President Roosevelt, who looked haggard, was dozing off in his wheelchair. In 15 minutes, he would leave for the Maryland Air Force Base to watch the flight performance of the P-59 jet fighter. Nazi Germany's Me-262 jet fighter was currently
Now that they are showing off their power on the European battlefield, the Allied jet fighters must enter service as soon as possible.
As soon as he closed his eyes, President Roosevelt was awakened by the sound of rapid footsteps.
Soon, the closed door was pushed open forcefully, and then Army Chief of Staff General Marshall strode in. President Roosevelt shrugged helplessly and sighed: "George, isn't it?
The war situation in the Balkans has worsened again? Alas, when will you bring me good news?"
"Oh no, dear Mr. President, the situation in the Balkans has not worsened." Marshall spread his hands and then said, "And, today I really brought you some exciting good news." With that, Marshall said
Then he magically took out a box of film from the briefcase he carried with him.
Immediately, Marshall pushed Roosevelt's wheelchair into the screening room.
After the garbled code, a weird-shaped helicopter appeared on the screen.
Helicopters at this time were still a new thing, but both Roosevelt and Marshall had seen them. However, the helicopter on the screen was obviously very different from the helicopters they had seen. Other helicopters were fat and round, and
The body of this helicopter is thin, long, and sharply angular.
The most impressive thing is that the left and right hatches of the helicopter on the screen are open.
It can be clearly seen that a large-caliber heavy machine gun is installed in each of the open left and right hatches.
A cantilever extends out from the left and right sides of the machine body, and two cylindrical porous things are hung under each cantilever. Marshall immediately pointed to the screen and introduced: "Mr. President, this is a multiple rocket launcher with a caliber of 90mm.
, can destroy the frontal armor of any tank in the world within two hundred meters!"
Roosevelt nodded subconsciously. He had not yet realized how powerful this helicopter was.
Immediately, a flight performance of this armed helicopter appeared on the screen. After the performance, there was a real confrontation with an armored group. After watching the entire confrontation, Roosevelt finally exclaimed: "God, what kind of helicopter is this?"
This is simply a heavy hammer that smashed the Nazi German armored cluster!"
"Yes, Mr. President," Marshall said solemnly. "I think so too."
Secretary of State Hull, who had just arrived, asked: "Is this helicopter really so scary?"
"Of course." Marshall said without a doubt, "Such a helicopter can pass through the valley and cover the treetops to calmly approach the German armored group and launch a surprise attack from a low altitude. You have also seen the actual combat drill just now. Armored vehicles are basically incompatible with helicopters.
There is no way to fight back!"
"What about the anti-aircraft guns?" Roosevelt said, "Some tank divisions in the German army are equipped with self-propelled anti-aircraft artillery battalions."
Marshall nodded and said: "Every tank division in the German army is equipped with a self-propelled artillery regiment, but only a small number of tank divisions are equipped with a self-propelled anti-aircraft artillery battalion. Moreover, the killing principle of anti-aircraft artillery is fragmentation. For high-speed flying fixed-wing
Aircrafts pose a great threat, but for armored helicopters flying at low speeds, there is almost no threat unless they are hit directly! Unfortunately, it is almost impossible to shoot helicopters in the sky directly with anti-aircraft guns."
It is indeed unrealistic for anti-aircraft guns to shoot directly, even for self-propelled anti-aircraft guns.
The rotation of the turret is not a problem, but the adjustment of the firing angle cannot be faster than the helicopter's evasion; thirdly, the helicopter can fly freely in the sky with almost no direction or height restrictions, while the self-propelled anti-aircraft gun on the ground is subject to terrain and roads.
Serious constraints; finally, there is a coordination problem between the gunner and the driver.
"So, what about the threat from the Luftwaffe?" Hull asked another question.
"The German Air Force naturally has the Allied Air Force to deal with it. We have not lost air supremacy in Europe yet." Marshall waved his hand and said, "As for this armored helicopter, it is just an infantry support weapon. Its original design purpose is
Used to hunt enemy armored groups and infantry that cover the armored groups."
"Okay, I admit that this is indeed a decisive weapon, and I am afraid it is also epoch-making." Roosevelt said, "But I am worried that the British government may not be willing to share relevant technologies with the United States. If we urgently set up a scientific research team to conduct research and development,
If so, I’m afraid it’s too late.”
This is indeed a problem. Americans do not know how long it will take to develop such an armed helicopter.
At this time, Sikorsky, the father of the helicopter in the United States, was still sharpening his head to perfect his light general-purpose helicopter. The entire research and development thinking had not yet shifted to the concept of military-type armed helicopters. This was also Yue Weihan's greatest confidence. If it were not for the
Knowing this, Yue Weihan did not dare to open his mouth to the US government.
"Mr. President, I'm afraid you are mistaken about something." Marshall shook his head and said, "This weapon was not developed by the British, but by the Chinese Expeditionary Force in Burma."
Although China's military has been unified into the four major field armies of the National Revolutionary Army, Americans still call the four fields the Chinese Expeditionary Force, and until now, the Allied Southeast Asian Theater has not been abolished, and Yue Weihan still serves as the commander of the Southeast Asian Theater.
Where is the Commander-in-Chief?
"What did you say? Developed by Burma?" Roosevelt was shocked when he heard this and lost his voice, "This is impossible. When did the Chinese have such formidable scientific research power?"
Marshall shrugged and said with a wry smile: "As far as I know, a large number of top scientists from the former Soviet Union are currently contributing their wisdom and strength to China's military research in Myanmar."
"God, that's it." Roosevelt suddenly said, "George, call Stilwell immediately and ask him to tell Yue Weihan that the U.S. government and people urgently need this weapon, and hope that the Chinese government can transfer the key technology of this armored helicopter to
Sharing with us, of course, we in the U.S. government will compensate them for their losses as much as possible."
Yangon, Four Fields Headquarters.
Stilwell has left, but Yue Weihan is still immersed in strange emotions.
After Yue Weihan's careful planning, the footage shot by Avril was finally airlifted back to London, England, as quickly as possible, and then flew across the Atlantic from London to Washington, the United States. Western media first disclosed China's new invention.
The effect is completely different from the Chinese going to show off to the Americans.
If Yue Weihan takes the video to negotiate with the Americans, the Americans may become suspicious of your motives.
But this time it was the Americans who came to the door. That is, the U.S. government was asking for help from the Chinese people. Yue Weihan could take the opportunity to speak loudly. At least the initiative in the negotiation was firmly in his hands. Of course,
Yue Weihan didn't want to seek too many benefits, he just wanted to exchange for a dozen old warships.
United States Washington.
After reading the document in his hand, Roosevelt frowned and said, "Is this the Chinese condition?"
"Yes, Mr. President." Marshall shrugged and said helplessly, "China requires the key technology of armed helicopters in exchange for 2 battleships, 4 heavy cruisers, 8 aircraft carriers, 12 submarines, 16 destroyers, 20
Dockyard for large transport ships and 100 small and medium-sized transport boats."
"This condition is a bit excessive." Roosevelt said, "It is equivalent to two task forces."
"Oh, I think so. I also think the Chinese have gone too far." Marshall said, "It's not bad to cut it in half."
Roosevelt was silent. In fact, at the beginning, the U.S. government had not considered leasing some naval ships to the Nationalist Government in order to cultivate the Chinese navy to grow as quickly as possible, so that the U.S. Navy's Pacific Fleet could withdraw from the Asian battlefield as soon as possible and devote all its energy to the Mediterranean.
battlefield, but in the end, this proposal was vetoed by Roosevelt.
The reasons are extremely complex, and the main reason is the fear that Asia will become China's Asia.
With the current situation, it is impossible for the Army of the Anti-Fascist Alliance to take care of the land battlefields in Asia, and the Asian battlefields have actually been dominated by the Chinese Army. If the Chinese Navy becomes stronger again and dominates the oceans of Asia, then
After the war ends, China will rise rapidly, which is undoubtedly inconsistent with the national interests of the United States.
However, this armed helicopter developed by the Chinese Expeditionary Force is a matter of life and death for the Allied Forces!
How to choose? This is really difficult for Roosevelt, a master of playing politics. On one hand, the war situation in Europe is deteriorating, and on the other hand, there are future threats that cannot be ignored. How can we get the best of both worlds? Can FBI agents go deep into Burma to steal the goods?
Get the key technology of this armed helicopter?
Marshall seemed to have thought of what Roosevelt was thinking, and smiled bitterly: "Mr. President, if you want to send agents deep into Myanmar to steal the key technology of this armed helicopter, then it is best to give up. As far as I know, the person responsible for Myanmar
Mr. Ma Zhankui, who works in security, is a master of counter-reconnaissance, and it is impossible for federal agents to hide from his eyes and ears."
Roosevelt nodded, then frowned again and said, "So, is there really no better way?"
"Mr. President, I know what you are worried about, but that is a very distant thing. For the US government, how to break the deadlock in the Balkans is crucial!" Marshall shrugged and said, "If
If we fail to obtain this armed helicopter, the situation in the Balkans will deteriorate and Nazi Germany will completely lose control!"
Secretary of State Hull also said: "Mr. President, Nazi Germany is the number one enemy of the United States!"
"Okay." Roosevelt finally nodded and said, "Immediately reply to Yangon. The conditions they proposed are too excessive. The U.S. government and people will not agree to them at all. In this way, we will reduce the conditions they proposed to four
1%, the U.S. government can immediately sign an agreement with them and hand over the ships as soon as possible."
Yangon, Four Fields Headquarters.
"Reduced to a quarter?" Yue Weihan said suddenly, "This damn cripple is really a scoundrel!"
After that, Yue Weihan said to Deng: "Old Deng, call Washington right away and say that the U.S. government has no sincerity and China has decided to withdraw its application for leasing warships. However, as a member of the International Anti-Fascist Alliance, China is willing to provide the U.S. government with free services.
Some technical and design drawings of armed helicopters.”
United States Washington.
"Providing part of the technology and design drawings of armed helicopters to the U.S. government free of charge?" Roosevelt curled his lips and said, "I didn't expect that this young and surprising four-star general in China is also good at diplomatic rhetoric, haha,
But this also exposed the psychological bottom line of the Chinese people, cut it in half and finally reply."
Yangon, Four Fields Headquarters.
"Haha, it's refreshing." Yue Weihan said happily, "Just cut it in half according to the original size!"
Speaking of which, neither China nor China is in the mood to engage in arduous diplomatic negotiations with each other. The United States is worried that the situation in the Balkans will worsen, while China is worried that Japan and Russia will reach an agreement. Therefore, after two rounds of testing each other,
, Roosevelt readily showed off his cards to Yue Weihan, and Yue Weihan gave up immediately.
During the war years, Americans were still very efficient in doing things. In less than half a month, 1 battleship, 2 heavy cruisers, 4 aircraft carriers, 6 submarines, 8 destroyers, 10 large transport ships and 100 small transport ships were dispatched.
All were handed over to the Chinese Navy Corps stationed in Yangon Port.
That night, China handed over two prototypes of the km-32 armed helicopter and a full set of design drawings to Sikorsky, the father of the American helicopter, who came here specially.
On October 15, the 32nd year of the Republic of China (1943), on the same day that the 33rd Division of the Fourth Field Landed in Tanggu, the Chinese Navy Corps was also officially established in Yangon Port!
On the deck of the battleship "Wenzheng", Admiral Chen Shaokuan stood facing the wind.
Behind Admiral Chen Shaokuan, Zeng Yiding, Chen Jiliang and other naval officers and school officers stood solemnly. All the officers were wearing white navy uniforms, looking heroic and majestic.
Amidst the exciting military music, Yue Weihan strode onto the deck of the "Wenzheng" holding a naval flag.
The so-called "Wenzheng" battleship is actually the "Nevada" battleship of the U.S. Navy's Pacific Fleet. When the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, the "Nevada" was severely damaged and ran aground. It was later repaired and put back into active service. After it was handed over to China, Mao Zedong
The chairman proposed changing the name to "Wenzheng" in recognition of Jiang Gong's great contribution in the Anti-Japanese War.
Yue Weihan stood still holding the flag, and Chen Shaokuan immediately stepped forward, stood at attention and saluted: "Commander-in-chief Yue, the first-level admiral of the National Revolutionary Army Navy Corps, Captain Chen Shaokuan, led all the officers and soldiers of the Corps to report to you, please give me instructions!"
Admiral Chen's voice boomed through the microphone throughout Yangon Port.
In an instant, the naval officers and soldiers on the battleship "Wenzheng" and all warships stood at attention and saluted.
Yue Weihan stood at attention and immediately held the flag in front of Chen Shaokuan with both hands. Chen Shaokuan took it with both hands, turned back and raised the military flag in his hand towards all the officers and soldiers of the National Revolutionary Army and Navy. In an instant, there was a sound in Yangon Port.
With cheers like a roaring tsunami, the Chinese Navy...is reborn from nirvana!