Republic of China: Ace Pilot

Chapter 257 256 War Preparations, Twin-Engine Piston Engine for Wartime Armed Aircraft
The people in the secret meeting room of the Gold Exchange were not surprised when Fang Wen got up and left, as everyone knew that Fang Wen was just pausing there.

However, Fang Wen's suggestions were vague, which made everyone anxious.

Kuang Shanming said, "Son-in-law, why are you being so vague this time? If you're so unclear, no one can make a judgment."

"This is just a guess. The United States is a nation built on finance, and this surge in gold and silver prices is a scheme they orchestrated. Now the Nationalist government wants to issue currency but is unwilling to share profits with the United States, which has clearly offended them. Reducing official purchases of silver is just a warning. If the Nationalist government still doesn't agree, there will be even bigger moves."

These words made the people from the various gold shops fall into deep thought, while Fang Wen and his father-in-law went out and left.

Kuang Shanming called his car to take Fang Wen and the other two to the airport. Before leaving, he said, "Son-in-law, I trust you. I'll clear out the silver in the next couple of days."

The car then drove into Guangzhou Dashatou Airport.

After getting out of the car, Fang Wen chatted with airport staff for a while before boarding the plane.

Wu Yingzong, however, spoke up from behind, saying, "General Manager, you've just completed a 17-hour long-haul flight of 3500 kilometers. You should rest before setting off again."

Zhao Wanping also advised, "Yes, the two of us can take turns resting, but you, General Manager, have been piloting the plane the whole time. You need to rest."

They didn't say anything, and Fang Wen didn't even feel tired. The improvement in his mechanical perception made him even more energetic.

But it's best to cover this up if possible. Fang Wen nodded, found a sleeper berth in the cabin, changed into a clean sheet, and lay down to take a nap.

It seemed like it had been a long time since Fang Wen had had such a relaxing sleep, and he actually slept until the next day.

When Fang Wen woke up to a new day, he felt refreshed. Three hours of sleep could restore his energy, but it was still not as good as the quality of more than eight hours of sleep.

He stretched and got out of bed, just as he heard Wu Yingzong's voice: "General Manager, your father-in-law sent someone over with breakfast and a message."

"What?"

Wu Yingzong coughed and said, "In Guangzhou, instead of sleeping at my house, you sleep on the plane. I, Kuang Shanming, can't afford to lose face like that."

After learning what Kuang Shanming had to say, Wu Yingzong continued, "I told the old man that you originally just wanted to take a nap before setting off, but you ended up sleeping until dawn. He understood the hardship of your long drive, so he sent someone to buy some Guangzhou morning tea snacks."

Fang Wen nodded: "Let's set off after breakfast."

The three of them sat in the hot water room, eating steaming hot Cantonese breakfast. After finishing, Fang Wen climbed into the cockpit through the vertical ladder in the side room next to the hot water room.

As usual, activate mechanical sensing to check the aircraft's condition.

The fuel has been replenished, and everything else is fine.

This put his mind at ease, since he was no longer the same person he used to be, and he would have to be careful of the ever-present Japanese agents once he returned to China.

The plane then took off and flew towards Yangon.

Ten hours later, the plane arrived at Yangon Port. When the plane appeared in the air, many sharp-eyed aircraft factory employees recognized it as the aircraft they had helped build. Subsequently, a large number of Taishan employees came to the port to welcome it.

The plane landed and anchored, and Fang Wen disembarked in a small boat.

Huo Duanyang and Bai Zeshan, along with a large group of people, warmly welcomed them, displaying banners and slogans they had prepared beforehand: "Mount Tai is mighty, strive for first place!"

Fang Wen stared at this scene in surprise: "Who came up with this?"

Bai Zeshan responded: "General Manager, didn't you say that we need to enhance everyone's sense of collective honor? That's how we can better develop and manage. I think this victory on the trans-Pacific route is a testament to that collective honor."

"Yes, that's right. The plane was manufactured in the factory, and the honor belongs to everyone," Fang Wen replied, but in his heart he was impressed that a clever person can make a name for themselves anywhere. Bai Zeshan didn't do vacuum tube research, but he was still quite good at management.

The group returned to the startup park amidst cheers from the workers.

Bai Zeshan wanted to ask Fang Wen to give a lecture on collective honor to the workers at the aircraft manufacturing plant, and Fang Wen agreed in order to cooperate with Bai Zeshan's work.

That evening, all the workers in the industrial park sat in designated areas.

Fang Wen took the stage.

"Hello everyone, this victory is not only an honor for me and my crew, but also for the aircraft manufacturer. This victory has given me an inspiration."

He paused, looking down at the large area below. As a person from the future, he had a unique understanding of this era and wanted to take this opportunity to share it with others. This speech might be that opportunity.

"The ancient Chinese civilization, having withstood thousands of years of trials and tribulations, still stands tall in the East, renowned as a land of etiquette, illuminating the spiritual path of countless Chinese people. However, today, the world is no longer the world of the past. The roar of machinery has replaced the pastoral idyll of yesteryear; the symphony of gunpowder and steel resounds in every corner of the globe."

Faced with these earth-shaking changes, how can we, the sons and daughters of China, continue to cling to old ways and merely adhere to the old rules of propriety, righteousness, integrity, and a sense of shame? Admittedly, etiquette is the essence of Chinese culture, and a sense of shame is the soul of our nation. However, the ship of the times has already set sail, and we must also set sail and brave the waves, keeping pace with the times, so as not to fail the wishes of our ancestors and jointly build a glorious China.

We, the people of Taishan Group, should recognize all of this. One day, when our planes can fire bullets of revenge, tearing the enemies who dared to bully us to shreds, we can proudly say that these planes were all built by us at Taishan, and that Taishan also deserves credit for driving out the invaders.”

Fang Wen's words were not only a declaration of collective honor, but also an announcement that Taishan Aircraft Manufacturing Plant would be developing military aircraft.

Amid cheers and applause, Fang Wen stepped down from the stage and returned to his bedroom alone.

He was designing military aircraft suitable for the War of Resistance, which had to be both practical and feasible for the Taishan Aircraft Manufacturing Plant.

The first idea was to convert civilian aircraft into military aircraft during wartime.

The widespread availability of low-cost seaplanes across China's waterways paved the way for this.

These low-speed seaplanes, with a speed of 200 kilometers per hour, were certainly not used for air combat; their role after being converted from civilian to military operations was ground suppression.

Just like ground suppression by armed helicopters.

It can flexibly transfer personnel and supplies, and can also use machine guns to attack the ground.

Besides the high-speed fighter planes, the Japanese ground troops couldn't keep up at all, and they also had to worry about machine gun fire from the air.

Modifying this low-cost seaplane is also very simple. It only requires enlarging the side doors to accommodate one or two 7.92mm machine guns for ground attack, and no other changes are needed.

If the deployment of seaplanes across the entire Chinese waterway is successfully completed within two years, more than 200 of these seaplanes, which can be converted from civilian to military aircraft during wartime, can be distributed throughout the country.

This approach also has another significant advantage.

That is, the teaching difficulty of low-speed seaplanes is low, and more low-speed pilots can be trained in a short period of time.

After finishing his first idea, Fang Wen started working on his second one.

Having only low-speed seaplanes is definitely not enough.

Without high-speed fighters to counter the Japanese air force, those low-speed seaplanes would be easy targets when they encountered enemy aircraft.

Fang Wen admitted that he couldn't develop a complete industrial chain for high-speed military fighter jets in two years, but he could build an elite air combat formation.

This will be his trump card in the War of Resistance.

This elite air combat formation has various tactical requirements, prioritizing quality over quantity.

Regarding recruitment, Pan Jiafeng is currently the only candidate, and other members will be added within two years.

The main consideration at present is aircraft.

What kind of aircraft is more suitable for your air combat formation?

He doesn't have the advantage of Japan's nationwide resources, which allows for generational optimization and diverse choices, but he does have more advanced ideas.

Since low-speed seaplanes can replace helicopters for air suppression, it's not like we can't come up with even more unique ideas.

To perfect his second idea, Fang Wen spent the rest of the time researching and thinking.

To find a solution, we need to know ourselves and our enemy, rather than working in isolation.

Fang Wen telegraphed his covert operations in Shanghai, instructing them to purchase information about Japanese aircraft through their intelligence network and to have Wu Yingzong pick it up on a flight operated by his own company.

After Wu Yingzong retrieved the intelligence, Fang Wen analyzed it. Currently, Mitsubishi, Nakajima, and Kawasaki were the three companies producing aircraft for the Japanese army.

In the past two years, the three companies have provided the Japanese military with a large number of fighter jet models.

However, some changes have occurred in the field of bombers. Perhaps because Fang Wen had previously disrupted the German-Japanese deal, Japan did not choose to use German technology to produce bombers. Instead, it obtained large seaplane technology from other channels and planned to manufacture heavy seaplane bombers.

This is a plan that directly confronts the problem, revealing the current inadequacy of China's air power.

Of course, they wouldn't let bomber formations take risks; they also had high-speed fighters protecting them.

Those high-speed fighter jets are what Fang Wen's air formation needs to focus on dealing with.

Looking at the intelligence data in his hand, Fang Wen felt the pressure.

1933

Ki-1 Mitsubishi Type 93 seaplane heavy bomber

Ki-2 Mitsubishi Type 93 twin-engine light bomber

Ki-3 Kawasaki Type 93 light bomber biplane

1934

Ki-4 Nakajima Type 94 reconnaissance aircraft biplane
Ki-5 Kawasaki fighter

Ki-6 Nakajima Type 95 Trainer Aircraft
Ki-7 Mitsubishi trainer aircraft

Ki-8 Nakajima fighter jet

1935:
Ki-9 Tachikawa Type 95 Type 1 Training Aircraft
Ki-10 Kawasaki Type 95 Fighter Biplane
Ki-11 Nakajima fighter jet

Despite being fully prepared for war, Japan managed to develop and put into production more than ten types of military aircraft within three years after the Mukden Incident.

In contrast, domestically, the Nationalist government spent three years suppressing the Communists, achieving nothing in domestic affairs or military matters, and even losing the right to station troops in North China.

With each advance and retreat, the difference in strength was revealed even before the full-scale war began.

Fang Wen frowned.

Given the Japanese military's pace of developing military aircraft, they will likely have even higher-performance aircraft in two years.

His judgment was not without basis. The carrier-based aircraft that the Xuanming shot down in the East China Sea with predictive fire was a test aircraft that had not yet been deployed and was not included in this intelligence. Its speed had already exceeded 400 kilometers per hour.

In other words, once a full-scale war breaks out in the future, the Japanese air force, both land, sea, and air, will be equipped with highly maneuverable fighter jets with speeds exceeding 450 kilometers per hour.

The speed of Japanese fighter planes was achieved at the expense of defense and simplified internal structure.

Fang Wen didn't want that.

He chose another direction, using higher horsepower to enhance the aircraft.

Only aircraft like this can withstand attacks and also be effective in combat.

Then comes the problem.

Should I get the Pratt & Whitney radial engine or the Allison V1710 V engine?

Fang Wen recalled his feelings after using the two engines.

Pratt & Whitney's radial engine boasts advantages such as compact structure, light weight, and high power density. Furthermore, its multi-cylinder design contributes to improved engine reliability and durability.

Allison's V-1710 engine employs a V-type airflow configuration and a liquid cooling system, enabling it to effectively reduce operating temperatures and improve engine efficiency while maintaining a compact structure. Furthermore, its unique design elements, such as the dual turbulent cooling jacket and the annular raised narrow strip, also contribute to its excellent performance and durability.

From a structural design perspective...

The characteristic of a radial engine is that its multiple cylinders are arranged in a star shape around a central crankshaft. This arrangement makes the engine structure compact and requires little space.

The V-1710's 12 cylinders are divided into two groups of six, arranged in a V-shape. This arrangement helps reduce the overall length and height of the engine while maintaining a low level of vibration.

The difference seems small, and the V-1710 even has slightly more horsepower than the Pratt & Whitney R-1340 Wasp engine.

But Fang Wen ultimately chose the Pratt & Whitney R-1340 Wasp engine.

Reason 1: The most abundant resource at hand is the Pratt & Whitney R-1340 Wasp engine, making it the most realistic choice.

Reason 2: Fang Wen suddenly discovered that this engine had the potential to improve its capabilities.

He wondered if a radial engine could generate 800 horsepower of kinetic energy, and if two radial engines moved in parallel and synchronously, could they generate more than 1600 horsepower of kinetic energy?

Fang Wen thought this idea was possible, since the kinetic energy of a radial engine comes from the number of its cylinders. Current mechanical technology has reached its limit in making a 9-cylinder radial engine, but it is not impossible to put two 9-cylinder radial engines in parallel.

In his pursuit of high-efficiency energy, Fang Wen decided to give it a try.

He connected two nine-cylinder Pratt & Whitney R-1340 Wasp engines to a single bearing.

However, this approach was not effective. Even with the mechanical linkage modification, the two engines still operated at different rates, resulting in damage.

Moreover, Fang Wen also discovered that if two 8-cylinder engines are combined to save space, even if they generate strong power, there will be the same level of heat transfer, so a better heat transfer method is needed to ensure normal operation.

It seemed that he couldn't build the high-energy engine he envisioned on his own, so he chose to contact the United States directly.

The telegram was sent to America, but not to Pratt & Whitney, but to Lin Shuiwang.

Upon receiving the telegram, Lin Shuiwang was quite surprised by its contents. He then changed into formal attire and went to visit the Whitney couple.

He went to an aristocratic estate in the American Midwest and met with the Whitneys.

Connor Alexander Whitney was delighted to receive him.

"Lin Shuiwang, welcome to my manor."

His wife, Alison Grace Whitney, came downstairs to greet him: "Seeing you reminds me of the adventures we went through together, the most thrilling experience of our lives. By the way, has Mr. Fang gone back yet?"

“I’ve gone back. He sent me here,” Lin Shuiwang replied.

Upon hearing that it was Fang Wen, the Whitneys became very interested.

Following the instructions in the telegram, Lin Shuiwang said, "Our general manager is very interested in aircraft manufacturing. Recently, he has been researching how to improve aircraft performance, including engines. He has conducted special research on your Pratt & Whitney engines and discovered some interesting things."

"What is it?" Connor Alexander Whitney asked with interest.

“The current 9-cylinder engine is probably Pratt & Whitney’s limit. If you want to improve it further, you have to turn it into a dual-engine parallel system, which is an 18-cylinder engine. He believes that Pratt & Whitney should have already done research in this area.” Lin Shuiwang replied according to what he had in mind.

“Wait, I need to make a phone call.” Connor Alexander Whitney paused the conversation, got up, and walked out of the living room.

After a while, he came back.

"That's right. We've just started working on an 18-cylinder twin-engine engine, but it's very complex and there are many challenges."

"The general manager said the problem lies in heat dissipation and combustion chamber optimization. If you want to develop a 16-cylinder twin-engine engine ahead of schedule, he has a way, but the engine must be sold to him first."

Lin Shuiwang stated Fang Wen's requirements and waited for a reply.

(The most powerful radial engine of World War II: Pratt & Whitney R-2800 Twin Wasp Engine, the nemesis of Japanese aircraft)

(End of this chapter)