Republic of China: Ace Pilot

Chapter 187, page 186: Pure copper bullets are now available; 30,000 bullets airdropped.

Negotiations with the American smelters regarding bulk copper ingot trade were conducted under the name of the Taishan Casino.

Long-term purchase and sale agreements are easy to sign, but the first batch of copper ingots takes a month to arrive by sea.

Prior to this, in order to let customers understand the quality of their copper ingots, they had their Southeast Asian distributor send over a batch of low-priced copper ingots for trial use.

The copper used in the bullet factory comes from these low-priced copper ingots.

For this purpose, a copper melting furnace was specially purchased. After the copper ingots were melted, they were poured into a mold, cooled, and then manually stamped into shape. They were then precision-finished using a universal milling machine to make primer caps, fill with propellant, and fix the projectile and cap.

After the first batch of bullets is completed, it needs to be tested.

Outside the bullet workshop, at the experimental firing range, two wooden human-shaped targets were placed, and workers loaded bullets and fired them.

The high-speed bullet hit the target, and the result was obtained.

Its penetration is moderate, not as strong as that of a steel core.

Furthermore, there is a minor issue with pure copper bullets.

Upon impact with the target, the lead core inside the copper bullet will detach from the copper armor due to the high-speed impact, causing secondary damage.

In other words, after hitting a human body, the broken lead core may roll around inside the body, causing secondary tearing, and may even remain somewhere inside the body.

Of course, this is not absolute. That situation will only occur when the bullet hits the bone. A normal hit will still penetrate the bone.

After the bullets were made, Fang Wen instructed Fang Shouxin to contact the Third Red Army to arrange for an airdrop.

9 month 16 day.

Fang Shouxin and Shunzi went on another long trip.

But unlike last time, this time I went out with a specific purpose.

After crossing several mountain ridges, they arrived at a village.

Shu Zhitao once said that there was a contact point here, marked by a tree branch with a special symbol.

Where is that thing?

Fang Shouxin, Shunzi, and five security guards went into the village to search.

They disguised themselves as traveling merchants going from village to village, so they had to shout a few times when entering a village.

A security guard shouted in the local Xiangxi dialect: "Iron pots, scissors, salt, needles and thread, homespun cloth, we have everything."

The villagers came out of their homes and gathered around to buy what they wanted, while the security guards dealt with them.

Taking this opportunity, Fang Shouxin and Shunzi each took one person and wandered around the village.

Fang Shouxin gained nothing, but Shunzi did, as he accidentally stepped into a pile of cow dung.

Just as Shunzi was about to curse, he saw a tree branch stuck in the door of the house in front of him, with three straw rings tied to the branch.

Three grass rings hanging on a tree branch serve as a secret signal for a contact point.

He quickly pulled his foot away and ran over to knock on the door.

The door opened, and out stood a pretty Miao girl.

As soon as she opened the door, she smelled the cow dung odor on Shunzi and frowned: "If you step in cow dung, don't come to my door. Let me get you some water to wash it off."

The Miao girl turned around, scooped water with a ladle, and washed Shunzi's foot, which was covered in cow dung.

At this moment, Shunzi felt a strange emotion.

When the girl looked up at him, she couldn't help but feel shy.

This scene was too much for the security guards to bear. "Brother Shunzi, don't embarrass yourself by blushing when you see a girl."

Shunzi knew about the simple and honest folk customs in western Hunan. They were straightforward and didn't hide anything. Especially when he saw that the girl was smiling, he immediately lost his fear.

He asked for the cut.

"Three circles, four circles, how many are there in total?"

The Miao girl immediately became serious and replied:
"Walk in the river, collect seashells, and fill a basket to the brim."

The two were using completely different slang, yet they somehow managed to connect.

The character 贺 is composed of 加 on top and 贝 on the bottom.

It also represents the Third Red Army.

Immediately, personal feelings for their children vanished, and Shunzi explained the situation in a low voice.

"The bullets are ready. Tell us the airdrop location, time, and nighttime markers before tonight."

The girl responded just as seriously: "I need to go out and report. You all stay in the village and wait for me."

After saying that, she left the village and walked away quickly.

Watching the girl's departing figure, Shunzi said to Fang Shouxin, "Dad, find me a marriage partner."

"What?" Fang Shouxin was surprised. How did his son suddenly become so enlightened?

He watched the girl in Miao clothing walk away and couldn't help but smile: "That must be her. Okay, after the airdrop is over, I'll ask Shu Zhitao if she's betrothed yet."

Shunzi immediately beamed with joy.

Fang Shouxin said helplessly, "Don't be too happy yet, kid. If she's already engaged, it has nothing to do with you. Even if she's not engaged, she has to like you first."

These words were no longer of any use to Shunzi; once he set his sights on someone, he was determined and would never change his mind.

And so, Fang Shouxin and his accomplices, disguised as merchants, waited until the afternoon.

At 3 p.m., the Miao girl, who had been hiking for several hours, brought Shu Zhitao back.

They met at the girl's house.

Shunzi took this opportunity to visit the girl's home and see what her family was like.

It's a wooden house made entirely of wood. The front is probably the main house, and the right side is a woodshed for storing firewood.

There are two floors on the left. The lower floor is used to store miscellaneous items. What's upstairs?

Shunzi watched as his father and Shu Zhitao went into the main house to talk, and then he wanted to go upstairs to check.

But he was stopped by the Miao girl.

"That's my room, what are you doing up there?"

So this is the boudoir of a Miao girl.

Shunzi was a little embarrassed, but she mustered up her courage and replied, "I won't go up."

The girl was quite generous: "If you want to see it, I'll show you."

"No, no, I won't look."

"Then tell me about things outside the mountain. I heard your family works at the airport. What does an airport do?"

When the topic turned to the airport, Fang Shun became more talkative, and the two sat on the stairs and chatted.

Yangon Airport.

Fang Wen waited in his room for Xiangxi to call back.

At every commercial airport invested in by Taishan Airlines, there is a room like this, which is the private space of the general manager.

Many of them have never been used, but they are regularly cleaned and kept tidy.

This was the request of the general manager's wife, Kuang Mingzhu, and no one objected; everyone felt it was the right thing to do.

A few minutes later, at the appointed time, the radio wave sound appeared precisely on time.

Fang Wen recorded Morse code and translated it.

[Airdrop location confirmed: 110 kilometers northwest of the airport, passing through Laifeng County and Hefeng County, in a mountainous area.]

[Airdrop time: Tomorrow night at 2 AM, using a circular torch circle as a trigger.]

Fang Wen took out a map and made a nighttime flight route based on the telegram.

After making the decision, he reflected on the achievements he had made during this period.

The total of 3 bullets was produced by 62 workers working in shifts day and night for 10 days, with a daily output of 3 bullets and each machine producing more than 300 bullets per day.

Of course, this production volume is only in the trial production stage, and it should be able to be increased in the future.

It is estimated that each device can fire 800 rounds, averaging 30 bullets per hour.

That's the limit.

This single bullet processing production line produced 21 bullets a month, all of which were given to the Third Red Army, meaning each soldier received seven bullets.

It's easy to imagine how enormous the amount of ammunition consumed on the entire Chinese battlefield was. Pushing his thoughts aside, he went out to check the ammunition that was about to be loaded.

In the ammunition workshop, all the workers stopped what they were doing and busied themselves packing 3 rounds of ammunition into boxes.

All the bullets, without any magazines to hold them in place, were loosely packed in baskets.

The workers wrapped the bullet packs in oil paper, five to a pack, and then laid them flat in a wooden box, 24 bullet packs per layer. After placing each layer, they separated them with cardboard and then filled the box with straw.

One wooden crate has eight layers and holds a total of 960 rounds of ammunition.

3 bullets would require 32 boxes, and Fang Wen used the extra space to store other items.

After all the bullets are packed into boxes, they need to be attached to the airdrop parachute.

After completing these tasks, the 32 ammunition boxes were loaded into the aircraft, and Fang Wen and Huo Duanyang had a pre-flight conversation.

"You know who these bullets are for, right?"

Huo Duanyang nodded: "Fang Shouxin and his son have been going out frequently lately, and I know who they're meeting."

"So what are you thinking now?" Fang Wen asked.

If Huo Duanyang doesn't go, it doesn't matter. He trained a few workers in advance to simulate an airdrop, and taking them along would be the same. At most, he would do some secrecy work, such as giving them more wages to stay in Yangon and return after the war.

“I used to think there was too much injustice in this world, but no one stood up for it. But now I find that there is an army fighting for it, and I want to see what changes they will ultimately bring to this world.” Huo Duanyang replied affirmatively, and Fang Wen could see some change in his expression.

He left the county town for the sake of the peace and well-being of his family and country, even though he knew it was impossible, he still went out.

Now, he seems to have seen a direction.

In this way, Fang Wen wouldn't have to worry about him leaking secrets.

He chuckled and patted Huo Duanyang on the shoulder: "Let's go. Follow my instructions during the airdrop, take your time, we have plenty of time tonight."

The two boarded the plane, and then the F.220 took off.

The massive F.220 had only two people: Fang Wen piloting it, and Huo Duanyang airdropping it.

Therefore, a plan must be made.

During the flight to the airdrop point, Fang Wen discussed matters with Huo Duanyang.

"Once we reach the drop point, I will circle around it with a radius of 1500 meters. During this process, every time we are about to approach the drop point, I will notify you to prepare to drop the bomb, and then you will drop the bomb as I command."

"Why is it hovering around a radius of 1500 meters?" Huo Duanyang, who didn't know anything about flying, asked.

"Because for such a large aircraft, a 1500-meter radius is already the limit for circling," Fang Wen explained.

“I understand. That’s what you did when you went to the Great Wall to conduct the circling bombing.”

"Yes, last time the military camp was large enough that circling bombing was effective. But for a bombing point that is only a few hundred meters wide, you can only bomb in a straight line."

Fang Wen and Huo Duanyang chatted, and time flew by. But the long voyage had run out of things to say, and it still wasn't over.

Subsequently, Huo Duanyang, who had never participated in the bombing of the Great Wall, began a simulation demonstration.

He needs to airdrop 32 ammunition boxes, and each operation must be flawless. Therefore, these simulations will help him avoid making mistakes during the airdrop.

More than six hours passed before we finally arrived at Xiangxi Airport.

The plane had an extra fuel tank and still had fuel, so it didn't stop at Xiangxi Airport for a transfer, but instead flew northwest.

The final 100 kilometers of the journey took only 20 minutes.

It was now 2 a.m.

In this mountainous region, a circular torch was lit to guide the aircraft's location.

Fang Wen, in a state of mechanical awareness, became one with the F.220, controlling the night bomber as it approached and circled.

Before the first airdrop opportunity arrived, he announced, "Begin preparations, ten seconds to drop the bomb."

Huo Duanyang did not respond, but instead placed an ammunition box on the safety follower and pulled off the parachute harness.

A moment later, Fang Wen spoke again: "Ten seconds to throw the bomb."

Huo Duanyang immediately pulled the grenade release lever, the safety plate opened, the ammunition box fell, and at the same time the parachute opened due to air resistance.

There was no time to check what would happen to the ammunition box. Huo Duanyang pulled back the grenade release lever, and the safety tray returned to its original position.

He then placed a second ammunition box and performed the same operation.

With only 10 seconds to throw the bombs, a total of 6 ammunition boxes were dropped, which made Huo Duanyang very dissatisfied with his operation.

He shouted, "I can be even faster!"

Fang Wen laughed and said, "Alright, we'll see how you perform in the next round."

The plane continued to circle until it returned to its bombing position, at which point a new round of ten-second bombing began.

In the mountainous area between Laifeng, Hefeng, and Enshi, a part of the Third Red Army was stationed.

Their orders were to prepare for an airdrop.

At first, no one understood what the airdrop meant.

After they understood, they couldn't believe it. When did the Red Army receive such good treatment and get airdropped from airplanes?

Although I didn't quite believe it, the arrangements for the evening were strictly followed.

They arranged the soldiers in a large circle between the two mountains, and then lit torches on time to create a large circle of fire.

Then we waited, and everyone looked up at the sky.

Not long after, a booming sound came from the sky.

Immediately, a soldier said, "It's the sound of an airplane. The Kuomintang planes flew over my head and made the same sound."

The others echoed.

"Yeah, I've heard that too."

"The plane really came."

The regimental commander shouted to stop them: "Don't talk, don't interfere with their airdrop."

Fang Wen will definitely explain if he hears this; it won't have any impact.

But then, all the soldiers fell silent.

They looked up at the sky.

A huge black shadow swept across the moon.

Then something seemed to fall down.

They couldn't see clearly at first, but after a while, illuminated by the torches, they saw something actually floating down.

It didn't crash down, it floated down and landed in the circle formed by the soldiers.

"This is an airdrop!" one soldier finally couldn't help but exclaim.

The battalion commander quickly ordered: "Everyone, don't move. Keep holding the torches, don't let them go out, and don't break formation."

After the initial chaos subsided, everyone eagerly awaited the arrival of the airdrop.

Some landed inside the circle, some landed outside the circle, and some even landed on the other side of the mountain.

Only when the roaring sound from the sky ceased and the commander was certain the planes had left did he order the soldiers to collect the airdropped supplies.

After collecting all thirty-two boxes, the leader led his team away from there and back to their hiding place.

Over there, they enthusiastically began unpacking.

The wooden crate was opened, revealing the gleaming yellow bullets.

"These bullets are so new."

"It's not a reloaded bullet; this is the first time I've ever seen such a bright bullet."

One soldier who had worked as a coppersmith shared his opinion: "It should be pure copper, and it's been polished. This is a good piece of stuff."

The commander then began a joyful bullet count. Since each box contained the same number of bullets, he quickly finished counting, finding a total of 30,000 bullets.

This supplement is very timely.

But the regimental commander couldn't keep all of these bullets; he had to leave some for the other units.

Just as he was preparing to lead some soldiers to transport ammunition, some soldiers discovered something new in one of the boxes.

"Commander, besides bullets, there are other things here, including letters and colorful papers."

(End of this chapter)