After the French Prime Minister proposed to himself in a private manner the intention of the two countries to jointly produce bulk ME323 transport aircraft, Lynn convened the relevant responsible persons of the military and military industrial enterprises to discuss the matter that night. The technical experts of the Messerschmitt company confidently told the ambitious young president that the full set of design drawings of the ME323 had been secretly preserved during the war, and that its construction was not complicated, and that as long as the French side could provide the core component of the aircraft, the engine, the German side would soon be able to produce the entire aircraft, and the performance would never be worse than that of the wartime mass-produced model.

In Lynn's eyes, the replication of the ME323 was not the ultimate goal, but an opportunity to restructure the German aviation industry. He asked the technical experts who participated in the design and manufacture of this giant aircraft about the performance and improvement potential of this giant aircraft, and learned that although the ME323 is huge, it is actually a simple and sturdy transport aircraft with low failure rate and reliable performance, and its biggest advantage is that the production process is simple. It began with 40,000 man-hours per aircraft, which was later reduced to 12,000 man-hours, and most of the workers responsible for the production of such transport aircraft at that time were unskilled workers in the Army's punitive brigade. In addition, the landing gear of the ME323 adopts a tank-style independent suspension, which is highly adaptable for take-off and landing, and a hard grass can be used for it to take off and land. Listening to this, Lynn thought of another enduring German aircraft, nicknamed the "Aunt Juncker" Ju-52, although this transport aircraft has the shortcomings of slow speed, less capacity, poor defense, etc., the characteristics of sturdy and durable make it continue to be used by many countries after the end of World War II, from the early 30s to the 80s of the 20th century, the service span spanned more than half a century!

After consulting with the army generals, Lynn decided to work with the French on the ME323 project, and this project was not just a transport aircraft. Combined with the disadvantaged situation of the French team in Vietnam, Lynn and Ferdinand Ferdinand, a leading figure in the field of German tank design and founder of Porsche Enterprises, worked with Ferdinand Ferdinand Fernandes. Dr. Porsche had a telephone conversation and consulted and discussed some technical issues related to the airlift tank, and then asked the doctor to prepare a design document that met the airlift standards as soon as possible.

If it was a dictator like Hitler, Lynn could order whatever he wanted. In Germany, however, the decision on the production of the military industry was not in the hands of the president. To move the project forward, Lynn had to convince Prime Minister Willy to get the project moving forward. Stocker and the MPs who have the final say. The next day, he woke up early in the morning and waited in a park near his hotel. The development environment of the new GDR was not ideal, and the Hamburg Machinery Fair unexpectedly attracted widespread international attention, and business opportunities rolled in, and German Chancellor Stock, who was not very optimistic about the fair, also hurried in. Staying in the same hotel as Lynn. The leader of the Christian League is a devout Christian with a regular and healthy daily routine, and a daily morning jog is a must, even on a somewhat gloomy day. Wait until Stock. Lynn jogged alongside him, and his young, energetic body, forged through his military career, was naturally able to keep up with the rhythm of a long-term exerciser. After running two laps around the boulevard, Stocker slowed down his pace, wiping his sweat and speaking: "It's rare that Your Excellency has the patience to run with me, an old man, and if there are any instructions, I will do my best to complete them!" ”

Lynn knew that the other party was half sarcastic and half serious, and the relationship between the two was not as difficult as outsiders speculated—the Allies and the Soviet Union wanted the German regime to form a counterbalance to each other, in order to paralyze these ill-intentioned people. Lynn and Stockk had deliberately created several frictions in the past, making it appear as if the president and the prime minister were engaged in a political wrangling over their respective positions, but in fact it was just a show. Before rebuilding this impoverished country into a first-class power, all political factions should focus on the bigger picture, which is what they have long agreed on. …,

"I can't say the instructions, but the main reason is that I have an idea that I think is very good, and I want to hear the opinion of the prime minister."

"It's about the French!" Stocker speculated.

Lynn stated, "That's right. At a banquet last night, Schumann privately put forward a proposal -- Germany and France should cooperate to resume the production of the ME323 heavy transport aircraft, and the French side is ready to order 200 aircraft. ”

Stocker turned his head and glared: "So much? ”

Lynn said: "My first reaction was also surprise, the current size and deployment of the French team, 50 large transport aircraft is more than enough, where will the extra 150 be used? ”

Stocker thought for a moment: "So, the president has figured out the intentions of the French?" ”

"The president overestimated me!" Lynn smiled and shook her head, "We're not sure how the French are going to use these 200 heavy transport planes, though. What is generally certain is that as long as the performance of these aircraft is not problematic, or even more advanced than the original model, the French will fulfill the contract, and this will benefit France a lot. ”

"With ordinary transport aircraft as an auxiliary, it is enough to put 50 ME323s on the Indo-China battlefield. It seems that the French are optimistic about the market prospects of this heavy transport aircraft, as long as there is an example of successful use on the Indo-Chinese battlefield, there is no need to worry about sales, and in the next few years, the two continents of Asia and Africa will be turbulent places! Stock's assertion coincides with Lynn's analysis.

"The French side provides the engines, and we manufacture and assemble the other components of the ME323, which can have a certain recovery effect on our aviation industry, but the actual benefits are very limited. I thought about it all night last night and thought it was an opportunity to expand and get the French to buy more of our equipment. ”

"Schumann was a very shrewd man, and France is in a state of national pride that will not be easy to use in the field of defense." Stock's analysis is still in place.

Lynn nodded: "Yes, simple procurement is not enough, but technical cooperation is different." The reason why Schumann chose ME323 is that in addition to strategic needs, France can produce supporting engines, and ME323 has many unique features, which are probably well thought out. ”

"In addition to the transport plane, what other projects is the president going to cooperate with them?" Stock asked.

"Airborne tanks, or rather, airborne tanks." Lynn replied.

Stocker sat down on a bench on the side of the road, quietly soaking up the morning sun, and said Wentun: "I don't know much about military affairs, and they are not within the scope of the Constitution. It stands to reason that Germany needs to recover its industry and economy first. We must also step by step to rectify our national defense, and we must also avoid the forbidden areas demarcated by the international community, and aircraft, tanks, and submarines are all sensitive words, and if we can reasonably enhance our own strength through cooperation with France, the parliamentarians should be able to understand and support it. ”

"So, do you agree with my idea?" Lynn asked expectantly.

Stocker smiled, like a gentle old man looking at an anxious child, and his tone changed slightly: "As long as you don't have to pay from the treasury." On the other hand, if there is a record of the account, and it does not harm the rights and interests of the state and does not violate the state constitution, I personally have a favorable attitude. ”

Lynn laughed, and Stock's words sounded very philistine. Standing at the national level is very meaningful, and it points out a truth: extraordinary times must have extraordinary strategies!

After breakfast, Lynn arranged for the French Prime Minister and his entourage to travel to Blom in Hamburg. Visit the Foss Shipyard shipyard, where not only the famous battleship "Bismarck" was built for the Third Reich, but also several types and batches of submarines, including the XXI-class submarines, which are the prototype of modern submarines. In World War II, in the Battle of the Atlantic, which began in 1939, the VII-class submarines used by Germany were gradually becoming obsolete on the battlefield. Dönitz changed the construction plan for Type VIIC and IX-class submarines. Devote all resources to the construction of new high-speed submarines. The XXI-class submarine improved the capacity of the German army's old battery, about three times that of the VIIC type, greatly increasing its underwater range and reducing the time it takes to surface. The XXI class can be charged with less than 5 hours of snorkel charging, and has the ability to dive underwater at 5 knots for 2 to 3 days without recharging. The XXI Class is also quieter than the Type VIIC, making it less detectable when submarine. The XXI-class hull is also designed to be simple and streamlined, increasing the speed and reducing the drag of the submarine, making it more difficult to track and destroy. The space and equipment inside the XXI-class are also larger and better than ever. There is still room for the large hull with multiple sets of batteries, as well as the ship's refrigeration equipment and other shower rooms that are not available on the ship. In addition, the XXI class also has a special hydraulic torpedo system, which allows the torpedo to be assembled in a short time (18 torpedoes can be fired in 20 minutes) and the torpedo rate of fire is faster. The XXI class also has a more advanced sonar system, which can be aimed at the torpedo without the need for a periscope, increasing its concealment. There are 23 torpedoes, or 17 torpedoes and 12 mines, in the XXI-class submarine, and 6 torpedo tubes in the bow; Only one 20-mm anti-aircraft gun remained in the deck guns and multiple anti-aircraft guns of the previous submarine configuration. After the end of World War II. Most of the XXI-class submarines were scrapped or scuttled, but 8 were divided among the allies, and the U-2513 and U-3008 were obtained by the United States and entered service with the U.S. Navy; U-3017 was handed over to the Royal Navy and renamed "HMSN41"; U-2518 was given to the French Navy and renamed "Roland. Morirot". Become a member of the French Army's maritime combat units. …,

For the excellent performance of the XXI-class submarines, the accompanying French admirals gave a straight thumbs up, while Schumann and Defense Minister Juan still had indifferent expressions on their faces. Under the kind recommendation of the German side, they reluctantly accepted the proposal of Franco-German cooperation in the development and manufacture of new submarines, and agreed that the naval commanders and naval engineers of the two sides would further discuss specific cooperation matters. After this, Schumann did not explicitly express his intention to return directly to France, and Lynn struck while the iron was hot and invited them to Stuttgart to visit the Porsche factory in a private name. In Europe in this era, Porsche was not only a symbol of luxury cars, but also participated in the design and production of famous tanks such as the Tiger, Panther, and King Tiger, but unfortunately these outstanding tanks withdrew from the stage of history with the end of World War II, and all the production lines were either taken away by the Soviet Union or destroyed by the Allies, and the only remaining physical objects could only find a place in some military museums. By the beginning of 1950, like many companies that had been involved in the military industry during the Third Reich, the Porsche factory had been rebuilt, but the start on the ruins was difficult, the new car production line was tortuous, and most of the original design team and skilled workers were lost. The rebuilding work led by Dr. Porsche was still impressive, with the first car rolling off the assembly line after the war and the first redesigned sedan to critical acclaim. Not only that, Dr. Porsche also perfected the design of the E-25 with the support of the military, and then produced a model to be exhibited at the Hamburg Machinery Fair, which attracted wide attention from visitors from all over the world, and Switzerland, Italy and other countries showed varying degrees of interest in the design of this new tank.

Although French Prime Minister Schumann showed no interest in the E-25 from the beginning, Lynn learned through intelligence that the first French tank after the war, the AMX-13, was far inferior to the E-2 in terms of overall performance. The rocking turret is divided into two parts, upper and lower, which are combined outside the lugs. The upper part includes the main gun installed with the automatic loader, the coaxial machine gun, the gun sighting system, the commander's and gunner's seats, the observation periscope, the radio station and the main gun ammunition magazine for the automatic loader to load, etc., and the lower part controls the rotation of the turret, which can be controlled by hydraulic or manual control, and the rotation speed is 30 ° per second. The frontal base armor was 25 mm. There are two smoke bomb launchers on the left and right sides of the lower turret, and 12 rounds of ammunition are available in the vehicle. The advantages of the rocking turret are that at the same weight, a larger caliber gun can be installed, a complex and cumbersome pitching linkage system can be omitted, and it is easier to install an automatic loader. The disadvantages are also prominent: the protection of the upper and lower joints of the turret is very weak, and can only be connected with flexible materials, and if shrapnel or bullets are fired here, the gun will be stuck and unable to carry out pitching movements. At the same time, the weight of the artillery mount was large, which took up the weight of the armor. The protection ability of the whole vehicle is reduced. Another problem with the AMX-13 was that it was designed with too much emphasis on air transport, which reduced the size of the vehicle, resulting in cramped interior space, and the French army stipulated that its crew members could not be taller than 1.73 meters, which was embarrassing for the generally tall French. Due to the introduction of an automatic loader, the AMX-13 eliminated the loader, and there were only two people in the turret, the commander and the gunner. The rate of fire reached 12 rounds per minute, which was much higher than that of tanks of the same era, and when the shells in the rotating magazine were finished. The commander and gunner can load spare shells into the rotating magazine from the ammunition magazine next to the seat and continue the battle. Another great feature of the AMX-13 is the unconventional front-engine design. Previously, tanks generally had a rear-mounted engine layout, while the AMX-13 went the other way, with the engine located in front of the hull. The front-mounted engine indirectly acts as an additional layer of armor protection, thus increasing the protection capability. The tank has a fuel carrying capacity of 480 liters, a maximum range of up to 400 kilometers and a maximum speed of about 60 kilometers per hour. …,

After visiting the busy car production line at the Porsche factory, Lynn invited Schumann and his party to rest in the old café next door to the factory. Sitting in the compartment of the open window, Lynn said to Schumann: "Yesterday His Excellency Chancellor made a very novel proposal. Today, I also have a nice new concept for you: the armored airborne battalion! ”

Schumann rolled his eyes: "I want to hear it!" ”

"The idea of the armored airborne battalion was first born after the end of the Battle of Crete, and it is well known that the German Airborne Forces suffered heavy casualties in the Battle of Crete, and the combat effectiveness of the traditional Airborne Forces could not cope with the high intensity of combat missions, as later proved by the Allied airborne operations in the Netherlands. Like an independent armored unit that has been born from the ranks of infantry. The armored airborne battalion was set up to enhance the combat capability of the airborne forces. In our military exercise, such a battalion should contain 15 medium tanks, 15 light tanks and at least 40 light vehicles to provide effective fire support to the airborne troops far from the base. Due to the limitations of large transport aircraft or gliders currently in service, the weight of airborne tanks is limited to 15 tons, and 15 tons of tanks are more than capable of resisting bullets and shrapnel, and it is difficult to cope with anti-tank guns or man-portable anti-tank guns and anti-tank rocket launchers -- as far as I know, Switzerland and Spain alone have exported large quantities of anti-tank guns in recent years, and Soviet-made anti-tank guns and anti-tank rocket launchers have also been supplied in large quantities to forces that Moscow openly or covertly supports. Lynn's words clearly told the French that although the overall level of weapons and equipment of the Vietnamese rebels was not satisfactory, the support from the outside world was gradually strengthening their combat effectiveness, and the various encounters of the French team in Vietnam were no accident.

Schumann replied unhurriedly: "If I am not mistaken, the ideal airborne tank of Your Excellency the President should be about 25 tons, and the armor can withstand the attack of ordinary anti-tank weapons, as for the weapons...... Classic 75 mm caliber. This is a good concept, but the very real question at the moment is, when will the 25-ton transport aircraft appear? ”

"Your Excellency is describing our E-25 tank!" Lynn shook his head, among the E25 designs of Porsche, Argus and Adler, Porsche is the best, it uses a new 75mm PAK44/2L/70 gun as the main weapon, which can theoretically destroy the Soviet IS-2 tank head-on from a distance of 1600 meters, and the auxiliary weapon uses a 20mm machine gun that can hover 360 degrees, which is much more powerful than the vehicle-mounted machine gun of a traditional tank, and the frontal armor is 80mm, which is enough to cope with the attack of most tank guns and anti-tank weaponsHowever, such an E25 is designed to weigh 27 tons, and if a more powerful 600 hp engine is installed, the weight will be further increased, while the ultimate load of the ME323 is only so that the combination of the two seems to be "the wrong door".

"Combined with the proven solutions of the E10, E25 and E50 and the current situation, we have redesigned a 15-ton medium tank that is suitable for transport aircraft by air, with unprecedented maneuverability and balanced combat capability, and the research on this design is progressing quickly." Lynn gave his entourage a look, and they quickly presented a delicate model that looked similar to the Panther of yesteryear, but with a number of distinct differences—the turret-to-body ratio was reduced, and the body was more streamlined, in line with the latest tank design trends.