Republic of China: Ace Pilot

Chapter 190 189 Taishan Air Force Earthquake Rescue, Aftershock Dive Bombing of Landslide Dam

Taishan Airlines mobilized its entire force, with Fang Wen using his own financial and material resources to carry out this rescue.

Although time was tight, the four planes, carrying a total of 8 tons of supplies, landed one after another on the temporary stone runway outside the county government, led by the Shrike piloted by him.

They were all flight apprentices trained by Fang Wen, and they worked together very well during their coordinated operations.

The first Boeing 247 to land on the stone runway was immediately met with relief supplies being unloaded. The pilots then refueled on-site before taking off again.

Only after the first one takes off can the next one land. Thus, the three Boeing 247s completed their cargo transport and began their return journey in formation, while Pan Jiafeng's aircraft remained in place to carry out subsequent missions.

This was the first collective transport operation by Taishan Airlines, and Fang Wen was very satisfied with it, which meant that Taishan Airlines would be able to assume more responsibilities in future wars.

After the three Boeing 247s took off, Fang Wen piloted the Shrike, which landed on the stone runway.

However, this time, he was very careful during the landing process, trying to minimize turbulence.

After all, the aircraft was carrying a 70-kilogram bomb on its belly.

The bomb is overweight!
This is an option to ensure the explosive power.

For the same volume, a 50-kilogram napalm bomb filled with propellant would weigh even more.

That's because fuel has a density of 0.8 g/cm³, napalm has a density of 1.0 g/cm³, while propellant has a density of 1.4 g/cm³.

Therefore, to fill a 50-kilogram napalm bomb, 70 kilograms of propellant are required, thus increasing its power by 40%.

Even if the power is increased by 4%, it is still necessary to find a suitable mechanical weakness in the landslide dam.

Fang Wen parked the plane, and the people arranged by the county government placed a ladder next to the cockpit. He got off the plane and walked to the Boeing 247 next to him.
Outside the Boeing 247, Mr. Pan Jiafeng and Mr. Lin Liang had already disembarked and were talking with members of the county government.

Fang Wen came over and asked Pan Jiafeng, "Shall I introduce the two gentlemen?"

Pan Jiafeng nodded: "I told you."

Fang Wen walked over and talked to the county magistrate.

"There's a powerful bomb under the plane I flew here. I managed to get it. It's very precious. This is the only one. Have your people keep a close watch on it and make sure nothing goes wrong."

The county magistrate glanced at the large, oval-shaped object beneath the Shrike and involuntarily took a half-step back.

"Don't worry, I will arrange for people to protect you and post notices to prevent those who don't know what's good for them from causing trouble."

The county magistrate made arrangements, and it seems that after learning it was a bomb, no one dared to act recklessly.

Fang Wen asked Pan Jiafeng to stay behind, while he and Mr. Lin Liang walked quickly toward the county government's local history office.

The county annals office has the most complete local records, and two professors from the Department of Geology at Tsinghua University are studying the materials there.

The addition of Lin and Liang has given them some new perspectives.

Two experts from different disciplines conducted extensive discussions after reviewing a large amount of local data.

Fang Wen listened from the side, but felt that something was missing.

It seems somewhat different from the knowledge I will learn in the future.

What exactly was the difference? He tried hard to recall.

Have it.

Why don't you consider the causes of earthquakes resulting from plate tectonics?

"What plate tectonics?" The two geologists were quite surprised; they had never heard of this term before.

Seriously? Plate tectonics hasn't even emerged yet?

Regarding the landslide dam issue, Fang Wen braced himself and said, "I only heard about it from someone else. I've only met that person once, and we're not close. He said that the earth's surface is constantly moving, but the speed is very slow, so humans can't observe it. However, the earth's surface movement is not a whole, but is divided into different tectonic plates. Due to the different directions and forces of movement, collisions and compressions occur."

Such a statement would be considered a fantasy to others, but it is indeed a bold and novel academic viewpoint in the eyes of geology experts.

Based on this academic viewpoint, the two geology professors made new inferences about the current situation.

"If there really are tectonic plates, this earthquake would be clear. The Qinghai-Tibet Plateau to the west may have been formed by the movement of different tectonic plates, and the low elevation of the Sichuan Basin may also be related to tectonic plates. No wonder there is such a big difference in elevation between the two sides."

"Conversely, the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, due to its enormous altitude, generates strong potential energy, which in turn puts pressure on this area. Therefore, earthquakes are frequent in this region, which is the result of the interaction of two geological forces."

Two geology professors, one old and one young, discovered a new academic world and became as happy as children.

Fang Wen coughed twice: "Let's think about the landslide dam first."

The two geology professors immediately became serious and began to make new inferences.

"If the earthquake here was caused by different geological forces, the subsequent problem is that there will be aftershocks. Aftershocks can cause secondary landslides, increasing the height of the landslide dam and thus creating greater potential energy for the accumulated water. They can also cause the landslide dam to collapse, flooding the downstream area with the released water. Therefore, as long as there are aftershocks, it is not a good thing for the landslide dam."

Just then, a muffled thud was heard.

Then the ground began to shake.

"It's the sound of the ground; there's another aftershock," the geology professor exclaimed.

Earthquake sounds are the strange noises produced when seismic waves travel from underground to the surface and come into contact with the air.

Fang Wen, who was immediately alert, quickly pushed the four experts out of the room.

The five people ran out of the county government building and came outside.

Fang Wen first checked the aircraft's condition.

The two planes were unharmed, and the guards and onlookers knelt down, shouting, "Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva has manifested his power!"

This time it wasn't the City God; I don't know who elevated the level of deities to a symmetrical position.

They even believed that the strange noise they had just heard was made by the divine beast of Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva.

Immediately afterwards, the ground shook again and again, and even standing on flat ground, one felt unsteady.

In the distance, buildings collapsed with a loud crash.

Barrier lake!
Fang Wen and the four experts had the same idea at the same time.

We must go and check it out as soon as possible.

Fang Wen originally wanted to drive the Shrew there, but then rejected the idea. What use would he be if he went there? Only experts could make a reasonable judgment based on the situation of the landslide dam.

“We’re going to the landslide-dammed lake,” he said, then ran quickly toward the Boeing 247. The four experts followed closely behind.

Pan Jiafeng said eagerly, "I'll go too."

Fang Wen thought for a moment. The four experts were not familiar with the situation inside the plane and needed someone to accompany them. It would be inconvenient for him to fly the plane himself, so he agreed.

Once everyone was on the plane, the county head and county government staff worked together to move people on the road to the sides, which gave the plane enough distance to take off.

The plane took off amidst turbulence, accumulating takeoff potential energy—a process that is difficult to control, and the ground conditions became even more complex due to the secondary earthquake.

Once Fang Wen entered a state of mechanical awareness, he had a more sensitive judgment and decisively pulled up at the moment he reached the takeoff potential energy.

The plane took off, flew over the houses in the county town, and headed towards the landslide-dammed lake on the upper reaches of the Minjiang River.

Looking down from a high altitude provides the best understanding of the urgency of the situation.

Here, mountains are everywhere, and the valleys between the mountains form the Minjiang River channel.

The towns and county seats are located on both sides of the river.

Once the landslide dam above collapses, the surging lake water will sweep down and submerge all the villages and towns along the way.

The plane flew up the canyon river and arrived at the area where the landslide dammed lake was located.

Fang Wen controlled the aircraft to descend and slow down, flying over the landslide-dammed lake.

Pan Jiafeng suggests that it's better to view the scenery from those windows.

The four experts carefully observed the situation below and then began to draw diagrams. Their drawing methods differed, but they all aimed to use their expertise to record the situation for easier discussion.

As the plane flew back and forth at low altitude, Fang Wen also kept an eye on the situation below.

The earthquake caused large-scale landslides on both sides of the mountain, and the falling rocks and mudslides flowed down into the valley, blocking that section of the valley.

Because of this blockage, the Minjiang River, which was originally just a trickle, has dried up, and a large amount of river water has accumulated here, forming a barrier lake. According to the county government, it is dozens of meters higher than before.

Now, this landslide dam, which is tens of meters high, has become even higher due to the aftershocks.

The higher it is, the more lake water accumulates, and the greater the threat to downstream areas.

(Site of the former landslide dam)

After the flight observation concluded and the aircraft returned to base, the four experts immediately began a new round of discussions.

This time, the main participants were two architecture professors, Lin and Liang.

"The landslide dam has an S-shaped structure. We use the arch crown beam method for analysis, considering the arch dam as being composed of a series of horizontal arch rings and a series of vertical beams. We calculate the stress of each part using the arch beam load distribution method."

The two gentlemen proposed treating it as a dam under construction and using artificial construction methods to calculate the stress conditions.

They determined that the stress surface was weaker at the left end of the S-shaped structure, making it more susceptible to failure.

Subsequently.

The geology professor added that the local rocks are mainly diorite, which is also the main material of the landslide dam.

Diorite is a type of granite composed of plagioclase and various minerals. It is dark in color, with a grayish tinge.

Its Mohs hardness is 6-7.

The hardness of iron is 4-5, which means that its hardness is higher than that of iron.

Therefore, the shockwave generated by the explosion must accurately cover the target in order to loosen it, rather than destroying these hard rocks through the explosion.

After reaching a conclusion, the pressure was put on Fang Wen.

He needed to accurately bomb the left end of the S-shaped landslide dam, because there was only one bomb, and it had to hit the target in one shot.

Fang Wen held Mr. Lin's drawing of the bombing structure diagram and looked at it carefully.

The four experts remained silent, unaware of the immense pressure this placed on Fang Wen.

Pan Jiafeng walked over with concern: "Master, I believe you can do it."

Fang Wen looked up and smiled. "That's what I think too. Don't worry, I'll definitely succeed."

His response was full of confidence, which inspired everyone.

Everyone is busy with this. Once the landslide dam is successfully breached, the released lake water, although not as large as it will be in the future, will still affect towns and cities along the downstream.

Residents of villages and towns along the route must be temporarily relocated as soon as possible.

Therefore, the county government and kind-hearted people in the city went to villages and towns along the lower reaches of the Minjiang River to organize the locals to temporarily evacuate.

After doing all this, it was already a day later.

The landslide dam has risen again.

Everyone watched as Fang Wen boarded the Shrike and took off again.

Without prior training, even the most experienced pilot cannot guarantee a hit.

Fang Wen's probability is not 100%; compared to other pilots, it should be 90% to 70%.

This is enough.

Not to mention, after continuously absorbing the mysterious power of the amber cross, there is still a lot of potential that has not been explored.

He now wants to verify how much he has improved.

The plane was traveling at high altitude at a speed of 370 kilometers per hour.

This speed is currently the fastest speed of any aircraft in the air.

Fang Wen, who was fully activating his mechanical senses, felt that he still had energy left to spare.

In pursuit of higher accuracy, he abandoned high-altitude bombing and switched to dive bombing.

Dive bombing, jokingly referred to by pilots as a death game for the brave, is a bombing operation that exposes oneself to the enemy's effective firing range.

Although the accuracy has improved, the risk factor has increased exponentially, making it an unconventional flight tactic.

Fang Wen had practiced, and the Shrike was a plane that was well-suited for dive bombing.

The dive bombing tactics he had practiced specifically for him flashed through his mind.

That's an extremely aggressive maneuver: diving at a speed of over 45 degrees toward the target, pulling up at close range, and dropping bombs at the same time.

If you get the angle and timing right, you don't need any complicated aiming devices at all, and the hit rate is many times higher than that of normal airdrop bombing.

For Fang Wen, the main challenge was to time the aircraft's pull-up and bombing; nothing else was particularly difficult.

He took a deep breath.

The first bombing attempt begins.

The Shrike suddenly slammed down from an altitude of 4000 meters, diving at an angle exceeding 60 degrees.

The plane tilted rapidly downwards, aiming at the left side of the landslide dam.

Just as it was about to pass over the landslide dam, at an altitude of only 400 meters, the aircraft suddenly pulled up.

After the bombing attempt, Fang Wen concluded that the dive and pull-up angles were fine, but the timing of the pull-up was wrong, which could cause the bombs to fly over the landslide dam and land in the river ahead.

If the missile is launched from a height of 300 meters, the hit rate should be very high.

Having reached this conclusion, Fang Wen tried again.

This time, the aircraft pulled up 300 meters, and to outsiders, it looked like it was about to crash into the ground, but then miraculously rose in an arc.

After the second attempt, Fang Wen felt it was time to proceed.

He flew back to an altitude of 4000 meters, took a deep breath, and re-entered mechanical perception.

It merges with the Shrike and transforms into a fierce little bird in the sky.

This echoes the poem "Ode to the Shrike" by Yu Qian, a poet of the Ming Dynasty: "In times of chaos, one becomes a shrike; its form and spirit are both wondrous."

In an instant, the plane plunged into the canyon, but then swiftly flew out again.

Just as the plane flew out of the canyon, the bombs it dropped hit the landslide dam precisely.

The 70-kilogram tin bomb, being entirely composed of propellant with high density and high combustion efficiency, exploded instantly when triggered by the detonator mercury fulminate.

The shockwave instantly tore through the tin sheet and then affected the rubble on the dam surface.

This explosive force caused the landslide dam to loosen.

It eventually collapsed under the potential energy of the high water level of the landslide dam.

A crack appeared, and a small jet of water gushed out, followed by the water washing away pebbles and then large rocks.

The moment the landslide occurred, the barrier lake could no longer block the Minjiang River, and a large amount of water swept away.

As Fang Wen hovered in the air observing the situation, he couldn't help but worry about the conditions downstream.

(End of this chapter)