Republic of China: Ace Pilot

Chapter 267 266 Arms Deal, Paris Catacombs, Journey to Spain

The aviation industry is neither too big nor too small, and the various sectors are interconnected. When encountering customer demand, many people in the aviation industry will not only promote their own products but also act as intermediaries to promote their competitors' products. If successful, they will receive a certain percentage of the total transaction amount as commission.

Fang Wen was no novice in this industry, so he naturally knew the rules, which is why he invited Faleman and Emil de Vatina to introduce European fighter jets.

After all, they are acquaintances. Letting them earn commissions also allows them to obtain more information about fighter jets.

Now, the other party has provided a series of European fighter jets, which has broadened Fang Wen's horizons.

France has three models: MB.150, Morane-Sonière MS406, and Devatina D.510.

There were also Czechoslovakian B-534s and Soviet Il-16s.

Of these aircraft, Fang Wen first ruled out the Czech B-534; biplanes were already obsolete, and he would never waste his time on them.

Therefore, the other four options are available.

Fang Wen asked Emil de Vatina, "How's the D.510, De Vatina?"

Emil de Vatina didn't boast about his work like he did with other clients, after all, Fang Wen had worked with him to modify and improve the D.332 passenger plane, and now he was overwhelmed with orders from the United States.

He replied, "I'm not satisfied with the d.510. Its manufacturing process is not complicated, and its performance is average. The next version will be better. If you want to buy one in the future, you can consider the d.520."

It seems that the D.510 of Devatina can also be ruled out.

That leaves the MB.150, the Morana-Sonière MS406, and the Soviet Il-16.

Fang Wen was familiar with the performance of the first two models, but he was not very clear about the performance of the Il-16.

Moreover, why would Europe sell Soviet warplanes?

Therefore, Fang Wen asked, "How did you obtain the Il-16?"

In response, executives at Falaman explained.

"From Spain, the Spanish Popular Front won the general election last month. Because it was a coalition government of communist parties, the Soviet Union immediately provided a large number of Il-15 and Il-16 fighter jets. They can give us a portion of them."

So that's how it is. Fang Wen has become interested in the Il-16 and plans to decide on a choice after learning more about its performance.

He then asked Emir de Vatina to inquire about it, and then ended the meeting.

After seeing off Emil de Vatina and the executives from Faléman, Fang Wen checked into the reception area of ​​the Paris branch.

Today, the Paris branch, as the European hub for international routes, is much larger than it was initially, and pilots no longer need to live in the simple temporary dormitories they used to.

After settling into his accommodation, Fang Wen took out the note.

The note read, 'Moulin Red, looking for Lolonia Baratheon.'

He asked Li Tiezhu to summon Lin Baolu, the manager of the Paris branch.

After Paul Lin arrived, Fang Wen asked, "What kind of place is the Moulin Rouge?"

“In the Pigalle district of Paris, there’s a very famous cabaret where all sorts of people come from.” Paul Lin replied.

"Is there someone named Lolonia Baratheon?" Fang Wen asked again.

"I don't know, I don't go there often."

"Okay, take me there tonight."

As evening falls, the Pigalle district, north of central Paris, comes alive with the lights of dusk.

After parking their car, Fang Wen, Lin Baoluo, and Li Tiezhu strolled down the street.

This place is not just a cabaret theater, but also a gathering place for Parisians' nightlife.

But the Moulin Rouge is the iconic place here.

The three walked for a while and arrived outside the Moulin Rouge.

A large number of people were queuing at the entrance, where police officers were maintaining order.

Paul Lin said, "Please wait here, General Manager. I'll go buy the tickets."

Instead of going directly to queue for tickets, he walked over to a man in a tank top on the roadside, negotiated with him for a while, and then returned with three tickets.

These are scalped tickets from Paris, France in the 30s!

Fang Wen sighed inwardly, thinking that people would do this kind of business in any era.

A dozen minutes later, the Moulin Rouge opened, and people with tickets filed in.

Fang Wen and his two companions followed the crowd into the venue. Inside, there was a small garden with some outdoor tables and chairs, a small stage, and a wooden elephant.

This wasn't the place to watch the performance at night. The crowd continued walking forward and arrived at a large theater.

It's like a Broadway theater in New York City, providing dancers with a large stage for public performances.

Next to the Grand Theatre, there is a bar, which some guests choose to visit.

Going to a bar is better than going to the theater, Fang Wen turned and walked into the bar.

He sat on the bar stool and said in his fairly fluent French, which he had studied for two years, "A sidecar, please."

As the bartender prepared the cocktail and pushed the glass over, Fang Wen placed a large franc on the table.

The bartender was delighted to learn that the franc was worth more than the cocktail.

Just as he was about to get the money, Fang Wen spoke up: "Please pass on a message to Lolonia Baratheon: a guest from the East wants to discuss a business deal."

The bartender accepted the money, said, "Please wait a moment," and then turned and left the bar.

It seemed they had found the right place, so Fang Wen waited there.

After a while, a woman dressed in a brightly colored dance costume walked over.

She appeared to have just finished performing.

Fang Wen was somewhat surprised by this. "You're the biggest arms dealer in Paris?"

Lolonia Baratheon sat on the bar stool and casually took out a slender women's cigarette, which the bartender lit.

"No, I'm just a contact person responsible for screening clients. Please tell me your needs."

"The 20mm autocannon needs to be modified for downward firing and equipped with a baffle."

Fang Wen was interrupted before he could finish speaking.

"That's enough. I want to know how much you can buy. Transactions under 20 francs will not be accepted."

It turns out that the so-called customer screening is based on the customer's purchasing power. Fang Wen smiled and said, "It's definitely more than 20 francs."

"Okay, give it to me."

Lolonia Baratheon stood up and led Fang Wen and the other two toward the back of the Moulin Rouge.

They left through the back door, were then blindfolded, and put into a car.

Clearly, this is because the mysterious arms dealer doesn't want to reveal his location.

However, this arrangement was useless for Fang Wen.

Although he wasn't targeting arms dealers, Fang Wen still activated his mechanical senses to get a sense of the situation.

In his mechanically perceptive state, he became one with the car, thus discovering his whereabouts.

The car left the Pigalle district, passed the Arc de Triomphe and the Eiffel Tower, and then stopped at a street corner.

Fang Wen and his two companions, blindfolded, were led into a house.

Then, they went down the tunnel inside the room.

Only then were the blindfolds removed from Fang Wen and the other two. What they saw caused Lin Baoluo to scream in shock, and Li Tiezhu clenched his fists in tension.

It's so permeable.

The walls were covered with neatly arranged skulls.

Only Fang Wen faced all of this with complete composure. He was astonished; wasn't this the catacombs of Paris?!

At that time, the catacombs were not open to tourists, and the outside world was unaware of them. However, Fang Wen in the future knew that this catacombs, which buried 600 million Parisians, would receive many daring tourists every year.

Therefore, he wasn't flustered at all, since he already knew about the pitiful past of these skulls.

Fang Wen's behavior surprised Lolonia Baratheon, and she didn't say much more along the way.

The group walked for quite a while through the wall path paved with skulls before finally arriving at their destination.

An underground chamber filled with various weapons, and a group of heavily armed men.

Lolonia Baratheon walked over and whispered in the ear of one of their leaders.

After listening to Lolonia Baratheon's words, the chieftain looked at Fang Wen with some surprise.

"As expected of a legendary pilot from the East, your courage is the greatest I've ever seen. We can now formally discuss business."

Fang Wen walked over, shook hands with him, and said, "I want to customize a 20mm autocannon, but it must be able to fire at an angle of depression, and various design changes must be made accordingly for firing at an angle of depression."

The leader was somewhat puzzled: "To be clearer, are you referring to suppressive heavy firepower deployed on high ground and building rooftops?"

“It’s more flexible; I plan to use it on airplanes,” Fang Wen replied.

"No wonder you're a pilot, you actually want to use a 20mm cannon to fire at the ground from the air." The leader showed a very interested expression: "This is much more complicated than fixed-position firing. I don't care how you maintain your accuracy, I can also find someone to customize one for you, the question is how many you can buy. In my arms business, only big clients can get special treatment."

From what he said, he wouldn't do it if the order volume decreased.

Fang Wen pondered his needs for a 20mm autocannon.

Based on the production volume of the Shuiyun-1 seaplane, it is estimated that there will be 200 aircraft by the time the war breaks out, requiring 300 of them, of which 200 will be used for equipment and 100 will be kept as reserves.

Even future high-speed fighter jets will be fully equipped with 20mm cannons as their main weapons, which will also require a lot of them.

After thinking it over, he smiled and replied, "We can sign a long-term order for 500 20mm autocannons. I guarantee to purchase 100 this year and the remaining 400 within the next two years."

This purchase volume made arms dealers very happy.

He enthusiastically discussed the price with Fang Wen.

Customized pricing can be significantly more expensive than purchasing the existing model directly.

As the company that holds the technology for 20mm cannons, Oerlikon of Switzerland offers the most expensive price. To order a custom 20mm cannon from them, you would need a unit price of $7000.

The custom quote from the Swiss company Solothurn was much lower, at $5000.

Madsen of Denmark will not offer customized quotes, since their weapons are new and released last year, and customization would affect the sales of their own models.

One costs $7000 and the other $5000; neither is cheap.

Purchasing 100 units at once would cost 70 and 50 respectively.

We will spend even more on this in the future.

After a period of expansion at the aircraft manufacturing plant, Fang Wen is currently short of money. He spent two to three million US dollars just on purchasing 20mm cannons, which is quite extravagant.

After all, the 20mm autocannon requires a large supply of ammunition, which is a significant expense.

With the purchase of high-speed aircraft also underway, Fang Wen dared not spend lavishly at this moment.

He asked, "Is there a lower offer?"

“Yes,” the arms dealer replied. “You can buy Oerlikon’s 20mm autocannon technology and produce it yourself. They have already sold this technology to several countries, and the price is not expensive, only $10.”

Fang Wen was tempted; if they had the technology to produce cannons, it wouldn't be impossible.

He asked, "How do we solve the production equipment problem?"

"Add another 300,000, and you can purchase a production line capable of producing 100 20mm autocannons per year, with installation and technical guidance provided," the arms dealer leader replied. Seeing that Fang Wen was interested in the proposal, he added, "If you choose this option, you'll also receive 1000 rounds of 20mm ammunition, including both armor-piercing and high-explosive shells. You'll also get a 10% discount on ammunition purchased from me in the future."

Fang Wen pondered this in his heart.

With $30 to acquire the technology and equipment, and having the technical personnel of his own, production is indeed possible.

This way, a lot of money can be saved.

To this end, he negotiated the details with the head of the arms dealers and agreed on a three-party transaction time in which the Swiss company Oerlikon must be present, at which time a formal legal contract would be signed and the transaction completed.

This was a very legitimate arms deal, and the arms dealer leader was very satisfied with it. He would reap a considerable profit as a middleman without having to take on too much danger.

Three days later, representatives from the Swiss company Oerlikon arrived in Paris and, witnessed by Parisian lawyers and notaries, signed an authorization agreement for the 20mm autocannon technology.

With this, Taishan Group acquired its first publicly disclosed military equipment production technology and a complete production line.

The production line and the 5000 complimentary artillery shells will be shipped to Yangon in two weeks.

After resolving this matter, Fang Wen didn't rest. He test-drove two French cars: the MB.150 and the Morane-Sonière MS406.

Fang Wen discovered some problems with both types of fighter jets.

The MB.150's lack of power is related to its power system and aerodynamic design, and this defect can cause significant problems in combat.

Therefore, MB.150 was directly abandoned by Fang Wen.

The Morana-Sonière MS406 fighter jet suffered from the same problem as the MB.150.

This fighter jet, which has already entered service with the French Air Force, also has the problem of insufficient power.

At first, Fang Wen suspected it was a detachable heat sink on the aircraft, but it turned out to be a flaw in the overall design of the aircraft.

This flaw would cause the French air force to suffer heavy losses in future battles, and Fang Wen didn't want to fall into this trap again.

Having abandoned French-made fighter jets, the only remaining option was the Soviet Il-16.

If the Il-16 is not suitable, Fang Wen will have to change his target and seek a better fighter jet in the United States, but that will not be easy either.

VIP room at the Paris branch of Taishan Airlines.

Fang Wen met with Emir de Vatina in the elegantly decorated, spacious and bright VIP room.

Emil de Vatina placed the file bag on the table: "The information is here. This is also my first time seeing Soviet fighter jets. Just wanted to give you a heads-up. It's very good."

Fang Wen picked up the file bag, opened it, and took out the documents inside to examine them.

The Il-16, currently has 3 units available for sale.

Low-wing, single-seat propeller fighter.

It took its first flight in 1934 and entered service in 1935.

Retractable landing gear: After takeoff, the pilot must crank the right-side handle of the cockpit counterclockwise 44 times to retract it into the wing; during landing, it is cranked clockwise.

The cockpit is open-style, with the front half of the fuselage being an aluminum monocoque and the rear main body being a wooden monocoque. The frame is made of steel pipes and wood, and the exterior is covered with fabric and a small amount of hard aluminum sheet as the skin.

The M-22 engine delivers 480 horsepower.

Empty weight: Approximately 1350 kg
Maximum takeoff weight: 1700 kg
Maximum speed: Approximately 440 km/h
Service ceiling: Approximately 8200 meters

Maximum range: 810 km
After reading the information about the Il-16.

Fang Wen felt something was strange.

This is clearly a poorly made aircraft, so why does it have such good performance?
Fang Wen decided to go to Spain to personally drive the Il-7.

(End of this chapter)