Republic of China: Ace Pilot

Chapter 619 British Supply Department Deal, Polish Technician Returns Home
Sir John Anderson, the Minister of Supply, stared at Fang Wen's face.

“I know a lot about you, including your unique vision in business and industry, and your exceptional skills in piloting and the military. To be honest, I never imagined there could be such a multi-talented person in the world. But these are just my personal admiration for you and cannot be a commitment to a deal. Now, tell me, what do you want?”

Fang Wen replied: "Precision machine tools from Spencer Corporation, universal ball bearing conveyors from Orvis Engineering, multi-axis lathes from Churchill-Connometx, and thread grinders from Newwall Corporation."

He came prepared, and all the requests he made were for high-quality goods.

Spencer's precision machine tools are equipment used by British aircraft manufacturers to process aircraft parts.

Aoweis Engineering Company was only established this year and is launching universal ball bearing products to the market, including ball devices, rollers and casters. Although sales are not good at the moment, Fang Wen knows that this device has a wide range of uses and can be used in industrial operations such as loading and unloading of goods and luggage, assembly line assembly, and machine tool workbenches to improve the production efficiency of the factory in northern Myanmar.

Churchill-Connometx's multi-axis lathes are used to manufacture machine gun firing pins. Previously, Taishan Military Industry's machine gun production line lacked this link, and firing pins were all purchased from Europe. Now that the European war has arrived, it is estimated that it will be difficult to purchase finished firing pins in the future, so it is better to fill this gap.

Newwall's thread grinders are specifically designed for grinding breech threads on gun barrels from solid metal. Compared to ordinary grinders, they offer higher grinding precision, ensuring the machining quality of components such as gun barrels.

These are the requirements put forward by Fang Wen.

How could the head of the supply department not know?

Sir John Anderson's face showed a hint of caution.

He got up and walked to the file shelf behind him, pulled out a folder labeled "List of Military Equipment Manufacturers", and ran his fingertips over the familiar manufacturer names on the paper. His voice was tinged with a hint of admiration: "Mr. Fang has done his homework. These are all pieces of equipment that will be very useful to you."

He turned around, spread the folder out on the table, and pointed to a page facing Fang Wen: "Spencer's precision machine tools are currently processing parts for the Spitfire fighter. The Air Force is pushing hard, and the production capacity of each machine is being calculated. Churchill-Connometx's multi-axis lathes are being used by the arsenal to rush the production of Hispano cannons. We are currently preparing for war, and the fighters need to be equipped with a large number of cannons to increase firepower, otherwise we will not be able to stop the German bombers. Not to mention Newwall's thread grinders, the Army's Enfield rifle production line relies entirely on them to ensure the accuracy of the barrels. Losing one of them will slow down the production of hundreds of rifles."

He paused here, his gaze falling on the small print of "Ovis Engineering": "The military hasn't made large-scale purchases of the new company's ball bearings yet, but the logistics department is already evaluating them—after all, they're used for loading and unloading ammunition and assembling tank parts, which can save a lot of manpower. Every piece of equipment you need hits the 'must-have' points of the British military industry."

Fang Wen sat upright, his hands folded on his knees, and said calmly, "Minister, it is precisely because these devices are essential that I proposed this exchange. Taishan Military Industry's walkie-talkies have a revolutionary role on the battlefield, greatly improving the communication efficiency of British frontline companies, and eliminating the need for special operations forces behind enemy lines to risk transmitting intelligence with signal flares; while the devices I need are only a small part of the entire British military industry and will not affect production too much."

The minister was still hesitating.

At any other time, he might have readily agreed, but now that war has been declared with Germany, things are not so easy.

He looked at Lieutenant General Hawkins, the Army Secretary who had brought Fang Wen, and asked, "Hawkins, what do you think?"

The lieutenant general replied, "Our army really needs these walkie-talkies, and we will use some of them in the newly established Army Aviation Corps to employ new combat methods in the war. Therefore, I think it is advantageous for us to exchange some equipment for them."

The decision was made by the Army, which naturally relieved the Minister of a lot of pressure.

Sir Anderson walked to the window, gazing at the transport ships on the Thames in the distance. After a moment of silence, he slowly spoke: "How many do you want? If it's too many, even if I acknowledge the value of the walkie-talkies, I can't agree."

“Not many.” Fang Wen immediately replied, stating the numbers he had already calculated: “Two precision machine tools from Spencer; three multi-axis lathes from Churchill-Connometx; one thread grinder from Newwall; and as for Orvis’s universal ball bearings, I need 500 complete sets, covering ball bearings and rollers of different specifications—these quantities will certainly not affect your existing production capacity.”

The quantity was indeed small, and it was exactly equal to the value of the walkie-talkies, so the minister agreed.

"can."

Immediately afterwards, Fang Wen, representing Taishan Military Industry, signed the transaction agreement on site.

The trip to London, UK, was very successful. Technical cooperation was finalized, and the sale of gunboats and aircraft also included the procurement of walkie-talkies and British equipment.

The next steps required a permanent office in the UK to handle the matter, so Fang Wen decided to set up a branch office in the UK.

The affairs of the branch office will be handled by Paul Lin of the European branch.

Fang Wenze and Gong Xiuneng returned to Paris on a British Airways plane.

Because of the hotel incident, Fang Wen activated his supernatural ability and remained vigilant from the moment he boarded the plane.

But nothing happened along the way.

After the plane arrived in Paris, Fang Wen went directly to the branch office near the airport.

They went directly to the branch manager's office.

With a knock on the door, Lin Baolu's voice came from the manager's office: "Come in."

Fang Wen pushed open the door and entered. Lin Baoluo, who was working, immediately got up to greet him when he saw that it was Fang Wen.

"General Manager, why didn't you let me know you were coming back? I could have picked you up from the airport."

"No need for that. I'm going back now. There are some things I need you to do."

Fang Wen then explained the situation in London.

Paul Lin responded earnestly: "Okay, I'll go to London tomorrow and set up a branch office upstairs from the boutique."

“What about those Polish technicians?” Fang Wen asked.

"They're all at the branch office, and they've been arranged to stay in the dormitory."

"Come on, take me there."

The two got up, left the manager's office, and went directly to their dormitory.

The dormitories, originally intended for branch office staff and pilots, have become somewhat crowded.

Twenty technical refugees from Poland lived there.

With Fang Wen's arrival, 10 Polish aircraft manufacturing technicians gathered downstairs in the dormitory building.

Fang Wen, the head of Taishan Military Industry, wanted to talk to them.

Leading the group was an elderly man with gray hair, wearing a small Polish aviation badge on his chest. He was Jankołács, who had served as the chief engineer at the Warsaw Aircraft Plant.

“Mr. Fang, it’s great to finally meet you.” Kovac’s English wasn’t very good, with a heavy Polish accent, and his handshake was slightly white from the force of his hand. “Thank you for being willing to help us escape from that desperate situation. Warsaw has now fallen. I can’t imagine what we would have gone through if we had stayed there.”

Fang Wen released his hand and smiled, "Please have a seat, everyone."

After the 10 people sat down, Fang Wen continued, "Taishan Military Industry needs experienced engineers like you, and you need a place where you can focus on your technical work. We complement each other."

Before he could finish speaking, the young engineer Tomáš, sitting in the back row, suddenly spoke up, his voice tinged with excitement: "Mr. Fang, we've heard about your gunboat design. I did similar research in Warsaw, but before I could put it into practice, the factory was..." He trailed off, his Adam's apple bobbing, but ultimately he didn't mention the factory being affected by the war.

“Don’t be sad about the past, we should focus on the future. It will be safer and there will be more opportunities in Mount Tai. As long as you are willing to work hard, I guarantee you will have a better life,” Fang Wen comforted you.

Upon hearing Fang Wen's words, the previously silent technicians instantly became lively.

Kovacs' eyes lit up as he pulled a yellowed notebook from his canvas bag and opened it to reveal dense formulas and sketches: "Mr. Fang, this is some data we salvaged before our evacuation, including stress test results for the wing skin and improvement plans for the engine cooling system..."

Fang Wen took the notebook and glanced at it. It contained technical data on the PLZ P.11 fighter jet.

Of course, that's not all; there's much more in the canvas bags.

The PLZ P.11 was a single-seat, single-engine, monoplane fighter, which also used the gull-wing structure that Fang Wen had adopted on his own aircraft.

However, in terms of overall performance, it has fallen far behind mainstream fighter jets.

Strictly speaking, the PLZ P.11 was slightly better than Boeing's early monoplane fighter P26, but it was inferior to modern fighter jets.

Compared to the German Bf 109 and Bf 110 fighters, its only advantage was its maneuverability.

However, this advantage is not very significant in group air combat.

As for Taishan Military Industry, most of the data here is probably unavailable, but there might be some technological highlights that can be learned from.

Fang Wen closed the notebook, handed it back to Kovac, and smiled, "These materials are very valuable. I assure you that once you reach the base in Asia, you will have advanced laboratories equipped with the best equipment, and your research will never be abandoned halfway."

Kovac's eyes reddened slightly upon hearing this. The technicians beside him exchanged glances, their tense shoulders finally relaxing—since the day they left Poland, their greatest fear had been hearing "your research is useless," but Fang Wen's promise acted as a reassurance, allowing them to rediscover the value of technology.

The heart-to-heart talk went well, and Fang Wen changed the subject: "How are your family members?"

Kovac replied with a smile, "Everything is fine."

Seeing that there were no problems, Fang Wen explained the situation.

"Alright, go back and pack your things. You'll be taking our company's flight to Asia tomorrow."

The technicians then dispersed and returned to their dormitories to prepare.

The following morning, Fang Wen and Lin Baoluo led 20 passengers into the airport.

This flight will be a charter flight, piloted by Fang Wenlai, with only 20 technical personnel from Poland on board.

Everyone boarded the plane, and when it was time for takeoff, the staff on the runway waved flags.

Fang Wen started the engine and controlled the aircraft to accelerate and take off.

As the plane ascends, the land below gradually shrinks in size.

Through mechanical sensing, Fang Wen observed the situation inside the cabin:

Mr. Kovac was holding that yellowed notebook, discussing something with Tomash beside him, using the sunlight streaming in through the porthole;
Several women who appeared to be family members were talking quietly. One of them was holding a little girl who was leaning against the window, curiously counting the shapes of the clouds below, her little face full of anticipation for the unknown.

"Gong Xiuneng, go get them some food. Oh, and give the kids some candy." Fang Wen reached into his inner pocket with his left hand, took out a few candies produced in Taishan, and handed them to Gong Xiuneng.

Gong Xiuneng responded and went to the passenger cabin.

He gave the candy to the little girl and then said loudly, "This is our company's own passenger plane, using our own technology. Everyone's probably not eaten yet, right? If you're interested in learning more, come with me, and I'll teach you how to make airplane food."

Immediately, several people stood up and followed Gong Xiuneng to the food preparation room.

There, Gong Xiuneng took out convenience foods and a coffee grinder from the food cabinet, and then demonstrated how to make food using the airplane's circulating heated water.

"This is very convenient, isn't it? You can do it yourselves, just be careful not to burn yourselves."

The others immediately became very interested in learning how to make food like Gong Xiuneng.

As the plane gradually moved away from the European continent, the passengers' anxieties caused by the war gradually subsided.

However, Asia is also engulfed in war, which has escalated beyond control.

After a day and a half flight, the passenger plane landed at Yangon Airport.

All 20 technicians and their families traveled to the base in northern Myanmar by seaplane.

Fang Wen did not go with them, but went to the company headquarters to find out what had happened during his absence.

The person arrived at the headquarters office.

The assistant, Zhao Junping, brought over a pile of documents.

"General Manager, do you need me to prepare a summary report?"

Fang Wen was surprised. Zhao Junping didn't have this ability before. It seems that he has learned to be a qualified assistant during this time.

He nodded. "Go ahead and tell me."

Zhao Junping was a little nervous and cleared his throat.

"Yes. The tank and rocket units have set off within the past week, assisted by the engineering units of the 2nd Route Army of the Guangxi Clique. Although they encountered some problems, they successfully arrived in Yangjiang. The troops are currently stationed at the Independent Regiment's base and are conducting joint infantry-tank exercises with the infantry."

Fang Wen nodded: "That's how you report it, just don't speak too fast, continue."

After receiving affirmation, Zhao Junping became less nervous.

"At the base in northern Myanmar, two newly manufactured and improved gunboats have completed the installation of rocket launchers. The general manager needs to decide whether to send them to Taihang Mountain or Junshan Lake."

Where are the two improved gunboats being sent?
Fang Wen considered it for a moment.

In the Taihang Mountains to the north, the combat radius of gunship aircraft is actually not large, mainly covering the area around the Taihang Mountains. On the North China Plain, even if gunship aircraft are equipped with rocket launchers, they cannot conduct long-range operations, since the Japanese army has already begun to deploy large numbers of aircraft in Baoding.

Therefore, the Eighth Route Army's air regiment is currently in a defensive posture, mainly relying on the Taihang Mountains.

As for Junshan Lake, it is surrounded by many lakes of all sizes, especially Poyang Lake to the north, which has a vast expanse of water.

This environment is more suitable for gunboat warfare and can also drive a thorn in the side of the Japanese army, thus hindering their operations.

After making the aircraft allocation plan, he decided to personally pilot the gunboat to Junshan Lake to transport supplies.

After learning about the other details...

Fang Wen prepared to head to the base in northern Myanmar.

In this technical collaboration, he exchanged Taishan's technology for the aerodynamics company's technology. Although he did not obtain the technology, Fang Wen, after understanding the structure of the other party's equipment through his supernatural abilities, was already able to lead the technical team to tackle some technical challenges of turbojet engines.

(End of this chapter)