Republic of China: Ace Pilot

Chapter 311, Section 310: One Against Five in an Air Battle, Nanjing Investigator
With the auxiliary fuel tank coming loose and falling off, the Shrike was immediately relieved.

Moreover, they have now reached the outskirts of Shanghai, and the enemy, lured here, is unlikely to receive any support.

Fang Wen coldly observed the five Type 96 fighter jets. Without any pressure, he wanted to have a one-to-five challenge.

Immediately, the plane climbed, made an arc-shaped invert, and completed an aerial maneuver with acrobatic skill.

The five enemy planes originally thought the Shrike was going to escape, but they did not expect it to dare to turn around and fight.

Their first reaction was that the Shrike's reinforcements had arrived, but they soon discovered that there was only the Shrike.

To fight five against one is an audacity, no matter how good one's flying skills are.

Feeling humiliated, the Japanese pilots immediately followed their routine tactical training and flanked the enemy.

Their strategy was simple: outnumber the enemy, they would launch a multi-pronged attack, putting the Shrike in a difficult position.

Faced with this tactic, Fang Wen was not nervous. He had managed to escape the three-dimensional encirclement by the Kwantung Army Air Force during the battle over the Bohai Sea last year, and this time was no exception.

For him, the act of the five Type 96 fighters spreading out to encircle him was tantamount to abandoning his advantage and sending them to their deaths one by one.

In a state of mechanical perception, he focused intently on observation and made predictions.

The enemy plane at the 3 o'clock position is the closest, and it seems that this guy deliberately flew closer in order to take credit.

This naturally became the first target.

The Shrike suddenly veered to the right and accelerated away, its momentum suggesting an aerial bayonet charge.

This was a combat tactic favored by Japanese pilots, and the Type 96 fighter jet opposite them flew head-on towards them.

But the next second, the Shrike suddenly veered off course.

Such angular mid-air displacement is extremely difficult to achieve. It requires a deep understanding of the aircraft and extensive training experience before one dares to perform this special maneuver when two aircraft are facing each other.

The Japanese pilot had already placed his hand on the machine gun control stick, but the target opposite him suddenly disappeared.

He was stunned, not knowing why this was happening.

His allies, however, saw from a different perspective that he flew sideways and bypassed the enemy, then made a short-range horizontal turn with a circling radius of 500 meters in the air.

This is the theoretical maximum turning radius taught in Japanese aviation training courses; it's only theoretical, and none of the various types of Japanese aircraft can achieve it.

The Shrike, which was about the same size as a Japanese fighter plane, made a short parallel turn that could be described as the ultimate standard.

This maneuver brought the Shrike to the side and rear of the enemy aircraft within seconds.

Completely unprepared, the enemy was locked onto by Fang Wen, whose 20mm cannon unleashed deadly fire.

A barrage of machine gun shells pierced the thin aluminum skin of the Japanese warplane, causing an explosion that instantly tore open a large hole.

The subsequent machine gun fire caused fatal damage inside the fuselage, completely destroying the rear half of the aircraft. The unbalanced fuselage flipped and stalled in the air, plummeting downwards.

This time, Fang Wen didn't fire a follow-up shot. Instead, he immediately climbed up and skillfully used spatial manipulation to conceal his figure.

The other four Type 96 fighters that came to provide support immediately lost their target.

These Japanese pilots, who transitioned from biplanes to monoplanes, were highly skilled in parallel operations, but they lost their composure in combat situations involving complex spatial changes.

Fang Wen, however, was different. He had extensive experience in monoplane combat and possessed the necessary skills, which gave him the confidence to fight five opponents at once.

At this moment, 1000 meters above, he was like a hunter, waiting for the next opportunity to hunt.

In mechanical sensing mode, the positions of the enemy aircraft below are all known, but they are currently concentrated, making it unsuitable to take action.

He was waiting, waiting for the other party to disperse again, or return home.

After a while, the enemy seemed unwilling to give up and leave. They made tactical adjustments in the air with hand gestures, splitting into two teams to search separately.

This is the best arrangement; two people per team, and they can support each other if they encounter Fang Wen.

But they didn't understand that Fang Wen's Shrike was not just in a horizontal firing position.

He can do this through the transformation and connection of Fang Wen.

Horizontal firing: a cannon facing the nose, and two 7.92 mm horizontally firing machine guns on the left and right wings.

It can also fire at a downward angle while diving, and at an upward angle while rising.

There's even a special technique called aerial flip shooting that Fang Wen isn't yet absolutely certain of.

In the current situation, Fang Wen, positioned at high altitude, can only use downward-angled firing to deliver a surprise attack to the enemy.

Immediately, the Shrike swooped out of the clouds and headed precisely toward the two aircraft, soon entering the range of its cannons.

Just like strafing the ground, the 20mm cannon fired two rows of bullets that tore through the enemy aircraft.

Moments later, the enemy plane was blown to pieces.

The other plane was terrified by its teammate's sudden explosion. It had seen planes dive-bomb fixed ground targets before, but never one dive-bomb a moving aircraft.

The enemy plane was so frightened that it turned and fled to the seaside. At the same time, Fang Wen also turned and followed the Shrike, and shot it down again.

In a game where one player was on top of five, Fang Wen won 0-3, achieving a complete victory.

Two other aircraft had already left the airspace and headed towards the coast.

In a desperate escape, both fighter jets reached their maximum speed. Fang Wen considered that after jettisoning the auxiliary fuel tanks and going through these high-difficulty flight operations, the fuel was not enough, so he gave up the pursuit.

With this, the solo bombing mission was finally completed safely.

The battle situation in SH City suddenly took a turn for the worse.

One plane and one bomb caused more than 1000 Japanese soldiers to be killed or wounded, which is an incredible thing.

As a result, the 87th and 88th Divisions successfully captured the Japanese Marine Corps Headquarters building, smoothly eliminated the Japanese forces lurking in the HK area, and sent troops to Wusong for reinforcement.

This would at least alleviate the crisis of the Shanghai landing operation.

Meanwhile, both sides showed great interest in the bombing.

In their view, this weapon, if used on other battlefields, might have even greater power and effect.

Therefore, the Nationalist government dispatched a special commissioner to Jianqiao Airport to investigate the situation.

The Japanese side also activated its secret agents in Hangzhou.

The day after the bombing of Shanghai and the return flight.

Fang Wen got up early as usual and did morning exercises with three pilots on a path beside the airport runway.

This is the best way to maintain a healthy body. Even Fang Wen, who has superpowers that greatly enhance his physique, will not give up exercising.

After running 10 laps around the airport's inner ring road, the four of them returned to their dormitory to wash up and change clothes, and then went to the cafeteria for breakfast.

The person serving the food was the head chef of the airport canteen, who greeted Fang Wen with a smile. "Mr. Fang, thank you so much for bombing that Japanese building. I've disliked them for a long time. They're always so arrogant and domineering in Hongkou, and now they want to invade our country."

Fang Wen knew that the chef was from Shanghai, but how did news of the bombing reach Hangzhou?
And why is this chef so sure it was me who carried out the bombing?

With that question in mind, Fang Wen asked, "How did you know about this?"

The cook replied, "Well, I listen to that American radio station every day, so I know a bit about the situation in Shanghai. There was a bombing report last night, and I heard that many Japanese soldiers were killed. I heard that it was a Nationalist plane carrying heavy bombs that carried out the bombing all by itself. I reckon that you went out yesterday with a big bomb, so it must be you."

So that's how it is. The chef's association was correct; he really guessed right.

Fang Wen smiled without saying a word, neither admitting nor denying anything, and carried the metal lunchbox to his seat to prepare for breakfast.

Just then, a soldier jogged over to report.

"Commander Fang, there's a call from Nanjing saying they're sending someone over. Our garrison commander asked me to inform you so we can go to the airport together to pick them up."

"Okay, I'll go find him after breakfast," Fang Wen replied calmly, eating his millet porridge and meat bun.

After the soldiers left, Du Jiahuai whispered, "Regimental Commander, Nanjing sent people here this time, and specifically asked you to pick them up at the airport. They're probably here for you."

"I understand. Don't make wild guesses, continue with your daily training."

After finishing his words, Fang Wen devoured the millet porridge and meat buns, then got up and headed to the airport garrison barracks.

There, he chatted with the garrison commander for a while, and then they set off together to arrange the landing runway for the aircraft.

Then we waited.

More than an hour later, a Rheinland NYP-2 landed on the runway.

Looking at the aircraft, Fang Wen couldn't help but sigh. His first pot of gold came from flying the Rheinland NYP-2 to Northeast China to transfer the property of the Eight Families from under the noses of the Japanese soldiers.

Seeing it again now, however, is a far cry from what we've come to know.

As far as he knew, there were only two Rheinland NYP-2s in China, both purchased from Guangdong. After the Guangdong Nationalist government was abolished, these two aircraft probably ended up in the hands of the Nationalist Air Force.

Just then, the plane door opened, and a man in a suit stepped out.

Fang Wenhe and the commander of the airport garrison went to greet them.

The other party, however, only focused on Fang Wen and was very direct about it.

"Hello, are you Fang Wen, the general manager of Taishan Airlines, or the commander of the Taishan Independent Regiment?"

"Yes," Fang Wen replied.

The man produced a letter of appointment and introduced himself: "Hello, I am Zhuo Moyu, a temporary war situation observer appointed by the Military Commission to learn about yesterday's bombing. Therefore, this matter needs to be kept confidential, and we can only speak alone."

The commander of the garrison was somewhat embarrassed, but he spoke up to smooth things over: "That's fine then, you two talk, I'll take men to guard the area."

After the team leader left, the man found two stools in the nearby hangar, handed one to Fang Wen, and prepared to sit by the runway to talk.

Fang Wen tried to analyze this person.

From the perspective of future psychological theories, this behavior indicates that he is very confident and wants to take the initiative.

You could also say he's a capable person.

Sending such people to investigate demonstrates the importance the Nationalist government attaches to this matter.

The two sat down, and Zhuo Moyu took out a pen and notebook, looked at Fang Wen, and after a moment asked, "Mr. Fang, I envy your life. Everything I dream of has come true in you. I've studied you extensively. From an unknown flight school student, you passed the exam to become a pilot for China Airlines. Later, you cultivated relationships with many people and skillfully used those connections to create opportunities for advancement. This is something most people can't do, yet you achieved it. You can say you're a genius."

"I suppose so," Fang Wen replied calmly. He felt that everything he had done deserved a truly exceptional evaluation.

Zhuo Moyu wrote in his notebook and continued to ask questions.

"I've come here to find out what kind of bomb you used yesterday to bomb the Japanese Marine Corps headquarters building, and why it was so powerful?"

Sure enough, that's the question they came to ask.

Fang Wen anticipated the power of the homemade thermobaric bomb, but he was also very curious about its actual effects.

"How did Shanghai report the bombing situation?" he asked.

"They said from Shanghai that more than a thousand Japanese soldiers were entrenched in the building, but when a bomb was dropped, everyone in the building lost the ability to resist. Forty percent of them developed blisters on their bodies, as if they had been burned, fifty percent were knocked unconscious by the thick smoke, and some suffered internal bleeding and vomited blood after waking up," Zhuo Moyu replied.

He said that all of this was caused by a single bomb, which is why it caused such a huge sensation.

Fang Wen also understood the meaning behind the other party's words.

It seems that the homemade thermobaric bombs they used have given the world a completely new understanding of weapons, and it's probably something that not only the Nationalist government wants to know, but also the Japanese, as well as the British, American, and French intelligence personnel in the Shanghai concessions.

This is both an opportunity and a crisis, and we need to carefully consider how to handle it.

But for now, at least we need to get past the investigators from the Nationalist government.

Immediately afterwards, Fang Wen began to explain the traditional thermobaric bomb method.

"It was discovered by an engineer from one of my companies during a chance chemical experiment. Heating a large amount of fine aluminum powder will produce a strong oxidation reaction with oxygen, releasing high temperatures. Based on this experimental result, I had them conduct further research, and that's how this bomb came about."

"You produced this! Can this kind of bomb be mass-produced? Can it produce this kind of power in other environments?"

Zhuo Moyu asked two questions at the same time, and Fang Wen answered them both.

"Mass production is probably not feasible. It would require high-strength steel for the outer casing, and the internal structure would be quite complex. Currently, we lack the industrial foundation to achieve this. More importantly, this type of bomb only has such great power under specific circumstances; don't overestimate its strength."

Just as Fang Wen had judged, Zhuo Moyu was a pragmatic investigator, and he wanted to get to the bottom of Fang Wen's response.

Why is it said that this power only exists under specific circumstances?

Fang Wen was at a loss for words to explain this.

Pressure cookers didn't exist in this era, and pressure devices only appeared in large factories.

He thought for a moment and explained, "Do you know what a flour explosion is?"

Zhuo Moyu nodded, "I'm from the North, so of course I know that flour is a precious commodity and can't be exposed to open flames. The rule in the mill is that there can't be any fire."

Fang Wen continued to explain: "It should be said that when there is a certain concentration of fine flour particles in the air, they will ignite instantly upon encountering an open flame, forming a violent explosion with a power no less than that of a bomb. This process is the same as when I drop a bomb. The shock wave and smoke released by the flour explosion will expand instantly. In a confined space, this expansion will be suppressed, thus creating a high-pressure and high-temperature state. The same applies to the Japanese Marine Corps headquarters building. The bomb landed in the open space in the middle of the building, and the aluminum powder released by the explosion caused a secondary explosion in the air. If it were an open area, the power would not be so great, but there, they sealed the outer walls, and the entire building became a sealed can with only an air vent at the top. The instantaneous burst of gas, shock wave, high pressure, and high temperature could not be released and expanded inside, naturally causing huge damage. But in the wild, the destructive power of such a bomb would not be so great. Do you understand?"

This lengthy explanation gave Zhuo Moyu a clearer understanding of the investigation into the explosion.

His pen moved rapidly across the notebook as he recorded the entire investigation process.

"Thank you for your cooperation, Commander Fang. As you said, this type of bomb has limitations. It only has great power under specific conditions. Moreover, dropping this kind of bomb requires a highly skilled pilot like yourself. I will report this result to my superiors."

After saying that, he got up, said goodbye, boarded the plane, and left.

As the plane took off, Fang Wen had a strange feeling that this matter wouldn't end so simply.

But what will happen? That's something he can't currently imagine.

(End of this chapter)