Republic of China: Ace Pilot

Chapter 456 452 Taishan High-Speed ​​Fighter (First Generation), Eighth Route Army Inspection Team

The new heat treatment process has given Alcoa's 2024 aluminum alloy better performance.

Will this new type of aluminum material, used for aircraft skin, be better than the aluminum alloy skin of BF109?
Only through actual comparison can we know how effective it is.

Therefore, Fang Wen telegraphed the Paris branch, requesting that during the transaction of the miraculous sterilizing agent, he obtain some skin material for the BF109 aircraft from the Spanish Popular Front.

Soon the Paris branch sent back a message.

The Bf-109 fighter plane that was shot down and brought back to the International Brigades base two years ago has been dismantled. The engine was taken back to the Soviet Union, but some of the aircraft skin material was left, and the other side readily agreed to keep it.

Two days later, the 50-kilogram aluminum alloy aircraft skin was acquired and transported directly to Yangon by Taishan Airlines' commercial aircraft.

Once the plane delivered the materials, Fang Wen couldn't wait to compare their properties.

The comparison results of the two materials under different testing environments are as follows.

After testing, the new aluminum alloy heat-treated parts showed that they were 15% stronger than the aluminum alloy skin material of the BF109 fighter jet in terms of strength, fracture toughness and fatigue performance.

In addition to the basic comparative data, there is also the stress resistance strength. The new aluminum alloy heat-treated parts are 20% higher. In other words, under high-intensity stress conditions, the upper limit of the aluminum alloy skin material of BF-109 is lower than that of the new aluminum alloy heat-treated parts.

These data indicate that Fang Wen has developed a material that is better than other aircraft aluminum alloys.

Therefore, it can withstand higher flight speeds and more difficult flight maneuvers.

This is a very good start. The breakthrough in materials can be used not only in the current new piston aircraft, but also in the future when jet engines are developed.

We can start by developing the overall structure of the aircraft.

In mid-August, the Taishan Aircraft Manufacturing Plant No. 8 commenced construction.

Engineers and technicians brought from Yangon began to work together to build the aircraft frame, based on the design drawings provided by Fang Wen.

Because the previous modular division of labor was used, each engineering team had a corresponding production module and process flow. These engineering technicians were not at a loss as to how to proceed, even though it was a new type of fighter jet.

The project is proceeding in an orderly manner.

They started by making the aircraft frame.

Steel pipes are welded together to form the main beams, wings, cabin supports, and so on of an aircraft.

After the skeleton was manufactured, the engineering team divided the work again and began to make the aircraft skin.

Once the skin and frame are completed, the architecture of this new fighter jet is essentially set up.

The next step is the installation of various equipment, wires, and pipes inside the aircraft.

Here, Fang Wen disagrees with the internal structure of his designed aircraft compared to the BF-109.

The Mercedes BF-109 fighter jet had many series and models. The one Fang Wen fought in Spain was an early model, and its design was relatively primitive, not as amazing as those used in Europe during World War II in the 40s.

Therefore, after careful consideration, Fang Wen abandoned further borrowing from it and instead combined his own combat experience with future thinking to make modifications.

He felt that firepower must be sufficient and have coverage to increase the margin for error in aerial combat.

Moreover, the confrontational shooting style should be abandoned, and the shooting mode should be changed to area sweeping in conjunction with various maneuvers.

This is his combat experience.

In an aerial combat scenario, the time from a pilot spotting a target to aiming and firing is often only 2-3 seconds.

If you don't seize the opportunity, you'll miss the enemy plane.

Therefore, most pilots, upon spotting an enemy aircraft, will rely on experience to fire their bullets in advance.

The Japanese fighter jets would choose a suicidal charge attack, which would give them more preparation time and a higher mortality rate.

But none of these are as effective as the standard of prioritizing firepower.

If the aircraft is equipped with 6-8 machine guns, or two 12.7mm heavy aircraft machine guns plus two 20mm cannons, it can unleash its full firepower when encountering the enemy.

This creates a large attack area, resulting in the highest hit rate.

Therefore, Fang Wen's design concept for the new aircraft was mainly based on air combat, with four 7.92 mm machine guns installed on each wing.

This is the standard version, designed for ordinary pilots, to compensate for deficiencies in reaction speed and experience by using a firing fan.

There is also a special version for elite pilots, with a 12.7 mm heavy machine gun on each wing and a 20 mm cannon on each wing. This version is more difficult to fire, but it is more powerful.

In addition, both fighter jet models were equipped with a secret weapon: 'airburst bombs'.

This type of airburst bomb has been used on gunships and aircraft. Its area of ​​effect can impede the flight of enemy aircraft. If the burning metal powder enters the air duct of an enemy aircraft, it can even cause engine failure.

It was a one-time weapon left by Fang Wen for the pilots to defeat the enemy and make an emergency retreat.

In addition, the aircraft's wings also have bomb mounting devices, which can carry four 50-kilogram aerial bombs.

In addition to the weapon system, the aircraft uses a modified Shiro inline V12 liquid-cooled engine with 1050 horsepower, externally fitted with U-shaped heat pipes and an aluminum alloy cover.

The aircraft has one main fuel tank and one external auxiliary fuel tank.

The auxiliary fuel tank is removable and does not need to be installed for short-range operations.

In medium- to long-range operations, when encountering the enemy, the fuel tank can be manually switched, and the auxiliary fuel tank can be discarded to reduce weight and enable better load-bearing flexibility in combat.

Furthermore, breakthroughs have been achieved in aircraft communication equipment. The installed Taishan radio communication device enables real-time wireless communication in the air, with a communication range of 10 kilometers.

In late August, the first Taishan high-speed fighter jet was completed.

Fang Wen personally boarded the fighter jet for a test drive.

After the engine started, Fang Wen used mechanical sensing to investigate the aircraft.

He designed and oversaw the entire production of this aircraft, so he is very familiar with it.

After some investigation, no problems were found.

Immediately, the plane took off, gradually accelerated, and ascended into the air.

The first thing to be tested is naturally speed.

Fang Wen ascended at a constant speed, gradually increasing the aircraft's speed to its limit at an altitude of 3000 meters.

Its top speed reached an astonishing 540 kilometers per hour.

He couldn't help but get excited. The first fighter jet of the Taishan had actually reached such a speed. In the competition among the top fighter jets of this era, he felt that the Taishan's fighter jet could also compete.

After the aircraft exited high-speed flight and flew steadily in the air for a period of time, Fang Wen began to perform various flight maneuvers to test the aircraft's real performance.

After completing the test at an altitude of 3000 meters, Fang Wen began to climb to higher ground.

At an altitude of 6000 to 7000 meters, Fang Wen did not feel any pressure due to the pressurized chamber.

Furthermore, the aircraft's coolant did not freeze.

Let's challenge ourselves to reach even greater heights.

The plane continued to climb, reaching an altitude of 8000 meters.

The temperature dropped sharply, and the plexiglass canopy of the aircraft cockpit was covered in frost.

With his mechanical senses activated, Fang Wen detected icicles on the aircraft's exhaust pipes.

However, it seems that this altitude has not yet reached the upper limit of the aircraft's altitude, and the overall performance has not been greatly affected.

Fang Wen pulled the control lever to continue climbing.

The temperature continued to drop. After reaching an altitude of 9000 meters, although they could still ascend, the danger would also increase dramatically, so Fang Wen decisively gave up.

With that, the first test flight ended. He landed the plane at the airport, returned to his room alone, and wrote down the performance data of the Taishan high-speed fighter jet.

Taishan High-Speed ​​Fighter (First Generation)

Crew: 1 people

Fuselage length: 10.3 meters

Wingspan: 13 meters

Height: 4.2 meters

Wing area: 26 square meters

Empty weight: 2360 kg.

Maximum takeoff weight: 3600 kg
Power source: Improved Shiro V-12 liquid-cooled engine, operating at an altitude of 6000-7000 meters, with an engine power of 1050 horsepower.
Flight speed: 340-540 km/h
Maximum elevation gain: 9200 meters (current status)

Maximum range: 900 km - 1500 km (with auxiliary fuel tanks)

arms:

Eight tandem 7.92mm machine guns (standard version), two 12.7mm heavy aircraft machine guns, and two 20mm autocannons (elite version).

Airburst bomb (one-time launch).

Carry aerial bombs (50 kg * 4).

Looking at the aircraft data he had written down, Fang Wen pondered.

The aircraft's performance is excellent, and it meets his requirements in all aspects.

However, putting it into practice is not something that can be done in a short time.

It's not that Taishan couldn't build that many airplanes, but that there weren't enough suitable pilots.

After all, this aircraft has significantly improved maneuverability and reached speeds of over 500 kilometers per hour. Such speeds are not easy to master. In addition to their own abilities, other pilots need to undergo extensive training to get used to the new aircraft.

Take the elite pilots of the past, for example. They all underwent two months of training in China and then went to Spain for combat training.

Therefore, while building airplanes, the training of pilots must also be considered.

Moreover, this group of personnel is selected with a focus on quality rather than quantity; their qualifications are far superior to those of gunboat pilots, and they are able to withstand the discomfort caused by high-speed flight.

Thinking of this, Fang Wen left his office and went to the airport's telegraph room to send a telegram to Bai Yunfei.

Taishan Military Industry has developed a new type of fighter jet and cordially invites you to inspect it.

In Fuping County, the former Eighth Route Army office has been renamed and now bears the sign of Taishan Tobacco Company.

Inside the company, Bai Yunfei was calculating the possible tobacco production a month from now.

This data will serve as the basis for tobacco product output in the second half of the year, allowing for the formulation of production plans.

To address this, the counties that grow tobacco have established tobacco processing plants, assigned experienced people to make tobacco shreds and cigarettes, and then sent them all to Fuping to be packaged into cigarette cases and transported away by plane.

The number of participants is large, the number of people involved is large, and the amount of money involved is huge.

Bai Yunfei dared not be negligent in the slightest.

At this moment, Xiao Liu from the company's telegraph office came in: "Manager, there's a telegram. It's from the frequency you specifically instructed us to monitor."

Has Taishan Fangwen sent a telegram?
Bai Yunfei stopped what he was doing, took the telegram, and translated its contents.

original.

Taishan Aviation has independently developed a new high-speed fighter jet with its own technology.

Bai Yunfei felt a surge of excitement. The air regiment formed by the gunboats had already begun training exercises and would soon be able to go to the front lines for combat.

However, the slow gunships were only air-to-ground aircraft and could not deal with the Japanese fighters. The seven Il-16s in Yan'an could not always cooperate with the air regiment in combat.

That would be great if the new fighter jets could be used at the base.

He immediately reported the matter to the Eighth Route Army headquarters, and then went to Yan'an.

As for who to send to Yangon for the inspection, the candidates were all concentrated in the air force in Yan'an.

After all, those few are currently the most knowledgeable about fighter jets in the base.

Therefore, the higher-ups ultimately decided to send Qi Baoqian to lead the expedition team.

A day later, Fang Wen received a call back.

The expedition team will arrive secretly.

Therefore, Fang Wen informed the inspection team of the secret civilian air route from Yunnan, Guizhou, and Sichuan to Shaanxi, so that they could come via this route.

The next day, the expedition team landed at Yangon Sea Airport aboard a civilian seaplane operated by Taishan Airlines.

Fang Wen received the inspection team at the airport pier.

Six people disembarked from the plane, led by Qi Baoqian.

Upon seeing him, Fang Wen couldn't help but smile: "Qi Baoqian, long time no see."

Qi Baoqian was also a little excited: "Commander, we all miss you very much."

Fang Wen said in a low voice, "Let's talk privately later. Let me introduce the other members of the expedition team first."

Qi Baoqian then introduced the other five members of the expedition team to Fang Wen, and the group then headed directly to the land airport.

Over there, Fang Wen gave the expedition team a detailed introduction to the various aspects of the first-generation aircraft.

After touring the aircraft, Fang Wen led the inspection team to the airport conference room.

There, Fang Wen provided a comparative explanation to help them understand more clearly.

"We just looked at the aircraft, and I will take Qi Baoqian for a test flight tomorrow. Now I'd like to talk to you about this Taishan fighter jet from a different perspective. Its overall performance surpasses that of the Il-16, and it can be said that it is currently among the top fighter jets of its time."

At this point, Fang Wen pulled off the blackboard cover behind him, revealing pictures and descriptions of two foreign military aircraft pasted on it.

"This is the D.520 De Vaidina fighter jet, currently France's best fighter jet. It has a maximum takeoff weight of approximately 2.8 tons, a maximum speed of 555 km/h, a service ceiling of approximately 10000 meters, and a range of approximately 850 km. It is equipped with one 20mm cannon and four 7.5mm machine guns."

(This image shows a modernized version of the D.520 Devatina fighter jet.)
"This is the Morane-Solnier MS406 fighter jet, currently the main fighter jet of the French Air Force. It has a maximum takeoff weight of about 2.3 tons, a maximum speed of 430 km/h, a service ceiling of about 9000 meters, and a range of about 650 km. It is equipped with two 7.5 mm machine guns. Its performance is inferior to our first-generation fighter jet and can only be compared with the Il-16."

After his explanation, Fang Wen compared Taishan's first-generation aircraft with the French Air Force's advanced and operational models, giving the inspection team a clearer understanding.

However, we'll have to wait until Qi Baoqian comes for a test drive tomorrow to find out the actual results.

To avoid suspicion, Fang Wen ultimately did not speak with Qi Baoqian privately, but instead arranged for them to have a meal and then rest in the airport dormitory.

The night passed, and the expedition team got up early.

After breakfast, Fang Wen led them to the airport runway.

To facilitate training and test flights, the first-generation aircraft was specially designed as a trainer aircraft with two cockpits, one in front and one in the back. Qi Baoqian boarded the front cockpit and Fang Wen boarded the rear cockpit.

At this moment, it felt as if we were back two years ago, when Fang Wen was instructing elite pilots, and Fang Wen was earnestly explaining things to Qi Baoqian.

(End of this chapter)