The reason why the German Kiel Naval Base is hailed as Germany's premier naval port has a lot to do with its history, geographical location, and so on. Located within the Kiel Bay at the root of the Jutland Peninsula, it enjoys unique natural conditions. With numerous islands outside the harbor providing cover and connected to the North Sea via the Kiel Canal, it can be said to be strategically advantageous.
At the military airfield affiliated with the Kiel Naval Base, Zhang Hainuo witnessed an entire formation of Messerschmitt Bf 109T taking off successively within a short span of five minutes. They formed up over the harbor area, then roared past the surface of the sea at extremely high speeds, heading eastward.
One can use a series of "mosts" to describe the Messerschmitt Bf 109 fighter plane—the most famous fighter plane of World War II, the largest production quantity, the most variants, and so on. From its first flight in 1935 to its official retirement in 1967, it proved itself capable of handling all possible missions, whether it be interception, support, night combat, reconnaissance, escort, or ground attack. It can be said without exaggeration that the Bf 109 was the backbone of the German Air Force in World War II.
"At our strong request, Messerschmitt accelerated the delivery of new carrier-based fighters, but due to the heavy tasks assigned by the Air Force, it is estimated that by the end of the year, we will only receive enough of these aircraft to organize two flying squadrons!"
Zhang Hainuo observed the navy colonel in front of him—not particularly tall, with delicate features and a thick head of blond hair. He was dressed in traditional navy blue uniform and was currently responsible for organizing and training the naval aviation. Despite the renowned names like Milch, Graim, and Speer in the Air Force, Zhang Hainuo hadn't sought affection from the German Air Force. The reason was simple; the scale and role of the naval aviation were not as significant as those of the Air Force, and currently, this naval aviation unit, which was only one-fifth the size of the German Air Force, was organized efficiently by Emory Zeppelin—the nephew of the famous airship designer Ferdinand von Zeppelin. As for which aircraft models the naval aviation should adopt, that was a decision made by the Air Force Commander of Aviation, General Rolf Karls, and the technical experts of the Navy General Staff.
"These fighter planes seem sufficient for use on the 'Graf Zeppelin' carrier, but once the war breaks out, we will need many more fighters and skilled pilots. Time is truly pressing!" Zhang Hainuo said, largely due to Germany's recent attitude towards Austria—Hitler's firmness, Italy's acquiescence, Britain's appeasement, and the French's reluctance all determined the course of this historical event. If nothing went awry, everything would be settled in the spring of 1938.
As for this batch of Bf 109T carrier-based fighter planes, they were designed based on the Bf 109E-1. Their main improvement was the addition of wing surface area to increase lift. The wings were extended by 60 centimeters, and the mid-section cannon was installed on the outer side of the wings with hinges that could fold upwards. After folding, the wingspan was only 4 meters, suitable for storage in aircraft carrier hangars. However, the flaps needed to be detached before folding. In addition, a landing hook was added to the front of the belly, an arrester gear was installed near the front wheel, and the corresponding structures were reinforced. The landing gear remained retractable, but its strength was increased to adapt to the higher landing speed on aircraft carriers. Armament consisted of twin 7.9mm MG 17 machine guns located above the engine and two MG 17 machine guns on the wings. The engine was a Daimler-Benz DB 601A.
"Indeed, General! With this consideration in mind, we have gathered all skilled naval aviators to provide one-on-one training to newly recruited flyers. If these newcomers can meet the standards of solo flight in two months and qualification in four, we will have 800 pilots in a year. But if the speed of delivery of new aircraft by various companies does not substantially increase, most of our pilots will only be able to use those old aircraft!"
"General" was a term Zhang Hainuo had used frequently since arriving in this era, but when the title was used on him, he still felt a bit awkward. Although Emory was two years older than him, he spoke in a superior tone, saying, "I will include this in my report. If possible, I hope companies like Messerschmitt can allocate specialized production capacity for the Navy and expand aircraft production lines or establish joint aircraft factories with the Navy in Kiel. By autumn, the situation should be more optimistic than it is now!"
"I hope so!" Emory turned his gaze to the nearby harbor, where two biplane Arado Ar 95 seaplanes had just landed. Their somewhat rough bodies slowly approached the dock under the drive of the propellers. At present, the German Navy's aviation units were still mostly equipped with these old-fashioned seaplanes. Their advantage lay in their ability to take off from various ports and warships equipped with aircraft catapults to perform reconnaissance and limited attack missions. For example, these Arado 95 planes could carry a 700 kg torpedo to attack targets about 1000 kilometers away. However, their disadvantages were also obvious: they were greatly affected by sea conditions and did not have the performance advantage over newer aircraft, making them unreliable for long-distance flights.
"How are our new Arado reconnaissance planes?" Zhang Hainuo referred to the later famous Arado Ar 196 seaplane, which had been designed since 1936 as an important part of the German Navy's aviation fleet renewal plan. This beautiful monoplane had excellent performance in reconnaissance and attacking small ships near the coast. It was one of the new equipment Zhang Hainuo was eagerly looking forward to.
Emory gave a brief answer, "The prototypes are undergoing various tests, and based on their current performance, they fully meet the requirements previously proposed by the Navy Technical Department. Arado estimates that the A-1 model will be ready for mass production by the end of the year. If everything goes smoothly, it will begin replacing the He 60 currently used by the Navy next year!"
"Everything going smoothly..." Upon hearing this phrase, Zhang Hainuo suddenly felt a complex emotion. Although Germany was inevitably moving towards war along the track of history, he couldn't help but worry about the potential adverse effects on the German Air Force.
Zhang Hainuo couldn't clearly explain this question himself, but what was known was that the Condor Legion had performed remarkably well in the Spanish Civil War, making the Bf 109 and the Stuka Ju 87 among the most coveted equipment in the German Air Force. Even the Navy was impressed by the excellent performance demonstrated by these two military aircraft— at least for now, they were at the forefront of the world in terms of military armament.
In the German Air Force, there were many who opposed the production of dive bombers, citing reasons similar to those raised by the British Royal Air Force during World War I. Fortunately, the greatest supporter of dive bombers, the World War I aviation hero General Ernst Udet, became the Air Force's Technical Director in 1936. He dismissed these criticisms, allowing the Stuka project to proceed smoothly. By early 1937, the Ju 87 A-1 was officially put into mass production and underwent successful combat testing during the Spanish Civil War. By the end of 1937, the Ju 87 A-2 was introduced, and the following year saw the production of the Ju 87 B-1, which featured increased engine power and additional MG17 machine guns on the wings.
The naval variant of the Stuka, designated Ju 87C, was based on the Ju 87 B model but modified with folding wings, catapult attachment points, arresting hooks, inflatable bags for emergency water landings, and landing gear. Like many carrier-based aircraft, the Ju 87C's wings could be manually folded to save space. The wingtips were flattened, reducing the width by 80 centimeters compared to the B model, and additional fuel tanks with a capacity of 300 liters were installed to increase range. However, the two aircraft Zhang Hainuo had just seen were still the Ju 87 A-2 model used by the army. The reason was simple: before the Ju 87C was officially put into production, the naval aviation could only train its pilots using this type of army variant Stuka. They could conduct training other than deck takeoffs and landings, including bombing surface targets.
"Due to numerous issues encountered during the testing phase, it will be next spring at the earliest before the Ju 87C assigned to the navy can be mass-produced!" Without waiting for Zhang Hainuo's inquiry, Emory voluntarily reported on the progress of naval Stuka equipment.
"Colonel, we have several new equipment slated to enter service next year, including our most anticipated Graf Zeppelin aircraft carrier. Do you think this is just a coincidence?" Zhang Hainuo turned around, calmly observing the blond naval officer.
"General, this should be related to the navy's recent strategic considerations! The equipment you mentioned has been in theoretical design since 1936. It's normal for military equipment to take 2 to 3 years from design to production, isn't it?" Emory didn't delve into deeper implications.
Zhang Hainuo couldn't explicitly mention Germany's imminent war plans, so he tactfully remarked, "A sword is sharpest when it's just been sharpened! In a few years, they'll be no match for the new swords in others' hands!"
After concluding the inspection of the naval aviation equipment and training, Zhang Hainuo's overall attitude was optimistic, but he couldn't help but have some concerns about certain details. Subsequently, accompanied by Emory and another naval officer, Diert Boggs, the deputy director of the Graf Zeppelin aircraft carrier project, he inspected the heavy aircraft carrier under tense construction. As this was Germany's first attempt at designing an aircraft carrier and it started with a standard displacement of 24,500 tons, the construction progress was slower compared to carriers in the UK and the US. Engineers primarily referred to the carrier design styles of the Royal Navy in the North Sea and the eastern Atlantic, but they strengthened the armament and armor based on Germany's actual situation. This was something Zhang Hainuo was already aware of. As the head of the overseas project department at the time, his biggest influence on the carrier's design process was convincing engineers to abandon the bulky and impractical twin 150mm gun turrets, resulting in a double-deck hangar and reinforced anti-aircraft firepower: the redesigned carrier had four dual-purpose twin 105mm gun turrets instead of the previously planned six, the twin 37mm gun mounts increased to 15, and the originally single-barrel 20mm guns were largely replaced by twin 20mm machine guns and quad-mount anti-aircraft machine guns. The estimated aircraft complement was 52, and the power and armor were essentially the same as the original plan. After the carrier was completed, it would also be equipped with Seetakt-G radar or the updated H radar.
When Zhang Hainuo arrived at the slipway, the hull of this heavy aircraft carrier was already largely formed, with the power system being 80% complete. Twelve boilers outputted a total of 200,000 horsepower, propelling this carrier with a full load displacement of over 30,000 tons to a maximum speed of 34 knots for various combat missions. The cruising range at the cruising speed of 17 knots was 8,000 nautical miles, which was relatively weak compared to carriers of similar class from other countries but sufficient for joint operations with the main fleet of the German Navy.
Regarding armor, due to the concurrent construction of two Schanhorst-class and two Bismarck-class battleships, and the considerable consumption of steel by various equipment facilities of the German Army, according to Diert Boggs, the hull armor installation of the Graf Zeppelin was lagging behind the construction schedule. In the overall resource-limited situation of Germany, this usually required adjustments within the navy, but the senior naval officers evidently prioritized their long-favored traditional battleships.
To ensure that this carrier wouldn't suffer from constant delays and eventual cancellation like historical cases—of course, this was largely due to Göring's refusal to allocate corresponding carrier-based aircraft to the navy—Zhang Hainuo constantly shuttled between the office of the naval commander and the naval logistics department, even under the order to strengthen the hard currency reserves from the Imperial Chancellor's Office, "crossing the line" by using his connections to import a batch of steel suitable for submarine construction from the Royal Brazilian Ironworks, and then exchanging it for better-quality German steel from the submarine department to accelerate carrier construction. This practice, which seemed like robbing Peter to pay Paul, was clearly an extraordinary choice in extraordinary times. Just a month later, Germany took the risk of antagonizing countries like Britain and France by annexing Austria, and this time, Hitler apparently made the right bet.