Hoffmann also saw an improved model of the Me-323, which Dr. Messerschmidt had given to him. According to the design indicators, the improved fat aircraft cargo capacity will exceed 19 tons, the maximum speed of more than 340 km / h, the longest range of up to 1800 km (when fully loaded), due to the shape, main technical indicators and performance and the original model has been reborn changes, the Ministry of Armaments gave the Me-423 a new number, in the face of this aircraft that has not even carried out a complete test flight process, the Air Force asked for 50 in one breath, not that they don't want more, but feel that it is really a bit expensive, It is estimated that the price of a single unit is as high as 1.4 million Reichsmarks, and 50 units are 70 million gone-a Bf-109 is only 100,000 marks, and the price of a newly produced Bf-219 is only 140,000 marks. Moreover, 1.4 million is only an estimate, and according to consistent experience, the price is only high and not low when it is really offline.

But for Junkers, another 450 engines were in business (300 common + 150 in reserve). As a result, because the Ju-87 was forced to stop production by the He-218 stealing the limelight, and even the suspension of the Jumo-211J engine was finally not distressed, the company can fully produce the Jumo-213 series of engines, plus the upcoming Jumo-004C series of production, they seem to see a lot of tickets beckoning to them.

After several new models of selection and competition, the aircraft and engine manufacturers vaguely formed a consortium, Messerschmidt including the Me-423, Me-262 all choose the products of the United Mo company, while the Wolf company chooses the BMW and Mercedes-Benz series engines.

In the face of the close pressure of the Jumo-213 series, what should be done with the replaced BMW 801 series engine? Or expand production!

At present, the FW-190 is the largest aircraft in service in a single model, with monthly production exceeding 800 in January and 1,200 after the peak in March. In fact, Wolf was also alarmed by the Fw-190 order placed at them by the Ministry of Armaments, calculating that the Air Force would not actually need so many Fw-190s at the current rate of battle losses, and that even after June, there would be more newly completed Fw-190s than newly graduated pilots -- that would include all types of pilots.

Speer's idea was simple and crude: to produce enough stock and shut down production by September to switch to new fighter jets, an idea that Hoffman strongly supported.

After two cases of rearmament of aviation, Wolff, Messerschmidt, Henkel and Junkers were very satisfied, but there were also some companies that did not have a very happy time. Take the Dornier company as an example, the company's Do-17 \ Do-217 bomber has been discontinued, and the Do-335, a high-speed fighter driven by the front and rear twin propellers, which has been painstakingly researched, has been sentenced to death by the Ministry of Armaments, and for a time can only rely on the OEM Ju-88 to maintain business, and the Ju-88 itself is facing a change of production, although the Ministry of Armaments has made it clear that the Italian SM79 bomber will be handed over to the Dornier company for production, but the total production of other people's authorized models makes the arrogant Mr. Claude Dornier very dissatisfied. Dornier also considered developing a heavy bomber for the Do-417 based on the Do-217 medium bomber, but both the technical reserves and the competitive pressure of other companies indicated that the project had no future, so it was quickly abandoned.

In this lost situation, Dornier was given an opportunity that was not an opportunity: the Japanese side brought in four different plans for the new naval aircraft, among which the high-speed carrier-based reconnaissance aircraft (Caiyun) had been assigned to Aradao in advance. Of the remaining three, one is a carrier-based fighter (Gale) - both Messerschmidt and Wolff are struggling to grab it, especially when they hear that this aircraft is the work of Japan's most successful aircraft designer, Jiro Horikoshi, and the two companies are not backing down; One is the carrier-based joint attack aircraft (Meteor), it is said that this aircraft has both dive bombing and torpedo attack functions, Heinkel and Junkers have launched a-for-tat competition, everyone thinks very clearly, who wins this model, it means that in the future, who is likely to grasp the only model of carrier-based attack aircraft; The third is a land-based fighter (purple electric), but the development of this model of the Kawanishi company is a seaplane manufacturing enterprise, the technical force in Japan is relatively weak, considering that Germany has Ta-152 and Me-262 two very close to the success of the land-based fighter project, everyone is not optimistic about the purple electric project, so there are no large companies interested.

When sending technical experts to Germany for exchange and study, the Kawanishi Company, which thought that it had a poor foundation, was the most active and modest, and most of the first batch of personnel were designers and engineers from Kawanishi. Faced with this embarrassing situation, Mr. Dornier was keenly aware of the unique advantages of the Zidian project and immediately issued an application for the project, which was a good relief for the Ministry of Armaments. Out of compensation for Dornier, Speer immediately strengthened the technical team led by Giuseppe Gabrieri, chief designer of the Italian company Fiat (who developed the G-50\G-55 fighter)

Thus, in late January, the first Axis United Aviation Design Bureau was established, codenamed DFK Design Bureau - taking the initials of the three companies of Dou Neil, Fiat, and Kawanishi. Out of the motivation of always striving for the first-class and giving those big-name companies a little color, the designers of the Three Kingdoms decided to get the Zidian project up. While several other aircraft models were still reviewing the drawings and considering the overall indicators and goals, the DFK Design Bureau had already held three meetings on the Zidian project, and it was difficult for such a large team to communicate, but fortunately, the designers of the three countries could speak some English, so English became a daily communication language. The goal of the design bureau is very clear, this aircraft should not only become an excellent low- and medium-altitude fighter, but also have the function of going on the ship, so as to achieve all-conquering land and sea operations.

Mr. Dornier admired the original Japanese design, and the design boldly adopted the laminar flow airfoil and automatic retracting and releasing air combat flaps that have not yet been fully promoted in the world, especially the latter, which can obtain the corresponding best flap deflection angle and lift-to-drag ratio of the aircraft at various speeds with the help of a less complex mechanism, and the project also uses a rod force adjuster, so that the aircraft has better steering power and rudder efficiency at various speeds - the Bf-109 operates the lever very heavily in high-speed flight, and is called "aerial slate", This is one of the reasons why good pilots prefer the Fw-190.

The new design adopted by Zidian was very bold, far beyond the conventional ideas of the German designers, but it was in line with Dornier's own philosophy - otherwise he would not dare to try the strange shape of the front and rear twin-prop aircraft, so he thought that these designs should not only not be changed, but should be optimized as much as possible.

Another key to the selection of the project is the engine, the original design uses a 2000 hp reputation engine, DFK considering that the current DB series and Jumo series of liquid-cooled engines have been booked, it is estimated that it is difficult to get it, plus if you want to go on the ship, for the principle of maintenance convenience, it is best to use air-cooled engines. However, in the specific selection, Dornier decided to choose BMW's latest 901 series engine.

This is carefully considered, BMW's most mature product is undoubtedly the 801 series, this two-row 14-cylinder star engine has been developed to the E model (this is the standard engine of the Fw-190A and Ju-98) after absorbing the relevant technology of the Japanese Mars engine, with 2000 horsepower and 54 kg of weight (although the Mars engine of the same power is lighter, but the cross-section is larger and the stability is not good), the next step is to develop the 801F type, which is expected to reach 2400 horsepower. The 901 series is based on Hoffman's requirements, and the double-row 18-cylinder air-cooled star engine formed on the basis of the imitation of the American Pratt & Whitney Double Wasp R-2800 (BMW engine technology was developed on the basis of the introduction of Pratt & Whitney technology, so the imitation is not particularly difficult), plus it has obtained the drawings of Japan's engine technology (also a copy of Pratt & Whitney's double-row 18-cylinder products) as a reference. The 901 series also produced a steady 2,000 hp (the best production version of the R-2800 at this time was 2,300-2,400 hp).

But the 901 series isn't good enough at the moment, as the 801 series has the same power and a thicker cross-section, which brings more drag. In the face of doubts, Dornier still insisted on the 901 series, saying: "The 14-cylinder engine is now 2,000 hp, maybe 2,400 in a year, and the 18-cylinder engine is 2,000 now, maybe 2,400 in a few months." Now that the numbers are the same, can we say that the future development space and potential are also the same? If it's all the same, what are 18 cylinders 4 more than 14 cylinders for? ”

At his suggestion, DFK Design Bureau finally bet on the maturity of the BWM901C model, which was expected to reach 2,300 hp, and the spare engine chose the 2,100 hp of the Yu series.

Since this was the first joint development project with personnel in place, Hoffman took it very seriously and took the time to listen to the presentations of several DFK designers. (To be continued.) )