"Of course we've solved this problem, and if something as ridiculous as shooting down yourself happens, we won't send him here, will we?" Faced with everyone's questions, Junkers replied with a smile.

"But we've thought of various ways before, but except for adding the machine gun to the top of the wing to keep the muzzle out of the range of the propeller, there will be cases where the bullet hits the propeller, how did you solve it?" Schramm was also intrigued and asked.

Naturally, there were DIY in the troops, and it was naturally difficult for the ME-2 reconnaissance plane to be satisfied with only rear-firing machine guns, so the pilots once asked to fix a machine gun in front of their own positions, and the mechanics of the unit had to reluctantly make some attempts for such a request.

However, when the bullets fired from the machine gun fixed directly in front of the cockpit would hit the propeller, an attempt was made to mount the machine gun on the central axis of the upper wing. Now it was possible to shoot forward, but the weight of the gun carriage that fixed the machine gun and the unacceptable hit rate of the inability to aim the guide made the final result that it was completely dismantled. So Schramm is interested in how to solve this problem.

"I'm really sorry, Major, this technology is confidential, I don't have the authority to sue you, even if you know about it in the future, you can't leak it to the outside world." Junkers refused: "But wait until the planes here need to be tested a few times, let them hit a few shots and you can rest easy." ”

It's not hard to talk about, but if it is leaked, the results can be catastrophic.

At the beginning of World War I, all countries had only a small number of aircraft equipped with troops, even the United States, the birthplace of aircraft, the number of aircraft was about 200. Because of the military's bias and lack of attention, these aircraft are non-combat aircraft with low performance and can only perform auxiliary tasks, such as close-range aerial reconnaissance.

The reconnaissance planes of both sides encountered more and more in the air, and the pilots began not to be satisfied with just waving their fists at each other, but began to rack their brains to arm their planes. Pistols and rifles are normal, and abnormal weapons such as hooks and javelins are often found in pilots' cockpits.

After all these miscellaneous gadgets, the military finally found itself in need of a combat aircraft in the true sense of the word, which was a fighter jet. Machine guns, which began to become the standard weapon of fighters.

But due to the lag in technology, the way to forcibly install the machine gun on the plane encountered a huge obstacle, that is, the high-speed rotating propeller in front of the nose.

At that time, two methods appeared, one was what Schramm said they tried to mount the machine gun above the wing, avoiding the propeller. The famous model is the Newport 11 in France. Another approach is to use a pusher propeller layout, so that there is no propeller in the nose position, such as the British Vickers F.B.5. But neither method is ideal, the former affects aiming, the latter affects flight.

Until Morana in France? Solnierl, the first recognized fighter in the true sense of the word, this was equipped by the French pilot Laurent? Garros invented the deflector system, in which a steel plate is mounted on the propeller to deflect the warhead hit on it. This made it possible to install a stationary coaxial machine gun on such an aircraft, which greatly simplified the aiming and maneuvering of the pilot.

Of course, the disadvantages of this approach and obvious. The performance of the propeller with steel plates is affected, and the deflected warhead has the potential to bounce back and damage the engine.

And the ultimate solution to this problem is what Schramm saw in front of them - the firing coordinator, which was historically developed by the Dutchman Anthony ? Fokker invented a technique that connected the propeller shaft to the machine gun firing device, so that the propeller blades stopped the machine gun firing when it was in front of the machine gun's muzzle, thus completely solving the problem of fire and safety on the fighter.

When this device was installed on the Fokker E.3 fighter, the Fokker disaster befell the Allied air forces. Humanity has finally opened a new chapter in the era of air warfare.

In an era when engine performance alone can make a classic famous aircraft, the ME-4F has achieved a performance similar to that of the Camel F1 with engine performance far exceeding that of its contemporaries, and the Germans alone were able to create carnage in the skies at the beginning of World War I, so any technical details of it must be kept secret.

Junkers refused to say, and everyone did not continue to ask. Everyone still knows what to know and what not to know, and being able to see live ammunition is enough to make young people excited. So under Schramm's eyes, a group of young men diligently helped.

"It's our job, isn't it appropriate for your pilots to do this?" Junkers asked Schramm, who was standing nearby.

"It's all right, these boys are energetic, and they can't help much in other ways, but they can do some hard work, and Mr. Junkers doesn't have to care." Schramm said with a smile, of course, he didn't have to care, Schramm didn't want Junkers to really care, of course, he did it for a purpose, the purpose was to brush up on the favorability in front of the designer who was obviously the leader of the Mercedes technical team who came to the base this time, as for what these favorability points were for, Schramm certainly had a plan.

Naturally, the pilots had nothing to do with assembling and debugging the equipment, but they were still capable of moving parts and sending tools, and the pilots became more and more interested as a few people rushed to help transport barrels of fuel and boxes of ammunition in carts.

As the fuel is filled into the tank, ground tests of the engines begin in the hangar, which is nothing new for the pilots, as their own planes do the same work on weekdays.

But when the rear fuselage of some of the planes that finished testing was supported by brackets to keep the fuselages horizontal, and there were mechanics who put target paper on the hangar wall directly in front of the planes, they knew that what they wanted to see the most was about to begin.

"Oh, the machine gun is really in the nose."

"It looks like it's a hassle to reload, and it's hard to repair if it breaks down."

Watching the mechanics open the hatch in the nose and reload it with ammunition was a novelty.

"Originally, we also used to mount the machine gun directly on the nose and expose it, although it was easy to reload ammunition and easier to repair in case of failure. However, the muzzle flame of this kind of shooting will affect the pilot's line of sight, so we put the machine gun in the nose, because the air-cooled machine gun is relatively small, and our new engine is more compact, so there is enough space in the nose. Junkers introduced.

In fact, this is also Jochen's request, the machine gun is mounted in the nose to improve the linearity of the nose smooth. Now the engine horsepower is not high. The speed of the aircraft is not fast, so the effect of air resistance can not be seen, but in the future, the aircraft will be faster and faster, and the reduction of air resistance in appearance has almost reached the point of nitpicking, and even the paint polishing process on the surface of the aircraft will strictly affect the speed of the aircraft, which is unimaginable for these things with rough canvas skin now.

But I can't see it now, but why not try the technology that can be done with the current technical conditions? During World War I, there was a reason why a large number of fighter machine guns were externalized, such as the model that used the Maxim machine gun because the volume of the water jacket outside the barrel was too large, even if it was changed to an air-cooled Maxim. Its hollow metal sleeve is still not small, so the space in the nose is not enough to accommodate such a machine gun, typical models are known as one of the best fighters in the First World War, the British Thorway Camel F1 fighter, like the German Junkers D1 fighter to dig two slots in the nose and half-bury the Maxim machine gun into the design is already relatively good. But now that Germany has small air-cooled machine guns, this problem is not a problem.

After loading, the mechanic jumped into the cockpit, and after a little inspection, signaled that there was no problem, and the others immediately jumped out of the plane and drove three to both sides. The ME-04F, which was held to the ground by the support frame and wheel baffles, shook slightly under the traction of the engine, and then the mechanic pulled the trigger. Two tongues of fire burst out from the nose of the aircraft, and the golden shells in the two holes on both sides of the lower nose instantly tilted down, the clanging sound of the landing and the clatter of shooting were endless, and the target paper attached to the bomb wall in the hangar in front of the nose instantly flew and flew, but it was torn to shreds after a while.

Everyone looked at the dazzling tongue of fire with excitement, and they knew what it meant. From prey to hunter, this is what every pilot wants.

"The shell window of the machine gun is connected by guò pipes, and the shells are directed under the nose and thrown out, so that the shells do not fly around in the sky." Junkers introduced.

These pilots have long been aware of this problem, and the rear-seat machine gun of the ME-2 was originally a bomb casing that flew into the sky as soon as it was fired, and later it was not necessary to equip each machine gun with a cartridge case collection bag. So as not to fall all over the place in the back seat.

"There are 200 rounds per machine gun, and we have improvised sights on the front windshield of the cockpit, but we're just technicians, and it's up to you pilots to try how this aircraft will fight in the air."

Junkers's words were what Schramm wanted to hear, and he immediately nodded busily: "Mr. Junkers, my lads are the best pilots in the base." You're supposed to be at our base for a while, right? If you need help in the future, just ask, these stinky boys can't do anything else, flying a plane and this force is the best, and it's no problem to let them do flight tests or let them do some physical work. ”

As he spoke, he turned his head to look at his own people, although he didn't understand why the major was so attentive, but everyone immediately responded: "That is, if you need anything, you can speak." "Our squadron is the most hospitable, and you often come to play when you have time." "I'm the most helpful person, you can talk about something."

Looking at this, Junkers probably understood what Schramm was thinking, but he was indeed unfamiliar with life as a technician, and there was no harm in getting acquainted with these young officers here, so he smiled and thanked him.

Walking out of the hangar, everyone was excitedly discussing the new plane, and everyone said that they really wished they could actually fly it around the sky twice and fire a few shots.

Listening to the conversation of his subordinates, Schramm turned his head and said in a mysterious low voice: "Do you know why I secretly brought you here today?" ”

"Isn't it just to see the new plane, but you can't touch it just by looking at it."

"That's it, when can we fly two laps."

A crowd of people coaxed.

"I'm going to tell you a secret piece of news, I've heard that a new squadron is being formed at the base to fly the new planes you just saw, and this squadron is going to pick people from the whole wing, now I understand why I was so polite to that Mr. Junkers, right? A little eyesight, usually idle to grab and run, move things to help, anyway, you guys have no strength and no place to use, leave a good impression on others, that gentleman as a technical expert will definitely be able to say a few words. ”

"Oh oh oh, Major, you're too cunning!"

"What cunning, major, this is called cleverness!"

"Shut up! Do you want the whole base to know about it so loudly?! Schramm learned the lesson, but the smile on his face could not be concealed. (To be continued......) R1292