. It has very easily and thoroughly defeated the Soviet I-16.”

The intelligence officer explained, “The intelligence our spies deployed in Germany have obtained is not extensive. It only mentions that several German companies have jointly developed a new type of fighter, named after the Messerschmitt company, with the official designation ME-109.”

He paused, then pointed to various parts of the plane in the photo and continued, “This plane should be an all-metal construction, with a fully enclosed cockpit and terrifying aerodynamic performance. According to our intelligence network in Spain and our people within Franco’s circle, the flight speed of this German plane has exceeded everyone’s imagination. Many people say this plane’s speed is over 250 miles per hour.”

An air force fighter pilot looked at his colleague in horror, his voice changing pitch. “That’s impossible! No plane can fly that fast! Even the new fighter pre-research project led by Mitchell didn’t have that kind of flight speed.”

The intelligence officer snorted, then resumed his serious tone to answer the question. “I regret to inform you that this speed is, in all likelihood, real! Because we also have spies in the Republican air force, and they have confirmed the existence of the German fighter from another angle! They say this fighter’s speed is at least 250 miles per hour, if not more!”

“My God! Are you saying that both the Soviet Union and Germany now possess fighters that we cannot compare to? And one of these fighters is beyond what even our technological reserves can achieve?”

“In fact, the development of a new super fighter was severely delayed by the disappearance of designer Mitchell. We now have two fighter designs on hand: one is the Defiant fighter with a fully rotating turret, and the other is the naval Roc fighter. The designs of both planes are similar, and their performance is on par with the Soviet I-16,” an RAF technical officer said with a frown. “But we need time for testing, and even more time to deploy and produce these planes.”

“Test-fly these two planes immediately! By the end of the year, I want all relevant data to reach a level where they can be mass-produced,” the highest-ranking officer present, an RAF Major General, said, setting the tone for the discussion. “These two planes must go into production immediately next year! The Royal Air Force will procure 500 of each model.”

“Furthermore, even though chief designer Mitchell is no longer with us, you all must continue to develop a brand new future fighter for the Royal Air Force!” He stood up, walked to a blackboard on one of the conference room walls, and picked up a piece of chalk. “The Royal Air Force requires that the future fighter, this plane, must have a top speed of 300 miles per hour!”

He wrote the number “300” on the blackboard with the chalk and continued, “It must have a fully enclosed cockpit so the plane can fly to higher altitudes! In addition, it must use a monoplane structure! Understood?”

“Yes, sir!” everyone stood up and came to attention.

“Gentlemen, designers, manufacturers, I know that in the past, you have developed planes and provided them to us for selection. But this is an extraordinary time, so I have no choice but to change some of the traditions we have followed! I hope you can all understand!”

“No problem! We support the Royal Air Force’s decision!” several designers and businessmen said, nodding.

German Wehrmacht High Command. General von Brauchitsch was looking through this month’s army expansion report. Inside the cover, stamped “Top Secret,” were the important achievements of the German army’s expansion over the past two months.

In the past few days, the German army had received 70 heavy cannons produced by the Krupp company, all 150mm caliber. These cannons were the largest caliber weapons currently in use by Germany. Paired with new types of shells, they could strike targets 20 kilometers away and were absolutely world-class artillery pieces.

If you added the 28 trucks and 41 tanks provided by the Mercedes-Benz company, plus the more than 5,000 G43 semi-automatic rifles produced by various factories, and 12,000 new recruits—then the progress of Germany’s military expansion over the past two months could be described with one word: perfect.

In fact, the strength he now held in his hands was enough to give the British and French a huge shock. The total number of Wehrmacht soldiers was already close to 1 million. They possessed the most cars and motorcycles in the world and were equipped with a full 2,700 tanks and armored vehicles of various models.

In the air force, in addition to the 30 Me-109A fighters sent to Spain to support Franco, 110 of these planes had already been deployed in the homeland. Based on experience in Spain, the staff had made improvements to the later production models of the ME fighter, slightly enlarging the internal fuel tank and adding two universal hardpoints under the wings—which could carry drop tanks or small bombs.

And the Air Force Commander, Kesselring, had another trump card. This month, he had received 17 Ju-87 dive bombers, which Akado had named “Stuka.” This plane, designed specifically for attacking ground targets, added another function to the not-so-large German Air Force: attacking enemy ground targets.

Of course, if the German army had basically recovered its strength and the German air force was continuously developing and growing, then the changes in the German navy this month could only be described as earth-shattering.

At the shipyard in Kiel, Germany had strengthened security. In the large docks farthest from the civilian areas of the Kiel port, shipyard workers began to weld sections of a huge hull. This shipbuilding plan, codenamed “Q-1A(H),” was for the construction of the first aircraft carrier in German history. And they were building two of them at once.

The naval generals had high hopes for these two ships, which would become the only strike force in the German Navy’s surface fleet capable of challenging enemy battleships in the future, serving as the core of two separate German naval battle groups.

All of this was proceeding in an orderly manner according to the Führer’s plan. The great war machine of Germany was already operating efficiently, ready to fight to wash away its shame. Thinking of this, a bitter smile appeared on Brauchitsch’s lips: this equipment had been conceived by the Führer and the military together. Without being tested in actual combat, it looked powerful, but it really made one feel uncertain.

In fact, some of the army’s equipment had performed well after being tested in actual combat, and the air force was so happy they would laugh in their sleep. Only the navy, due to the lack of combat testing, had many generals who doubted the development direction set by the Führer. But they still conscientiously developed the weapons and equipment designated by the Führer.

Major General Gascoigne of the intelligence department knocked on his open door. “Lieutenant General, we have just dismantled a spy organization belonging to France and captured four key personnel. They were attempting to steal the blueprints for our fighter planes and were caught red-handed by the Gestapo. How do you think we should handle them?”

“Have you asked the embassy?” Brauchitsch asked, putting down the file in his hand.

Gascoigne nodded and replied, “Yes, our diplomatic staff contacted their embassy. The French are the same as always. They do not acknowledge any espionage activities. These people are ‘non-existent’ on the French side. So they have left them to our disposal.”

“Then handle it the old way! Send them to a concentration camp to produce socks!” Brauchitsch said.

“Yes, General!” Gascoigne turned and walked out.

“Gascoigne…” Brauchitsch suddenly asked. “Do you believe in everything the Führer does?”

“Of course!” Gascoigne replied without a second thought. “He is a gift from God to the German people! I will follow him to the death.”

“So will I…” Brauchitsch let out a breath, as if speaking to himself, or as if trying to convince himself.