Survive as a World War II Soldier - Chapter 92



Only Noblemtl

#092

The Stuka appeared in the latter half of the Spanish War and brought shock and fear to the people.

The Germans were the first to use dive bombers, which dive almost vertically over the target area to drop bombs, on the battlefield and confirm their practicality.

But in fact, this was a concept that had been discussed since the end of World War I.

“Are those Air Force guys really dropping bombs?”

“With that kind of precision, isn’t that just a waste of bombs?”

Aerial bombing, which involves dropping bombs from the sky.

But although the idea was good, the result was terrible.

This was because the level of aircraft and bombs at the time was too low to effectively strike enemy troops hiding in trenches.

“I heard that the aviation department over there came up with a good idea.”

“What is that?”

“So, if you drop a bomb from an airplane, it will follow a parabolic path due to the effects of gravity and acceleration…”

The superior officer was impressed by the lengthy explanation given by the aviation officer.

“Let me summarize briefly and just say the main points.”

“It’s not about getting high in the sky, it’s about getting closer to the target. And if you dive vertically like this and drop the bombs….”

“Is precision strike possible?”

“yes.”

The method of dropping bombs while diving nearly vertically as the actual air force had suggested was never realized.

“The body can’t handle it.”

“It’s impossible with the current body.”

But their ideas were not useless.

Although it was only a slight imitation, it was certain that the bombs dropped from a closer distance during the descent were more accurate.

in result,

“How about it? Our newest plane.”

“That’s cool.”

“Yes. Since it has a sturdy body, it is possible to dive and bomb like this.”

The first aircraft to be developed and demonstrated as a dive bomber was none other than the American aircraft manufacturer Curtis.

Curtiss demonstrates dive bombing while developing the SBC Helldiver bomber.

And one person who was particularly impressed by this was Ernst Udet, the German Air Force aircraft procurement officer.

“Your Excellency, I saw an airplane crashing in the United States.”

“okay?”

“I thought it would be good for us to develop one, so I bought one to take apart and try it out.”

The Stuka was developed in this way.

So, what I’m saying is that during the interwar period, we, the US military, and Germany had some, if not 100%, knowledge of the weapons systems that each other was developing.

“It seems that we still have some difficulties using our own engine.”

“then?”

“They say the one from British Rolls-Royce is not bad.”

Even the engines of the early production models of the Stuka were British.

In this way, the achievements of weapons development during the interwar period were not secrets but were shared openly.

Why? Because most weapons development is done by private companies.

It’s not that the government, army, or navy didn’t develop their own weapons.

However, most of the time, the armory would place an order saying, “We want this,” and private companies would bid saying, “That’s exactly what we have.”

Of course, bidding by foreign companies as well as domestic companies was not blocked.

And so, the current military industry is such that once a bid is made in one place, it is used as a history and exported to other countries.

Naturally, there was constant promotion to show off their technological prowess.

Security? That was something that came up during times of war, not in these peaceful times.

Of course, it’s not like there was no way.

The first is to develop it in an armory without involving private companies.

Like the torpedoes of those seals.

Of course, it would be a bit much to say that this is a perfect complement.

The second is to involve private companies, but threaten them by saying, ‘This is only for us.’

But whether it was the first or second time, money was the issue.

The first one is not all over.

Second, the goal of private enterprise was profit.

If you buy in bulk, wouldn’t we be able to make a decent profit even if we sell exclusively to you?

Otherwise, there’s no way they’d be loyal to us.

Of course, when war breaks out, that paid duty is replaced by free patriotism, but we were not yet at war.

But I wasn’t worried because I figured I could level up the tech tree faster than it was revealed.

For example, Sherman. This guy’s main gun is 75mm.

The reason it came out at least three years faster than the original was because the difficulties in the middle process were omitted.

And looking at us, it was quite possible to predict that the other guys would also speed up the process somewhat. However, unless there was another guy like me, it was clear that they would go through more trial and error than we did.

Besides, the devil is in the details.

I had enough small details that could improve the performance of the same weapon. Of course, I was going to hold on to these guys until the war broke out.

But Germany’s capabilities were far better than I thought, and our American congressmen were even more retarded.

Already 37mm? That meant that better ones would come out soon. However, only a very small number of people thought so.

“Right now our Sherman is definitely better than those Jerry guys.”

“But how long will it be like this?”

“Yes. Moreover, hasn’t it been revealed in detail how important a role tanks play on the battlefield?”

While Elliott sent a report specific to aviation, there was another who sent a report specific to armor. It was none other than Stephen O’Fukua, the U.S. military attaché in Spain.

He wrote detailed reports on the operational doctrines and tactics of the German and Soviet armored units, the results of the engagements, and the various types of equipment used by both sides.

“According to General Fuqua’s report, tanks are essential to dominate the battlefield.”

“Yes, the artillery unit should also be armed with self-propelled guns instead of the old cannons to enhance mobility···.”

Fuqua described in detail the usefulness of the tactic of breaking through the front line with armored units under the cover of aircraft, and it was natural that the attention of Patton, Chaffee, and others who had been advocating this for a long time turned to it.

Especially in a situation where the armored units of both sides face each other, the most important thing is,

“It’s the tank’s ability. It all depends on who’s riding it and how good it is.”

Of course, our tanks were better than Jerry’s, and we believed they would continue to be better in the future.

But that wasn’t the situation Patton described.

“I heard that the development of the 90mm anti-aircraft gun is nearing its final stages.”

“Yes. Didn’t the Jerry guys develop the 88mm? I heard they used it quite a bit in Spain this time. That’s why they’re developing it even more intensely.”

“Which tank brought it up?”

Now that the M3 Sherman with a 75mm gun has come out, shouldn’t the next tank be something like the Pershing with a 90mm gun?

“If that had come out, would we have come to see you, senior?”

“Everyone is crazy about airplanes, it’s chaos.”

Those who focused on the relatively poor aircraft lost interest in the somewhat decent tanks.

“Engine development is also sluggish.”

“Yes. The Sherman uses an aircraft engine.”

“no way···.”

“Why develop a separate engine for tanks when everything can be done with one engine anyway?”

The Sherman wasn’t a bad thing, objectively speaking.

Of course, there were several problems with the initial mass-produced products, but as I said before, there were always ways to solve such minor problems.

What Nana Patton focused on more than anything else was the Sherman’s fundamental problem: its engine.

The engine that Sherman was using was the one used in airplanes. What was the problem? It seemed to be none other than that.

The engine was cylindrical rather than rectangular, which is usually used in vehicles, and so it was tall, giving the tank a taller stance than other tanks.

Thanks to his height, it’s hard to hide, and his center of gravity is high, making him prone to falling.

Of course, it’s not that there are no advantages, but isn’t it the case that people tend to see the bad things more than the good things?

“We will continue to develop aircraft because there will be continued demand for them in the future, but there is no way that there will be as much demand for tanks···.”

In the end, the issue was money.

If you make an aircraft well, it seems like there will be a lot of orders from the Army Air Corps or the Navy Air Corps, but that’s not the case with tanks, so no company was willing to take on the challenge.

From a company’s perspective, wouldn’t they develop and produce only if they have a sales channel?

Of course, not all of them were like that, and there were some companies that showed interest.

“There are some companies that are showing interest… Is it really true that Ford is not allowed?”

The problem was that it was a Ford.

Henry Ford, the founder of Ford, was still going strong, but the problem was that he was a huge anti-Semite.

He even gave enormous support to Franco, the nationalist faction, during the Spanish Civil War.

“Sponsorship? You misunderstood. I know that our government has decided to remain neutral. But it didn’t block the company’s activities, did it?”

Yes. But how can it be considered legitimate business activity to sell goods to the Nationalists on credit that you would not sell to the Republicans?

Even,

“His Excellency the President respects you so much that he even has a portrait of you.”

“Oh my goodness, what an honor this is. I would like to express my sincerity on His Excellency the President’s birthday, even if it is a small thing.”

It was widely known that the small gesture cost a huge sum of money, fifty thousand dollars.

Henry Ford’s anti-Semitism was so well known that Jewish groups in the United States boycotted Ford and sued him for defamation.

“Ah, ah. Let me repeat that I am not a racist. I am not saying that Jews should be excluded from international politics. I am simply saying that industry should not serve finance.”

Although he later recanted his anti-Semitic views, his ties to the Nazis remained strong.

“I would like to present this medal to you, Henry Fort, in appreciation of the friendship you have shown to the Republic.”

He even received the highest award from the Nazis, the Grand Cross of the German Eagle, on his birthday this year.

But would you entrust the heart of a tank, the engine, to such a Ford?

It might have been different after the war, but now it was absolutely unacceptable.

“So how do we solve this problem?”

Patton and Chappie kept nagging me to come up with a solution, but I was at a loss.

In the end, what I chose to do was to go see Roosevelt.

##

“There is no way to stop it.”

When I suggested that it might be necessary to sanction pro-Nazi tendencies in corporations, Roosevelt shook his head in response.

“You say war is scary. But you are saying that you are blocking business activities by pushing a future that has not yet happened? Do you think that is possible?”

“···no.”

Roosevelt’s remark was to take a break.

“You know that because you’ve been governor. The military and politics are very different. There’s not much you can do as you please just because you’re president.”

If only there was a war and all of that could be suppressed under the name of patriotism.

I couldn’t help but let out a long sigh when I heard that in a situation like this, no one would listen if I shouted that war was going to break out and that those German Nazis had to be stopped.

“But you know what will happen if you don’t prepare. How many lives will be lost…”

“I’ll die. I’ll die just like I did in the last war, just like I did in Spain this time. But you know? Isn’t that what war is all about?”

“Franklin.”

I had always admired Roosevelt’s insight, which allowed him to see even what was not said, and called him a ninth-dan politician, but today was different.

The sight of Roosevelt talking about death so casually with a cold face was so unfamiliar.

“You too must change. You are no longer someone who is in charge of just a brigade or a division.”

“I am···.”

Roosevelt interrupted me and looked at me with stern eyes.

“When I was in this state and about to give up everything, what did you say? You said I would be the person who would raise this country from any crisis. That’s why I became president. If it’s true, I will probably be the head of this country when war breaks out. What about you?”

“I am···.”

I never thought it would be difficult.

As MacArthur did in the history of the original, he became the commander of the Pacific Forces…

But soon I realized that the future I had drawn a long time ago was already way off, and I was left dumbfounded.

It’s better to do it once than to see it a hundred times.