The outcome of the battle between propeller fighters and jet fighters is not suspenseful in the eyes of later generations, because the two do not belong to the same era at all, just like bows and arrows against rifles, infantry against tanks.

But what if one side is a propeller fighter that has pushed its skills to the extreme, and the other side is a jet fighter that is still in its infancy and has not yet been tested in combat, and the two use the same weapons?

On this sunny autumn day, Chen Tian watched a series of suspenseful performances at the 35th Air Force Wing in the northeast of Rügen Island, one-on-one heads-up, two-on-two squad battles, and five-on-five melee that could be said to be a feast for everyone present.

The Messerschmidt 4 jet fighter, which has the world's highest flight speed, is naturally outstanding in absolute speed, and is also equipped with the best aviation weapons of the German Empire - the MK100 30 mm cannon and the G-9 105 mm rocket, of which 4 MK100 are centrally arranged in the nose position, and the G-9 rocket is generally mounted 8-12 pieces. Although these weapons were enough to destroy the world's most heavily armored bombers and even some medium tanks in an instant, the Messerschmidt Type 4's opponents in this exercise, the Messerschmitt 2-H and the Hinkel-Messerschmitt 303, were no ordinary ones.

As a new generation of single-seat single-engine propeller fighters that began to be equipped after the German-American War, the Messerschmitt 2 series fighters are currently the largest number of equipment in the Luftwaffe and the Navy, of which the Messerschmitt 2-C, Messerschmitt 2-E and Messerschmitt 2-H are equipped by the Luftwaffe and the Army, and the Messerschmitt 2-D and Messerschmitt 2-F are the standard carrier-based fighters of the German Navy aircraft carriers, although the engines and armaments used in each modified model are different. But they have one thing in common in the eyes of German pilots: they are reliable. The sturdy fuselage, rational arrangement, first-class speed and excellent agility allow the pilots who fly them not to be disgusted by technical shortcomings when facing the enemy, and this Messerschmitt 2-H not only inherits this advantage of the Messerschmitt 2 series, but also raises its firepower to a new level - 3 MK100 30mm cannons, 4 MG30 13mm aviation machine guns, and can carry 2-6 75mm or 88mm air-to-air and air-to-ground rockets. In this day and age. There is probably only one propeller fighter that can surpass the Messerschmitt 2-H in terms of firepower alone, and that is the famous "double shark" of the Luftwaffe, the Henkel-Messerschmidt 303 fighter that has won the Schneider Cup Aircraft Racing in the past two consecutive years.

In fact, it is not just the name of the two masters together, but the product of the wisdom of the two top fighter design teams, although its appearance is not good, but the super-first-class speed and endurance, the top maneuverability and unparalleled firepower make it quickly become the focus of attention in the world's aviation community. Someone described Henkel-Messerschmidt 303 as follows:

"Because of its lightning speed, it always leaves the opponent with a dead back; Because of camel-like endurance. Its appearance caused a large number of bombers to be retired early; Its agility dwarfs the birds, its firepower makes it impossible to dodge, and perhaps only the fish hiding in the deep sea can disrespect its capital, because the only place it cannot go is the sea. ”

Two one-on-one exercises, consisting of the Messerschmitt 4 vs. the Messerschmitt 2-H and the Henkel-Messerschmidt 303, two of the Luftwaffe's best conventional fighters at the moment, were located at low and medium altitudes of 500 to 6,000 meters, and both sides used tracer shells with hollow warheads. In the first scene, two participating planes flew side by side over the auditorium and then began to climb, which was a clear advantage for this jet. But the chase that followed was not as one-sided as one might think. The pilot of the Messerschmidt 2-H seemed intent on putting on a show for the VIPs, and his plane was constantly performing all sorts of juggling maneuvers in mid-altitude, spiraling plundering, rolling sideways, and serpentine ascent. Although the Messerschmitt 4 in the back kept a close distance from the former, it was never able to enter the appropriate angle of attack, and several reluctant shots failed to hit the target, and finally the pilot who flew the Messerschmidt 2-h was finally tired of playing this kind of chase game, he deftly used a low-altitude obstacle to shake off the opponent, and used a difficult roll to grab the attack position, but unfortunately the opponent's speed advantage was too obvious, and the Messerschmitt 4 used the climb to get rid of the ......

Half an hour later, the referees announced that the first drill ended in a draw. Although neither pilot was able to shoot down the other, their brilliant performance won a round of applause.

After a quarter of an hour's rest. The second drill begins.

Probably due to the instructions given by the superiors of both sides, the two pilots chased each other and quickly entered the head-on position. I saw that the Messerschmitt 4, which was equipped with four 30 mm cannons, spewed a large number of tracer bullets from the nose of the aircraft, and the Henkel-Messerschmidt 303 on the opposite side did not show weakness, and it immediately fired back with four 30 mm cannons in its own nose position and four 7.92 mm aviation machine guns in the wings close to the nose position, such a scene was as brave and "tragic" as two knights who were determined to fight to the death, and the two fighters were "shot down" by each other at almost the same time, and the drill had just been carried out for less than 5 minutes.

Although the result was very different from the previous one, this was also a more common and classic scene in actual combat, and there was a round of applause from the VIP seat again. If you look at it only from these two exercises. Jet fighters don't have much advantage in front of propeller fighters that are not as fast as themselves, but Chen Tian knows that this is just an "illusion", just like the musket is far less useful than the bow and arrow in the initial stage, and the country that makes a different choice between the musket and the bow and arrow will take a completely different path because of this, and Chen Tian does not want his country to decline in conservatism.

Chen Tian's contemplative expression obviously made the Air Force Minister Zekett and the Chief of the General Staff Walter a little unable to sit still, and after whispering to Zeckert, Walter quickly got up and left.

The next two two-on-two squad battles, namely 2 Messerschmidt 4 and 2 Messerschmitt 2-H, 2 Messerschmitt 4 and 2 Kerr-Messerschmidt Type 303s, did not last too long, and they were all won in the first few minutes, and the situation took a sharp turn for the worse, and it was the Messerschmitt 4 who won in the end.

The final five-on-five scuffle was a combination of 5 Messerschmidt 4 against 2 Messerschmidt 2-H and 2 Heinkel-Messerschmidt 303s, and the battle scene was still impressive. The propeller fighters were clearly better at working together, and the pilots flying the jets seemed to be a little restrained in maneuvering the expensive new aircraft, but they were shot down by two of them with skillful cooperation, and in the end they suddenly rose up and shot each other down.

Although he didn't know much about the tactics and coordination of air combat, let alone experienced it himself, Chen Tian still saw some ways from the difference between the scene and the result, but he didn't point it on the spot, but called Zekt to his accommodation alone before dinner.

"How much money have we invested in the development and production of this new fighter? I mean all the overhead included! ”

"Back to Your Majesty. Do you want a specific number? Zekett didn't have much surprise on his face.

"Probably!" Tatsuten told him bluntly that the number didn't need to be precise, but he wanted to know the answer now.

"Oh......" Zecht said as he thought about it, bowing his head slightly:

"We have invested about 65 million marks in the preliminary research, including personnel and equipment, and the total expenditure on a production line and other production equipment is about 50 million marks, so far we have produced a total of 18 of these fighters, and another 12 are being assembled, here is 30 million marks, plus the need for special supplies of fuel, maintenance and testing equipment, etc., the total expenditure is between 150 million and 160 million marks!"

"The military expenditure of the entire Democratic Russia for five years is equivalent to less than 100 million European marks!" Chen Tian said with some emotion. But then he changed gear. "Of course, there's no comparison between the two, as I said at the time. No matter what the cost, we have to develop this epoch-making fighter, and now we have succeeded, haven't we? ”

"Yes, Your Majesty!" Zeckert didn't understand what Chentian was going to say, so he seemed very reserved in his words.

"Although the advantages of jet fighters in today's exercises are not as great as we predicted, we cannot dismiss this new weapon, and in my opinion, they will replace propeller fighters in the next decade, and the vast majority of propeller aircraft will be relegated to the civilian industry!" Chen Tian said his opinion loudly.

Hearing this, Zecht's face that had just been stiff suddenly relaxed.

"Yes, Your Majesty! Your opinion is very forward-looking, although the cost of such fighters is more than ten times higher than that of current propeller fighters, but we are confident that their superiority in technical ideas will allow us to break through a series of things that are considered flight barriers, and speed is only one of them! ”

"That's right!" Chentian affirmed Zeckert's reasoning in a very confident tone, and in the '30s to be able to have such advanced ideas, this brilliant organizer once again showed his long-term vision, which in Chentian's opinion was many times better than those in the cabinet and the High Command who were opposed to investing heavily in jet aircraft.

"Today's exercise has given us a lot of inspiration!" Speaking of which. Only then did Chen Tian enter the "main topic".

"For example, the experience, quality, and tactical superiority of the pilots can compensate for the inferiority of weapons to a certain extent, and I am not right to say that if the situation happens today on the battlefield, it will be difficult for our new aircraft to bargain much on the opponent?" Chen Tian gave a meaningful smile.

"Your Majesty......" Zekett lowered his head, he didn't expect these little tricks to hide from his monarch, but there have been too many debates about the research funding of the jet fighter project in recent times, not only is his bedroom uneasy, but he is even worried that Chen Tian will also make difficulties due to the pressure of public opinion at the top of the empire and even make decisions that are not conducive to the development of jet fighters. Witnessing the jet fighter from theory to prototype completion to test flight, improvement, and formal production, Zeckert has seen more clearly than many people, the potential of this new weapon is huge, and it can even be said that whoever masters this technology will be able to rule the sky of the future, Zeckert does not want to see Germany lose this hard-won advantage in his twilight years!

"Our pilots have been exposed to this new weapon for less than 3 months, so it's not surprising that the drill doesn't take advantage of the old birds! In time, they will become the best air force in Europe, I can guarantee it! ”

Here, Chen Tian calmly comforted Zekt.

"Your Majesty...... We were wrong, we really shouldn't ......" Zeckert looked up, his eyes full of guilt, deceitful may not seem like a big deal in other eyes, but for German soldiers, it is an insult to their own character.

"Forget it!" Chen Tian waved his hand to interrupt Zecht's apology, "I also understand your suffering, but you must understand that although this kind of deception is well-intentioned, it is very likely to be misinterpreted by the people below and form a bad atmosphere among them!" The Air Force was the latest to be established among the branches of the Empire, and had experienced several major wars since its establishment, so it had formed a tenacious, tenacious, and brave fighting character, and they might not encounter any war for many years to come, but even in peacetime, they should not lose these good qualities and become infected with some bad habits! ”

"Yes, Your Majesty!" Zeket gave a serious military salute, "We will avoid repeating the mistakes of the Romans, and under your rule, I am sure we will be able to!" ”

"Okay, don't say much about these big words!" Chen Tian smiled kindly.

"Originally, I was going to let this air force wing go to Russia for training, but now it seems that I have to study and study it again, the Russians currently lack first-class fighters, but the pilots are very good, otherwise they will not be able to defeat the Democratic Russian Air Force of comparable size in a short time!"

"Then let the situation in Russia go on like this?" Zekett's eyes widened, that means just watching Soviet Russia win the war?

Chen Tian sighed softly, "It's time to make this kind of preparation!" ”