Republic of China: Ace Pilot

Chapter 17, Loading cargo in the field, Japanese troops in Shenyang, first manual aerial bombing.

A large group of people emerged from the shadows, some carrying torches for light, others carrying various kinds of wooden boxes.

The scene immediately became lively.

Sun Debiao and Manager Liu got off the plane, while Fang Wen, Howard, and Yue Jinping stayed on the plane.

Manager Liu had a lively conversation with the person in charge among them.

"The managers of each household, according to the rules we agreed on before, weigh the goods and make sure they don't exceed the weight agreed upon by the owners. Only after weighing and confirming that the seals are intact can they be loaded onto the plane."

None of the people in charge had any objections, and some even urged them on.

"We all know this. Hurry up, Manager Liu. So many of us are leaving the city. If even one person leaks the news, we'll all be in trouble. Get it over with as soon as possible so everyone can have peace of mind."

Immediately, they began to get busy.

Two strong men set up a two-meter-long scale, with large boxes hanging on the hooks.

Manager Liu then dragged the large weight on the scale beam to carefully weigh each box.

Then, using the abacus, he converted the weights into kilograms according to the standard of one jin being sixteen liang and one liang being 37 grams.

After calculating the contents of each household's belongings and checking that the seals on the boxes were intact, he had the items carried to the airplane cabin door.

Just to be on the safe side, no one else was allowed on the plane. So Fang Wen, Howard, and Sun Debiao carried the suitcases into the cabin and stacked them one by one.

The one-ton cargo was divided into hundreds of boxes of different sizes, and it took more than three hours to count and load it.

Fang Wen glanced at the pocket watch he had bought in Shanghai; it was already four o'clock.

"Manager Liu, how much stuff do you have left?" he asked.

Manager Liu stopped, stood up, and looked around: "There are sixteen boxes left. That's about 200 kilograms."

"It must be finished within half an hour." After saying this, Fang Wen instructed Howard and Sun Debiao to load the cargo, then went into the driver's seat, sat down, and started the engine.

The flight must take off no later than 5 a.m., as planned.

Shenyang is located in the eastern part of China, so it sees the sun earlier than other regions. According to what I learned from Manager Liu, it gets light in Shenyang around 5 a.m. in October, and planes have to take off before sunrise.

Hearing the sound of the airplane engine, Manager Liu became even more efficient, quickly weighing more than a dozen boxes and loading them onto the plane.

Having done all this, Manager Liu felt relieved and bowed to the others, saying, "Thank you all for your hard work. I will return to Beiping now, and we will meet again in the interior of China if fate allows."

The heads of the various businesses returned the greeting with clasped hands, preparing to watch the plane depart.

At this moment, a touch of white appeared on the distant horizon.

Suddenly, a sharp whistling sound pierced the air.

Fang Wen, who was waiting, looked at the sky that was already beginning to lighten and couldn't help but feel a little anxious.

This was being carried out right under the noses of the Japanese army. There were quite a few Japanese troops in Shenyang, and even without anti-aircraft weapons, it was very dangerous to fly at low altitudes or before takeoff.

A sharp, piercing sound made his heart tighten; it was the sound of a gunshot.

It seems to be from Shenyang.

He quickly shouted outside, "Get on the plane, take off immediately!"

Manager Liu hurriedly turned around and climbed up to the boarding gate. He almost fell because of his panic, but Sun Debiao pulled him onto the plane.

Howard pulled up the boarding stairs, closed the cabin door, and the plane accelerated along the slightly bumpy road.

After rushing forward for more than 200 meters, the speed finally reached takeoff level. Fang Wen pulled the control stick, and the nose of the plane lifted up and flew into the sky.

Just as the plane took off, a series of gunshots rang out.

The daring Sun Debiao leaned against the window and looked down.

"Something's happened. The Japanese army is coming soon."

Fang Wen entered a state of mechanical perception and saw the following situation.

A group of Japanese soldiers were firing in a dispersed manner, while their opponents were several bodyguards. However, judging from their equipment, the pistols used by the bodyguards were no match for the military weapons being fired at them.

Behind the bodyguards, a group of people were frantically fleeing south along the highway.

But in the direction they fled, another force was flanking them.

Judging from the situation, once the bodyguards are defeated, those people probably won't be able to escape either.

Unfortunately, I was piloting a civilian transport plane and couldn't help them at all.

Wait, Fang Wen suddenly remembered something.

Howard had complained about the safety of the fuel during the inspection, saying that the aviation gasoline supplied by Nanyuan Aviation School had poor anti-knock properties, a low flash point, and was very easy to catch fire.

However, this is to prevent fuel shortages during the journey.

There was also some spare fuel on the plane, stored in 100-liter metal drums.

He asked questions as he circled the plane in the air.

"Howard, if we drop the spare fuel in, will it detonate?"

Howard responded with surprise:
"What? You're crazy. I can make a fuse out of a strip of cotton, but I can't guarantee it will hit a target on the ground."

Howard's words sparked a bold idea in Fang Wen's mind.

He has made many attempts over the past year during test flights to train in dropping bombs from high altitudes and ensuring the point of impact.

This requires the bombardier to calculate the angle and timing of the bombing based on the aircraft's speed, altitude, wind direction, and wind speed.

Also consider the target's distance and speed of movement (if the target is moving).

To this end, he even commissioned a mathematician to calculate a bombing table for him, which contained various formulas to apply.

This training has given him the ability to judge aerial bombing in real time, but he still needs to practice to improve his success rate.

But we can't miss this opportunity to drop live ammunition.

His mind raced as he pondered.

The large iron drum, filled with 100 liters of aviation gasoline, has a rounded outer wall, resembling the shape of a bomb.

The wind resistance encountered has little impact. If the aircraft flies over the target area, it is only necessary to calculate the vector difference in advance to determine the impact point.

By combining mechanical sensing, it is not impossible to achieve a one-shot hit.

He then took control of the aircraft while issuing orders to the flight crew behind him.

“I’m prepared to help the people below, but there’s only one chance. You all need to cooperate fully with Howard.”

The people on the plane got busy.

They worked together to move the large fuel drums in the rear of the transport plane to the door.

Howard then tore a cotton underwear into a meter-long strip, soaked it completely in aviation gasoline, put one end into the gasoline drum, and left the other end outside.

After completing this, Fang Wen instructed:
"Yue Jinping, when you hear me say 'open the door,' open the airplane cabin door."

"Once the hatch is opened, Howard will be in charge of lighting the fuse on the fuel drum. Manager Liu, Sun Debiao, you must immediately cooperate with Howard to push the fuel drum down."

"This process must be completed in one go, without any mistakes. Do you understand?"

Although the process is simple, it is very dangerous. It involves a 100-liter fuel tank. If it is not dropped in time, the entire plane will be destroyed.

The four men looked grave and, after careful discussion, decided on their course of action.

The plane then circled over the highway.

On the highway below, a convoy of Japanese military vehicles is approaching.

Just as the planes in the air and the convoy on the ground were passing each other, Fang Wen suddenly shouted, "Open the door!"

(End of this chapter)