Republic of China: Ace Pilot

Chapter 440, Section 436: Creating Humans and Rockets, Solving the Problem of Fast-burning Propellants

Pan Am finally called back.

The other party agreed to let Fang Wen fly the Xuanming type on their Pacific route, with the only requirement that he land in the Philippines and bring their pilots, so that after Fang Wen flew back, Pan Am pilots could fly directly back to Manila.

This also reflects Pan Am's urgent need for the Xuanming type. This long-haul amphibious seaplane is extremely useful to them, as it can take off and land in various environments, which will help them quickly open up multiple routes in addition to the Pacific Ocean, such as those around the Americas, South America, and the Atlantic Ocean.

Immediately afterward, Fang Wen started the plane and flew from Las Vegas Airport to San Francisco.

This route departs from San Francisco, first flying to Hawaii, then island-hopping via Midway, Wake Island and Guam, before arriving in Manila and finally flying to Yangon.

After a 30-hour flight, the Xuanming model finally arrived at Manila Airport.

After landing on the water, the two American pilots waited on the dock.

As the cabin door opened, Fang Wen left the cockpit and went to the door to greet the two Pan Am pilots.

One of them greeted Fang Wen after seeing him.

"Mr. Fang, it's nice to see you again."

This person looks familiar.

Fang Wen recalled for a moment and suddenly remembered.

A few years ago, Fang Wen flew to Europe in his Shrike and purchased an F.220 night strategic bomber from the French company Falmont.

The F.220 was transported to Asia via the Suez Canal from the Mediterranean Sea by cargo ship. At that time, Fang Wen did not have a base in Yangon, and the F.220 aircraft were transported to Calcutta.

He flew back to his home country in F.220, leaving the Shrike at the British airfield in Calcutta.

Later, due to his busy schedule, Fang Wen found a pilot through Neil who could fly the Shrike to Calcutta and back.

This was the man who greeted him. At the time, he was a Boeing salesman for the Asia region, a retired U.S. Army Air Corps pilot who had flown a P-26 fighter jet.

I never expected to meet you again.

After the two boarded the plane, Fang Wen smiled and chatted with them.

"Angel, aren't you with Boeing anymore?"

Angel recounted his experiences over the past few years: "I'm not suited for sales, so after returning from Calcutta, I went back to my home country. Later, because of my work experience in Asia, I was recruited by Pan Am."

“Not a bad job,” Fang Wen replied, though he knew in his heart that the Japanese army would attack the Philippines in two years, the Americans would lose their colonies in Asia, and the trans-American Pacific shipping route would be terminated as a result.

He then returned to the pilot's seat, while the two Pan Am pilots waited behind him, carefully observing Fang Wen's actions.

After all, this is China's best ace pilot and the designer of the Xuanming type.

They learned a lot from Fang Wen's standardized procedures.

Seven hours later, the plane finally flew back to Yangon.

After landing the plane, Fang Wen left with his men and asked the aircraft manufacturer to handle the handover of the aircraft.

He needs a rest so he can start work tomorrow and deal with the busy schedule.

Therefore, he disbanded the team on the spot, arranged accommodation for Bai Yunfei, and drove back to the headquarters of Taishan Airlines in Yangon.

The car stopped in the parking lot behind the headquarters building. Fang Wen told Gong Xiuneng and Zhao Junping, "You two go and rest. You'll be back to work as usual tomorrow."

The two, one older and one younger, walked arm in arm, chatting and laughing, towards the dormitory building.

Fang Wenze entered the headquarters building; his new home was on the top floor.

Originally the hotel's headquarters building, it had two elevators, but both only went down to the floor below the top floor.

After the elevator arrived, Fang Wen got out, walked through a corridor, and at the end of the corridor was an iron gate guarded by company security. That was the entrance to the top floor.

When the security guards saw Fang Wen arrive, they stepped aside.

Fang Wen smiled and glanced at the security guard before carrying his things upstairs.

No one was home at the moment; even Wu Ma wasn't there.

He put his things on the bedside table, washed up, changed into his pajamas, and then started looking through the technical data on the individual rocket launcher.

Two hours later, there was a commotion in the house.

First, Aunt Wu came back and started cooking in the kitchen.

Then Kuang Mingzhu, Chuncao, and Qiuju also went home after get off work.

While cooking, Aunt Wu loudly reminded, "Miss, look at the shoe cabinet by the door, the young master is back."

"I saw it." Kuang Mingzhu abandoned her stereotypical image as a strong, career-woman at work, ran barefoot into the bedroom, jumped onto the bed, and pressed herself against Fang Wen.

She said, like a little girl, "My parents must have brought me something. Show it to me."

“If you don’t move, I can’t move my hand,” Fang Wen said with a smile.

After Kuang Mingzhu stepped aside, Fang Wen reached for the bag on the bedside table and took out its contents.

"This is the herbal jelly your mom made for you, and some American ginseng slices, all cut up. The other pile is pastries from Chinatown, one for you and one for Anming."

“Anming doesn’t like sweets, so they’re all mine.” Kuang Mingzhu put the things away and then explained, “My parents used to go back to America and bring these things back with them. My older brother didn’t have any, and Anming doesn’t eat sweets, so they’re all mine. I was very young then, and I miss those days so much.”

Fang Wen hugged his wife and said, "They're both doing well. They're staying in a hotel in Las Vegas and having fun every day. I told them to stay there and come back after the war is over."

"When will the war end? Can we win?" Kuang Mingzhu asked.

Her eyes were filled with uncertainty, a sentiment shared by many Chinese people today.

Even the breaching of the Yellow River couldn't stop the Japanese invaders; they were on their way to Wuhan.

Fang Wen replied firmly, "We will definitely win."

His words gave his wife renewed confidence.

His wife leaned against his broad chest and said gently, "Promise me you'll do what you can, and don't take too many risks. Also, I want a child."

This was the first time Kuang Mingzhu had brought up the topic of children. Fang Wen felt a little guilty, as he had been married for several years but had neglected his wife because he had focused on his work and battles.

Now that the focus has shifted to the development of the military industry, it's time to start the human reproduction plan.

The door closed, the lights went out, and breathing became deep.

The night passed.

Feeling refreshed, Fang Wen ate the breakfast his wife had made and then went downstairs with her to start work.

With the general manager's return, many things began to be reported to him.

Reporting each matter individually was too troublesome, so Fang Wen directly convened a small meeting with the finance, administration, and operations managers.

Manager Liu, Fang Shouxin, and Shao Sishen participated.

During the meeting, the three reported on the situation during this period.

Domestically, the branch's civil aviation routes remain closed.

However, the waterways that are operated in cooperation are still in operation.

Therefore, the headquarters will also send people to conduct operational inspections regularly.

International routes were smooth, and nothing happened.

Regarding the procurement of supplies, the first Soviet cargo ship carrying supplies had arrived at Yangon Port and was returning after unloading its cargo.

The main products were special steels, including steel billets cast and shaped according to specifications. This was also the first time the Soviet Union had conducted long-distance trade via the Black Sea-Mediterranean-Indian Ocean route. They were very pleased with the successful completion of the transaction and proactively requested an increase in the supply volume.

Hearing this, Fang Wen pondered.

The Soviet Union was not as easy to deal with as it seemed on the surface; we would wait until all the supplies arrived before proceeding with the next round of procurement.

He then inquired about aircraft engines.

Fang Shouxin, who was in charge of the matter, reported: "Li Tiezhu, who was sent to France, contacts the headquarters every day to keep track of the project's progress. Two days ago, people from Hispano-Suiza arrived on our flight. There were a total of 30 technicians and a large amount of production technology data for aero engines. They promised to complete the dismantling and transportation of the production line within a month."

Tempted by the $300 million offer, Hispano-Suiza acted very efficiently, and Fang Wen nodded in satisfaction.

It seems that research on aero engines will be able to begin soon.

This also means that after a month, I won't have much time to devote to other projects.

Therefore, it is essential to take care of other things during this downtime.

He ended the meeting, called Gong Xiuneng and Zhao Junping, and left the company headquarters with the document bag, heading to the Yangon Industrial Park.

At the aircraft manufacturing plant in the Yangon Industrial Park, Fang Wen gathered a group of engineers and technicians.

He drew a diagram of a weapon on the blackboard.

"I've gathered everyone here because I want to develop a powerful weapon to deal with Japanese tanks. It's called a man-portable rocket launcher. This is a prototype of the weapon, similar to our ancient rockets. It uses a tail-mounted propellant charge to achieve long-range firing. The outer launch tube, like a gun barrel, provides a guiding trajectory for the rocket."

Everyone gathered around, looking at the weapon diagrams and discussing them animatedly.

"Does it look simple?"

"I also think it's somewhat similar to a mortar."

These technicians have not yet conducted military equipment research and development, so Fang Wen gave them a science lesson.

"Mortars are different from this thing. A mortar is fired by the impact of the shell falling from the muzzle. It uses the expansion of the propellant gas inside the barrel to propel the shell along the barrel and eventually fire it out of the muzzle. It is a curved trajectory, a projectile, falling from top to bottom. For most soldiers, it is very difficult to accurately calculate the area of ​​impact on the target."

After a pause, Fang Wen continued, "The man-portable rocket launcher is relatively simple. It is launched by igniting the propellant carried by the rocket itself inside the launch tube. The rocket's propulsion section ignites inside the launch tube, generating thrust that propels the rocket forward at high speed. The launch tube only serves to constrain the initial direction and does not bear the pressure of the propellant gases. Therefore, it can be used for direct fire, with a relatively short and direct flight path, but high accuracy, making it suitable for attacking fixed or moving targets such as armored vehicles and firing points."

At this point, Fang Wen asked everyone to start a discussion.

The technicians were imagining it.

Some people even created impromptu prop simulations.

He took out a pebble, squatted down, and simulated a mortar firing.

Falling to the ground requires complex calculations and must take into account factors such as wind direction and wind resistance.

Achieving precise landing point is a true test of a launcher's skill.

The man-portable rocket launcher, launched in a manner similar to direct firearm aiming, can pose a threat to tanks and armored vehicles, making it a formidable weapon for offensive operations on the battlefield.

Even ordinary soldiers can use individual rocket launchers to attack after only simple training.

I see. Now everyone understands why the general manager wanted to develop this military weapon.

Then, everyone listened attentively as Fang Wen explained the structure and launch principle of the rocket.

After the theoretical knowledge has been explained.

This temporary research and development team then began its work.

They started with what they were best at: making launch tubes.

Among the special steel shaped parts shipped from the Soviet Union were seamless steel pipes.

Cut the seamless steel pipe to a length of approximately 1.4 meters according to the data in the document.

Then, an annular flame deflector is welded to the front of the launch tube to prevent the flames and high-pressure gases generated during rocket launch from injuring the shooter or damaging the launch tube.

In addition, a sight base and a sight mount must be welded onto the launch tube to assist aiming.

In addition, components such as grips, shoulder strap buckles, and shoulder supports.

This is just a launch tube.

It also needs to contain a launching mechanism.

It includes components such as trigger, trigger spring, circuit contact ring, circuit breaker, battery pack slot, wires and status lights.

When the shooter pulls the trigger, the circuit is activated, and the current flows through the ignition device to ignite the propellant of the rocket, thereby generating thrust to launch the rocket.

After two days, the prototype of the launch tube was completed.

Next came the crucial step of rocket production.

Even if there is technical information, it is problematic. In the process of copying it, you need to explore and correct it yourself in order to create a successful product.

Therefore, Fang Wen began very cautiously.

The rockets used in the bazooka consist of a warhead, a mechanical trigger fuse, a rocket motor, an electric ignition device, and tail fins.

The warhead is filled with high-velocity explosives to destroy the target.

This explosive is a mixture of TNT and RDX, made in a special blending ratio.

It turned out that there were bombs at the bomb factory. Fang Wen flew to the bomb factory in northern Myanmar and asked Huo Duanyang to personally allocate them.

After repeated small-scale experiments, Huo Duanyang produced a perfectly proportioned high explosive.

This breakthrough can be applied not only to rockets, but also to other types of artillery shells in bomb factories.

Then comes the propellant.

This is also the main problem causing the project to stall in the United States.

The propellant they used was something Fang Wen had Huo Duanyang develop.

During the experiment, it was found that although this propellant has high combustion efficiency and can burn rapidly, it produces a large amount of stray smoke. The stray smoke not only emits smoke, but also dissipates heat, which will have a very adverse effect on the launch process.

That's why they failed to launch the rockets multiple times.

But this propellant is already the best they've made so far!
After several failed tests, Huo Duanyang offered another suggestion.

"Fast combustion can be achieved in many formulation schemes. The key is to achieve high efficiency. We can't find the answer by working in isolation. Why not broaden our thinking and let more people come up with solutions together?"

Fang Wen understood Huo Duanyang's words. China was an ancient country when it came to gunpowder. Even the anti-Japanese base areas behind enemy lines could produce high-explosive substitutes like Zhou Disheng's explosives. It was not impossible for them to develop an even better Suran propellant.

He then posted a bounty notice for the new gunpowder at the bomb factory and bullet factory.

The workers looked at the notice and exchanged ideas.

Some people applied for trial production.

In response, Fang Wen stipulated that trial production was permissible, but the quantity had to be controlled. Only small-dose experimental raw materials could be applied for at a time, and once used up, another application would have to be made.

Although this method is cumbersome, it effectively prevents experimental accidents from occurring.

This has inspired even more employees to pursue research and development.

Among them were fireworks masters recruited from Liuyang.

One of them used his family's secret recipe for Sky-Piercing Monkey gunpowder, combined with the formula for a fast-burning propellant, to create a fast-burning propellant that produces less smoke and releases more energy.

(End of this chapter)