Republic of China: Ace Pilot

Chapter 557 Guangxi Clique Aviation Trainees, Shocking Changes in Europe, Japanese-made Plane Crashes

3 month 25 day.

A light mist hung over Junshan Lake Water Airport in the early morning. Old Li, the acting commander of the New Fourth Army's flight regiment, arrived early at the tarmac with several officers.

Fang Wen and Shao Sishen have completed the final inspection of Unit 1. The cabin is loaded with fuel supplies needed for the journey and a small amount of emergency supplies.

As for the 82mm multiple rocket launcher in the cabin, Fang Wen planned to take it back for further modification and had no intention of leaving it in the flight regiment for use.

After all, the best effect of this type of firepower coverage weapon is produced by its sudden use on key battlefields, and we cannot let the Japanese know too much about it.

Old Li stepped forward and grasped Fang Wen's hand tightly, his tone solemn: "Commander Fang, this time we owe it all to you for helping us build the air regiment and win the battle! The soldiers are now full of confidence."

Fang Wen replied with a smile, "As long as you give full play to your fighting spirit and study and train diligently, you will definitely get better and better. The Eighth Route Army's air regiment in the north also grew through trial and error. You can also learn from them. In addition, the radar station is also very important. You need to supervise the radar soldiers to get into a regular working state as soon as possible so that they can detect aircraft and issue early warnings in real time. If you encounter any problems that you cannot solve, send a telegram at any time."

Old Li handed over a jar of spicy dried fish: "Take this with you on the road. We don't have anything good here, so this is just a small token." Fang Wen took it. "After we defeat the Japanese, I'll treat you to seafood in Yangon!"

Afterwards, Fang Wen bid farewell to the officers and boarded the plane with Shao Sishen and Gong Xiuneng.

The plane took off, this time piloted by Shao Sishen, with Fang Wen acting as the navigator.

Before takeoff, Fang Wen and Shao Sishen checked the flight path again.

The flight from Junshan Lake to Nanning, Guangxi, passes through places such as Chenzhou, Guilin, and Liuzhou.

Shao Sichen pointed to the map and reminded them, "We'll be passing through the Pingxiang area, where Japanese reconnaissance planes are likely to be active." Fang Wen nodded, "Maintain altitude, and if necessary, detour through Ji'an."

After the exchange, Shao Sishen started the aircraft.

With the engines roaring, Unit 1 accelerated and took off from the runway.

Looking down through the porthole, Fang Wen saw the New Fourth Army soldiers lined up on the sandbar still waving.

After ascending to 3000 meters, Shao Sishen adjusted the course to the southwest, while Fang Wen turned on the radar to scan the surrounding airspace.

Airborne radar is rather cumbersome to use without a communication link.

It has eight directional warning lights on it, representing the four cardinal directions (north, south, east, west) as well as different locations such as northeast and southeast.

Once a radio wave feedback is received in one of the directional areas and matches the characteristics of an aircraft, the semiconductor components in the device will trigger an early warning mechanism, illuminating the warning light in that direction through logic circuitry, accompanied by an electronic sound.

This is the first-generation airborne early warning radar that he designed according to his own vision.

However, the actual effect was not good. Without superpowers, the reaction was inaccurate and misjudgment was easy to occur.

Just like now.

When passing through Xinyu, the southwest direction light on the radar suddenly lit up, accompanied by a rapid alarm sound.

This direction includes three areas: Pingxiang, Zhuzhou, and Changsha. The radar didn't specify the aircraft's location or distance, providing only vague information to the pilots.

It could be an air battle taking place in Changsha, or it could be a Japanese air force maneuvering around to attack Zhuzhou, or it could be a Japanese reconnaissance plane appearing in Pingxiang.

Fang Wen frowned: "The radar still needs further improvement. I need a more advanced electronic device to convert electronic signals into something that humans can understand."

As Shao Sicheng veered southeast, he asked, "General Manager, do you have any new ideas?"

"I'm thinking about whether it's possible to create an electronic device that mimics the human brain, and call it a computer."

"A computer? What can it do?"

“There are many things I can do. When I get back, I’ll organize my thoughts and write a research proposal.”

He had a pressing need for computers, based on the needs of the war.

Of course, this wasn't a regular home computer, but rather an early microcontroller.

A microcontroller, or programmable integrated circuit, enables electrical signals to transmit various human commands.

In that case, rocket guidance technology will be realized ahead of schedule and will be more advanced than others.

Time passed slowly, and the plane flew without incident.

Around noon, Flight 1 arrived and landed at Yongning Airport.

The rear cabin door of the aircraft opened, and Fang Wen and Gong Xiuneng pushed the 82mm multiple rocket launcher, which was covered with a black cloth, off the plane. Then the two waved to Shao Sishen, and the No. 1 aircraft turned around on the runway and took off again.

After watching the plane disappear into the distance, Fang Wen and Gong Xiuneng pushed the black cloth equipment to the side of the airport runway to wait. The Taishan transport plane, which transports military supplies to and from Yangjiang, will arrive and land soon to pick up the aviation flight cadets of the Guangxi Army to go to Yangon for training. Fang Wen will take this plane back.

Time passed slowly, and before the plane arrived, the Guangxi army's men arrived first.

A division commander surnamed Bai, whom Fang Wen had met before, came over with five soldiers.

He warmly shook hands with Fang Wen and introduced them, saying, "Mr. Fang, these are the five trainees we sent to Yangon. Our Guangxi Army is poor, and we finally managed to buy these three gunboats, but no one knows how to fly them yet. We hope that they can learn in Yangon and return to fly gunboats to fight the Japanese."

Fang Wen nodded: "Don't worry, the aviation school has trained several batches of flight students, both domestic and international, so the teaching quality is guaranteed."

"Do people from abroad also come to you to learn to fly?" Commander Bai asked in surprise.

“Yes, just like you, we also bought gunboats and are undergoing a three-month training program. Previously, there were Spanish Republican government troops, but this time the trainees are from France, and you will be studying with the French trainees,” Fang Wen replied.

It turns out that Taishan Airlines' military aircraft have already been sold overseas!
Commander Bai and the Guangxi Army aviation cadets were astonished.

Commander Bai said regretfully, "It's a pity that the Nationalist government is so blindly worshipping foreign things and wants to seize your property. Otherwise, we could have used Taishan's military aircraft."

Fang Wen smiled without saying a word. The Nationalist government's aircraft procurement was too complicated. His own aircraft were cheap and of good quality, which also meant there was no profit to be made. Naturally, no one wanted to pay attention to it. In the end, those people even tried to take over his business.

However, at present, the production capacity of gunboats is entirely supplied to the Eighth Route Army and the New Fourth Army, and the rest are sold to foreign countries to earn foreign exchange. The three gunboats of the Guangxi Army were reserved, and even if the Nationalist government really wanted to buy them, there were no more available.

Just then, the roar of engines could be heard in the air; the transport plane returning from Yangjiang had come back.

After the plane landed, Fang Wen and Gong Xiuneng pushed the black cloth cart up through the rear cabin door, and then boarded the plane with five Guangxi aviation trainees, with him flying the plane back to Yangon.

The Taishan transport plane took off from Nanning and flew to Yangon on the southwest coast.

If you were to fly like a regular pilot, you would need to take a fixed route, cross the border in Yunnan, head to northern Myanmar, and then go to Yangon.

This will prevent pilots from getting lost.

But now that Fang Wen is piloting, he has chosen to take a shortcut directly from Nanning to Chongzuo, and then through the Golden Triangle region where Laos and Myanmar meet to enter Myanmar, thus reducing the flight distance by more than half.

During the flight, Fang Wen also took the opportunity to look around the rear cabin. Five Guangxi Army cadets sat stiffly in their metal seats, seemingly a little nervous about the upcoming training.

Fang Wen asked, "Do you know anything about gunship aircraft?"

Are you asking us?
The trainees looked at each other. The young trainee on the far left stood up: "Mr. Fang, we observed the aircraft at the airport. My impression is that it is very sturdy, like an aerial armored vehicle. Combined with strong firepower, it has a great advantage in attacking the ground."

His name is Huang Zhiyuan—he is a mechanical technician at the Liuzhou Arsenal, who was specially transferred here to learn gunboat mechanical maintenance technology.

In terms of understanding, he is already better than many technical personnel.

He replied, "That's right, that's the design concept for gunship aircraft. If you have any further questions, please feel free to ask, and I'll answer them for you."

The oldest trainee, Chen Tingzhou, adjusted his brand-new military cap: "Mr. Fang, we only know that gunships are specifically designed for ground attack, but we don't know what they can actually do. Could you tell us?"

"The main thing is to cooperate with ground troops in combat. Gunships and aircraft alone are not very effective against the Japanese army. For example, in the Taihang Mountains in the north, a Japanese regiment entered the mountains to try to attack the Eighth Route Army in the mountains. In that environment, there were many mountains and few people, and the Japanese aircraft could not play a significant role. At that time, our Independent Regiment's gunship and aircraft squadron was dispatched to cooperate with the local Eighth Route Army in an ambush, which directly destroyed the enemy's will to resist and won the battle."

Fang Wen paused here, then continued, "That's the advantage: low speed, high armor, and continuous circling fire provide all-around air support, making it impossible for ground troops to defend. We can rush from the rear of the formation to the front to attack within minutes, continuously suppressing various potential threats and giving friendly ground troops a greater advantage in their offensive."

This is the strength of gunship aircraft; they are very suitable for mountainous terrain operations and can land on water, making them highly adaptable.

Fang Wen's words made the trainees understand the combat advantages of gunboats in the mountains of Guangxi, and the tension immediately disappeared, and the atmosphere became warm.

Liang Ming, a trainee on the right side of the cabin, suddenly stood up: "Mr. Fang, can we ask... can we really learn to fly this plane in three months? I've barely even ridden a bicycle a few times." His dark face was full of anxiety, and the words "Guangxi Airlines Preparatory Office" were embroidered on his cuffs.

Fang Wen, who was piloting the plane, smiled.

"The predecessor of the gunboat was the civilian seaplane, which our Taishan Aviation used for air transport on various waterways. Now that war has broken out, it has been modified for military use, but its basic performance is still that of a civilian aircraft. The requirements for piloting civilian aircraft are not high. You can complete the takeoff training in a month and a half. After that, you will need to learn military flight techniques and combat interaction with the crew, which is the key. But don't worry that it will be too difficult. The school's teaching is already very comprehensive. You can learn all the techniques within three months."

Through this exchange, Fang Wen successfully dispelled the trainees' concerns and filled them with anticipation for the upcoming learning.

After a five-hour flight, including one refueling stop en route, the plane finally arrived in Yangon.

After the plane landed, Fang Wen asked Gong Xiuneng to take the students to the aviation school of the No. 1 aircraft manufacturing plant.

He doesn't have time to go to school for the time being, and the school will organize the opening ceremony itself. He has too many important things to deal with.

First, we went to the company headquarters.

I learned about the company's operations there.

Nothing major happened at the company during this period.

Next, he inspected a pile of telegrams sent from the telegraph room.

These are all messages received using the radio reception frequencies reserved by Fang Wen; some are plaintext, and some are coded.

The coded telegrams contained within could only be deciphered by someone with a unique writing style, ensuring that the information inside would not be leaked.

He then unfolded the telegrams, took out various codebooks, and began to translate them one by one.

We watched it together only after the entire translation was completed.

The first telegram was sent in plain text from the Soviet Union.

[Your combat report has been very helpful to us. We are currently installing rockets on the Il-16 fighter jets in batches, and we expect to complete the first batch of rocket-equipped aircraft this month. We look forward to sharing with you the combat results.]

Fang Wen was also looking forward to the effects of the Soviet Union's large-scale use of air-to-air rockets in combat, which would also be enlightening for him.

He picked up the second one.

It was an urgent telegram from the European branch.

[Major upheavals in Europe, reporting to headquarters. This month, Germany withdrew from the Munich Agreement and annexed the remaining territory of Czechoslovakia. European intelligence widely believe that Germany's next target will be Poland.]

Finally started!

Fang Wen's thoughts were racing.

The Munich Agreement was signed last year by Britain, France, Italy, and Germany, and its original intention was to tacitly approve Germany's aggression against Czechoslovakia.

They are using a policy of appeasement, attempting to sacrifice the interests of smaller countries to satisfy Germany in exchange for their own peace.

Clearly, Germany's appetite was much larger than they had imagined.

The annexation of Czechoslovakia was just the beginning; as the area of ​​invasion continued to expand, war with Britain, France, and the Soviet Union became inevitable.

What benefits can I gain from this European war?

Fang Wen has no clue yet; conflicts between countries are not something one can easily profit from.

Perhaps we'll only have a chance when the situation gets worse.

Pushing aside his thoughts, Fang Wen looked at the third telegram.

It was a secret telegram sent from Tokyo.

Honda described the test flights of the fighter jets using Taizan technology in the telegram.

Yesterday, I was invited to participate in the aircraft's test flight. Because of the importance attached to this new high-speed fighter jet, several high-ranking naval officers were present. Initially, everything seemed normal after takeoff, but during a change of altitude, the fuselage suddenly malfunctioned, the entire aircraft broke in half, and crashed to the ground. The test pilot was killed instantly.

An emergency meeting was held that day to discuss the matter. The entire technical team was baffled as to why this had happened; the project had been working perfectly during ground testing, but the incident occurred in the air.

I will continue to follow up on this matter and report back immediately if there are any developments.

After reading the telegram, Fang Wen smiled.

Because of this incident, he released a Japanese spy, allowing him to return with falsified documents.

That document contained a fatal error: the stress structure of the aircraft.

This was prepared by Fang Wen for the Japanese soldiers based on his understanding of airplanes through his mechanical perception ability.

On the surface, nothing seems amiss, but when an aircraft built according to this design undergoes violent displacement maneuvers in the air, its stress structure will be unable to withstand the stress and various problems will arise.

Moreover, this problem is not limited to the breakage in the middle; if the Japanese continue test flights, they will discover other issues.

In other words, the aircraft manufactured using his technical data was a complete waste.

He was hoping that Japan would continue to invest in this aircraft, so that the Zero could appear even later.

At that time, Taishan's high-speed fighters will be equipped with more powerful weapon systems, crushing all Japanese fighters, including the Zero.

Fang Wen suppressed his smile and looked at the last coded telegram.

It was sent by Bai Yunfei.

(End of this chapter)