Republic of China: Ace Pilot

Chapter 37, Potez 25 Fighter Reconnaissance Aircraft: Project Details
Fang Wen's line of sight was a biplane.

In an era when monoplanes were gradually taking center stage, biplanes were gradually phased out of the military aircraft fleet due to their cumbersome nature.

But this plane is different.

It is the pinnacle of biplane fighters of this era: the Potez 25 fighter-reconnaissance aircraft.

After the Rhine NYP-2 was destroyed in an air raid, Fang Wen would often hang around it, and learned a lot about it from the pilot and ground crew.

The Potez 25 fighter-reconnaissance aircraft is a French aircraft manufactured by Potez Aviation, primarily used for reconnaissance and light bombing missions.

It was manufactured by Potez Avions in 1925, and more than 4000 were produced.

It was not only used in France, but also purchased by Poland, Japan, and the Soviet Union.

Its popularity is evident from some of the data alone.

Maximum ceiling 5500M
Crew 2
Maximum takeoff weight 2560KG
Maximum speed 214 km/h
Weight 1490KG
520 horsepower
Maximum range 600km
9.2M in length
Wingspan 14.14M
It has a load capacity of 1 ton, good speed, and a power of 520 horsepower.

It's worth noting that the Rheinland NYP-2 transport aircraft only had 223 horsepower.

It can be said that this is a freak with the performance of a fighter jet, capable of air combat and ground bombing, and with power, range and payload comparable to a transport aircraft.

Among domestic military aircraft, only the K47 fighter jet of the Guangdong Air Force can be compared with it.

However, the K47 is better suited for air combat. If modified, it could carry large aerial bombs to bomb capital warships like the Izumo.

Several officers in the office followed his gaze.

The officer, somewhat confused, asked, "You intend to use this old fighter plane to carry out a bombing mission?"

“Hmm.” Fang Wen nodded: “But this time I will be piloting it alone to complete the bombing mission, so some modifications need to be made to the interior of the aircraft.”

The officer looked at Gui Hongyuan and asked in a low voice, "Where did this biplane come from?"

“They were sent by the Northeast Army from the north. These are the main fighter jets of the Northeast Army's own air force, a total of more than twenty, and their performance is quite good. Now that the whole country is supporting Shanghai, they also sent two of them,” Gui Hongyuan replied.

"With so many fighter jets, yet they sent them all to the Northeast without firing a single shot." The officer suddenly stopped talking, realizing he had misspoke, and quickly changed the subject: "Go and inform the pilot of this plane that we will temporarily take over the aircraft."

After Gui Hongyuan left, the officer looked at Fang Wen and asked, "What kind of reformation are you planning to undergo?"

Fang Wen, who had studied and practiced mechanical repair knowledge for more than half a year, put forward his own suggestions for improvement.

"It won't be too complicated. I need to move the bombing mechanism and the propeller machine gun firing mechanism from the rear to the front, so that I can perform bombing and firing operations simultaneously while piloting the aircraft. Also, the bombs used to bomb the Izumo will definitely be very heavy, so I suggest modifying the bomb rack on the fuselage."

The officer nodded. As the person in charge of this operation, he knew quite a bit about aircraft and also raised his own questions.

"Can you handle it?"

"It should be fine, but it will take some time to practice."

"The matter is urgent, and this plan will likely be implemented tomorrow. I will have someone start the modification work immediately, and try to make sure we have time to train today. Now let's discuss the details of this plan."

The officer sent his colleague out to arrange the reformation, while he himself took out a brown paper bag marked "Top Secret" from his military leather bag.

He untied the knot on the paper bag and took out a map and some documents.

"This matter was proposed to the 19th Army by Hu Juewen, the director of Shanghai Xinmin Machinery Factory, and Ruan Shangjie, the director of Shanghai Arsenal. They secretly made sea mines, intending to sink the Izumo ship on the coast. This matter was later found to Wang Yaqiao, the leader of the Axe Gang, who planned to send two daredevils who were good swimmers to dive into the bottom of the ship with sea mines and detonate them."

"The success rate of this plan is not high. The higher-ups have decided to send the air force to join the operation, launching a pincer attack from the ground and the air, which may have a better effect." "Therefore, the plan to take place today has been suspended, which is why we came to find you."

"The aerial bombing wasn't just your doing; it involved three National Air Fleets and the Guangdong Air Fleet as well."

"At that time, the National Air Force will deploy in the coastal area to intercept enemy support aircraft."

"The Guangdong Air Force will bomb alongside you."

"But as you know, the bombs they carried weren't powerful enough to damage the Izumo. The real bombing effect came from the new aerial bombs from the Jinling Arsenal that you were piloting."

"The new aerial bomb from Jinling Arsenal is the same bomb you used to bomb Japanese warships on the Huangpu River last time. They have modified it to make it more powerful and perform better."

After the officer finished explaining the entire plan, he took out a stack of photos.

That's a black and white photo of the Izumo.

"The Japanese warship Izumo, a 10,000-ton-class armored cruiser, was a mainstay warship built by the Japanese Navy using the indemnity funds from the Treaty of Shimonoseki signed with the Qing government. Even now, it still retains the designation of a mainstay warship."

"If we sink it, we will not only gain military advantage, but also have an impact on Japan's domestic situation."

Fang Wen nodded.

The Izumo held special significance in the Japanese Navy, and sinking it would indeed have had a significant positive impact on the war effort.

He agreed to join the operation and discussed more details with the officers.

Meanwhile, the mechanics outside were also urgently starting to modify the aircraft.

To move the control equipment from the rear driver's seat to the front driver's seat, the lower linkage needs to be removed and reinstalled.

The bomb rack is a bit of a problem, because the bomb weighs 600 kilograms, and soldering it with tin probably won't be able to bear that weight.

Fortunately, these mechanics had their own solution; they used forging and welding techniques.

This technique involves heating iron sheets to extremely high temperatures and then welding them together through forging, resulting in a very strong bomb holder.

After a morning, the officer outside came in to report.

"The aircraft modification is complete. Please inspect it, Mr. Fang."

Fang Wen got up, went out, and climbed up the boarding stairs to the driver's seat.

The equipment inside is largely the same as that in previous aircraft, so there was no need to relearn it due to the difference between military and civilian use.

In addition, there are two new devices on the left and right sides.

The mechanic climbed up the boarding stairs from the other side and pointed to the cockpit, explaining:

"The one on the left is the bomb release mechanism. When it's pressed down, the bomb holder is closed. When releasing the bomb, pull up the bomb release mechanism, and the bomb holder will open. Also, this bomb has an impact fuse, so there's no need to consider the detonation delay."

"The one on the right is a propeller machine gun. Due to limited space, we can only place it on the right side. However, this will turn two-handed operation into one-handed operation, which may affect air combat. We suggest you try not to use it."

Fang Wen nodded, turned into the cockpit, and prepared to begin test flight training and testing of various aspects of the modified aircraft.

(End of this chapter)