Republic of China: Ace Pilot

Chapter 474 Fang Wen's Piston Fighter TV Fire Control System
The test on the Viking ring is now complete.

Fang Wen was overjoyed to have gained the ability to be electrocuted.

Although the ring is somewhat useless in combat, he is certain that its actual effect will be amazing.

The future belongs to electronic devices. It is extremely difficult to achieve high technology by crossing multiple generations of technological iterations. Even Fang Wen, who has the ability to remember the future and perceive mechanical things, would find it difficult to do so.

But this ability to be electrocuted can help him overtake others on this path.

Therefore, Fang Wen immediately set about mastering this ability.

First and foremost, one must be able to easily enter an electric state anytime, anywhere.

If the only way to achieve an electro-induced state is by cyclically discharging the body, it would require multiple cycles and would involve the discomfort of electric shocks, which is definitely not feasible.

Therefore, he began to keep trying.

The electric current generated by the ring entered his body circulation again and again.

As the number of repetitions increases, the body gradually adapts to the process.

Later, the initial electric shock sensation completely disappeared, and it was possible to enter the electric state in just 5 seconds.

This has met Fang Wen's requirement for the ability to activate the induction function at any time.

He then began to apply this ability to participate in scientific research experiments.

The first experiment was related to existing semiconductor electronic devices.

Fang Wen attempted to use his new abilities to analyze existing equipment, thereby further improving its performance.

Through his ability to sense electrical current, he achieved precise and meticulous equipment testing.

The operation of the equipment circuit was clearly visible under the inductive state, and Fang Wen gradually got a clear picture of where the problems were and how to correct them.

He redesigned the integrated circuit manufacturing process for the Taishan walkie-talkie and semiconductor radio.

Under current technological conditions, the silicon planar production process he uses is a mixture of technologies from different eras, which makes the equipment usable but not perfect.

But now, he sees the hidden problems and, based on current technology, optimizes and adjusts the silicon planar manufacturing process.

That is photolithography, a technology that officially enables the mass production of electronic devices.

The lithography technology, which will remain a technological monopoly for a long time to come, was actually not that complicated in its early stages.

Fang Wen knew that.

Its principle is similar to photolithography.

A layer of photoresist is coated on the surface of a silicon wafer. Photoresist is a photosensitive organic compound. When a photomask is used to irradiate the photoresist with light of a specific wavelength, the irradiated photoresist will undergo a chemical reaction, and its solubility will change.

Then, the unwanted photoresist portions are removed using a developer, thus forming a pattern on the photoresist that is identical to the mask pattern.

Finally, the pattern on the photoresist is transferred to the oxide layer or semiconductor material on the silicon wafer surface through an etching process.

Once this technology is successful...

China will become the leader of the times. With a high explosion of productivity, the Japanese military technology will be completely inadequate.

It's easier said than done; the entire photolithography process involves many steps that are difficult to achieve with existing technologies.

Where does photoresist come from?

The technology and equipment that use light of a specific wavelength also require specialized research.

What are the ingredients and formulation of the specific developer solution that can react with photoresist?
Fang Wen stopped writing because of this.

He understood that science and technology is a systematic project, which is the result of the accumulation of countless achievements.

Even if they have their own direction, they lack a large number of research talents.

This is something that superpowers can't solve.

Even with new inductance capabilities, it is only after components such as photoresist have been manufactured that we can better understand the quality of the process during production, and make suggestions for engineers to make changes.

Ultimately, the problem remains the lack of talent. It seems we can only wait until World War II breaks out in Europe, at which point we can recruit a large number of talents to Asia.

Fang Wen turned his attention to another research direction.

That was his primary concern: improving aircraft performance.

The current Taishan first-generation fighter jet already has a leading advantage in power, and there is no need to forcibly upgrade it for the time being.

However, there are areas for improvement in terms of firepower.

Through the battle with Japanese warplanes on the way back to China, Fang Wen gained an understanding of the firepower system of the first-generation aircraft.

That means that eight machine guns can indeed achieve aerial fire coverage, which is already the upper limit of firepower for aircraft machine gun configurations.

This firepower configuration, combined with special flight maneuvers, has considerable destructive power.

However, its actual hit rate is not high.

This is because it is related to the traditional method of aiming.

Even if specific flight maneuvers are used to expand the firing area, it is still a probabilistic firing method.

Now that Fang Wen has the ability to sense electricity, he has decided to first develop a television guidance device.

Make it the unique fire targeting device of the Taishan fighter jet.

By October 1938, the floodwaters from the breached Yellow River had receded.

Meanwhile, Wuhan was also in a state of crisis. Several lines of defense set up by the Kuomintang army were breached, and the Japanese army had appeared in an area not far from Wuchang.

Fang Wen had become numb to this; he focused more on the education of new air force pilots and the development of fire control equipment.

Thirty flight cadets, who had completed their basic theoretical and ground simulation training, were learning flight piloting techniques in his class.

For these trainees who have never actually flown an airplane.

Fang Wen decided to start with low-speed aircraft to cultivate their piloting experience before gradually moving on to actual flight training in high-speed fighter jets.

Therefore, all the trainees first learned to fly seaplanes.

Their instructors did not need Fang Wen to personally teach them one by one. Instead, they were trained by aviation team members from Yan'an and five independent regiment gunboat pilots brought by Pan Jiafeng.

Those pilots were also there to learn how to fly the Taishan high-speed fighter jet. They possessed rich flying skills and were also taught by Fang Wen. In teaching new flight trainees, they had a unique style of Taishan Aviation.

These trainees will have half a month to learn how to fly low-speed aircraft.

After they finish their training, the second Taishan first-generation aircraft will also be assembled, at which point the two first-generation trainer aircraft can be used for teaching.

During this period, a television technology team from the United States also arrived in Asia.

A technical team of thirty people from RCA chartered a Pan Am Black aircraft to land in Manila.

They then took a seaplane and flew on Taishan Airlines' South Pacific route to Yangon.

Fang Wen, Fang Shouxin, and staff from the administration department received the group at Yangon Sea Airport.

The group boarded a shuttle bus and headed to the Yangon Industrial Park.

The television factory, a joint venture between Taishan Airlines and American Radio, was located there, using the old factory buildings and dormitory area.

The engineers and technicians from the United States were quite surprised by the environment in the industrial park. They hadn't expected it to be so much better than they had anticipated.

After arranging for them to put their luggage in the dormitory, Fang Wen took them to the canteen shared by the No. 1 factory of the aircraft manufacturing plant for a meal.

The head chef in the cafeteria had attended a Spanish gunboat training course and had some experience with Western cuisine. Surprisingly, the dishes he made suited the tastes of these Americans very well.

While eating, Fang Wen started discussing things with them.

"Can anyone tell me about your current television technology?"

An engineer put down a slice of steamed bun containing grilled meat and cabbage and spoke up.

"We still use cathode ray tubes, which emit electron beams from an electron gun to strike phosphors on a fluorescent screen to display images. The difference is that we use phosphors that we developed ourselves, resulting in better image quality."

"Did you bring a prototype?" Fang Wen asked.

"Yes, you can check it tomorrow," someone replied.

"No need for tomorrow, how about we start after dinner today?" Fang Wen asked.

“Okay, you’re the boss, we’ll listen to you,” the American engineers agreed.

After finishing their first meal in Yangon, the engineers returned to their dormitories.

They took the documents and equipment they brought out of their luggage.

(A television set from World War II)
Fang Wen looked at the television set they had brought.

It's very primitive, with a wooden casing, a speaker on the right, and an adjustment knob below.

The three knobs are for adjusting volume, brightness, and frequency, respectively.

This thing needs to be studied privately to understand its structure.

Fang Wen then took the television set back to his residence in the industrial park.

There, he plugged in the television and turned it on to check it.

At the same time, it also infuses the Viking ring with energy, activating its electro-energized state.

In an electro-induced state, combined with his mechanical sensing ability, Fang Wen gained a clearer understanding of the internal operation of the television set.

He was surprised to discover that RCA was more advanced in television technology than its European counterparts.

They have already achieved considerable maturity in the technology of electronic photoelectric camera tubes.

Fang Wen concluded that this technology could even be directly modified for military use.

However, the vacuum tube technology made these devices too large and heavy, which greatly reduced their practicality.

If vacuum tube technology were to be transformed into semiconductor transistor technology, energy consumption, size, and weight would be significantly reduced, making it much more practical.

I found the treasure.

Fang Wen felt that they could simply adopt the television technology from American radio, only needing to make semiconductor modifications to the components.

Let's put everything else aside for now and focus on upgrading the semiconductor components inside the TV.

Therefore, based on his understanding of the internal structure of television equipment, he directly drew up the modified design drawings of the new components.

The team of American radio engineers who arrived in Yangon immediately got to work at the request of their new boss.

Then, they were surprised to discover the secret of this place.

In Asia, they have mastered a remarkable electronic technology that can completely replace vacuum tubes.

Amazing!

The improved components are small in size and light in weight, and are integrated on a single circuit board, yet they achieve the same effect that would otherwise require a large number of discrete components such as vacuum tubes, resistors, and capacitors.

Moreover, transistors are more efficient than vacuum tubes, especially in signal amplification.

This makes the signal more stable and the image display effect better.

When the new television was completed, the American engineers found that the new television was much smaller and had better performance.

They then understood why the higher-ups had sent them here to gradually establish a joint venture. If they continued to produce televisions using the existing technology, they would absolutely not be able to compete with this new technology.

Subsequently, these engineers participated in the design of the new production line with a more demanding work ethic.

Unbeknownst to them, Fang Wen, through his comprehensive understanding of RCA television technology, was already considering using the newly acquired technology to improve his own military industrial products.

After mastering the television technology of RCA, Fang Wen no longer cared about the joint venture television factory.

Whether the factory can make money in the future is not of much importance to him.

After all, with Europe on the verge of full-scale war, there probably won't be many people buying televisions anymore.

If this project doesn't fail, let it fend for itself.

His focus shifted to how to apply television technology to the military.

With his foresight, he quickly designed his own television fire control system.

Its structure is divided into four parts: camera, wireless signal transmission, display, and control.

Camera section: A newly designed photoelectric camera tube is used as the core component and is installed at the front of the weapon to acquire image information of the target area.

Given the fragility of this equipment, special protective devices need to be designed to protect the camera from the violent shaking and impact friction generated during weapon firing and aircraft flight. This will ensure the safety of the camera while maintaining a good field of view so that it can clearly capture target images.

Signal transmission section: Since research on missiles and controllable rockets has not yet been conducted, wireless devices will not be considered for the time being. Instead, a cable connection will be used to directly transmit the image signal from the camera to the display.

The display section involves adding a cathode ray tube (CRT) display to the cockpit panel to show the received and demodulated image signals for the pilot or operator to observe.

Control section: Operators observe the images on the monitor to determine the target's position and movement, and then use specialized control devices (such as joysticks, knobs, etc.) to issue control commands.

This allows for more intuitive fire control, aiming, and firing.

After making this design, Fang Wen immediately began to modify it.

He opened a separate hangar at the No. 1 Aircraft Manufacturing Plant as a conversion workshop and called upon two engineering teams from the plant.

Over the next few days, he adapted his envisioned fire control system onto a gunboat.

This gunship aircraft is specially equipped with a fire-controlled machine gun at its bottom, which is controlled by the pilot.

The machine gun is fired via a linkage mechanism, and a camera is mounted on the bolt, connected to the aircraft cockpit by a cable.

A square monitor, about 30 centimeters long and wide, was installed on the lower right side of the cockpit panel, connected to that cable.

At the same time, below the display, there is a fire control firing lever, which is used to control firing after aiming is confirmed.

After completing the modification of the fire control system, Fang Wen couldn't wait to drive the aircraft out of the hangar and prepare to conduct live-fire tests on the sea.

However, before the plane takes off, some floating targets need to be deployed on the sea surface to achieve better testing results.

To this end, Fang Wen instructed Gong Xiuneng to lead a team of engineers and technicians from the factory to sail out to sea and set up targets on the ocean surface.

After the target was deployed, Fang Wen piloted the modified low-speed gunboat into the air from the factory runway.

(End of this chapter)