The Lancaster differs from previous British bombers in that it does not have the traditional wooden frame and canvas skin, and it is a heavy bomber made entirely of metal. The designers used all the advanced technology imaginable on this aircraft, and it can be said that it was a Rolls-Royce phantom of the bomber group of that era.

The British installed four 1,480 hp Greyback Falcon-20 engines on the plane, which is the best engine they can have at the moment, and it is also the preferred power for the Spitfire MK3 prototype that is currently being test-flown in the plane.

Rolls-Royce's Merlin (also referred to as Merlin or Merlin) is currently the most powerful of the UK's production engines, but that doesn't mean it's the most advanced, as there is also the Griffon engine also developed by Rolls-Royce.

Speaking of the "Griffin", Rolls-Royce actually built a prototype in 39 years, with an engine power of 1,700 horsepower. The reason why the British Air Force did not consider the mass production of the "Griffin" was only because it was a full circle larger than the "Grayback", and it was difficult to fit into the engine compartment of the early Spitfire.

At that time, the British only took into account the frontal area of the fighter, but ignored the possible effect of the increased power on the flight qualities. However, given that the RAF was in a circle of dogfights at the time, it made sense to make this choice.

At the beginning of the war, the "Grayback Falcon" had been officially put into mass production, and the "Griffin" engine weight loss research and development was still proceeding slowly, and the British Air Force was not prepared to spend resources elsewhere under the wartime system, so it stopped the "Griffin" improvement project and began to devote all its energy to the manufacture of the "Grayback Falcon".

Xu Jun was well aware of the potential of the Gryphon engine, an excellent water-cooled engine that could reach more than 2,000 horsepower when supercharged, and for a bomber, a little larger was not a problem at all.

If Lancaster needs to improve its power, then the Gryphon is the best choice at the moment, but it will take time for this engine to be put into mass production, and Xu Jun hopes to solve these problems in the first half of '41.

An interesting feature of the Lancaster bomber compared to its similarly classed counterparts was that it was staffed with only one captain and pilot, which was also the case on the German side, and this configuration was very common in bomber designs before the 40 years.

But once you enter the bloody Eastern Front, this configuration is somewhat inappropriate. In fact, when the British bomber group entered German airspace, especially to and from Berlin for bombing, the crew members were already aware of this problem. Relying on a single pilot to complete the entire route is a severe test of physical strength and energy. At the same time, when the cockpit is attacked by German fighters, once the pilot is injured or killed, it often means that the entire crew will be buried together.

The U.S. military has long considered the problem of crew backup, so their long-range bombers are often two-person pilot groups, which can change shifts during long-distance flights, chat and quarrel when they are idle and bored, and share the pressure of operation in case of danger.

Historically, at the end of the war, the Royal Air Force installed Lancaster with a linked piloting system for the air mechanic who sat in the folding chair on the right side of the pilot's seat, and the mechanic was previously only responsible for the engines and control of the aircraft during take-off and landing.

Now that history has come up with ways to improve it, so what reason is there not to use it early, and this co-pilot system has also been put into the transformation plan by Xu Jun.

Then there is the problem of self-defense firepower, the British electric turret is indeed very advanced, but the Royal Air Force has not installed the firepower worthy of this system, compared with the heirloom point 50 of the US military, the British 7.7 mm Browning Mark II is a piece of garbage in addition to being lighter.

In the future, the Luftwaffe will encounter a group of Soviet fighters on the Eastern Front, which is known for its rough skin and thick flesh, and it is difficult to imagine how much deterrent the 7.7mm "sprinkler gun" can give the opponent.

Xu Jun felt that if he wanted to scare the group of polar bears, the caliber should reach at least point 50, and if necessary, he was even willing to move the bomb load to the self-defense weapon, and install two MG151/15mm guns on the tail and back turrets.

At the same time, the spherical turret at the bottom of the B17 is a good thing, which can be considered to be "developed" early, and maybe it can be sold to the Americans for patents in turn.

However, Xu Jun also knew very well that the self-defense firepower of bombers alone could not intercept multiple batches of fighter interception raids in multiple directions and sorties. In order to reduce the losses of long-range bombing, the Germans had to be equipped with a fighter that could provide full escort.

At this time, Germany had already bought all the materials, patents, and production licenses of the NA-73 fighter of the North American company, including more than 250 sets of semi-finished wings and fuselages.

After the British government canceled the order, this pile of finished products and parts was completely smashed into the hands of North American companies, adding additional financial pressure to North American airlines, which were in financial crisis.

Historically, the British "Arms Procurement Committee" initially wanted to buy P40 fighters from Curtis, but Curtis was going all out to complete the order of the US Army Air Corps, and there was no spare share to the British.

The British began to consider the feasibility of producing Kitty Hawk in the UK, and the executives of the North American company, who were selling the trainer to the British, learned of this and felt that this was a rare business opportunity, and perhaps they could use it to reverse the company's financial difficulties.

So they tried to convince the British that North American companies could develop a fighter that surpassed the performance of the P40 specifically for the British, and that it would be faster to put it into mass production than to build a new P40 production line.

As a result, the British believed the promise of the North American company, and placed an order for 320 aircraft without seeing the design drawings, which shows how dangerous the war situation in Europe was at that time, and the British Empire had been driven to the point of starvation by the Germans.

A NA-73 was originally priced at $40,000, which was more than 9,000 cheaper than Curtis's P40, which was indeed a conscientious price at the time, but if the British knew the true performance of this thing, I am afraid that half of the cheaper would not have placed this order.

Historically, after the P-51 Mustang was sent to the UK, the British pilots who used it scolded the pit father, and the P51 did use a lot of advanced patented technology, and the Allison V1701 is also a low-altitude performance of the engine, but the problem is that this engine is very meaty at high altitude, so once it encounters German fighters at high altitude, then this aircraft will only be obediently slaughtered.

So this aircraft was assigned to the command of the Royal Air Force's Army Coordination Command, to undertake low-altitude patrol reconnaissance and ground attack missions, the British were still very satisfied with the performance of this fighter at low altitudes, and even in 40 years there was an additional batch of orders, but until the outbreak of Pearl Harbor, this order was not completed.

It should be inserted here that after the Pearl Harbor attack, the U.S. Army also followed suit and ordered a batch of Mustangs, but these planes were modified into ground attack types, with bulky speed brakes installed on the wings, and the Army also gave her an A36 attack aircraft number, nicknamed "Apache".

In fact, it wasn't until April 1942, after a chance encounter, that the fate of the "Mustang" changed. At that time, a test pilot at Rolls-Royce tested a Mustang and found that the aircraft was faster than the latest Spitfire, powered by the same horsepower. So the test pilot thought about whether the performance would be even better if the plane was replaced with a fire-breathing "Grayback Falcon" engine.

Immediately, his suggestion was taken seriously by the management of Rolls-Royce, and the test of the "Mustang" replacing it with the "Grayback Falcon" engine began, and everyone must have guessed the story behind it, after replacing the powerful "Grayback Falcon", the "Mustang" turned into the best fighter in World War II, and created the miracle of the "Mustang Dynasty" era.

Now that the renovation of the "Mustang" is being carried out in the secret workshop of Messerschmidt, the head of the Reich is full of anticipation of what kind of legend the German-made "Mustang" with the Iron Cross will create in the history of warfare in the future.

PS: Thank you all for your support, the author will continue to work hard.

The second chapter is presented, and I will inform you again that the author will go out tomorrow, and the day after tomorrow will be made up.