Chapter 9: I Am Crazy for Technology

Taking into account the role of "Sea God's Wrath" operations officer, Logan held four positions. However, this did not mean he had to shuttle between different offices all day long. Although the operational and logistical production departments of the Imperial Air Force were housed in two separate buildings, they were close together, with one in front of the other. Given that the rank of Deputy Chief of Staff of the Air Force was the highest among his various positions, Logan's office was located on the fourth floor of the building housing the operations department. The plaque outside his office read "Deputy Chief of Staff of the Imperial Air Force, Deputy Director of Weapon Production of the Imperial Air Force, Deputy Director of Airborne Troop Technology," neatly arranged in three lines. Perhaps, in this building, no one held a longer title than him!

The more titles one had, the higher the salary. Logan was surprised to find that his salary had doubled. Of course, since he didn't have to spend money on food, clothing, housing, or transportation, the amount of his salary didn't seem that important. However, in the quiet of the night, Logan couldn't help but marvel: Wow, being a deputy division-level cadre is so awesome!

With more titles came more responsibilities. Apart from attending crucial meetings at the Air Force General Staff, Logan also had to continuously refine and modify the "Sea God's Wrath" operation plan. Since the decision was made by the Fuhrer, the details of this operational plan had become the subject of intense scrutiny by senior Air Force officers and senior staff day and night. Therefore, when Logan arrived at his office every morning, he was inevitably engaged in half an hour of debate with colleagues who came to challenge him:

"Comrades, the 1000-pound armor-piercing bombs of the dive bombers can completely take down an Elizabeth-class aircraft carrier. The technical report just came out yesterday, see! Take a look!"

"Esteemed colleague, rest assured, as long as they undergo training and exercises, the probability of ten Heinkel 111s colliding during a vertical torpedo attack is very low, very low!"

"Range? Brother, your question hits the nail on the head. This has been a concern of mine all along. Rest assured, I have been trying to improve this aspect. Haven't you forgotten? I am also the Deputy Director of Weapon Production of the Air Force!"

When Goering originally assigned these technical positions on paper with his fat and trembling hands, he probably didn't expect someone like Logan, a "battlefield brute," to thrive in such roles. Or perhaps, he didn't want Kaselitz to steal all the limelight from the Air Force alone?

Logan didn't know the answer. He continued to put his long-held ideas into practice.

On the airborne side, with Stundent, the technical director, still in the hospital, Logan was less restrained by superiors and was able to act more freely: The 11th Air Corps was established as scheduled, and the 7th Parachute Division and the 22nd Airborne Division were both highly familiar units. The interaction between the two division commanders was much easier, but what really concerned Logan was the equipment of the German airborne troops.

As is well known, German paratroopers used drogue parachutes, emphasizing mobility but sacrificing payload capacity. When parachuting, the paratroopers had to separate from their main weapons, carrying only pistols and one or two grenades on their person. After landing, they often had to spend valuable time searching for their weapons. Lieutenant Jenson and his unit experienced this problem on the outskirts of Wootton Harbour. Fortunately, Logan, a former parachutist before his time travel, may not have deeply researched parachutes from the future, but he was familiar with their principles and specifications. After taking office, he immediately instructed technicians to start developing larger parachutes more suitable for modern airborne operations.

In terms of firearms for paratroopers, the "Iron Fist" manufactured by Krupp had already reached mass production capability and performed excellently in the Battle of White Island. However, the final victory did not conceal their shortcomings—though convenient for single use, they lacked sustainability in combat and logistical support. As far as Logan knew, historically, both the "Tank Killer" and the "Panzerfaust" were successful examples, so he specifically convened technical representatives from Krupp to discuss the matter. Finally, he directly issued a procurement notice to Krupp in the form of a technical order: continue production of the "Iron Fist" until the end of September, with a minimum supply of 5,000 units.

Of course, Logan's ambition did not stop at parachutes and individual anti-tank weapons. The combination of Mauser rifles, MP38 submachine guns, and MG34 light machine guns was the standard configuration of the Wehrmacht, but in fierce urban combat, the paratrooper squad still lacked a semi-automatic weapon between the rifle and the submachine gun to enhance firepower density in positional warfare. Considering the varied research and development capabilities of German firearms factories, a new firearms bidding notice was sent to multiple companies, including Mauser, Erma, and Walther, with an initial order quantity of over 20,000 units.

In addition to dealing with official duties, Logan didn't forget the ancient wisdom of "uniting different factions." Finding a quiet weekend, he secretly invited Air Force Deputy Commander Milch to go camping in the outskirts of Berlin. This was not only to test Goering's reaction but also to ensure that future actions would be more targeted and preventative. On the public side, Milch controlled the financial power of the German Air Force. Although the investment in airborne troop technical weapons had increased significantly since the outbreak of the war, the projects Logan was about to embark on were all extremely expensive, especially one that Logan had been considering for a long time, which might even cost more than the production of heavy gliders!

What Logan and his former boss Milch discussed would only be known if they disclosed it themselves; however, the important thing was that Logan's airborne technical department soon received additional funds for a highly confidential airborne tank development project. Apart from modifying existing tanks and assault guns into more suitable airborne vehicles, the main plan of this project was to develop a "paratrooper tank" with a combat weight of 35-40 tons and equipped with a long-barreled 75mm gun before spring 1941. This tank would surpass the Panzer IV in firepower and defense comprehensively, as well as emphasize speed and reliability, as Logan emphasized. Of course, the lower the cost and the shorter the production time, the better. Perhaps because Logan listed such "strange" requirements, not only were the technical representatives sent by Krupp, Rheinmetall, Daimler-Benz, and Henschel dumbfounded, but even the staff and experts from the Air Force were surprised: even if a 35-ton tank could be produced, did the German Air Force have such large gliders?

Shrugging his shoulders, Logan, citing the temporary transfer of the Airborne Technical Directorate to himself by Stundent, politely declined the advice of his subordinates. Soon after, Kaselitz specifically approached him about this matter.

Logan had his own way of deflecting, of course. He certainly couldn't tell Kaselitz that Germany would encounter even more formidable T-34 and Stalin series tanks when attacking the Soviet Union—that was something the German Army needed to worry about. Interfering abruptly would surely anger those seasoned, prestigious, and temperamental army generals, and the consequences might be severe.

Since he couldn't directly influence the evolution of army weaponry, Logan couldn't just stand by and watch the German forces continue to use the III and IV models to confront the Soviet medium and heavy tanks, only to realize later and hurriedly launch an emergency heavy tank project. That would waste precious time! Even if the airborne units weren't equipped with large numbers of new tanks, the accumulation of technology and the configuration of production lines would greatly benefit the army—Logan wasn't trying to kiss up to the army marshals, but if something was beneficial to Germany as a whole, it wasn't a bad thing for him either!

Lastly, with the title of Deputy Director of Air Force Weapons Production, Logan also had the privilege of being directly subordinate to the legendary figure Ernst Udet. This charismatic Air Force officer shot down an astonishing 62 enemy aircraft during World War I, and he was only 22 years old when the war ended!

Until 1940, Udet still held the record for the most aircraft shot down among the living, only to be surpassed by the fledgling eagles of the Luftwaffe a year later.

Contrary to the saying that heroes respect heroes, there was no effect when Logan first met Udet. Facing the deputy director appointed by the High Command, the Air Force General just coldly said, "Alright, it's about time someone from the Operations Department came to see why the aircraft production isn't increasing!"

At first, Logan didn't know why Udet was so cold, and no one who knew could reveal it. It wasn't until the Air Force's senior-level meeting on September 1st, where Kaselitz directly questioned why the fighter production in August was pitifully low at only 201 aircraft—even less than the losses suffered by the German Air Force in Britain—that Logan finally understood the reason from Udet's infuriated face.

After annexing Austria, Czechoslovakia, occupying large territories in Poland and France, controlling the Netherlands, Denmark, Belgium, and Norway, Germany possessed more than half of Europe's land and over 200 million people. Common metals, coal, manpower, and machinery were not lacking, yet the monthly production of 200 fighters was less than half of Britain's at the same time. Why?

After the meeting, Logan immediately returned to the Air Force Logistics Department to review the data. Although future international finance professions involved basic accounting, statistics, and economics, complex cost controls lacked practical significance here, but Logan at least understood the significance of standard production and assembly lines. According to the technical officer's introduction, Logan learned that the current production of the Messerschmitt Bf 109 series mainly centered on Messerschmitt and Fieseler (licensed production). The quantity of these fighters depended on the number of DB 601 liquid-cooled engines provided by Daimler-Benz (early models also used Jumo 210 engines from Junkers, with slightly inferior performance). As for providing radios, Siemens, and supplying other components such as propellers, the suppliers were generally able to meet demand.

It seemed that the main reason for the low fighter production lay with Daimler-Benz, but after learning more, Logan found that all of the company's production lines were running at full capacity—not only supplying the Bf-109 and Bf-110, but also the He-111D bomber engines, and also producing vehicle and tank engines for the German Army.

After reviewing this information, Logan couldn't help but think of two words: "chaotic." It seemed that Germany's military production efficiency was far from being fully realized. Otherwise, with steel production and machinery quantities far exceeding those of the Soviet Union, how could aircraft production fall behind?

Well, old Udet, since we're fated to meet, let me give you a hand! Little did Logan know, if it weren't for his intervention, poor Udet would have chosen suicide due to depression—on November 17, 1941, to be exact. At that time, the German war situation had not yet reached a desperate level. Objectively speaking, there was still a chance for the German army to completely defeat the Soviet Union, and it wasn't small!