In today's Japan, the idea of a decisive battle of the fleet still dominates the minds of most of the senior commanders of the Japanese Navy. "They still insisted on winning the war in a decisive battle of the "Battle of the Sea of Japan", and mainly through the guns of battleships to deal with the enemy.

In fact, from the time when the Japanese Navy was preparing to build the "Yamato" class super battleships, it gave this class of ships the status of "the core of the battleship force" as the trump card and main force in the decisive battle of the fleet. Now that the Chinese Navy has plans to challenge and surpass the "Yamato"-class battleships, it is natural for the Japanese Navy to revise the construction plan in the eyes of Prince Fushimi Miyahiro and other high-ranking figures of the Japanese Navy.

After the participants reached a consensus, Prince Fushimi Miyahiro went directly to the palace to meet the emperor and report to the emperor on the results of the meeting.

And when Yamamoto Isoroku, deputy director of the Japan Airlines Headquarters, learned the news, he couldn't help but sigh.

"Funding is limited, instead of building such a giant battleship, it is better to build a few more aircraft carriers!" Major General Inoue Narumi shouted, "Stupid! Stupidity! ”

"They can't be blamed for this, it's the shipbuilding plan of the Shina people that poses too much of a threat to Japan." Yamamoto Fifty-six shook his head and said, "It is also necessary to build super battleships, but Japan also needs to develop its air forces, and there should be no one between the two. ”

"Japan's financial resources are limited! It's impossible to have both fish and bear's paws! Inoue Narumi said hatefully.

In fact, as early as the beginning of the decision to build a super battleship, the radicals of the Japanese Naval Aviation Headquarters once said that "the pyramids of Egypt, the Great Wall of China, and the Yamato of Japan are the three major red deer in the world." Because according to the original construction plan, the cost of building a single ship of the "Yamato" class battleship was 137,802,000 yen, which still does not take into account the factors of prices and inflation, and this cost does not include the investment in the reconstruction and transformation of the shipyard, which is 12.134 tons of pure gold according to the current gold content of the yen. This amount was 0.16% of Japan's gross national product and 1.5% of the total national budget at that time. To put it more intuitively, in 1937, the total investment in the construction of private houses in Japan was 138 million yen, and the total investment in road construction in Japan in the same year was 135 million yen, which is equivalent to the total cost of three "Flying Dragon" class aircraft carriers or 1.6 "Shozuru" class aircraft carriers. Now, if you want to build two "Yamato" class battleships with a displacement of more than 100,000 tons, the funds, materials, and manpower used are enough to build 16 "Flying Dragon" class or 10 "Xianghe" class aircraft carriers.

In Inoue's view, if the old guys of the Military Command Department can adopt the opinions of Isoroku Yamamoto and him of the Aviation Headquarters, even if Japan and China and the United States go to war at the same time in the future, the Japanese Navy will have 20 to 32 active aircraft carriers in the Pacific Ocean, and will have the strength to overwhelm the aircraft carrier fleets of the US Navy and the Chinese Navy in the early stage of the war. If the Military Command Department and the Combined Fleet can combine this superiority in forces and change from defensive strategic thinking to offensive at the right time, it is not impossible to push the front line of the Japanese Navy to the line of the Alaska-US West Coast-Panama Canal, and the situation of the entire war will certainly change dramatically.

Although he was vice director of the Aviation Headquarters and a staunch supporter of the "aviation faction," Isoroku Yamamoto, who had participated in the Battle of Tsushima, had a serious imprint of the "fleet faction" on his body, because after hearing the news, he did not oppose the actions of the military command department in principle, but only felt sorry that this huge cost of shipbuilding would affect the development of the Japanese naval aviation.

"Let's do our best!" Yamamoto looked at the map on his desk with China's long coastline and vast inland areas, and his eyes suddenly radiated an aggressive and fierce light. …,

"The performance of our existing '96 Ship Battle' is very good, and it should be able to complete the current training tasks. But we should also ask for more advanced aircraft! As long as we surpass the Chi Na in the performance of the aircraft, the Chi Na will inevitably fail! ”

Japan, Sasebo, "Mitsubishi Heavy Industries" Naval Flight Test Site.

"This is the '96 Ship Battle'." Designer Jiro Tokutsu pointed to several fighters with pale green painted wings and red sun military insignia on the runway, and said to Iwasaki Yahisa, "The performance has surpassed the 'fat bird' (i.e., 'Aoho-123') of the Shina people." ”

"Good work." Iwasaki Yahisa looked at Jiro Katsukoshi, who was dark and thin, and looked extremely haggard, patted him on the shoulder, and said in a comforting tone.

"Nothing." Jiro said, "I'm going to build a better fighter than it." ”

The "96 Ship Battle" Mitsubishi Corporation manufactured Japan's first carrier-based fighter whose performance comprehensively surpassed that of land-based fighters, and it is also the most powerful fighter in Japan at present.

The wing area of the "96 Ship Battle" is 17.80 square meters, the weight is 1075 kg, the maximum weight is 1707 kg, the maximum speed is 432 kilometers per hour, the flight altitude is 3160 meters, the cruising range is 1200 kilometers, the ascent limit is not 9830 meters, the three-bladed fixed-moment propeller is used, the engine is a 610 horsepower Nakajima "Shou 41" air-cooled 9-cylinder engine, piloted by a pilot, and the weapon is two 7.7 mm machine guns.

After the successful development of the "96 Ship Battle", it began to equip the Japanese naval aviation in 1937, and its performance was better than any type of fighter of the Japanese Army Aviation at that time, but at present the number of "96 Ship Battles" equipped by the Japanese Navy is not large, because the training level of Japanese pilots has been greatly improved, and although the "96 Ship Battles" have good circling performance, their speed is not very fast, so some people have taken advantage of the shortcomings of the "96 Ship Battles" to raise objections to the "96 Ship Battles." In order to strike at the navy, the army deliberately worked out a special tactic for dealing with the "96 warship battle," that is, it adopted the method of combining high-speed fighters with slow-speed biplanes to deal with the "96 warship battle," and during the battle, the slow-speed biplane entangled the "96 warship battle," and the high-speed monoplane waited for an opportunity to sneak attack and deal with the "96 warship battle." This method of operation achieved certain results in the air combat drill and boosted the arrogance of those who opposed the "96 ship battle." In addition, the "Type 96 Ship Battle" has a limited range and cannot escort the Japanese bombers carrying out long-range bombing missions throughout the whole process, and the time spent in the air in the theater is limited, and it cannot fight with the enemy fighters that take off nearby for a long time, so although the "Type 96 Ship Battle" has an overall performance advantage, it cannot solve the threat of the fighter strength of the enemy air force (mainly referring to the Chinese Air Force) in wartime. Despite all the controversies of one kind or another, the pilots of the Japanese naval aviation were quite recognizable to the "96 ship battle".

At present, most of the fighters equipped by the Japanese naval air force are still the "96 Ship Battle," and the "96 Ship Battle," as the Japanese Navy's ship-based fighter training aircraft, has played a considerable role in the training of the Japanese naval air force and various tactical exercises, and according to some intelligence, the performance of the "96 Ship Battle" has a considerable advantage over the various fighters of the US and British colonies in the Asia-Pacific region. However, neither the aviation headquarters, the top management of Mitsubishi Corporation, nor the designers were satisfied with this. Jiro Kietsu has an ambitious plan to build a ship fighter with better performance, all of which will replace the "96 ship battle" in service.

Born on June 22, 1903 in Gunma Prefecture, Japan, Jiro Kietsu graduated from the Department of Aeronautics of Tokyo Imperial University in 1927 and studied at the German "Junker" company and the American "Curtis" company from 1929 to 1930. In the design of the "96 Ship Battle", it can be said that Jiro Kietsu borrowed a lot of experience from German and American aircraft design. …,

"You've got a new design, don't you, Dig-Yue-kun?" Iwasaki Yahisa heard the subtext in Jiro Tsurugoshi's words and asked with a smile.

"Yes." Jiro Tsurugoshi said, and led Iwasaki Yahisa to a table, took out another design sketch, and spread it on the table.

"It will be an important milestone in the design of a Japanese aircraft, with several firsts, such as the first fully enclosed retractable landing gear; Electric thermal flight suits, machine guns, constant-speed propellers, ultra-duralumin load-bearing structure, large vision cockpit and discardable large auxiliary fuel tanks and other equipment, the engine can temporarily use the 950 horsepower Nakajima 'Rong 12' star-cooled engine, which will reach a speed of more than 500 kilometers per hour. It is also equipped with adjustable air combat flaps, which make it more agile in aerial dogfights. ”

"Do you mean that with new materials and new designs it can meet the contradictory requirements of the military?" Iwasaki's eyes lit up, and his voice trembled a little.

"Exactly." Jiro nodded with a smile.

During the design of the "96 Ship Battle," military representatives had a fierce debate at a meeting held by Mitsubishi Corporation on the performance orientation of the new fighter, and one faction held that according to the experience of fighting Chinese aircraft at the end of World War I, the air combat capability of the fighter mainly depends on the performance of turning and fighting, and the range and speed must be sacrificed for the sake of combat performance. On the other hand, the other faction believes that the fighting performance of Japanese fighters must be superior, enough to fight against any fighter in the world, but compared with Chinese aircraft, the difference is speed, and the new fighter should focus on solving the problem of speed and range, and as for combat performance, it can be appropriately sacrificed. At one point, two diametrically opposed ideas emerged at the meeting, and no one could convince anyone, so the meeting had to be adjourned. However, when the "96 Ship Battle" appeared, in a confrontation exercise with army planes, they were defeated by the tactics of combining high-speed fighters with slow-speed biplanes, which further aggravated this controversy. However, to Iwasaki's surprise, Jiro Kietsu said that the performance of the new fighter could meet the needs of both the "high-speed faction" and the "combat mobile faction".

"A key factor in the design of a new aircraft that successfully meets all requirements is the application of new materials. Did you know? Sumitomo Metals has synthesized a super aluminum alloy called '50 Arashi Metal', which is harder than steel and has unusually high strength, because with this metal, the new aircraft can be designed with a very thin aircraft frame, and we dare to drill holes in it to reduce weight, and the size of the rivets can also be designed to be very small, which can greatly reduce the weight of the aircraft while maintaining the strength of the fighter. ”

"Good! Good! It's just great! ”

"Because of the super-hard aluminum alloy, we can innovate the main truss of the aircraft, the new main truss has good tensile strength, better fatigue strength, and the weight of the fuselage is extremely light, I have calculated, the empty weight will not exceed 1600 kg. Therefore, the biggest source of the performance advantage of this new fighter is that it is light, especially light. It has an extremely small wing load and guarantees a maximum range of range. Because of its special metal construction, although it is lightweight, the fuselage structure is strong, and it can be easily mounted with 2 to 4 20 mm cannons without causing structural damage when fired. ”

"In other words, without this aluminum alloy from Sumitomo Metals, this new fighter would not have been produced at all."

"Yes."

"It's going to be an epoch-making aircraft." Yahisa Iwasaki excitedly looked at the design drawings of the aircraft and said, "Its appearance will change the fate of Japan." ”

"Yes!" Jiro was also in excitement and excitement at this time.

"By the way, I don't know if Shina will be able to make such a metal now." Iwasaki Yahisa suddenly seemed to remember something, and said to himself. …,

"The Chinese have also made great achievements in metal smelting, and they should also be able to apply aluminum alloy to aircraft manufacturing, however, as far as we know, the current fighter in China is still using the traditional steel tube skeleton structure and wooden fuselage, only the shell of the aircraft is made of aluminum, although the Chinese people use high-power engines for their fighters, but the strengthening of the power system can not change the reality of the heavy body. So we have reason to believe that their aircraft will certainly not be able to compare with our new aircraft in terms of performance. Jiro said.

"We will strive to surpass the people of China in every aspect!" Yahisa Iwasaki looked at the drawings and said, "You redesign the airframe, Kigoshi-kun, our new aircraft, don't use Nakajima's engine and our existing small 'Rising' engine, use a new engine with large size and high power!" ”

"Okay! No problem! Jiro said categorically.

With the conversation between the two, a new page in the history of Japanese aircraft design was opened, and the history of Japan's air force warfare and even the subsequent wars also embarked on a new path.

Beijing, China, suburbs.

On April 18, 1938, Yang Shuoming came to the meeting place early. Unlike many guards in the past, this time he only brought Xi Xue and a few other entourage, and a strange light flashed in his eyes, indicating that he was looking forward to this event.

There were still about 10 minutes before the meeting time, and Yang Shuoming hurriedly closed the suitcase. In this box are the applications for the most important science fund projects of the year. This is the busiest time of the year, with more than 10,000 applications to be processed in his office.

"Hanzhi came early!"

Yang Shuoming turned his head and saw Dr. Fu Jing, an academician of the National Academy of Sciences who had just gotten out of the car to greet him, and couldn't help but smile and greet him.

"Among the people who came here today are famous people in the scientific community, of course I will be earlier."

"This trip is a recharge journey for you at best." Fu Jing said disapprerovingly, "Now is the time when you are busiest and most tired, in fact, you don't necessarily have to come in person." ”

"The more this happens, the more I should come." Yang Shuoming shook his head with a smile, "Go to the front line of your scientific research to feel the spirit of scientific research, understand the needs of scientific researchers, and after you come back, you can carry out more targeted work, right?" ”

"That's right." Fu Jing smiled, "Then you have to look carefully this time." The model airplane you've designed, but you're going to have to 'blow' it right here. ”

The two of them were talking, and the others also arrived one after another, about 20 people, old and young, Yang Shuoming smiled and greeted everyone, he was not surprised by the arrival of famous Chinese aircraft designers such as Ba Yuzao and Wang Zhu, who had not been seen for a long time.

After everyone greeted each other, they got on a bus, and the bus, escorted by armored vehicles, drove through a winding mountain road, and after a short time, the vision suddenly opened up, and a five-story long gray building rose from the ground among the verdant mountains and forests.

"Here we are, and this is the largest vertical wind tunnel in all of Asia."

Hearing the introduction of the accompanying technician, Xi Xue felt a little disappointed, because the scene in front of her was completely different from what she imagined. The new vertical wind tunnel is not very tall, nor does it look very imposing, and it is not even as common as the skyscrapers of the city of Beijing.

Outwardly, the only difference between this building and ordinary houses is that it has a thick iron pipe "on its back". At this time, the technician seemed to know what she was thinking, and introduced to her with a smile: "Don't underestimate this iron guy, it is the main channel that generates air currents. In fact, there is a magical 'heart' beneath the ordinary exterior of the wind tunnel. Only when you step into it, you will find that this artificial 'sky' is completely made of high-tech achievements. ”

Xi Xue smiled and nodded a little embarrassedly, at this time, among many scientists, she knew that with her own knowledge, it was better not to speak easily.

It wasn't long before everyone was inside the long gray building. Here, Yang Shuoming and a gray-haired old man shook hands.

This old man, who is over 70 years old, is Mr. Wang Hongsheng, director of the Chinese Institute of Mechanics and academician of the National Academy of Sciences. The steel body lying quietly next to everyone is based on Wang Hongsheng's successful development of China's first super-large shock wave wind tunnel that can reproduce difficult flight conditions.

*J Novel Knight