WesWorld

April 2, 1934 - Berlin

The Luftwaffe has announced that it will be sending 2 planes and pilots to this year's Talons over Cordoba flight exhibition in Argentina. The aircraft will be the new Bf-109s, though the names of the pilots have not yet been released to the public (though General Udet, who has attended several of the contests, is thought to be a likely candidate).


April 4, 1934 - Grafenwohr

Reports from the Heer's panzer trials suggest that the inspectors are not very happy with any of the delivered prototypes and that the possibility exists that no winner may be declared and a re-competition will be necessary. Apparently the test vehicles are not showing well, with too many breakdowns, bog-downs, or poor design being evident.

April 6, 1934 - Berlin

The Heer has announced a competition for an armored infantry support vehicle. This vehicle, intended to support the infantry with direct fire against troop concentrations or infantry strongpoints, is required to be armed with 1 or more machineguns and at least a 75mm howitzer. The vehicle will have a weight of no more than 15 tons, with fuel and ammunition.


April 11, 1934 - Warnemunde

First flight of the Heinkel entry in the Luftwaffe's future close-support aircraft competition, the He-118. A sleek, good-looking monoplane powered by a DB-600 engine, it exhibited a good turn of speed taking off from the airfield. Testing will continue for some time, the competition is not scheduled to begin until September.

An assault gun something like the Stug III but with less armour to get the weight down to 15tons? Maybe with a 75 L24?

EMBRAER would offer the EMB-35 for the close-support aircraft competition, but I'm not sure it would be up to dive-bombing.

The STUG IIIB did have a 75L24, but was heavily armored. Still at 22 tons, that would be 7 tons to get down to 15. We may see an interim design with small-arms level protection... just guessing.

As for the Panzers, Alikchi's Skoda-Davao design was also built to cope with Netherlands' ground pressure requirements, so if you need an interim tank...

The original (historical) specification for the Panzer III specified a max weight of 15 tons. The StG III A's came in a bit heavier, at almost 20 tons, but they did have heavier armor. The specification may get re-worked, considering the aggravation currently being had at Grafenwohr, but we shall see.

Not certain that the Czechs would be all that keen on arming Germany, so the Skoda-Davao design might be problematic on that front. The Filipinos wouldn't have a problem, but the Czechs....

Quoted

Originally posted by Swamphen
EMBRAER would offer the EMB-35 for the close-support aircraft competition, but I'm not sure it would be up to dive-bombing.

Dive-bombing IS a requirement for that competition, so it's probably safest for all concerned that Embraer not compete with that design.

What's the Heinkel-118 look like, perform like? I have a Heinkel factory and a need for close support ac...

Never mind, I just did a google search. Pretty! Any differences from the RL version?

PS - Yes, the Skoda-Davao tank (I'm calling it the LT-33) would work quite well in Europe. Right now the Czechs, Dutch, Belgians, Filipinos and Brazilians (if I remember correctly) are using it.

At this point, the He-118 is basically as historical. The historical reasons for it's loss to the Ju-87 had to do with two things: first, it couldn't operate as a dive bomber at over about 50 degrees, where the Ju-87 could dive vertically; second, several of the prototypes broke up in mid-air. The first was probably more fatal than the second, the second problem could have been tracked down and fixed.

Brazil? Hmm...unless Fyrwulf ordered 'em, no (unfortunatly).

Quoted

Originally posted by Swamphen
Brazil? Hmm...unless Fyrwulf ordered 'em, no (unfortunatly).

Sorry, it was Peru - perdedor ordered 65.

Quoted

Originally posted by Alikchi
What's the Heinkel-118 look like, perform like? I have a Heinkel factory and a need for close support ac...

Never mind, I just did a google search. Pretty! Any differences from the RL version?

PS - Yes, the Skoda-Davao tank (I'm calling it the LT-33) would work quite well in Europe. Right now the Czechs, Dutch, Belgians, Filipinos and Brazilians (if I remember correctly) are using it.

Peru reached a deal for 65 to replace the used Nordmark tanks in the tank battalion.

April 14th, 1934 - Berlin

In the Kriegsmarine headquarters, Grand Admiral Raeder was holding another staff meeting.

"The Chancellor has assured me that, barring working out the problems with Cleito or replacing it, next year the Kriegsmarine will not need to continue to operate under it's restrictions. The Foreign Minister has told me that only India and and the Netherlands have replied to the Foreign Ministry's proposal for a Cleito conference this fall, and that the gist of the Indian reply was that India would not be involved in any more naval limitation treaties until more progress was made on de-colonizing Asia. So, gentlemen, I think we can fairly safely assume that next year the fleet construction program will not be restricted by Cleito. So what are our plans for that eventuality?"

Admiral Lentz replied, "Current plans for that eventuality in 1935 involve two battleships of the L-35 design, two large cruisers very similar to Blucher, and two aircraft carriers. The plans for destroyers of the Maas and Z-214 types, U-boats, R-boats, etc, would not change. There is a problem, though, in that there are insufficient slips in Germany for the new battleships, large cruisers, AND the carriers to all be built at once."

"That has been worked out. Arrangements have been made to make use of some foreign slips."

"Oh? In that case, the plan should work."

"What about the decimetric telegraphy? Is it continuing to show promise?"

"Yes, we're hoping to get a prototype system to sea on Prinz Eugen and a different system on Graf Spee next year. We'll have a better idea of how well they work at sea after they've spent some time on real warships, rather than a training vessel that doesn't exceed 20 knots and comes back to port every night."

"Good. What about the dual-purpose proposals from Krupp and Rheinmetall?"

"We're hoping to get a destroyer test-bed for the Krupp proposal to sea by mid next year. Rheinmetall's proposal is not as advanced, though they claim that with more funding they'd be ready by the end of the year for the smaller one and could have the space claim and the dimensions for the larger proposal by that time if it were fully funded."

"Too risky, especially for the larger one, which is the one we really want. Keep them funded, but aim to have them ready by the end of 1935. If they're ready then, maybe we can get them on a ship."

April 21, 1934 - Dessau

The Junkers prototype for the Luftwaffe's close support aircraft competition, the Ju-87 V1 took off today. In contrast to the Heinkel He-118, the Ju-87 is NOT an attractive airplane, though at least it is a monoplane. Fitted with a heavily spatted undercarriage and powered by a Jumo-211 engine, it is not expected to be as fast as the Heinkel entry. If Junkers is to have a chance in this competition, it must hope that the He-118 proves to have some flaws or that the Ju-87 has some superior characteristics.


April 23, 1934 - Berlin

The Luftwaffe has announced that the long-range fighter competition will begin June 22 at Rechlin. The known competitors for this competition are BFW, fresh off their win in the fighter competition, with the Bf-110, Focke-Wulf, with the Fw-187, and Fokker, with the G.I.

April 24, 1934 - Berlin

The Luftwaffe has announced that Henschel will be submitting it's Hs-124 design for the long-range fighter competition.

April 14th, 1934 - Berlin

The German government is watching with some concern the events to the south. While at the moment the unrest in Italy seems to be purely a domestic issue, brought on by a combination of factors, the government is concerned that, in the past, unrest in one country has spread across the borders and on into the rest of Europe. The specter of 1848 looms, though at the moment Germany seems at peace with itself.

[Modified to take the San Francisco meeting into account.]

April 14th, 1934 - Berlin

In the Kriegsmarine headquarters, Grand Admiral Raeder was holding another staff meeting.

"The Chancellor has assured me that, barring working out the problems with Cleito or replacing it, next year the Kriegsmarine will not need to continue to operate under it's restrictions. The Foreign Minister has told me that while there is the San Francisco conference this fall, his hopes for it reaching a satisfactory conclusion are not high. India has said that it would not be involved in any more naval limitation treaties until more progress was made on de-colonizing Asia. Japan has laid down new battleships after declaring itself clear of the Cleito Treaty. If there IS a new Treaty that comes from the San Francisco meeting, there's no way to predict yet what it will look like as far as we're concerned. So, gentlemen, I think we can fairly safely assume that next year the fleet construction program will not be restricted by Cleito. So what are our plans for a non-Treaty limited future?"

Admiral Lentz replied, "Current plans for that eventuality in 1935 involve two battleships of the L-35 design, two large cruisers very similar to Blucher, and two aircraft carriers. The plans for destroyers of the Maas and Z-214 types, U-boats, R-boats, etc, would not change. There is a problem, though, in that there are insufficient slips in Germany for the new battleships, large cruisers, AND the carriers to all be built at once."

"That has been worked out. Arrangements have been made to make use of some foreign slips."

"Oh? In that case, the plan should work."

"What about the decimetric telegraphy? Is it continuing to show promise?"

"Yes, we're hoping to get a prototype system to sea on Prinz Eugen and a different system on Graf Spee next year. We'll have a better idea of how well they work at sea after they've spent some time on real warships, rather than a training vessel that doesn't exceed 20 knots and comes back to port every night."

"Good. What about the dual-purpose proposals from Krupp and Rheinmetall?"

"We're hoping to get a destroyer test-bed for the Krupp proposal to sea by mid next year. Rheinmetall's proposal is not as advanced, though they claim that with more funding they'd be ready by the end of the year for the smaller one and could have the space claim and the dimensions for the larger proposal by that time if it were fully funded."

"Too risky, especially for the larger one, which is the one we really want. Keep them funded, but aim to have them ready by the end of 1935. If they're ready then, maybe we can get them on a ship."


Admiral Raeder pondered a moment, then asked, "What's the status of Walter's research?"

"The land-based testing has been very promising, if occasionally hazardous but that was something we knew ahead of time. The first vessel is fitting out now for tests."

"Ah, good. We'll see if it works in practice, as well as in a laboratory. Heinkel is going to be testing the prototypes of the He-51Ts within the month, so by the time Otto Lillienthal is finished with her shakedown cruise we should be able to begin flight testing off her deck."


There was another pause, then Raeder asked, "Given that we will be attending the San Francisco talks, what should we hold out for?"

"First, even though we don't really need them right now, we should hold out for a normal allocation of larger U-boats. If tensions rise between NAT and other groups such as AANM or SATSUMA, we may need some longer-ranged boats and it would be much better to have a proven design we're used to to start with.'

"Second, given that we, unlike most countries, have actually been invaded by sea within the last century, we ought to hold out for a larger allocation of tonnage. Granted, we were lucky to get the allocation at Copenhavn that we got, but this time we won't be there as a petitioner or an observer but as a full participant. If the 'rungs' are the same as for Cleito, try for the same allocation as Nordmark."

"Third, look to see if some flexibility can be put into the Treaty. Currently Cleito has little flexibility, the hull numbers for the capital ship bracket encourage the building of large ships, and there's little ability to transfer tonnage between categories. Some of the discussions at Cowes went a way towards allowing flexibility, and that seems like a wise choise."


Admiral Raeder nodded. "I'll keep those in mind."

April 28, 1934 - Berlin

The Heer has announced that a competition will be held between Mauser and Solothurn for a semi-automatic anti-tank rifle, to be chambered in the Heer's 15x96mm anti-tank rifle round. The Mauser rifle would be a rechambered and downsized version of the Russian PTRS from Tula Arsenal, while the Solothurn is a derivitive of their 20mm S18-100 AT rifle.


May 12th, 1934 - Berlin

The Luftwaffe has announced that it will be demonstrating it's new Bf-109A fighters outside the country for the first time in June at Karlskrona.

May 16th, 1934 - Grafenwohr

The Heer's testing of prototype medium panzers has come to an end, with no winners. The Heer has directed that none of the submissions are satisfactory, and that a re-competition will begin in January of next year.

What is their definition of "medium"? Italy has a new 13ton tank and is looking for possible buyers. A few examples have been sent to Argentina in a "try before you buy" move. I'm not sure it would be entirely appropriate for Germany's needs and the mechanical reliability issue would probably finish it off. It would probably be good however in the interest of getting future buyers for when it (or another design) actually works.