Transmigrated as the Crown Prince

Chapter 730: American High-Altitude Fighter

United States Washington.

Arnold, commander of the Army Air Corps, rushed into President Wilkie's office excitedly. "Mr. President, Mr. President, good news!! Our high-altitude fighter has been successfully developed!!"

"Great! What great news!" President Wilkie stood up so excitedly. German bombers have been visiting every day these days, and I feel so depressed that I am about to explode. "Is it North American or Lockheed?"

Commander Arnold shook his head. "No, it's McDonald's."

"McDonald's Company?" President Wilkie couldn't help but be stunned. At this time, the main aviation aircraft manufacturers in the United States were North American Aviation, Consolidated Voltaire, Douglas Aircraft Company, Curtiss-Wright Company, Grumman Aircraft Engineering Company, Boeing Company, Lockheed Aircraft Company, and Republic Airlines , Bell Aircraft Company, Glenn Martin Aircraft Company and other ten major manufacturers; in addition, there are many small and medium-sized manufacturers, but this McDonough Company is unheard of.

Commander Arnold explained. "This McDonald's company is a new company established just two years ago. Previously it was only responsible for producing aircraft parts, but in my opinion it is a company with great potential."

In order to deal with the German high-altitude bombers, the US Army Aviation proposed an R-40C bidding plan. This bidding plan is very bold and does not have many restrictions on the body structure, allowing the design company to give full play to its imagination and explore boldly. As long as it can meet the requirements of high altitude and high speed, you can design the aircraft into the shape of a toilet.

McDonald's, which has just entered the field of fighter aircraft design, also plans to get a share of the pie. They have designed a very novel fighter aircraft before. Different from the connection structure between the engine and blades of traditional propeller aircraft, this is a new structure driven by gears. An engine is arranged behind the cockpit, and the power is transmitted to the propellers on the wings through gears, transmission shafts and other structures. .

However, this fighter was not favored by the U.S. Army Aviation, and in this bidding process, McDonald's company changed the previous design plan. This fighter, which was given the codename XP-67, adopts many very novel designs. The body adopts a structure similar to the fusion of the wing and body. The designer hopes that the airflow can pass smoothly from the back of the aircraft to generate greater lift and reduce the impact of the aircraft. Flight resistance. Under this design concept, the XP-67 has an unusually simple and smooth appearance, even a bit like the jet fighters of the 1960s and 1970s. Its flat streamlined structure earned it the nickname "Bat".

"Although this prototype has some minor problems (many problems were discovered during wind tunnel testing, such as the unreasonable engine cooling airflow structure, excessive pursuit of a smooth body that requires very strict finishing, etc.), overall Fairly successful), it can indeed rise to an altitude of 14,000 meters." At that altitude, there is almost no maneuverability, but it is still no problem to attack German bombers.

"It doesn't matter whether it's a new company or an old company, whether it's a black cat or a white cat, as long as it catches mice, it's a good cat!" President Wilkie immediately agreed. "Put it into production immediately. Even if we can't shoot down the German bombers for the time being, we have to let them know that we have fighter jets that can climb to an altitude of 14,000 meters. At least we can make them restrain themselves a little." So far, these high-altitude bombers of the German Army have not exceeded 150 aircraft. These bombers must have fine craftsmanship and high cost. If a few of them are shot down, the Germans will feel distressed.

Arnold couldn't help but sigh. "I'm afraid the Germans already know." The German spy network has not yet been uncovered, and he doubts that the news has reached Germany.

His guess was correct. At this moment, in the Berlin Palace on the other side of the Atlantic, Reinhard was reporting this information to Yannick. "Your Highness, the American McDonough Company has developed a high-altitude fighter prototype code-named XP-67."

"Oh?" Yannick raised his eyebrows slightly. "Quite fast."

He knew about this XP-67 fighter jet. Although its design was very novel, its engine was not very reliable. Not only did the engine lack power, it was also prone to overheating and malfunctioning, which caused fatal damage to subsequent test flights of the prototype. The first aircraft caught fire due to overheating due to excessive speed during the last test flight. Although the pilot successfully landed, the aircraft was not prevented from being burned by the fire.

McDonald's company could not bear the delay of the engine on the project, and was preparing to raise funds to improve the engine. However, at this time, the military believed that the development prospects of the XP-67 were not as good as the P-51 Mustang fighter, and gradually selected the P-51 fighter.

Although the XP-67 failed to be put into production, it does not mean that it failed, because during World War II, McDonald's Company was not only developing the XP-67, but also developing jet aircraft, and the XP-67 had aerodynamic advantages. The exploration was not in vain, and postwar jet fighters such as the F2H "Banshee" were somewhat affected.

"Pay close attention to the development of this fighter jet. Once the Americans deploy its production and deployment, we should stop bombing the United States mainland."

He didn't know if the Americans had solved the problem of the XP-67 engine, but even if it took off for a short time, it could pose a threat to its own bombers.

Just like the German Me-163 "Comet" fighter jet in the original time and space, its actual combat time in the air was only a few minutes, but its participation in the war still caused considerable fear among Allied pilots. It once appeared among the Allied forces. Because of its small size and fast speed, Allied aircraft had no time to target and shoot at it. Even a 4-engine heavy bomber like the B-17 "Flying Fortress" with 360-degree self-defense firepower could not cause any damage to it. As a result, the Allied forces had to divert their routes around the combat area of ​​the Me163 fighter jets when conducting bombings.

Although the XPe-163 "Comet" is so exaggerated, our own me-264d high-altitude bomber has canceled all self-defense weapons and is not equipped with even a machine gun or a turret. Therefore, once the opponent's fighter jets climb to this height, these behemoths are lambs to be slaughtered and have no power to fight back.

As for letting fighter jets escort us, that is even more impossible.

Even with external auxiliary fuel tanks, the latest model of FW-190D has a maximum range of only more than 2,700 kilometers and a combat radius of 1,000 kilometers. Naturally, it is impossible to escort bombers to the United States. But you must know that this range is quite amazing. Throughout World War II, only the Zero War (Zero War 21 can fly more than 3,300 kilometers in a straight line when carrying a drop tank) and the F-47N "Thunder" (range 3,200 kilometers) can beyond this voyage. As for jet fighters, even if they develop to the second generation, very few can exceed this distance.

Tap the screen to use advanced tools Tip: You can use left and right keyboard keys to browse between chapters.

You'll Also Like