In a world of black and white, a colossal, cigar-shaped flying object as vast as a cloud soared over the bustling cityscape under the illumination of searchlights. Just as it was about to approach a tower in the wilderness, fierce flames erupted from its body, and in an instant, the entire flying object turned into a huge ball of fire. Then, shadows kept jumping from above, and the screams were incessant...
Zhang Hainuo abruptly woke up, feeling a wave of melancholy wash over him. It was silent all around, not a sound to be heard. He quickly regained his senses, realizing he was in the apartment provided by the navy, and the vivid dream he just had was nothing but a dream.
This somewhat overly realistic dream, Zhang Hainuo felt, might have stemmed from documentaries he had seen before about the Zeppelin airship crashes. The trigger for these deep-seated memories was probably the news he had read in the newspaper during the day: "Count Zeppelin" is scheduled to make its second transoceanic flight before Christmas, comfortable, safe, and reliable. Anyone can experience the wonderful feeling of a flying palace for just 1500 marks."
In the mid to late 1920s, attempts by individuals and teams to fly across the Atlantic were already commonplace. In 1927, American pilot Charles Lindbergh completed the first solo non-stop transatlantic flight attempt. The following year, another American aviator, Amelia Earhart, completed the same flight, becoming the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic. The advent of another relatively fast and convenient means of flight outside of airplanes, the airship, had its first successful intercontinental flight back in 1919 when the British airship "R.34" flew directly from Edinburgh, Scotland, to New York, USA, in 4 and a half days. Three days later, it flew back to Edinburgh, mid-flight, without landing in New York. This record-breaking flight made commercial transatlantic flights possible.
At the beginning of World War I, "Zeppelin airship bombings" were a source of pride for the Germans and a nightmare for the Allied powers until they were gradually pushed back by rapidly advancing aircraft technology in the later stages of the war. The defeat in the war left the operations of the Zeppelin company in dire straits, but fortunately, the Treaty of Versailles did not restrict Germany from constructing civilian airships post-war, and the Zeppelin company ventured into commercial success with airship routes.
By 1928, the Zeppelin company had introduced their masterpiece, the "Count Zeppelin," their first large passenger airship for commercial operation. It was 236.6 meters long, with a maximum diameter of 30.5 meters and a height of 35 meters, comparable to an eight or nine-story building. An aluminum alloy skeleton supported the massive hull, and multiple internal gas cells could hold a total of 104,700 cubic meters of hydrogen gas, weighing 118 tons with a payload of 53 tons. Five 530-horsepower VL2-type V12 cylinder internal combustion engines produced by the renowned German engine manufacturer Maybach were installed in five engine gondolas located on the left, right, and underside of the airship, providing a total power of 2,650 horsepower. Propellers propelled the airship, reaching speeds of 120 kilometers per hour. The cockpit was located on the underside of the airship's front, and there were additional facilities such as generators, radio stations, and telephones on board. Its double-decker cabins were located on the inner bottom of the airship, resembling a luxurious hotel, accommodating 50 passengers. The main complaint of passengers at the time was that the walls of the bedrooms were only a thin layer of aluminum, and snoring from neighboring rooms could disturb their sleep; while passengers traveling by plane had to endure rudimentary cabins, deafening noise, and severe turbulence.
On October 11, 1928, just over a month before Zhang Hainuo's memory, the "Count Zeppelin" began its maiden voyage from Frankfurt, Germany, to New York, USA. Carrying 20 passengers and 40 crew members, it flew over the Atlantic and landed at the Lakehurst Naval Air Station in New Jersey, USA, after 111 hours and 44 minutes of continuous flight, covering a distance of over 9,900 kilometers. This was the first commercial transatlantic flight in human history. When its designer, Dr. Eckener, and the crew arrived in New York, they were warmly welcomed and invited to visit the White House. By the end of the month, the airship safely returned to Germany.
In Zhang Hainuo's recollection of that world, tragedy struck on May 6, 1937, when a larger airship, the "Hindenburg," met a catastrophic accident in New Jersey, USA. Its crash marked the end of the era of large hydrogen airships, and soon, all airships ceased commercial flights. The "Count Zeppelin" airship was quietly confined to a huge airship hangar and never took to the skies again. In March 1940, by order of Hermann Göring, then Marshal of the German Air Force, the "Count Zeppelin" was dismantled, and the aluminum material that made up its hull was repurposed for military production.
The only glimmer of hope in Zhang Hainuo's heart was completely abandoned with this unwarranted dream. Although the "Count Zeppelin" had a safe operational history, even carrying a group of scientists to the Arctic for a scientific expedition, it was still a hydrogen-filled airship, susceptible to minor accidents that could change history.
Due to the lack of commercial airship flights over the Atlantic at present, Zhang Hainuo had no choice but to travel to Brazil by a fast mail ship operated by the North German Lloyd, which took him a full 14 days!
The last time Zhang Hainuo accompanied the heads of the National Socialist Party to attend a mass rally at the Berlin Sports Hall, he got into a bit of trouble - Redel somehow learned about it and quickly sought him out, asking him to try to avoid participating in politically charged events in the future. Even if he had to attend, he should never flaunt his naval uniform.
This minor incident did not affect Zhang Hainuo's relationship with Redel. At the end of the month, Redel transferred a group of technical experts from the shipbuilding engineering bureau to Zhang Hainuo's special project team. The focus of German submarine research was now shifting from domestic concerns to the distant South American continent. In theory, this was advantageous for evading surveillance by the Allied powers, but the clandestine activities of the German Navy still attracted the attention of British spies. Paciš from Brazil sent a secret telegram: there were more and more unidentified individuals active in the port of Salvador, and one of them had been identified as a veteran British spy.
As a result, Zhang Hainuo had to rush to Brazil before Christmas - as the head of the special project team, his scope of activities was much larger than that of the staff officers at the General Staff, and he only needed to report to Redel before going anywhere.
After arriving in Salvador, Zhang Hainuo was briefed by Paciš and Hessen on the recent situation. The situation was not good but not too bad either. The orders from Schneider Shipyard and the Chilean Navy for three large submarines had not only shaken the South American countries but also irritated the British, presumably out of concern for their own industrial enterprises. The British military sent specialized intelligence personnel to investigate the details of this Brazilian shipyard. Even the enthusiastic American news media got involved. As a result, in recent times, all sorts of people filled the hostels and bars in Salvador, much to the chagrin of the locals running those establishments.
Due to Brazilian laws and the protection of the Salvador city government, investigators could not obtain information about all the shareholders of Schneider Shipyard. For those investigators with official backgrounds, the Salvador city government provided detailed information about the company's representatives and one of the major shareholders - Mr. Schneider Sr. It can be imagined that this honest man, who had immigrated to Brazil before World War I, had always been law-abiding and had no dealings with the German government, did not fit the appetites of those busybodies.
As for the equipment and technicians recently brought in from Germany, Schneider Shipyard provided legitimate documentation proving that their hiring was for legitimate business purposes - the Treaty of Versailles prohibited Germany from engaging in submarine research in the future, but it did not say that foreign companies could not hire German experts and import German technology.
Since the local shipyard workers currently employed by Schneider Shipyard were registered and provided with specialized uniforms and identification badges, most attempts to infiltrate the shipyard under the guise of temporary shipyard workers failed. Even for the small number of people who successfully entered the shipyard, they quickly found themselves only able to work in ordinary civilian shipbuilding sites - access to the shipbuilding area for military vessels and the fixed workers' dormitory area was strictly prohibited.
The journalists from the American news media quickly discovered that their colleagues had already reported on some aspects of this shipyard several years ago in introductory articles about Brazilian coffee. After being harshly rejected by the shipyard when they attempted to learn about the performance of the Chilean Navy's ordered submarines, this group of people returned disappointed with their largely worthless news.
Although this commercial-oriented intelligence battle was won, Zhang Hainuo was not entirely reassured. Although Schneider Shipyard had made progress in secrecy, it was far from being completely watertight. Especially after Paciš and the naval intelligence team from the South American region joined in, the situation became even more complicated - these naval intelligence personnel were currently playing a positive role in the shipyard, but if Paciš or even Redel were replaced, this positive role could become the biggest loophole in the shipyard's intelligence defense line.
Zhang Hainuo had a faint premonition that it would be difficult to ensure that future German rulers would not learn about the situation at the shipyard solely through Edwin's side. If the situation "leaked out," he could explain it with the navy's special mission or other reasons, but the possibility of losing trust was high, and it could even become a turning point in their relationship - 1933 was getting closer and closer, and Zhang Hainuo had to seriously consider this.
During Christmas, the experts, technicians, and shipyard workers who had been busy all year finally got a rare vacation. According to their usual performance, the managers determined the "meritorious", "technical assaulters", and "excellent workers" of the year and awarded corresponding bonuses. In addition to the bonuses, these individuals directly embarked on a week-long sea voyage from the shipyard's dock - the destination was the relatively peaceful Santiago, where the friendly and hospitable Chilean authorities arranged a series of sightseeing activities for the travel group from Schneider Shipyard, showcasing their true hospitality.
During this Christmas holiday, Zhang Hainuo first visited the current mayor of Salvador and some political figures in Bahia, offering them very practical Christmas gifts — ownership of real estate or a piece of forest area. Following this, he took a chartered flight from Eagle Airlines to Rio de Janeiro, where he presented not only words of praise but also banknotes redeemable at banks under the Morgan conglomerate to influential figures in the Navy. Additionally, he personally selected a spacious and comfortable luxury apartment for Hyde-Wood in downtown Rio de Janeiro, where walking to the parliament building would take only ten minutes. Hyde-Wood was very satisfied with this, and of course, all the costs, including the purchase and decoration, were accounted for by Schneider Shipyard. Members of parliament who had contributed to the Navy's order of patrol ships also received generous gifts from Schneider Shipyard without exception.
After the Christmas holiday, everything at Schneider Shipyard returned to normal. Shipbuilding, which had slowed down temporarily due to the rush to build submarines, resumed smoothly as orders were completed. Nearly 20 shipyards, including three 10,000-ton docks, started construction together. The shipyard received strong support from the government and citizens of Salvador because it provided over ten thousand job opportunities to the city. Led by Hank Strasser, the technical team from the submarine design department at Blohm & Voss Shipyard in Hamburg was busy designing and constructing the UC-201. This was a dedicated mine-laying submarine with a surface displacement of 510 tons and a submerged displacement of 595 tons. Its design blueprint was based on the UC-III-class mine-laying submarines of the Second Reich Navy. As it was mainly used for mine-laying missions, the submarine had relatively low speed requirements, with a maximum surface speed of 12 knots and only 6.5 knots underwater. However, its surface endurance reached 9,000 nautical miles, the highest among medium-sized submarines of all levels. Its main armaments included three 500mm torpedo tubes, one 105mm deck gun, and six mine-laying tubes, capable of carrying 7 reserve torpedoes and 18 mines.
Following the UC-201, the plan was to build a large transport submarine of 1,500 tons. Despite lacking much attack capability beyond mine-laying, transport submarines could cross enemy naval blockades during wartime to transport strategic materials. Zhang Hainuo and his experts still vividly remembered the German submarine "Deutschland" voyaging to the Americas in 1916 and returning with 350 tons of urgently needed rubber, 340 tons of nickel, and 93 tons of tin in exchange for gems. Just like oil, Germany and its neighboring countries heavily relied on imports for various strategic resources. With powerful naval adversaries like Britain, Germany had to find ways to import strategic resources from allies and neutral friendly countries. Submarine transportation undoubtedly offered higher survival rates than surface shipping.
Nowadays, submarine construction and research were the primary focus of Zhang Hainuo's team, but they also didn't slacken in their efforts to catch up with the world's advanced level in aviation. Since its establishment in June 1920, Eagle Airlines had grown from a small enterprise with only one professional pilot and five purchased aircraft to the largest airline in Brazil and even South America. It operated 18 routes, with branches in most South American countries, forming the busiest and fastest transportation network in South America. Eagle Airlines' pride was its "Ace Pilots Club" — consisting of 21 German ace pilots from World War I, including such distinguished names as Eberhard von Tostaao, who had shot down 23 Allied aircraft, and Igemon, Galan, and Fred, who had served in Richthofen's squadron. With these ace pilots as instructors, Eagle Airlines established South America's premier flight training school in 1926, rapidly expanding its pool of professional pilots. By early 1929, it had 242 qualified pilots and 63 trainees.
While actively training aviation talents, Eagle Airlines gradually moved away from relying on imported aircraft. In 1923, its first production line for seaplanes purchased from Curtiss Company began operations, producing 25 to 30 Curtiss HS-2L patrol airships annually. These seaplanes became the mainstay of Eagle Airlines for transporting mail for the Brazilian government. In 1926, the first biplane landplane production line started operations, producing 30 to 40 improved Jenny training planes annually. These planes not only served as training aircraft for the Flight Training Institute but also transported mail between coastal and inland cities in Brazil. In 1928, Eagle Airlines' first self-built seaplane production line started operations, specializing in the production of the G-1A floatplane developed in-house. It could carry six passengers and nearly half a ton of cargo over at least 900 kilometers, with a maximum flying speed of 270 kilometers per hour in calm conditions, setting a speed record among all Eagle Airlines aircraft. This model would gradually replace the existing Curtiss HS-2L patrol airships, while the G-1B model for deck catapult launching was currently under intensive development.
On the third day after New Year's Day in 1929, the latest masterpiece from Eagle Airlines' R&D center, the "Americas Envoy," underwent its maiden flight in waters north of Salvador. It was a large four-engine seaplane developed based on Curtiss Company's NC-type seaplane, designed primarily by German engineer Ian Phillips, formerly of Fokker. It took ten months for Phillips and his team to complete this long-range passenger plane capable of flying 2,200 kilometers with a closed cockpit and three decks: the main deck for passengers providing meals and accommodation, the lower deck for fuel storage and luggage, and the top deck for the flight control cabin, crew area, and radio room. Undoubtedly, it was an almost futuristic creation!
Although initially fascinated by such a huge aircraft, Zhang Hainuo had doubts about its mechanical performance — more engines did not necessarily mean more safety; quite the opposite, their failure rate was much higher than that of ordinary aircraft, and the fuel consumption would likely be more than what most companies could afford. In the end, when he learned that the cost of one such aircraft was as high as 3.55 million marks, equivalent to about 900,000 US dollars, Zhang Hainuo ultimately abandoned the idea of purchasing it. This was the price of 30 G-1A or 50 Jenny training planes, and during wartime, these aircraft would be sufficient to form two squadrons!
Another potential reason for Zhang Hainuo's decision to give up the Do-X was the fact that it was already spring in 1929, and barring any unexpected events, the worldwide economic crisis that began in the fall would soon erupt. Due to stock and securities crashes and sustained market downturns, not only governments but also many companies faced the serious financial crisis. The number of bankrupt companies and individuals far exceeded that of the small economic crisis in 1921. Bankrupt companies and individuals would auction off their assets at low prices, and some companies would sell their holdings at low prices to avoid bankruptcy. This meant that currency holders could buy valuable goods for much less money than usual.
Not knowing when this terrible economic crisis would occur and how much it would deviate from history, Zhang Hainuo began instructing Graham-Newman Fund Company to sell stocks for cash and government bonds in the spring, and instructed Caleb to fully recover all accounts receivable from customers of All-America Coffee and gradually reduce customer credit terms and limits. Once the economic crisis erupted, these customers were likely to be unable to pay their previous bills, resulting in irreparable economic losses for All-America Coffee.