Chapter 276: Weapon R&D
As soon as Rommel returned home from leaving the Führer's Guard Banner, he received a telegram from Bismarck, in which Bismarck said that he had repelled Montgomery's all-out attack, but Rommel's previous armored divisions on the Eastern Front had also been exposed to the British, and Rommel's outflanking tactics were no longer possible.
The Afrika Korps repelled the British attack, which Rommel expected, so Rommel was not worried about the war in Africa.
As for the exposure of the previous strategic detour tactics, it doesn't matter, and when Rommel returns to Africa, he can have a face-to-face duel with Montgomery.
The only regret is that after Montgomery's defeat, it is possible to escape the Suez Canal with his troops, which will make it more difficult for Rommel to attack the Middle East in the future.
Returning home, Rommel went to his study as usual and sent a message of thanks to the two brothers, Guderian and Manstein.
There were many unexpected situations in this coup d'état in Goering, and the troops of Guderian and Manstein did not come to use, but the outcome of the matter was the most favorable for Rommel, perhaps God's favor for Rommel!
After sending the telegram, Rommel found a large stack of papers neatly arranged on his desk, which Anna had prepared for Rommel.
To tell the truth, Anna, a noble woman, is really good, she has to have good looks, she has to be talented, and she has the same background, Rommel is still very satisfied with Anna's girlfriend in essence, but Anna's family responsibilities make Rommel feel unhappy.
But Rommel wants to change his destiny and change the fate of the Third Reich, he really needs help, and it is huge, sparing no effort to help, otherwise Rommel will not be able to control the Third Reich at all, and if Rommel cannot control the Third Reich, what will he do to save himself and the Third Reich?
Is it just Rommel's Afrika Korps? In the face of the United States and the Soviet Union, that little bit of troops was not enough to stuff people's teeth.
Rommel dispeld the distractions in his heart, picked up a document on his desk and flipped through it, which was a report on the development and production of weapons and equipment sent by major arms dealers.
"If you want to do a good job, you must first sharpen your tools", this is Rommel's view that has never changed, the population and resources of the Third Reich determined that it could not compete with the two superpowers of the United States and the Soviet Union, and the Third Reich must occupy a certain advantage in weapons and equipment, so Rommel will find ways to invest in the research and development of new weapons and equipment.
The first item on the top of the report is the jet engine, which Messerschmidt has built and tested, but has a measly ten hours of life.
With such a short service life, it simply could not be put into service, so the development of jet engines had to continue.
Messerschmidt had already spent all the money that Rommel had invested in the early stage, so they asked Rommel to invest another $50 million in research and development.
Rommel did not hesitate to write a check for $50 million, and then put the check together with the report materials for the jet engine, and Anna would send someone to send the money to the Messerschmidt company.
The second is the Iron Fist anti-tank rocket, which has been successfully developed, because Rommel requested that the range of the Iron Fist anti-tank rocket be increased from 30 meters to 200 meters.
The impact was also evident, with the weight of the Iron Fist anti-tank rocket increasing from 3.2 kg to 5 kg, the length from 60 cm to 100 cm, and the diameter of the launch canister from 2 cm to 3.5 cm.
At this time, the armor-piercing depth of the Iron Fist anti-tank rocket was not high, only 140 mm, which was enough in the early days of World War II, and there was no tank in the world that could resist the bombardment of the Iron Fist anti-tank rocket Type 200.
The Iron Fist anti-tank rocket no longer needs Rommel to continue to invest in research and development, and he directly ordered 100,000 Iron Fist anti-tank rockets in the name of the commander of the Afrika Korps.
The research and development of the successor model of the Iron Fist anti-tank rocket, the manufacturer can fully support it with sales revenue, and Rommel does not have too much money in his hands! You can't just spend it.
Historically, in the spring of 1942, in response to the "T34 crisis" on the Eastern Front, the German Army Weapons Office proposed a detachment anti-tank weapons program in May, the result of which was later the "Tank Killer" anti-tank rocket launcher.
Due to the appearance of Rommel as a traverser, he made the Iron Fist anti-tank rocket appear a whole year ahead of schedule, can the Soviet T34 tank sea still get high in front of Rommel? Let the facts speak!
The third is the helicopter project, the FA223 transport helicopter began mass production, Germany has built two production lines, France has built a production line, Germany has a monthly output of thirty-four, France has a monthly output of sixteen, Germany produces transport helicopters, to meet the needs of the entire German army, it will take some time.
The Hummingbird helicopter gunship has been produced as a prototype and is already conducting test flights, and now the Hummingbird has made great strides in performance compared to the historical Hummingbird, such as the range has been increased from 200 kilometers to 500 kilometers, and the load has increased from 500 kilograms to 2,000 kilograms.
Rommel now does not need to compete with other forces for the FA223 quota in Germany, because the French aircraft company is already producing the FA223, and Rommel's Afrika Korps will soon form an air assault brigade.
The air assault brigade of this era is definitely an epoch-making existence, and only Rommel's troops in the world are about to produce such an establishment, and as long as the air assault brigade is used well, it will play a role no less than an armored division.
The fourth is the tank, and two prototypes have been produced for the Leopard tank supported by Rommel, which uses a 75 mm 71 times long gun, weighs 43 tons, and is equipped with a 700 hp diesel engine with a speed of 40-60 kilometers per hour.
The German government invested in the development of another tank, that is, the famous Tiger, this Tiger tank weighs 56 tons, is equipped with an 88 mm 71 times gun, the engine is a 700 horsepower gasoline engine, and the speed is 15-38 kilometers per hour.
The Leopard tank was tested at Rheinmetall, while the Tiger tank was tested at the German Ministry of Armament.
Historically, both tanks are famous, the only regret of the Tiger tank is that it is equipped with a gasoline engine, and the Leopard tank funded by Rommel has been equipped with a diesel engine with the same horsepower.
It is clear that the Leopard is superior to the Tiger in terms of maneuverability, and the Tiger completely crushes the Leopard in terms of firepower and armor, and now both tanks have their own advantages.
When Rommel saw the report materials of these two tanks, he was really inexplicably excited, after all, Rommel was still an army commander, and he also had a soft spot for tanks.
Rommel couldn't help but mutter:
"Okay, after these two ups and downs are mass-produced, is Lao Tzu still afraid of your T34 tank sea? Let the horses come! ”
Rommel picked up the pen and wrote a little of his opinion on the report:
"Fellow Engineers, Rommel would like to extend his most respectful greetings to you...... I propose to start the development of subsequent models as soon as these two tanks are successfully developed. (To be continued.) )