Republic of China: Ace Pilot

Chapter 565 Flight Test of Airborne Rockets, New Military Production Line
After intensive research and development and restructuring, it took more than a month.

Fang Wen’s three projects in northern Myanmar are all progressing rapidly.

By mid-April, two-thirds of the modifications to the Taishan-4 had been completed, and the aircraft's shape had changed from the F.220's aerial monster appearance to a streamlined fuselage.

In particular, the two external propellers were installed on the left and right sides of the redesigned high-wing monoplane.

The remaining modifications involve the aircraft's internal structure and the installation of new engines.

原有的4台600马力的12缸直列式液冷发动机，将会更换成4台1050马力的西罗改进型12缸v型液冷发动机。

Coincidentally, the technology of these two engines comes from the same source, both being products of Hispano-Suiza. However, the Shiro improved version is a modification and upgrade of Hispano-Suiza's latest aero engine technology by Fang Wen.

Perhaps due to their shared origins, the engine passed the initial start-up test smoothly after the new engine was installed.

Meanwhile, after the launch pods for the aero-rocket were finalized, two other project teams rushed to produce two military aircraft equipped with launch pods.

Therefore, the aircraft test flight will now begin in Beijing.

The base in northern Myanmar on April 16.

The subtropical climate made it hot early on, but the scorching sun couldn't drown out the hushed chatter of the crowd beside the track—all eyes were fixed on the two steel structures that were about to pierce the sky.

Two modified aircraft were parked on the test runway of Factory No. 2.

One gunship aircraft and one interceptor aircraft.

The only difference between the gunship-based aircraft and the gunship-based aircraft was the addition of two 10-round rocket launchers on each side of the wings; everything else remained unchanged.

The interceptor, however, was a completely new type of aircraft.

To ensure the stability of rocket launches, the aircraft does not have high speed requirements, with a speed of 400-450 kilometers per hour, and carries 24 82mm rockets.

The person conducting this test flight was Fang Wen, the helmsman of Taishan Airlines.

Despite the risks, no one tried to dissuade Fang Wen from conducting the test flight, since he was the true authority in the field of aviation.

Of course, Fang Wen was not without safety awareness; at this moment, he was personally inspecting both planes.

As the engines started, he became one with the two aircraft and learned about their interiors.

Before takeoff, this kind of supernatural detection can only detect structural problems.

There wasn't a big problem. He shut down the engine and got off the plane.

I spoke with Lin Yifei, the factory director of Manufacturing Plant No. 2, who was in charge of ground command for the test flight.

"First test the interceptor, then launch the hot air balloon target."

The hot air balloon towing target is specifically designed for testing airborne rockets. After all, towing targets with an aircraft is too dangerous, as the towing aircraft could easily be hit by fire after the airborne rockets are launched.

With unmanned hot air balloons towing targets, there is no such worry; once launched, live-fire tests can begin immediately.

Lin Yifei nodded in agreement, then picked up the Taishan walkie-talkie and ordered: "Balloon team, launch targets one through three!"

He had just finished speaking when, somewhere outside the base, a dozen or so men in work clothes began to get busy.

They lit the fuel pan, and under the influence of the hot air from the combustion, the flattened hot air balloon began to inflate and then rose up. If it weren't for the ropes securing it, it would have already flown into the sky.

After checking the basket and confirming there were no problems, the workers slid down the ropes, then untied the securing ropes, and the first three hot air balloon targets were launched into the air.

Watching the balloons rise into the sky in the distance, Fang Wen put on his flight cap, boarded the rocket interceptor, and started the engine.

The plane gradually accelerated on the runway and took off into the sky.

As the plane took off, Fang Wen kept a close eye on its operation.

The rocket launchers added to the sides of the wings and the front belly of the aircraft added 800 kilograms of weight. With this weight, it was no longer possible to carry aerial bombs. The aircraft only had a 20mm cannon at the front as a self-defense weapon.

To cope with this weight and the impact of rocket launches on the fuselage, the aircraft's wings were widened and lengthened.

Currently, it appears that mounting rocket launchers has no impact on flight.

Other parts of the aircraft are also normal.

Even after the plane took off, Fang Wen did not discover any major problems affecting the aircraft.

He then exited the mechanical awareness state and conducted flight tests as a normal pilot.

Based on visual estimation, there are 3 hot air balloons 2000 meters ahead.

The three balloons represented three aircraft, which was exactly the smallest air combat unit of the Japanese army.

At this distance, the pilot is in pre-launch mode and can already pre-aim.

Then, his gaze fell on the screen.

Of the three sights, the one representing the left-hand air-to-ground rocket launcher pod showed a target.

While maintaining stable flight, Fang Wen made minor adjustments to the launcher's aiming stick.

With his maneuver, the three hot air balloons entered the center of the sights.

He pressed the launch button.

From the rocket launcher on the left side of the wing, air-to-ground rockets are launched sequentially at 0.5-second intervals.

The moment the first rocket left its nest, Fang Wen, with his exceptional senses, clearly felt a slight tremor in the fuselage, as if he had been suddenly pulled backward by something.

Through the cockpit side window, one could clearly see the 82mm rocket trailing a pale white contrail, tracing an almost straight path in the sunlight.

Its folding tail fins deployed at just the right moment, without the slightest deviation.

The 0.5-second interval passed in the blink of an eye, and the second, the third... seven rockets were launched in succession, their trails of smoke weaving a neat fan-shaped arc against the azure sky.

Each rocket launch was accompanied by a crisp metallic sound.

This is the sound of the slot spring inside the launch tube resetting and colliding with the launch tube wall.

Fang Wen withdrew his supernatural powers again and stared intently at the CRT screen, an angle from which he could observe more directly than with the naked eye.

A few seconds later, several dark shadows flashed across the screen, followed by a burst of white light.

That was light pollution caused by the explosion of the delayed fuse cluster of rockets.

The white light faded, and the hot air balloon on the screen was gone.

After the seven air-to-ground rockets detonated in the air, the shockwave, carrying fragments, instantly tore through the canvas. The hot air balloon deflated rapidly like a popped soap bubble, dragging its ropes as it plummeted to the ground.

"First cluster hit!" came the shout from the ground control station through the walkie-talkie, filled with barely concealed excitement.

"Continue releasing hot air balloon targets four through ten," Fang Wen ordered.

The target for this test is six aircraft, equivalent to a small air strike squadron.

Fang Wen wanted to see how effective the interception would be against a wider range of aircraft.

At his command, six hot air balloons were launched.

After the hot air balloon took off, Fang Wen began aiming again.

His left hand held the joystick steady to maintain the course, while his eyes were focused on the aiming screen.

Because the launch pod on the left has been cleared, aiming can only be done using the two sights on the right and center. In the aiming interface on the right, four hot air balloons are swaying slightly with the wind, which is the aiming area with the most concentrated number of aircraft.

Fang Wen's right hand was also micro-manipulating, controlling the rocket launcher to adjust the direction of the launcher.

The crosshair on the screen jumped slightly. Based on the reading of the anemometer, he shifted the aiming point half a notch in the direction the balloon was drifting, and pressed the launch button again.

Seven rockets were launched from the right side at 0.5-second intervals, but because the aircraft's left wing was slightly tilted, the contrails formed a denser fan shape in the air.

This time, Fang Wen paid special attention to the deformation of the wings—the widened and lengthened wings bent slightly under the recoil after launch, but rebounded quickly like a taut steel sheet. The stress patterns on the skin flashed by in mechanical perception, and were completely within the design tolerance range.

The fate of these four hot air balloons was more tragic than that of the first three.

The rocket pierced the canvas and exploded inside the basket with a bang. Burning fragments mixed with sand fell down, and even the ropes were burned into several pieces.

Two balloons had escaped the net, and Fang Wen had no intention of letting them go.

This time he decided to try the single-fire mode.

Of course, only he could probably achieve such precise accuracy with this method.

Immediately, Fang Wen increased the altitude, causing the aircraft to dive at a 30-degree angle to the target.

This is a commonly used posture when simulating intercepting enemy aircraft groups, and it is also the angle that tests the trajectory stability of rockets the most.

He put the aiming frame of the middle launch pod on, and this time he didn't rush to fire, but instead used his super-powered aiming ability in a mechanical-sensing state.

In mechanical perception mode, he obtained more comprehensive and accurate data, far more than the information seen through the CRT screen.

This information was processed at high speed in his brain to arrive at the optimal shooting data, which he then adjusted with his right hand.

The first rocket was launched.

It flew toward its target, trailing a white plume of flame.

This time, however, the explosion occurred to the left of the target, and the shockwave blew the hot air balloon to the other side.

Fang Wen did not stop there, but continued to use his super-powered aiming, launching rocket after rocket, finally hitting the target on the fourth one.

Then, three more rockets were fired, finally bringing down the last hot air balloon.

Clearly, the single-shot hit rate of this primary launch pod is a major problem; even with super-powered prediction, errors can still occur.

Fang Wen felt that unless it was a superhuman state, the hit rate of ordinary superpowers could only reach 3%.

Clearly, for ordinary pilots, it is only suitable for swarm attacks; firing a single shot would be a waste of ammunition.

The live-fire test of the rocket interceptor was now over, and Fang Wen piloted the aircraft to land on the runway.

After he disembarked, the engineers and developers from the interceptor project team gathered around him.

They immediately began inspecting the rocket launch site.

The three honeycomb-shaped devices were now empty except for the three launch cells in the center, which still had three missiles that had not been launched. The metal surface of the launch cells was scorched by the exhaust flames, but the fixing bolts were not loose at all, and the buffer springs at the connection points remained elastic.

Fang Wen also announced: "All rockets have been launched, and there are no abnormalities in the aircraft."

The test observer, holding up his notebook, shouted: "Six out of seven shots on the left hit! All seven shots on the right hit! Two out of seven shots in the middle hit!"

This achievement brought cheers from the engineering and technical staff, representing the best possible result after a month and a half of hard work.

Subsequently, Fang Wen piloted the gunboat aircraft for testing.

The test range for gunship aircraft was set up in an uneven, high-lying area on the west side of the base.

As Fang Wen piloted the gunboat low overhead, he could clearly see the dappled shadows cast by the ground targets in the sunlight.

The bunker on the left side of the mountain; the three abandoned trucks at the foot of the mountain are replicas of Japanese tanks; and the sandbag fortifications further away represent infantry assembly points.

These targets are scattered, which is a good test of the area kill coverage capability of rockets.

He picked up the microphone: "Gunship aircraft enter the target area, altitude 1000 meters, speed 220 kilometers per hour. The exercise can begin."

This is the pre-set live-fire test content.

The specific attack targets are determined by the lower levels, making it highly random and preventing testers from taking any prior precautions.

A moment later, a sound came from the wireless equipment.

"The enemy has deployed three tanks and is attacking our positions. We request airstrikes to destroy the targets."

"receive."

Fang Wen adjusted the aircraft's position, positioning the fuselage directly towards the target area.

When the car scene appeared on the CRT screen, Fang Wen immediately pressed the launch button.

The rocket launcher on the left poured out, hitting and exploding in succession in the area of ​​three wrecked cars, flames soaring into the air, and smoke filling the entire area.

After a while, the smoke cleared, and the cars there had been blown to pieces by a swarm of aerial rockets.

This power seems to be more direct than that of Katyusha.

Indeed, the Katyusha rocket is a projectile-launched missile, while the rocket launcher is a direct-fire missile, giving it an advantage in both concentration and accuracy.

Upon seeing this, Fang Wen was overjoyed.

Clearly, rocket launchers greatly improve ground offensive capabilities.

He then conducted rocket firing tests in other areas of the simulated battlefield.

After a day of testing, both models performed well.

This result showed Fang Wen how to change the combat strength of both sides.

He immediately reported the situation to Bai Yunfei, who, upon learning of it, immediately reported it to Yan'an.

Previously, military representatives had visited the Taishan Storm rocket launcher at the base in northern Myanmar, gained an understanding of the power of this type of weapon, and reported back to Yan'an.

Now, Taishan Aviation has developed an even more efficient rocket weapon, which is indeed very tempting.

In response, a telegram was sent back inquiring whether existing gunboats could be equipped with rocket launchers on a large scale.

After all, compared to air combat, the Japanese ground forces had a stronger suppressive effect with gunboats, and the Eighth Route Army and the New Fourth Army also had a high number of gunboats.

However, there is a problem with this requirement.

That is, the batch of rockets provided by the Soviet Union was not enough.

Continuing to purchase more would be too expensive.

We must have our own rocket production plant to solve the ammunition problem.

But the industrial equipment needed to produce rockets is a whole system. Can Taishan Aviation really do it?
It's difficult. At the very least, it's impossible to obtain the desired production line from the Soviet Union.

Therefore, Fang Wen turned his attention to Europe and immediately instructed the Paris branch to release a secret message through intelligence channels about purchasing an industrial production line.

Fang Wen hadn't expected an immediate response to this news.

But to everyone's surprise, someone actually approached the branch office to discuss the sale of the military-grade industrial production line.

(End of this chapter)