Republic of China: Ace Pilot

Chapter 244, Section 243: Replicating the Catalina seaplane, customizing battlefield first-aid kits for the Red Army, encountering danger.
To make Taishan Airlines the first airline to cross the Pacific Ocean, Fang Wen was working hard to develop a new type of seaplane.

His current goal is to replicate the PBY seaplane.

However, the PBY seaplane design drawings that Mitsubishi obtained from the Nazis were incomplete; they were probably still in draft form, and it's unclear how they ended up in the hands of the Nazis.

Fang Wen even saw the Nazis' evaluation of him in that document.

"The PBY seaplane is a US Navy-designed aircraft, and its competitor, the Douglas YB-10 amphibious bomber, is more likely to be selected. But we don't need this kind of slow, long-range seaplane bomber. Relatively speaking, the US Army's B-10 land-based bomber is our competitor."

Yes, Germany didn't have many overseas colonies, so a navy and seaplanes weren't their immediate needs; land-based bombers and fighter jets were what they truly needed.

That's why they abandoned this information.

But it is extremely important to Fangwen.

Taishan Aircraft Manufacturing Plant is currently focusing on seaplanes. Once the PBY seaplane is replicated, it will greatly enhance the plant's technology.

In order to fully understand the technology and design concepts contained in this incomplete design drawing, Fang Wen began to study it day and night.

(PBY seaplane design drawing)
From the perspective of the overall structure

The PBY seaplane is a twin-engine, high-wing aircraft.

The aircraft has retractable wingtip floats on both sides of the wing, which increases the aircraft's stability and buoyancy on the water.

This three-point water support mode effectively alleviates the disadvantage of the center of gravity being concentrated on the fuselage, and is more conducive to overcoming the difficulty of takeoff in still water.

The shape of an airplane fuselage or a ship's hull.

PBY's hull is still based on the clipper boat, and the effectiveness of this high-speed sailboat hull has been proven by a variety of aircraft.

The PBY seaplane features a shallow and wide semi-circular hull design with a large bottom area, which allows the aircraft to generate more buoyancy when it touches the water, thus facilitating takeoff and landing and ensuring stability on water.

Wing design.

The wings are cantilevered and located in front of and above the central cockpit where the pilots are located.

The central part of the wing is rectangular with a tapered outer panel, and the whole structure adopts a stress-skin all-metal structure.

To reduce weight, the ailerons and trailing edge are covered with fabric.

The wings are equipped with retractable wingtip floats on both sides, which are mounted on a pivot-rotating frame and can be electrically controlled to retract.

During flight, floats can form wingtips, increasing the effective area and lift of the wing.

During landing, the wingtip floats will become two buoyancy fulcrums on the water surface, dispersing the stress on the water surface.

Powertrain
The design is not yet finalized, but the plan is for a dual-engine configuration with over 800 horsepower.

This is the best news: the Pratt & Whitney R-1830 radial engine that Fang Wen has ordered is exactly 800 horsepower.

Fang Wen even suspects that when the PBY seaplane is finally put into production, it will use Pratt & Whitney's R-1830 radial engine, which has a very high cost-performance ratio.

propeller

The 800-horsepower engine drives variable-pitch three-bladed constant-speed propellers, which are housed in a central fairing and equipped with a cooler to maintain normal operating temperature.

This type of propeller also exists; the Yunhe (Cloud Crane) uses this special propeller, which is manufactured by Hamilton Standard Company in the United States.

In addition, there are three pairs of inventory.

Internal facilities of the fuselage
The upper bow features a spacious forward observation cabin that can accommodate two crew members sitting side-by-side, equipped with turret-style all-around windows for excellent visibility. It also includes a mooring cabin for temporary berthing at sea.

The front and middle sections are the engine compartment and fuel storage compartment.

Further back is the space below the pilot's cockpit.

That's the living quarters: equipped with sleeping berths, a kitchen, and food storage facilities, these features enable the PBY to perform ultra-long-distance transoceanic voyages.

The design drawings also included plans for weapons and equipment.

Nose-mounted machine gun turret: One 7.62mm Browning machine gun.

Two 7.62 mm machine guns on either side of the waist.

A 12.7 mm cannon inside the belly of the engine compartment.

In addition, the outer wing pylons can also carry a variety of bombs and torpedoes.

After reviewing all the information on the PBY seaplane, Fang Wen began to devise a plan on how to adapt it for civilian use.

First, it has only two passenger cabins inside its fuselage.

There's one at the front, one in the middle, and the expandable space at the rear of the fuselage can only be used to store luggage.

Because the civilian version does not require weapons and bombs, its carrying capacity will be increased.

Furthermore, the original bomb bay can be converted into an auxiliary fuel tank to restore the aircraft's original design balance.

In addition to these changes, Fang Wen decided to first make a prototype based on the original design, and then use mechanical perception to find the problems and make modifications.

Subsequently, Taishan Aircraft Manufacturing Plant dispatched 20 engineering teams to the newly built aircraft workshop.

There, Fang Wen divided the aircraft's wings and fuselage structure into 20 task groups and assigned them to work on them.

At the same time, I also provided full guidance and support throughout the entire aircraft manufacturing process.

Although there were design drawings, the production process still encountered many difficulties because the data was not 100% accurate.

For example, incorrect fuselage frame proportions can cause mismatches when installing wings.

In addition, there were issues with the fuselage balance, and the internal space was misaligned with the original design drawings.

These problems, once they arise, must be corrected. This process consumes a lot of aluminum alloy materials, but each correction of errors represents a step closer to success.

The aircraft's fuselage and wings are still under construction. It is expected that the installation of the engines and propellers will begin in a month, and the test flight will take place in a month and a half.

During this time, Fang Wen took some time to do something else.

Battlefield medical kit.

The Long March has now reached its most difficult stage. The Central Red Army may have reached the grasslands and snow-capped mountains. Later, other Red Army units heading north to join forces will also have to pass through the harsh environment of snow-capped mountains and grasslands.

In this kind of wild environment, dysentery is the most common disease. If penicillin is used to fight infection and quinine is used to treat dysentery, it will produce very good therapeutic effects.

It's no wonder that Bai Yunfei was so eager to use the battlefield medical kit.

Therefore, Fang Wen disguised himself and took an international flight of Taishan Airlines back to Shanghai.

Taishan International Flight A3 landed at Shanghai Airport.

The flight attendant, standing by the boarding gate, announced: "Passengers, this flight has arrived at its final destination, Shanghai. Please line up to disembark and collect your luggage at the rear of the plane using your tickets."

After disguising himself, Fang Wen disembarked with the other passengers and then went to the rear of the plane with them to collect their luggage.

This approach is different from the future, but it's simpler; in reality, it's the only way to achieve this.

After collecting their luggage, all passengers exited the airport and boarded the transportation hub to downtown Shanghai.

Fang Wen did not get on the car. He carried his suitcase and walked past the deserted former Taishan Airlines headquarters, continuing forward and leaving the airport street.

Once you leave Airport Street, the surrounding area becomes more suburbanized, with houses scattered haphazardly without any planning.

Fang Wen's destination was among these houses. He walked along the narrow paths and came to a very ordinary courtyard with blue bricks.

Knock on the door.

The person who opened the door was an old man, a little hunchbacked, moving with a trembling gait, clearly a man on the verge of death.

He said in a trembling voice, "Who is it? No one's home anymore, I'm the only one left looking after the house."

Fang Wen did not answer, but instead tapped on the door frame with his fingers.

The peculiar rhythm of the tapping caused a change in the old man.

His back was no longer hunched, and he was no longer old and frail; instead, his eyes shone with a sharp light.

"General Manager, your disguise skills are getting more and more realistic. I didn't even recognize you."

"Are you Qian Yinxing? I didn't recognize you even without hearing your voice," Fang Wen said with a smile.

"General Manager, please come in quickly, lest the neighbors become suspicious," Qian Yinxing replied. Fang Wen nodded and strode into the house. Qian Yinxing glanced around discreetly and then closed the door.

The two entered the house, where Qian Yinxing was indeed the only person present.

He proactively reported: "General Manager, as you instructed, the seven of us have been recruiting people across the country under the name of the Anti-Japanese Volunteer Army, and we have achieved some success. However, although these people are all quite capable, they are all troublemakers, unwilling to yield to each other, and difficult to work together."

Fang Wen nodded.

He had anticipated this outcome.

People from the underworld are the most unruly and disobedient. You can get them to do things, but it's difficult to get them to understand the rules and cooperate as a team.

After all, those who can make a name for themselves in the underworld, besides having skills, are usually quite temperamental.

Fang Wen wanted to utilize these people's abilities for his own purposes, while also ensuring they were disciplined and able to work as a team. This required a period of training and adjustment.

He said, "Take the people you recruit to Yangon and let them get used to the environment there. I will find someone to train them later."

“Yes, General Manager. I will contact the others during today’s telegram communication time and have them carry it out,” Qian Yinxing replied.

That concludes the recruitment of the Taishan private army. Fang Wen continued, "Remember the battlefield first aid kits we made last time? I'm planning to make another 2 sets. Come with me to the Kangyuan Can Factory in the city to order another batch of tin boxes and celluloid medicine bottles."

Qian Yinxing looked troubled: "General Manager, after the last aerial competition, you shot down the Noble fighter jet. The Japanese have been secretly looking for you. Going to Shanghai would be dangerous."

“It will be even more dangerous in the future, and we must adapt in advance,” Fang Wen replied. He was already aware that the situation would be worse in two years, and now was the time to temper himself.

Seeing that the general manager had made up his mind, Qian Yinxing didn't say anything. He changed his appearance and became a young man.

The two emerged from the back door of the small courtyard with blue bricks, walked through the winding paths, and returned to Airport Street.

We then took a shuttle bus to the city center.

After getting off the shuttle bus, Qian Yinxing originally wanted to wave to call a rickshaw driver, but Fang Wen stopped him.

"No need, I have a car stored in Shanghai, which I'll use today."

He led Qian Yinxing to a small villa in the French Concession, whose owner was a member of the Northeast Treasure Thieves' Action Team.

The homeowner opened the garage door on the first floor and handed the car keys to Fang Wen, saying regretfully.

"It's really hard to return this nice car to its rightful owner."

Fang Wen replied with a smile, "If nothing else happens this time, the car can stay with you."

After saying that, he beckoned Qian Yinxing to get in the car, and drove out of the French Concession and into Hongkou.

There are even more Japanese people in Hongkou after a few months.

As the car passed the headquarters of the Japanese Marine Corps, both Fang Wen and Qian Yinxing felt a pang of anxiety.

However, the Japanese soldiers guarding the entrance did not react to the vehicle at all.

It seems that what happened that day has long been forgotten.

The car turned and entered Huade Road.

This road, named after John W. Ward, the captain of the foreign-trained troops during the Taiping Rebellion, spans the Hongkou and Yangpu districts.

The Kangyuan Can Factory that Fang Wen was going to was located on Huade Road in Yangpu District.

The car continued its journey along Huade Road.

There are many interesting buildings along this road.

The Walter Road Synagogue was a place of worship built by Russian Jews.

Today, however, it has attracted many Jews from Europe.

After passing the synagogue, you can also see the Huade Road Prison, which was a prison in the concession area.

A dozen minutes later, the car entered the YP area and stopped on the side of the road.

Across the street is the gate of Kangyuan Can Making Factory, with the address number 965 Huade Road.

Qian Yinxing said in a low voice, "General Manager, you wait in the car, I'll go in."

Fang Wen nodded, and then Qian Yinxing, disguised, got out of the car and walked across the street.

After watching Qian Yinxing enter Kangyuan Can Factory from his car, Fang Wenjing sat quietly and waited.

This area is one of the more remote parts of the Shanghai International Settlement, with few people around.

There was a newsboy waving newspapers and hawking them on this secluded road.

"Buy and read newspapers to know what's happening in the world and to understand the business situation in various industries."

There were hardly any people on the street, so the newsboys couldn't make any business no matter how much they called out.

Fang Wen stretched out his hand, beckoning the newsboy over.

Seeing that there was business, the newsboy happily trotted over: "Sir, what newspaper would you like to buy?"

"Why are you selling newspapers here? You can't sell them here," Fang Wen asked with a smile.

"Sir, I'm new to this line of work, and all the good spots have already been taken," the newsboy replied honestly.

It's a bit pitiful. He's so young to be selling newspapers and he's being bullied by his peers.

Fang Wen took out a silver dollar: "Give me a declaration form, keep the change."

The newsboy was overjoyed and bowed deeply in gratitude. He then gave Fang Wen an extra copy of another newspaper.

"Thank you, sir. You are a good person; you will be rewarded."

Fang Wen smiled but didn't say anything. There are too many poor people in this world, and helping one wouldn't make much difference.

He shook off his emotions and picked up the newspaper to read.

The newspapers are full of outdated international news.

The death of Hindenburg, the president of the Weimar Republic, last year is only now being reported in the newspapers.

Hindenburg is dead, and no one can restrain Hitler anymore; Nazism is a foregone conclusion.

And what about domestic news?

The main focus was on suppressing the Communists and improving people's livelihoods.

The articles on suppressing the Communists were supervised by the Nationalist government; they had to be published. Fang Wen was simply omitted.

He looked at the articles related to people's livelihoods, mainly focusing on the sudden recession caused by deflation this year.

With less money, the lower and middle classes had no surplus funds and naturally could not afford the glitz and glamour of Shanghai.

But the commentaries in the newspapers were all optimistic predictions.

They believe the cash shortage problem will be resolved soon.

Furthermore, some of these articles have already begun to generate buzz for the issuance of paper currency.

Fang Wen couldn't help but think that the Republic of China had escaped the Great Depression of 1928 by relying on the welfare of the silver standard, but it was probably not going to be able to escape it this time.

The Great Depression that would belong to China would also begin with the issuance of legal tender.

Fang Wen closed the newspaper, no longer interested in reading it.

The newsboy's voice rang out again: "Buy a newspaper and read it! You can know what's going on in the world and understand the business situation of various industries."

It seems that receiving a silver dollar did not stop him from working.

Fang Wen liked the boy's earnestness very much, so he decided to give him some life advice.

Unexpectedly, the newsboy came running over on his own.

He called out, "Sir, would you like to buy another newspaper?"

But then he lowered his voice and said quickly, "Sir, someone is watching you, and not just one."

(End of this chapter)