Tyranny of Steel

As the war in Borneo continued to rage on, the Reich continued to produce more weaponry on a massive scale. It was not just the German military that weapons were being manufactured for, but to allied nations in the east as well.

The Indian Empire, the Majapahit Empire, the Joseon Dynasty, and the Ming Dynasty were all fighting against each other to purchase as many weapons and munitions from their German trading partners as they could get their hands on. 

Germany had invested a substantial sum into research and development, particularly in the field of military weapons. After all, there was currently an arms race between the Empire of Japan and the German Empire. One that Germany was winning. Still, Berengar did not dare to lie idly about and had commanded his best engineers to continue the development of weapons systems. 

Currently at the Kufstein Royal Armory, a group of engineers led by Jakob von Thurgau, who was the eldest son and successor to the legendary Ludwig von Thurgau, was working on a top secret project, one that would allow an entirely new era of aerial warfare to take place. 

Sitting in the bay of an aircraft hangar was a single prototype fighter aircraft. What made this fighter different from the currently mass produced Ta 152 fighter interceptor was the fact that this plane no longer made use of turboprop engines. Instead, it had a single turbojet engine, embedded in the fuselage. 

After much experimentation, and some input from the Kaiser himself, a new jet fighter was produced in this hangar. Though it was completely experimental and had yet to fly, the men who had worked on the project were rather proud of their creation.

This jet fighter was similar to second generation jet fighters from Berengar's past life, such as the F-86 Saber, and the Mig 15, as well as the later Mig-17. All of which were somewhat based upon the Ta 183 prototype jet fighters that the Germans had experimented with during the Second World War. 

The jet fighter was capable of transonic flight and came with a radar. Since this was a prototype, it was not yet armed with weapons, but in the future when this model went into production, it would be equipped with four thirty millimeter auto-cannons, and eight air-to-air missiles. Overall, the aircraft shared the appearance of the Focke-Wulf Ta-183/III jet fighter, which in a particularly popular video game was erroneously labelled the Focke-Wulf fw252.

As the engineers gathered around the experimental fighter, they could hear the sound of boots clanging against the hard floor of the hangar. From the sound of it, there appeared to be multiple people approaching.

Surely enough, when Jakob looked over at who had dared to disturb them, he saw an overly excited Berengar gazing upon the jet fighter with a fat grin on his face. Jakob was just about to introduce the prototype to the Kaiser when the man broke out into a fit of joy. 

"My god! You madlads have actually done it. A fully functional jet fighter. I would not believe it if I were not looking at it myself. As soon as we get these bad boys in the air, the war with Japan is as good as over!"

There was a grim look on the engineer's face as he told Berengar all he needed to know about when these planes would be capable of mass production.  Jakob cleared his throat as he began to explain in detail the schedule for this particular aircraft.

"We were planning to have the first flight tomorrow, but since you are already here, we might as well bump our schedule by a day. Assuming everything goes well, we project at least six months before these aircraft enter full production.... Maybe a year at the most."

Berengar could only smile as he heard this, and nod his head. He was glad to hear that these planes would likely see service at some point during his war with Japan. He was perhaps a bit too excited as he immediately began to climb into the cockpit to the sounds of several of his engineers' dismay. 

"My Kaiser, what are you doing? Get out of there, it is not safe. We have a test pilot who is more than happy to take the risk for you!"

It took Berengar a moment to realize that he was not safe in the slightest. Unlike his previous attempts at experimental flights, he was not equipped with the ring of sol, and therefore could not guarantee his own safety. As a result, he was forced to restrain his urges to test out the world's first jet fighter, and in doing so, climbed out of the cockpit with a sullen expression on his handsome face. 

"Very well, you're right. I shall wait for your test pilot to arrive."

Shortly thereafter, the engineering team moved to notify the test pilot of their change in schedule, where he was quick to arrive, fully suited up for the adventure he was about to have. The man was one of Germany's top pilots and was happy to see the experimental aircraft sitting in the hangar. He had been one of many pilots to share his insights with the engineers, and his input had been critical to its development. 

After sitting in the cockpit and getting a feel for the controls, the pilot ignited the engine and began to drive the plane onto the airstrip. Where he waited for permission to take off. Once he had been cleared, he held down the throttle and lifted the jet into the air, which took off at a much higher speed than any previous aircraft he had ever flown.  There was a distinctive cry of joy on the radio as the many expressed his euphoria as he raced through the air at speeds higher than any man in this world had ever endured. 

"Wooo! This is the fastest plane I have ever flown!"

Berengar looked up into the sky with a hint of jealousy in his heart as he watched the experimental jet fighter fly around the airbase at rapid speeds. Though it was a far cry from what he had seen operated by the American Military during his past life, it was still a remarkable sight.

The engineers continued to run tests on the plane and communicate with the pilot for some time before they were convinced of their results. The pilot then landed the jet onto the airstrip and continued to drive the plane back to the hangar, where it would be kept under lock and key. 

There was an overwhelming expression of euphoria on the man's face as he stepped out of the cockpit where he witnessed the cheers of the Engineering team, and the Kaiser, who were all amazed at the performance of the experimental aircraft.  Berengar waited for the engineers to interview the pilot before forcing his way into the conversation.

"So, I assume things are looking good, then?"

Jakob smiled and nodded his head before expressing his contentment with the tests.

"Everything went as expected. However, we will have to undergo much more thorough testing before we can approve this fighter jet for production. If we don't run into any significant issues along the way, then I am sure that within another six months, this plane will be seeing regular flight over the skies of Borneo and perhaps even japan." 

Berengar nodded his head and looked back at the prototype aircraft before voicing his approval.

"Very good. I look forward to it."

After saying that, he walked off from the hangar and left the engineers and the flight crew to celebrate by themselves. 

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