Republic of China: Ace Pilot

Chapter 698 The Daytime Plan Fails, Seaplanes Assemble
Ramsgate Port Area.

Fifty British soldiers were in a state of disbandment, taking a walk in the port area, some of them specifically to look at the more than 50 seaplanes moored on the dock.

Fang Wen and Major Spier were discussing things at the dock.

"I participated in two air interception operations. The German fighter jets were excellent. Their Bf-109E fighters had superior high-altitude performance and a maximum speed of 570 km/h, but our Spitfires were not bad either, and even faster than the 109."

Major Spielberg repeatedly emphasized that the Spitfire was superior to the Bf-109E.

Fang Wen did not refute this, after all, he had only fought against the early model of the Bf-109, and the current 109 had been upgraded and its performance was much better than that of the Spanish Civil War.

He only knew the general specifications of the British Spitfire fighter plane; he had never actually seen it.

To be honest, he was a little tempted.

It's like a duel between masters in a martial arts novel; if you can't actually fight it out, you always feel a sense of regret.

Moreover, this was the very famous Battle of Dunkirk in the history of aerial warfare.

But the problem is his identity; if he were to join the war, it would be bad if the Germans found out.

Even if he wanted to secretly join the war, it would be more reliable to go directly to the high command of the Royal Air Force than through Major Speer.

After all, he had met with British Air Force generals during the previous engine collaboration.

Thinking of this, he said, "Excuse me, I have some things to take care of."

After saying this, he boarded a seaplane and sent a telegram to London.

The telegram was sent to the London office of Taishan Airlines, and the message would be relayed by the people in the London office.

11:40 am.

All the pilots of the Taishan Water Transport Team got up and formed a square formation on the open ground in the port area.

On the other side were British pilots.

Fang Wen and Major Spier walked to the front of the line.

He announced loudly in Chinese: "I have an announcement to make. The pilots on your right are British pilots. They will be responsible for daytime transport flights. Therefore, this afternoon, each of your planes must bring a pilot for a flight demonstration. Remember, use the same training materials as the flight school. Teach them exactly what your instructors taught you in class. If anyone forgets something or can't remember it completely, raise your hand immediately. We can't let this cause them to make mistakes during the flight."

After he finished speaking, more than 20 people raised their hands, mostly pilots from Taishan Civil Aviation. After all, they graduated a long time ago, and some of them didn't remember the schools very well, but the students from Taishan Aviation had vivid memories.

Fang Wen nodded: "Then that's settled. I'll call on some of you and select you to have a pre-lesson simulation with me after lunch."

Fifty pilots were selected, and then all the pilots gathered together for a meal.

The lunch for 150 people kept the Chinese chefs from London extremely busy, but fortunately, local restaurants also provided meals, which solved the problem.

After the meal, Fang Wen led 50 Chinese pilots aside for a pre-training simulation.

“Your English communication is a problem, so I’m asking you to use actions and vocabulary for vocal education. See, like this.”

Fang Wen demonstrated actions simulating those of a pilot, translating each control component in the cockpit into onomatopoeic English words, and had the pilots memorize them.

In this way, pilots could communicate with British pilots through gestures and words.

The pre-teaching simulation has ended.

Fang Wen raised his hand and glanced at his watch; the hour hand had just passed one o'clock in the afternoon.

"Alright, that's it for one-on-one pairing with the British pilots. Remember to move slowly and precisely, and speak slowly too. If there are any communication problems, report to me via walkie-talkie. Okay, you can board now. I'll go get them." He clapped his hands, signaling the pilots to move.

The Chinese pilots dispersed and boarded their respective planes, while Fang Wen walked over to the British pilots and spoke with Major Speer.

Subsequently, the British pilots boarded the Floodlight I seaplane and took their seats in the co-pilot's seat.

Fang Wen also boarded the plane, with Major Spier sitting in the co-pilot's seat.

He picked up the microphone, "Attention all machines, we are about to begin."

After saying that, he followed his own method and began to teach Major Speer about sound and movement.

From one airplane after another, a somewhat non-standard Chinese-accented English voice could be heard, accompanied by piloting gestures.

Fang Wen quickly finished demonstrating his teaching method, and Major Spier easily understood the teaching intention. He exclaimed, "Fang, I think your method is very effective. Our pilots should be able to learn it very quickly."

Fang Wen smiled and said, "Let's go take a look."

The two disembarked and observed the planes one by one.

The cabin was filled with the sounds of Chinglish.

"Control stick, pull up—up, push down—down."

"Engine speed, safe—green, danger—red."

"Landing gear, up-retract, down-extend"

With the accompanying actions, and most of the words, the British pilots could understand them.

After completing the task, Fang Wen returned to the cockpit, picked up the microphone, and activated radio communication.

"Now, hand the microphone to the British pilots next to you and let them say if they have any questions. Go in order, starting with aircraft number 1."

After the microphone was handed over, the British pilots raised various questions.

These are all things I didn't understand much during the communication process.

Fang Wen listened attentively to each question but did not answer them individually. Instead, he provided a unified explanation after the communication ended.

His English explanations, combined with the students' practical demonstrations, greatly reduced the difficulty of learning.

In addition, the British pilots themselves had a high level of knowledge and long-term experience in fighter flights, which made the teaching process increasingly smooth.

Some highly talented British pilots even mastered flying skills during the five-hour afternoon training session.

5 month 27 day.

6 points in the early hours.

The last batch of overnight transfers was completed.

The soldiers inside the plane cheered and cried after landing, celebrating their escape back to Britain.

The port soldiers took them away.

Major Speer arrived with 50 British pilots.

Fang Wen handed over the work to him.

"We will conduct an inspection of the aircraft to ensure that the probability of failure is reduced. Please be very careful when flying during the day. This type of aircraft has a low flight speed, and once it is caught by German fighters, it will be difficult to escape."

Major Speer confidently replied, "We will choose an opening in the German aircraft's flight path, and with our fighter escorts, nothing will happen."

Is it really safe that nothing will happen? Even if Fang Wen himself led the flight during the day, he couldn't guarantee it. But after all, these are planes bought by the British. Fang Wen only has the right to advise them on what to do, not the right to interfere.

Therefore, over the next hour, Fang Wen led a group of pilots who had rested overnight to inspect the aircraft and troubleshoot some problems.

Then it was handed over to the British pilot.

Fifty British pilots sat in the cockpit, operated the seaplane to turn its nose around, and then taxied and accelerated to take off one by one.

In contrast to Fang Wen's large-scale formation flight command, they opted for single-slot flights.

One seaplane after another flew over the Strait of Dover and landed in the nearby waters where the nighttime airlift was carried out.

The soldiers, who had been waiting, waded through the water in groups of 50 to reach the seaplane. Once the plane was full of 50 people, it immediately closed its doors and took off, returning to Ramsgate Harbor.

At first, everything went very smoothly, with 80 round trips without encountering any German air force attacks.

But this luck wouldn't last forever; at 11 a.m., a large-scale German air raid occurred.

Twelve bomber formations, under the cover of fighter planes, rushed toward Dunkirk.

Stuka bombers roared and swooped down to bomb the port and beaches, turning the entire port area into a sea of ​​fire.

The scale of the air raid caught the British Air Force off guard and caused damage to seaplanes flying to Dunkirk to transport troops.

12 o'clock noon.

Fang Wen and the pilots had a meal in the port area.

Everyone had a poor appetite and was worried about the planes that hadn't returned.

Gong Xiuneng, holding the lunchbox, asked, "Commander, has something happened?"

Fang Wen nodded: "I'm afraid so. Even if the round trip is slow, an hour should be enough."

Gong Xiuneng put down the lunchbox and said indignantly, "Hey. You told them not to fly during the day, but they insisted on doing it anyway, and now look what happened."

Fang Wen explained, "You can't say that. Our position is different from the British. We fly at night to ensure everyone's safety and the stability of the transport. But the British want to send their soldiers back as soon as possible, even if it means losing some seaplanes."

At this moment, a black dot appeared in the distant sky. Fang Wen stopped speaking and got up to look.

The black dots were getting closer and closer; there were seaplanes, as well as escorting Spitfire and Hurricane fighter jets.

But it seems that fewer seaplanes are returning.

Everyone put down their lunchboxes and ran towards the dock.

Seaplanes landed and docked at the pier.

Chaos ensued after the hatch opened.

A large number of wounded were carried out of the cabin; judging from the bloodstains and wounds, they must have been injured recently.

British medical personnel in the port rushed over and provided on-site treatment to the seriously injured on the dock, while those with minor injuries were helped by soldiers to the temporary hospital in the port area.

Fang Wen saw Major Spier getting off the plane and walked over to him.

"Major, what's wrong with you?"

Major Spier took off his hat, held it in his hand, and said with his head drooping, "The Germans have gone mad. They've sent all their planes to bomb. The beaches of Dunkirk and the sea are covered with bombs they've dropped."

"How much of the seaplanes were lost?" Fang Wen pressed.

“Maybe, maybe a third,” Major Spier said in an even lower voice.

One-third of the 53 aircraft were lost, which means 15 or more.

Fang Wen frowned: "If that's the case, we won't be able to fulfill the transportation volume required in our contract, but that's your own fault, so it can't be considered our mistake."

"Understood, I will report to my superiors. Daytime flights should be suspended." Major Speer put on his hat, walked to the control room, and went to send a telegram.

After a while, he came out and found Fang Wen, who was helping to transport the wounded with the Taishan pilot.

"Mr. Fang, the higher-ups said that nighttime airlift flights will remain unchanged, but daytime operations are canceled. I will take the pilots back. I apologize for disrupting your airlift operations."

Fang Wen shook hands with him: "It's a pleasure to work with you."

Major Spier, looking dejected, led about thirty pilots out of the port. The daytime air raid lasted less than four hours before it came to an end.

They left, but the nighttime airlift had to continue, so Fang Wen led the pilots to inspect the remaining aircraft.

Of the seaplanes that returned, only 34 remained, with 19 actually lost, far exceeding one-third.

Fang Wen informed the port dispatch officer of the situation and then checked the status of the remaining aircraft.

Some of these aircraft had their engines hit by shrapnel, but the penetration was insufficient to cause serious engine failure, allowing them to return. Some aircraft had multiple tears in their outer skin, and some had bent support structures.

To address this, Fang Wen and the pilots worked together to fix the various problems.

Port of Dover.

Ships returning from Dunkirk docked in the harbor, and the soldiers who had survived the disaster knelt on the ground in prayer.

Meanwhile, at Dover Castle, the underground caverns served as the command center for "Project Dynamo," overseen by Vice Admiral Bertram Ramsay.

At this moment, the lieutenant general was listening to his subordinates report on the situation at the front.

"General, as of now, we have lost 20 fighter planes, the Germans have lost 23 aircraft, and our 8000-ton 'Aden' and troop transport 'Blue Coast' have been sunk. In addition, several civilian ships have sunk."

Another staff officer came in.

"Lieutenant General, breaking news! The Belgian army has surrendered!"

These circumstances caused the lieutenant general to frown deeply.

"The German army has accelerated its offensive. Calais has fallen, Belgium has surrendered, and we have no room for maneuver. We must withdraw the troops from Dunkirk as soon as possible."

The staff officer said helplessly, "But we can't stop the German air raids. The German air force doesn't care about the losses at all. Under that intensity of bombing, if 10 transport ships go, I'm afraid only two or three will come back."

At this moment, another staff officer came in.

"Lieutenant General, a call from the Air Force: daytime airlift by seaplanes has failed, resulting in the loss of 19 seaplanes. The current situation makes daytime airlift by seaplanes completely impossible, and they have already withdrawn the pilots."

One question after another made the atmosphere in the command center extremely heavy.

After a moment, the lieutenant general spoke up: "No matter the cost, we must withdraw the troops from Dunkirk. Given the current situation, we can only intensify the evacuation at night. Not only by ship, but also by air. Taishan Aviation's seaplanes are good for air transport, but using them for daytime air transport was a mistake. This mistake reduces nighttime air transport capacity, and we must make up for it as soon as possible. Here's what I'll do: send a telegram to the Navy, the Air Force, and the Prime Minister. I want to gather all the British seaplanes that can participate in air transport and place them under Fang Wen's command."

Time passed slowly, and soon it was 3 p.m.

The dispatching officer came running quickly.

"Mr. Fang, we have received new orders that require your cooperation."

Fang Wen, who had just finished repairing the engine, was washing the oil stains off his hands with soap. "What orders? I'm just following the terms of the contract."

"Please take a look." The dispatching officer handed over the telegram.

Fang Wen wiped the water off his hands and took the telegram.

The contents of the telegram surprised him.

The British were actually going to send over a new seaplane squadron, and put it entirely in Fang Wen's command.

These seaplanes were almost all the seaplanes that the British military and civilians could mobilize that had transport capabilities.

It seems that the effectiveness of the nighttime airlifts over the previous few days led the British leadership to make this decision.

The eagerness of the British people shows that it was hard to refuse.

Thinking of this, he replied, "I agree. When will those planes arrive?"

"I'll report it right away." The dispatching officer happily ran back.

The radio waves reached Dover and were subsequently sent to many other places.

Seaplanes with transport capacity took off from different places and flew to Ramsgate.

(Short Sunderland seaplane patrol bomber, UK)
(Short Empire seaplane)
(End of this chapter)