Republic of China: Ace Pilot

Chapter 398, Chapter 396: Construction begins on Xiangxi Airport, Air Force fundraising event, Wuhan air battle.
Thirty university students from the Republic of China era began learning semiconductor manufacturing technology at Xiangxi Airport.

These college students, who have only grasped the basics of electricity, need to undergo systematic on-the-job training to master the complete set of technologies.

In response, Fang Wen once again began to teach him step by step, but this time it was slightly better because Bai Zeshan was there to help.

With expertise in both vacuum tube technology and factory management, Bai Zeshan was very interested in semiconductor factories.

At first, he attended classes and studied with other students, but he absorbed and mastered knowledge much faster than others.

He studied the semiconductor component manufacturing process very diligently, and after ten days he began to use this process to manufacture electronic components.

This also allowed Fang Wen to dedicate more time to training at the polysilicon plant.

Subsequently, Fang Wen instructed Bai Zeshan, who had learned the manufacturing process, to train twenty students using the standardized process flow of an aircraft manufacturing plant, so that they could quickly master the transistor component production technology.

Fang Wen, on the other hand, brought ten other students and workers specially recruited from the Nanjing refugees.

Fang Wen introduced both sides.

"You are both from Nanjing. On one side are students from Nanjing University, and on the other side are technicians from Yongli Ammonium Plant. I hope we can work together to master the polysilicon preparation process as soon as possible."

The technicians at Yongli Ammonium Plant were an unexpected bonus for Fang Wen. This plant produced the first batch of domestically made fertilizer, ammonium sulfate, in 37.

It can be said to be the best chemical plant in China.

The entire factory was originally scheduled to be moved to the mainland, but some of the technical staff did not leave with the factory.

As the war intensified, they boarded one of the last Taishan Airlines evacuation flights to Wuhan and were recruited.

They possess the technology for China's first synthetic ammonia plant, sulfuric acid plant, nitric acid plant, and ammonium sulfate plant, which represents a crucial technological reserve for Fang Wen's future development in military chemistry.

But now, with their expertise in chemistry and chemical production, their first job was helping Fang Wenjian build a polysilicon plant.

(In February 1937, Nanjing Yongli Ammonia Plant produced its first batch of domestically made fertilizer (ammonium sulfate fertilizer powder))
After the introductions were completed, Fang Wen led them into the polysilicon preparation plant.

Compared to the advanced technologies of the future, Professor Fang Wen's polycrystalline silicon preparation technology is much simpler, and therefore, it is not difficult to learn.

The technicians from Yongli Ammonia Plant quickly understood the preparation principles and processes that Fang Wen had explained, and began to learn how to operate them step by step.

The ten students from Nanjing, however, had not even begun to grasp the basics and felt extremely frustrated.

Fang Wen comforted them: "Don't worry, mastering the technology takes time. You have absolutely no experience in this area, so you need to learn even more. The difficulties you are facing now are actually a necessary stage in the growth path of every technician. Think about it, the reason why those people at Yongli Factory were able to master this technology faster than you is not because they are smarter. They also started from scratch and gained experience step by step through exploration and progress."

He paused, his gaze sweeping over each young, slightly anxious face, and continued, “I know you are all excellent. Each of you harbors a passion and dream for science and technology, hoping to master this technology in the shortest possible time and contribute to the military industry during this national crisis. But please remember, true technology lies not only in knowledge from books, but also in practical experience and insights.”

Fang Wen walked to the production line, took out a piece of industrial silicon, and showed it to the students: "Look, just like this piece of polycrystalline silicon raw material, it looks ordinary, but it takes many processes to become like this. This process requires patience and meticulousness, and even more so, it requires you to continuously accumulate experience and improve your skills in practice."

He turned to face everyone, his tone more resolute: "Therefore, I hope everyone can maintain a positive attitude and not be impatient for quick results. In the days to come, I will work with you all step by step to solve the problems you encounter until each of you can master this technology."

Encouraged by Fang Wen, the students put aside their worries. They looked at each other and seemed to find strength and confidence in each other's eyes.

Subsequently, these ten students, who had stood out from five hundred Nanjing university students, put aside their reserve and took the initiative to ask Fang Wen and the technical workers for help with anything they didn't understand.

With motivation and a willingness to learn, they made rapid progress and became close friends with the technical staff at Yongli Factory.

With everyone's joint efforts, we finally mastered the polycrystalline silicon preparation technology and successfully produced the first batch of polycrystalline silicon materials.

Meanwhile, in the semiconductor component manufacturing plant on the other side, they also mastered the manufacturing process of components.

These technologies, compared to the future, can at best reach the level of semiconductor factories in the 1960s, or even be inferior.

However, it already possesses the foundation for manufacturing semiconductor equipment.

Once they had become more proficient, Fang Wen took out three design drawings.

These three design drawings represent a semiconductor radio, a Taishan walkie-talkie, and a radio search device specifically designed for wartime anti-espionage purposes.

Semiconductor radios were civilian products used to generate foreign exchange through exports and to obtain subsequent loans from American financial groups.

The Taishan walkie-talkie was an infantry auxiliary communication device used by the Eighth Route Army and Independent Regiments.

Radio search devices were specifically designed as a defense against Japanese spies.

Among them, semiconductor radios have the lowest technological content and require the fewest components, making them the first to achieve mass production.

The other two components have more complex internal structures and are more difficult to manufacture, taking three times longer than the process of making a semiconductor radio.

Therefore, Fang Wen instructed the students to focus on producing the latter two items so that they could be supplied to the front-line troops in a timely manner.

Time flies, and February has passed quickly.

The situation continues to deteriorate.

Fierce fighting is underway in Shandong, and southern Shanxi is also facing immense pressure. To prevent the Japanese army from using it, the railway tracks and bridges along the Tongpu Railway have been completely destroyed.

To strengthen its military, the Nationalist government planned to purchase 300 mortars from Germany, each equipped with 3000 rounds of ammunition, and 2 Mauser pistols, each equipped with 2000 rounds of ammunition.

At the same time, a loan agreement of $5000 million was signed with the Soviet Union.

Fang Wen had no idea how such a huge sum of money would be used.

But there is another matter that is closely related to him, namely, the change of chairman of the Air Force Commission.

Also surnamed Song, he was the former Minister of Finance.

After taking office, he immediately convened a meeting with people in the aviation industry, and Fang Wen, as the general manager of Taishan Airlines, was invited to participate.

Therefore, Fang Wen stopped working at the semiconductor factory at Xiangxi Airport and returned to Wuhan.

The plane landed at Wuhan Water Airport, where Fang Wen met with Pan Jiafeng, who had come from Fuping.

"The plane is carrying 30 Taishan walkie-talkies, 10 radio searchers, and instruction manuals. You take them all back. We'll keep 10 walkie-talkies and 3 searchers, and send the rest to the Eighth Route Army's base areas behind enemy lines."

Pan Jiafeng nodded: "The Taishan walkie-talkies have played a very good role in the operations behind enemy lines. The Eighth Route Army has already contacted us to purchase a batch, so we can send them some."

After completing the handover, Fang Wen unloaded the two boxes of transistor radios, put them in his car, and drove away from the airport.

He first went back to the company headquarters, put away the two boxes of transistor radios, and learned about the company's situation over the past two weeks.

He then flew a seaplane to Chongqing.

The meeting was not held in Wuhan, but at the Chongqing Headquarters of the Military Commission in Chongqing.

Three hours later, Fang Wen piloted the plane to land at the Jiangxinzhou water airport.

He and Gong Xiuneng took a boat to the other side, climbed through the city built on the mountainside, and finally arrived at the Chongqing Headquarters of the Military Commission.

(Chongqing Military Commission Headquarters)

Many people had already arrived, including air force officers in military uniforms and many civilians, who gathered in small groups to chat.

When Fang Wen arrived, many people came over to greet him.

Fang Wen responded with a smile to each of them.

Among them was an old acquaintance whom I hadn't seen in a long time. "General Manager Fang, do you remember me?"

Fang Wen shook hands with him and replied, "Manager Wen of China Airlines, I used to work under you."

The other person laughed and said, "It is indeed Wen Helin. I am ashamed to say that over the years, I have remained stagnant while you have become unattainable. I have watched you become like this step by step, it is truly unbelievable."

"I didn't expect it myself, I just did it wholeheartedly. By the way, what's the purpose of this meeting?" Fang Wen asked.

"I'm not too sure either. It's probably just a new broom sweeping clean and making an appearance. We'll have to wait for the meeting to find out what exactly is going on," Wen Helin replied.

After a brief conversation, an officer stood on the steps and announced loudly, "Everyone may enter now. No accompanying persons are allowed. Seats have names on them, please take your assigned seats."

Fang Wen and Gong Xiuneng, who was protecting him, instructed: "You wait outside, I'm going in for a meeting."

Immediately afterwards, Fang Wen, Wen Helin, and some acquaintances followed the crowd.

Everyone arrived at the venue and found their seats.

Fang Wen's seating arrangement was in the third row. The first two rows were filled with officers of the National Air Force. Fang Wen also saw Captain Gao of the Fourth Squadron and Captain Chen of the Sixth Squadron, among others.

After greeting them, Fang Wen sat down and waited for the meeting to begin.

After a while, everyone arrived and the meeting began.

The person above then gave a speech.

This is a general overview of the current situation of the National Air Force.

As the war dragged on, a large number of military aircraft were lost, and many pilots were killed in action.

Less than one-third of the military aircraft are currently available.

Furthermore, some of these aircraft were outdated and could not compete with Japanese fighter planes at all.

Fang Wen was immediately moved by the speech.

Is the Nationalist government planning to purchase fighter jets this time?

If so, he is willing to sell the gunboats and aircraft at cost price to provide full support.

But what followed was unrelated to him.

国民政府和苏联在空军上进行了大规模合作，订购了200多架伊尔15和伊尔16战斗机，以及10架SB-3轰炸机。

Then, the main topic of the meeting came up.

It turns out it was for fundraising for the Air Force.

Fang Wen was somewhat disappointed because his gunboats were not valued by the Nationalist government, but he would not lag behind others in donating money to the air force.

He then pledged 30 yuan on the spot, becoming the person who donated the most at the fundraising event.

He was specially kept behind to meet with Chairman Song.

After some polite conversation, Fang Wen was about to leave when Captain Gao called him back.

"Commander Fang, wait a moment, I have something I want to say to you."

Fang Wen stopped and waited for Captain Gao to come over.

The two strolled and talked in a small garden on the other side of the venue.

"I can tell you have some ideas about military procurement. The Taishan gunship aircraft is indeed very good and suitable for our current combat environment, but the people who get the money are not us pilots. The higher-ups are unwilling to pay, and all the purchases are made through loan agreements. And now only the Soviet Union is willing to help us, so it can only be Soviet-made aircraft."

Fang Wen nodded, indicating that he understood. He guessed that the $5000 million loan signed by the Nationalist government not long ago was related to these matters.

The two then said their goodbyes, and Fang Wen strode away.

Watching Fang Wen's retreating figure, Captain Gao suddenly had a strange feeling that he was getting further and further away from him.

After leaving the Chongqing headquarters of the National Government Military Commission, Fang Wen and Gong Xiuneng returned directly to the sea airport.

At this point, Fang Wen no longer held any hope for the support of the Nationalist government.

The military aircraft manufacturing industry he wanted to establish would not receive any support from here.

Without orders for military aircraft projects, Fang Wen can at most maintain the current size of the independent regiment. Any more than that, and he won't be able to support it on his own.

This is an ironclad rule of the military industry: orders are the essential condition for development and survival.

How to do this?

The Nationalist government would not provide it with military procurement orders, and the Eighth Route Army had even less financial resources to support it. If it wanted to develop the military aircraft manufacturing industry, it had to find another way.

He remembered the order for 100 civilian aircraft in Yangon.

The first batch of three Xuanming long-range seaplanes has been produced and delivered to the United States for flight back to the country.

This model provided Taishan Aircraft Manufacturing Plant with additional funds, but it was still not enough. Selling export versions of gunboats overseas might be a shortcut to rapidly develop military aircraft.

As for overseas buyers, the Spanish Popular Front is a good option, and the Spanish Civil War provides a perfect opportunity to showcase the characteristics of Taishan's military aircraft to the world, attracting more overseas orders.

With this in mind, Fang Wen became very interested.

We need to prepare to go to Yangon to develop the export version of the gunship aircraft, and then go to Spain to promote our own military aircraft.

Incidentally, we can also take the semiconductor radio samples to Europe to show them to the three consortia.

Immediately afterwards, he and Gong Xiuneng took a boat to Jiangxinzhou Airport and took off to return to Wuhan.

After a three-hour flight, the seaplane arrived over Wuhan.

At this moment, the skies over Wuhan were in chaos, with various types of military fighter jets engaged in fierce aerial combat.

Japanese Type 96 and Type 97 fighters, Nationalist Air Force Hawk II and Hawk III fighters, and Soviet Air Force Il-16s all appeared in this sky.

Fang Wen's heart tightened.

The three towns of Wuhan below are home to countless ordinary people, their own businesses, and their closest relatives, friends, and colleagues.

Protecting them is something I must do.

However, the civilian seaplanes they are currently piloting are simply unable to join this battle.

Meanwhile, all the fighter jets of the Taishan Independent Regiment were deployed at Xi'an Xiguan Airport to support operations behind enemy lines in the north.

The only thing he could use was the Qingyun biplane fighter he had first piloted.

Although biplane fighters were inferior in performance, Fang Wen was still confident that he could shoot down Japanese warplanes in air combat.

Now, his task is to avoid Japanese fighter planes, land a civilian waterplane, and then take the Seiun out of the hangar.

(End of this chapter)