The cost of such an armored division is, of course, enormous, because, in addition to the steel jungle seen on the ground, the Fw-190F attack aircraft that pass overhead from time to time are technically part of the division. The biggest difference between the 1944 armored division and the 1943 type was the integration of air-ground attack, giving each division the command of 36 ground attack aircraft, and these aircraft groups were subordinate to the air force in terms of establishment and supply, but in terms of operation, these planes were directly under the command of the troops, deployed by the group army, and the command was delegated to the jurisdiction of the division command.

Although the Germans used the blitzkrieg to make a name for themselves, in fact, there have always been many problems in the process of cooperation, which is nothing more than that the enemy is worse and weaker, so it seems that the results are brilliant. But as the war entered its fifth year, even the most stupid enemy began to learn and find ways to deal with it, and the Red Army adjusted its tactics accordingly. The most common is to use small forces to quickly interdict the attack, that is, to dispatch tanks, tank destroyers and Il-2 fighters to cooperate with each other.

In order to deal with the increasingly difficult Tiger tanks, the Red Army not only developed the T-34/85, IS-1, IS-2, but also released the Su-85M, Su-100 and other tank destroyers in advance, and uncharacteristically began to take the route of elite counterattack. Of course, this kind of line is also a last resort; first, the Red Army's elite equipment is not large in number and cannot be pulled on too large a scale, and second, there are not many outstanding troops who can master this tactic, and not everyone can learn to counterattack quickly.

However, it has caused great distress to the huge armored division of Germany or the heavy armor that has always been proud, and when the ground forces that have been attacked are hurriedly summoning the air force to come to support, unless they happen to be nearby, they will be escaped every time, and they have also tried to equip self-propelled air defense vehicles to deal with it, but it is inconvenient to move in this way, and more importantly, if you want to completely prevent it, I don't know how many air defense vehicles will be consumed, and the scale of the armored force is very large, and it will definitely not be able to play with a large number of air defense vehicles.

The question was brought to the table, and Hoffmann personally decided that the ground forces should be equipped with ground-attack aircraft directly under him -- it was unthinkable in Goering's time, but the Führer is now the commander-in-chief of the three services, that is, in one sentence. Initially, the Hs-129, Ju-87G, and Ha-329 (see this book were considered), but then Hoffman chose the Fw-190 ground support type instead of any of them.

Due to the rapid mass production of the Ta-152 and Do-412, the Fw-190 began to be redundant, especially the early Fw-190A (1-6) series, which was no longer enough to take on air superiority combat missions, but there were still quite a few of them, and more than 2000 aircraft were processed to the allies. Later, after comprehensive analysis and judgment, the Ministry of Armaments held that it would be a waste to launch a separate ground attack aircraft under such circumstances, so it advocated that all these planes be changed to the F type ground attack model (the F type and the A type are similar in fuselage).

In addition to ground attack missions, these fighter-turned-Fw-190 attack aircraft also have a mission, that is, to fight against enemy ground attack aircraft and tactical bombers that lack fighter protection, because even if it is changed to F-type ground support, the Fw-190 is still a good fighter, more than enough to deal with Il-2 or light bombers.

This choice was a little stunned at first, but after careful consideration, it was not unreasonable: the Red Army increased the equipment of the Il-2 to make up for its weak anti-armor capability, the German army does not need to overemphasize this ability, the performance and number of tanks alone are enough to crush the opponent, the purpose of equipping ground attack aircraft is to coordinate rapid reconnaissance, and second, to prevent enemy attack aircraft from attacking their own tanks, Fw-190F can not only meet this goal, but also save a lot of money, why not?

During the internal demonstration, this tactic achieved good results, and just when the army top brass thought that the first thing was to build the army air force from this, Hoffman laughed: "The army aviation is to be formed, but it is not this kind of aircraft, we have brand new equipment." ”

Soon a group of military and political dignitaries, including Hausser, saw the new equipment: the Fa-223 Dragon helicopter.

This aircraft began to be developed in the late 30s under the impetus of Dr. Fokker, and by 42 years it had produced a pre-production version for test flights, and achieved good results, and the main technical indicators were first-class in the world, exceeding the capabilities of the U-6 experimental helicopter of the US military: the ceiling exceeded 7,500 meters, the load capacity exceeded 2,000 kg, and the cruising speed was 200 km / h.

The Ministry of Armaments conducted a number of tests on the aircraft, such as lifting 75mm anti-tank guns to deliver ammunition and supplies for mountain troops. All the 75mm anti-tank guns of a mountain artillery battery can be transported from the valley to the combat area at an altitude of 2,000 meters with just one Fa-223, and only one Fa223 for ammunition and supplies can complete the task. If it is transported by mule, it will not work at all without 40~50 heads, and time is even more of a problem.

This is not the limit of the Fa-223, which also flew more than 30 kilometers with a BMW 801 engine system weighing 1.3 tons in one test flight.

Hoffman acknowledged the efforts of the engineers, but thought that their vision was too limited, so why only take on the transportation function and not the attack function? The attack Fa-423 helicopter was developed with 16mm thick steel plates in important parts to strengthen the armor characteristics and replace it with new engines. The 14-cylinder star-cooled BMW 701 engine (i.e. Rong 21 German production model) removed from the Bf-219 can produce a maximum of 1,250 horsepower on the basis of 580 kilograms, which is not only more efficient than the original 9-cylinder air-cooled engine BMW323A(1,000 horsepower, 550 kilograms), but also has a smaller diameter, and the whole helicopter looks very compact.

At the end of 1943, the famous female pilot Hannah Leich performed Hoffmann's idea of using helicopter gunships to carry out "treetop attacks" in front of the top management: the Fa-423 took off into the air, first covering the entire position with 16 ground rockets it carried, and then used the MG213 cannons on both sides of the fuselage (also a ready-made product) to carry out an unscrupulous attack. As for the human body, it doesn't matter if there are tanks trying to thicken the top, there is also the MK213 cannon (30mm rifled gun) waiting in the back. In addition to self-propelled anti-aircraft artillery, anti-aircraft machine guns in general can not do anything about this armed armored helicopter.

After the performance, Hoffman said again: "I think, you can also hang wire-guided rockets, not as heavy as the Hs-393 -- that's against the capital ship, and a 150-kilogram lightweight missile is enough to deal with a tank of only a few dozen tons, and at such a low altitude, a heavy tank will be finished as soon as it is fired, and I don't think there is any problem with hanging 2 helicopters." ”

This display caused a sensation at the top level, and the Führer seemed to have unveiled a new mode of future warfare with his own hands: First, all the fighters of the Air Force took off to compete for air supremacy in the airspace of the battlefield, and then the helicopter gunships took off to cover the enemy's heavy equipment and fire positions with firepower, and then the tanks rushed to the end of the matter, and found that there were permanent firepower points or hard equipment that could not be defeated, and then called for two dexterous bombs from the helicopters......

Not only are helicopters inexpensive to build (much cheaper than the Tiger), but they also don't need complicated runways, they can fly on flat ground, which greatly improves the rapid reaction capability - no wonder the Führer always talks about the European Rapid Reaction Force! Everyone finally felt that the war had entered a three-dimensional era.

Everyone believes that once this Fa-423 attack helicopter matures and is matched with Germany's armor superiority, everyone believes that it is not necessary to replace all the Type 1944 armored divisions, and then re-equip the Wehrmacht with about 10 to complete the war.

Hauser was also present at the time, and he was not only shocked by the scene, but also admired the Führer more deeply, who in his mind was an all-powerful and prophet, who understood not only politics but also economics, not only strategy, but also equipment, and could even discuss advanced technology with scientists. More importantly, the Führer is not rhetoric, governing the country and fighting wars and even engaging in intrigues, no one is his opponent,

And there is hardly any bad image of the Führer. Many bigwigs are either greedy for money, lustful, or both, but the Führer is not greedy for money -- although the oil fund is a large amount of money, everyone thinks that the Führer should take it, and if the Führer does not take the big head, how can the people below get it? Even so, the Führer thoughtfully thought about the future of ordinary soldiers.

The Führer is not lustful, Hausser is an old comrade who has followed the party for many years, he knows that there is an Aiwa around the Führer, there has been no scandal for many years, he has seen several female secretaries in the Führer's office, and he dare not say that he is beautiful and beautiful, at least he is full of amorous feelings, but the Führer has never had the idea of being contaminated. Two years ago, the Führer received an additional confidential secretary named Helen, and at first everyone thought that the Führer finally had some special ideas, but later it turned out that this was an ordinary working secretary.

Of course, the Führer will also change, and he is now more athletic, and under Eva's guidance, he has become fond of swimming, equestrian and tennis, and more recently is said to have become obsessed with fencing. Hausser had accompanied the Führer to dinner a few times, and found that he had gradually changed his vegetarian habits, and that he had stopped talking at length, and that people in their 50s looked young and healthy, unlike the politicians of other countries, such as the fat man in England, the lame man in the United States, or the playboy in Italy.

"Sir......" An urgent military intelligence report pulled Hausser back from his fugue......

ps: The monthly pass ranking has dropped a lot, and it must be a big help......