After listening to the Führer’s address, we were ushered into a conference room at the air base.
With every aircraft and engine manufacturer in the Reich gathered under one roof, even a room this large felt uncomfortably crowded.
“…Does this mean the new fighter competition has been reset back to square one…?”
Unlike two hours earlier, Professor Schmitt now looked as though he were attending a funeral.
“It’s the Führer’s directive.
Besides…”
“…The frontline pilots have been saying much the same thing for a while now.”
Field Marshal Göring and Technical Office Director Udet muttered in subdued voices.
The Führer’s speech—or rather, his lecture—had gone on for a full hour.
Partway through, it stopped being a speech altogether and turned into a detailed list of specifications for the next fighter.
Everyone scrambled to pull out notebooks and start writing.
Göring hadn’t even brought one, and ended up frantically ordering an aide to take notes for him.
Some of the requirements were a sharp departure from the Luftwaffe’s existing doctrine.
Göring and Udet tried repeatedly to object, but each attempt was swept away by the Führer’s trademark oratory and overwhelming charisma.
(Still…
these demands feel different from before.)
The Führer had offered design suggestions in the past, but from an engineer’s perspective they were often impractical or simply showed a lack of technical understanding.
Today’s demands were different.
There were certainly plenty of changes that left many engineers pale-faced, but almost everyone seemed convinced by the reasoning behind them.
Even among the Luftwaffe officers, despite Göring’s presence, many couldn’t help nodding in agreement.
(I found myself agreeing with nearly all of it as well.)
Having served in the cavalry during the last war, Tank found the Führer’s remark especially compelling:
“We need warhorses, not racehorses.”
(It almost felt like he was speaking directly to me.)
Perhaps it was just wishful thinking, but Tank couldn’t shake the feeling that those words had been aimed at him personally.
His enthusiasm for designing the next-generation fighter surged.
Unfortunately, this competition would almost certainly end with an improved version of either the Bf 109 or the He 112.
But next time…
Next time he would not lose.
To burn the new specifications into his memory, he looked down at the notes in his hand.
Requirements for the Next Fighter
Prototype trials to be completed by the end of 1938, with mass production beginning in 1939.
Must be easy to manufacture and maintain.
Strong emphasis on pilot armor and protection.
Rugged landing gear capable of operating from rough frontline airfields.
Must be capable of carrying drop tanks.
Must use an air-cooled radial engine.
Must be able to mount six or more medium-caliber machine guns.
Target maximum speed of over 600 km/h.
The speed and armament goals are to be achieved by 1940 if necessary; priority should be given to the other requirements first.
There was no denying these were formidable requirements.
A top speed exceeding 600 kilometers per hour would be difficult with the current generation of 1,000-horsepower engines.
The Führer had made it clear that such performance was not expected by the 1938 trials.
In other words, what he was really saying was:
“Leave room for future development.”
(But every one of these requirements is remarkably sensible.)
If such a fighter could be built, it would truly deserve to defend the skies of the Reich—and would surely earn its place in aviation history.
(I can’t wait to get back to the office and start sketching.)
Already imagining a future in which his own name would be forever associated with that aircraft, Tank found himself wishing only that this overcrowded meeting would end as quickly as possible.
it’s basically the Fw 190.
How will it turn out if it appears years earlier than in real history?!
To be honest, even I, the author, don’t know yet!