In Ireland's Special Armaments Programme, with a total budget of more than DM 430 million, the Irish Air Force will purchase an additional 1,500 fighter jets on top of the normal armaments programme, of which 350 have been identified as IR-29 biplane single-seat fighters that have been tested in early 1929. Pen? Interesting? Pavilion wWw. ｂiquge。 infoIn this era when monoplanes are already on the rise, it may seem conservative to continue to adopt biplane designs in large quantities, but the low cost, good handling, strong maneuverability and ease of maintenance of biplanes continue to dominate the active fighters of various air forces, and it is completely logical for the Irish top to make such a choice.

Due to the different armaments, the IR-29 fighter designed and developed in Ireland is divided into two mass production models, the A type is equipped with two 13 mm and two 7 point 92 mm cannons, which are produced by the Royal Aircraft Factory of Ireland, with an order of 200 aircraft; The B model was armed with four 7-point 92 mm machine guns and was produced by Limerick Aircraft Company with an order of 150 units. The maximum speed of Type A is 345 km/h, Type B is capable of reaching 360 km, and their normal range is 620 km and 660 km, respectively. With the auxiliary fuel tank attached, the range of both A and B models can be increased to 750 km.

The remaining 1,150 orders for the Special Armaments Programme will be reserved for monoplanes currently under development, with competitors including Ireland's Limerick Aircraft Company, the Royal Aircraft Factory, Leinster Aeromanufactory, and Germany's Fokker Aircraft Company and the Bavarian Aircraft Factory. In terms of the calculations on the drawing board, Fokker's G-51A is undoubtedly the most eye-catching, it is based on the 1928 Berlin Air Racing champion "Fokker-Skylark", with an all-metal structure, a lower wing shape and a series of new designs such as four-bladed propellers, planned to be equipped with an 800 horsepower Daimler engine and supercharger, with excellent high-altitude and high-speed performance, the measured maximum speed can reach 440 kilometers per hour. In fact, it only takes more than 400 km/h to break the speed record for an active fighter held by the Fokker-XI.

Unlike the new monoplanes, which were destined to dominate the high altitudes, the IR-29 was a low-altitude interceptor with a strong airframe structure and good cabin protection, which could carry light aerial bombs for ground attack missions if necessary. Its original design was based on a 650 hp Daimler Star air-cooled engine, but shortly after mass production began, an unexpected circumstance changed its fortunes when the German company Bavaria Engine introduced a new V-type liquid-cooled engine at the end of 1929, and the test was a great success, which was immediately favored by the German military and major aircraft manufacturers. Monterre, a German designer hired by the Limerick Aircraft Factory, learned of this from a friend, and obtained the technical specifications of the new engine through personal connections, and after careful calculations, he decided that the new engine could improve the flight performance of the IR-29 by a notch, so he made a proposal to the Irish military leadership. After Xia Shu personally came forward to coordinate, the Irish military obtained a batch of BMW-290A with an output of 850 horsepower. Although the liquid-cooled engine was heavier and larger than the Daimler engine previously equipped with the IR-29, it adopted a V-shaped layout that air-cooled engines did not have, reducing the frontal area and helping to create a streamlined nose.

Thanks to the efforts of the technical team of the Limerick aircraft factory, the work of adjusting the nose shape and replacing it with the BMW-290A was quickly completed, and the improved IR-29 soared into the sky, and the low-altitude test speed was increased to 395 kilometers per hour, which is comparable to the Fokker-XI fighter with an empty weight of more than 30% and a cost 35% higher, and 30 kilometers per hour faster than the latest British Gloucester "Long Gloves", and the climb rate is 15% higher than that of the original model. It can be said that the improved version of the IR-29 not only has all the necessary performance of an interceptor, but is also capable of the task of fighting for air supremacy.

The advantages and disadvantages of liquid-cooled engines over traditional air-cooled engines are obvious. After careful selection and after receiving assurances from the Bavarian authorities and Bavaria Engine Company for continuous supply, Natsuki ordered the IR-29 to be completely replaced with a powerful heart, and sent a group of technicians to Germany to learn about the maintenance of AC liquid-cooled engines.

However, despite the first-class flight performance of the improved IR-29, Natsuki did not approve the Air Force's proposal for an additional order, knowing that a better option was yet to come.

In the spring of 1930, the first batch of IR-29s officially entered service with the 4th Fighter Wing of the Irish Air Force to France, and the IR-29, which entered the international field of vision for the first time, lived up to expectations, not only easily qualified for low-intensity theater patrols and ground attack missions, but also dazzling in the regular joint training with the Luftwaffe: Captain Michael Ahern, the Irish ace pilot who flew the IR-29, won 19 effective shootdowns in 24 joint training sessions. The Irish 27th Fighter Squadron, fully equipped with IR-29s, and the Luftwaffe's ace unit, the 2nd Fighter Squadron, equipped with Fokker XI, became the combat squadron with the best training record.

By the beginning of 1930, the French Red War, which had lasted for more than two years, had come to an end, and the French Revolutionary Armed Forces and the International Columns Aiding France had only maintained a small resistance in the Alps, which deprived the elite equipment of the interventionist armies of various countries of the opportunity to show their edge. The Irish Army stationed in France has grown from 23,000 to 48,000 men, and in addition to the traditional infantry, there are a large number of new concept combat units: armoured reconnaissance platoons, armoured cavalry units, armoured assault battalions, rapid infantry battalions, armoured baggage companies, and so on. The various technical equipment used by these combat units has attracted the attention of their counterparts from various countries, including the "Celtic Warrior" medium tank with a road speed of 45 kilometers per hour, the "heavy cavalry" armored vehicle with a half-track construction, a variety of combat vehicles equipped with artillery and mechanized boat and bridge equipment, in addition to the two- and three-wheeled motorcycles that are commonplace on the European continent and the light car with Ford Model T technology, without a shortage of fuel. The Irish army had become the most mobile of the French interventionists.

It is a pity that the display of equipment of the Irish army in France failed to bring lucrative orders to the Irish military industry, apparently because the impact of the economic crisis is still continuing, except for the German military earlier ordered 400 "heavy cavalry" half-track armored vehicles, no country has officially ordered this new military vehicle with mobility and protection far beyond ordinary trucks from the Limerick vehicle factory in Ireland, and the "Celtic Warrior", whose comprehensive performance is superior to the same type of combat vehicles in various countries, has only received a total of 320 orders, The largest order still came from the German military.

In order to thank King Ruprecht I of Bavaria for his support in the supply of liquid-cooled engines, Natsuki visited Bavaria in March, where he visited the Bavarian Engine Factory and the famous Bavarian Aircraft Factory. As Germany became the winner of the last war, the aviation industry ushered in continuous development after the war, and the Bavarian engine factory did not become BMW, which mainly engaged in motorcycles and automobiles, but has always specialized in aircraft engines, and the Bavarian aircraft factory did not merge with Bavarian Maschinenfabrik AG, and developed vigorously in the field of military aircraft, especially fighter aircraft.

In the design and development department of the Bavarian aircraft factory, Natsuki met the talented and already well-known Willy Messerschmidt, a 32-year-old aircraft engineer who was already a senior designer in the department, leading an independent design team that was responsible for the Irish Air Force's competition for a new fighter jet.

Compared with the Fokker G-51A, which has entered the prototype trial production stage, the bidding project progress of the Bavarian aircraft factory is slow, and what can be shown to the purchaser's big boss at this time is only a four-to-one model machine, but it is such a simple-looking model that makes Natsuki stop and watch for more than a quarter of an hour. Then, turning to the bewildered Bavarian entourage, and to Messerschmidt, who was standing behind them, he said: "The aerodynamic shape, the all-metal load-bearing skin, the retractable landing gear, the closed fairing, the in-line engine, the automatic flaps, the retractable canopy, this is sure to be an epoch-making fighter." Yes, that's it! ”

Of course, the oily and powder-faced officials will not understand that the wooden model in front of them means the king of the next era. In an era of rapid changes in aviation technology, there is hardly a fighter that can endure as long as the BF-109, and even continue to be used for many years in a brutal state of war.

The first to react in the crowd was the nervous but confident Willy Messerschmidt, who said calmly and trivially: "It is a pleasure to receive your appreciation, Your Majesty the King of Ireland, and I am pleased with your unmistakable vision. ”

Natsuki nodded slightly: "But it's not perfect, if you can improve the visibility of the cockpit, add a pair of aviation machine guns above the engine, reserve the place to mount throwable fuel tanks or bombs, and then make the tail wheel retractable, I believe it will become an eagle that dominates the blue sky, at least in Ireland, it will become an invulnerable existence." ”

Messerschmitt accepted these suggestions on the spot, and at the end of the visit, he took the opportunity of a private conversation with Natsuki and said: "To tell you the truth, this project was originally designed for the Irish Air Force competition, and after completing the technical proposal, we realized that its performance could fully meet the requirements of the Luftwaffe for the new fighter, and we are confident that we will win these two equally important bids, with the close military alliance between Germany and Ireland. Sharing a standard fighter should be very much in line with His Majesty's cost philosophy, right? ”

Natsuki replied frankly: "The standard is indeed an economic trend, but it may not be applicable to all areas, the Luftwaffe needs to defend much larger airspace than the Irish Air Force, and it needs an all-round fighter with a long enough range, not a light fighter with simple high-speed performance." You can design a brand new fighter along these lines, but until then, I sincerely hope that you will continue to refine the current design, because Ireland needs it. ”

These words stunned the young Messerschmidt, who was able to become one of the leading aeronautical engineers at this age, and his talent in the field of aircraft design was undoubted, but while pursuing the ultimate performance of the fighter, he obviously did not have a thorough study of the national strategy and even the world situation, in other words, he was still at a loss as to what role the Luftwaffe would play in the next war. The reason why the Fokker-XI was able to beat many competitors and become the main fighter of the Luftwaffe in the mid-to-late 20s was not because of its absolute speed and maneuverability, but because of its solid speed and range, firepower and defense, sturdy airframe, easy maintenance, low requirements for take-off and landing sites, and able to adapt to the complex weather from the coast of the Bay of Biscay to the desert of the Middle East, from northern Finland to Southeast Africa, and became an out-and-out "air military horse".

(End of chapter)