Republic of China: Ace Pilot

Chapter 405, Section 403: Naval Operations - Fang Wen Researches DC-3 Production Technology

The cargo ship entered the Shidu Strait.

This strait, located between the Little Andaman Islands and Carnicoba Island, is 150 kilometers wide.

The speedboat, which was lying in ambush on the east side of Little Andaman Island, immediately sped off after receiving Fang Wen's order.

The speedboat, traveling at twice the speed of the cargo ship, kept approaching. At first, the cargo ship did not notice it until it was 3 kilometers away, at which point the sailors on deck spotted it with the naked eye.

On the vast sea, there was only this one cargo ship. It was obvious that the speedboat was coming for it.

Immediately, the sailors notified the others, and the entire cargo ship began to respond.

The disguised Japanese naval soldiers rushed out from below deck, resting their rifles on the ship's side and aiming at the approaching speedboats in the distance.

Because they were still more than 2000 meters away, they did not fire.

Meanwhile, a group of soldiers were carrying Maxim heavy machine guns to the stern deck, preparing to set them up there and strafe the speedboats.

All of this seemed to be well-prepared, but unfortunately they did not expect that Fang Wen had already discovered everything about them.

Fang Wen piloted the gunboat down from high altitude, while simultaneously issuing combat orders in advance.

"Shooter, prepare to fire from the right, angle 25."

The crew members of the gunboat skillfully completed their preparations and awaited takeoff.

The plane broke through the clouds and headed towards the ships below, then began to veer at an altitude of 1000 meters, circling in a lighthouse-like pattern.

As the altitude continued to decrease, at 700 meters, Fang Wen gave the order to attack.

Instantly, bullets poured out from the side firing ports.

They swept the gun from the bow to the stern.

Bullets struck the edge of the ship's gunwale, sending out bursts of white mist and sparks. A large number of Japanese soldiers who were leaning against the gunwale, ready to fire, were shot down like a string of candied hawthorns.

The remaining people dared not stand out anymore and crouched down to hide in the corner between the deck and the ship's side.

The gunboat then circled and hovered to the stern, its target the Maxim heavy machine gun.

The bullet struck the muzzle of the Maxim heavy machine gun, sparking, but it didn't penetrate.

The Japanese soldiers behind the shield tried to return fire, but unfortunately, the angle of this heavy machine gun was too low to hit the planes in the air.

At this point, the speedboat had entered the 1000-meter range, within the firing range of the Maxim heavy machine gun.

Fang Wen decisively issued the order:

"Change to empty bombs."

Aren't airburst bombs anti-aircraft weapons?!
No one understood it.

Only Gong Xiu was able to react first.

Gong Xiuneng ran quickly to the rear cabin and took out the airburst grenade launcher.

Meanwhile, the other two gunners quickly helped move the machine gun out of the firing port.

Gong Xiuneng, who had run over quickly, inserted the launch tube into the launch port, roughly aimed downwards, and then pulled the launch trigger.

Instantly, a string of airburst bombs emitting white smoke shot downwards.

The explosions occurred in a chain reaction at a height of 30 meters above the heavy machine gun.

Instantly, the entire area was enveloped in white smoke, followed by flames.

Two Japanese gunners, engulfed in flames, rushed out from behind a heavy machine gun and plunged into the sea.

Now that the enemy's heavy firepower has been dealt with, boarding operations with speedboats are much safer.

With the successful use of airburst bombs, the heavy machine gun emplacement at the stern was instantly destroyed, and the speedboats, now free from heavy firepower, approached the cargo ship.

They sailed parallel to the cargo ship, and the Independent Regiment soldiers on the speedboat threw out hooks that snagged on the ship's side.

Then, one by one, the soldiers climbed up the ropes.

At this moment, the remaining Japanese soldiers on the deck launched a counterattack.

They raised their rifles and fired blindly downwards, while some took out their knives and tried to cut the ropes.

The soldiers of the Independent Regiment below were no pushovers either.

Those who tried to peek out and shoot were shot in the head and killed. Some ropes were cut, while other soldiers on the ropes climbed onto the cargo ship.

The first group of soldiers to board the ship rolled onto the deck and immediately began firing their Thompson submachine guns.

At such close range, there's no need to aim; the high-rate-of-fire automatic weapon empties its magazine instantly, riddling the enemy in front of it with bullets.

After a series of gunshots, the enemies on the deck were wiped out.

But that doesn't mean it's safe.

Fang Wen activated his mechanical senses on the gunboat to closely monitor the battle situation below.

As the battle on the deck was drawing to a close, he grasped the necklace around his neck and channeled his energy into it.

The X-ray vision was activated again, peering through the ship's hull into the interior.

Five people were hiding behind the machines in the engine room, attempting to ambush and attack.

There were also three enemies hiding in the cargo hold.

More often, they were in the passageway leading from the second floor to the deck, holding weapons and aiming them at the stairs above.

Clearly, the enemy had no intention of giving up resistance and still wanted to put up a stubborn stand.

He gave instructions to those below via radio.

"The enemy is in the cabin. Don't rush in. Use grenades and smoke bombs to scout ahead first."

On the cargo ship's deck, William held a Taishan walkie-talkie and listened to Fang Wen's instructions.

He then obeyed the order.

"Don't go down yet, use fragmentation grenades and smoke bombs."

The soldiers, who were about to enter the cabin, nodded, took out fragmentation grenades and smoke bombs made by Taishan Military Industry, and threw them into the stairwell.

The fragmentation grenade was thrown first, and it bounced off the wall below and rolled into the passageway.

The Japanese soldiers looked at the few grenades at their feet with expressions of fear.

They didn't even have time to react; just as they turned to run, the fragmentation grenade exploded.

The blast wave, carrying shrapnel, struck their backs, sending the Japanese soldiers flying several meters before they collapsed motionless.

Subsequently, individual incendiary smoke grenades, modified from aerial incendiary smoke grenades, were also moved into the passageway.

This specially designed weapon continuously emits irritating smoke, enveloping the entire passageway.

Hidden in the smoke, the Japanese soldiers coughed painfully.

Up there, soldiers from the Independent Regiment took out makeshift gas masks and put them on.

This gas mask, which uses birch activated carbon as an adsorption material, was not an invention made by Fang Wen using his future memories; it had already appeared as early as World War I.

Wearing gas masks, the soldiers, unconcerned about the irritating smoke affecting their movements, carried their guns into the stairwell.

They tiptoed down through the smoke and arrived at the second-floor passageway.

The occasional coughing sounds coming from the corridor pointed them in the right direction.

The soldiers went to investigate the sound, and after a burst of gunfire, silence fell.

They then used the same method to storm the interior of the ship.

The combination of fragmentation grenades and incendiary smoke grenades is an almost unbeatable offensive tactic in this enclosed environment.

After searching each cabin, the Japanese soldiers hiding inside were eliminated.

At the same time, Fang Wen in the air also conducted a comprehensive search of the cabin using his X-ray vision.

There's one last batch of enemies.

These guys were hiding in the anchor chain compartment below the bow.

There was only one passage to enter, and 10 Japanese soldiers were hiding in the narrow space.

Fang Wen picked up the microphone: "William, how is the situation?"

"Commander, we have searched most of the hull and found no hidden enemies."

"Don't let your guard down. If any enemy escapes, the lives of our soldiers will be in danger. We must check all the hidden hulls."

"It's the regimental commander."

William then ordered his soldiers to conduct a more thorough search of the ship's interior.

After searching, they still discovered the space beneath the anchor chain machine. The cautious soldiers didn't enter, but instead threw in a smoke bomb.

Thick smoke billowed out, filling the entire narrow space.

Then came a series of coughs.

Then, an argument broke out inside.

Some Japanese soldiers couldn't take it anymore and wanted to surrender, but others disagreed.

They fought amongst themselves in the confined space.

Then an explosion was heard; it turned out that a Japanese soldier had detonated his own melon-shaped grenade.

As the smoke cleared, a soldier from the Independent Regiment cautiously went inside to investigate. He came out covering his mouth and nose, saying, "It's everywhere, on the walls and the ground. It's fucking disgusting."

Thus, the battle came to a successful conclusion.

Despite losing seven soldiers, the team successfully captured the cargo ship by utilizing air-ground coordination, prior intelligence gathering, and tactical suppression.

The battle ended, but no action was taken.

They also needed to steer the cargo ship away to avoid being spotted by passing merchant ships.

Fang Wen, in the air, observed the situation around the Shidu Strait.

A cargo ship is coming from the direction of Malacca.

He took the microphone and directed the soldiers below to steer the cargo ship northward.

The cargo ship turned north and sailed away along the right side of Little Andaman Island.

After sailing 500 kilometers north, we docked at a deserted island.

Located more than 300 kilometers from Yangon, it is the best place to dock cargo ships.

Meanwhile, Fang Wen, who had already piloted the gunboat back to Yangon, boarded a speedboat and headed here to inspect the spoils of this operation.

The speedboat pulled up to the cargo ship, and Fang Wen climbed up the rope ladder.

He spoke with William first.

"Have you found any technical documentation?"

William shook his head awkwardly: "We've searched the cargo ship twice, but we haven't found anything. It's all my fault for not instructing them to capture anyone alive; now we don't even have anyone to interrogate them."

"Don't worry, as long as the items are on the ship, we'll find them eventually. Let's go check the others first."

After Fang Wen finished speaking, he walked to the stern of the ship to take a look at the two super cannon barrels.

The 30-meter-long gun barrel had one-third of its length extending out of the deck, making it look very majestic.

Fang Wen examined it carefully, pondering what this thing could be used for.

Its best use is still as a super-heavy artillery piece.

While it would be very intimidating, it would be extremely impractical, not to mention the difficulty of transporting it.

Fang Wen even thought that once this super cannon fired at the Japanese army, it would be rendered useless and would immediately be subjected to a destructive attack by the Japanese army.

The super artillery, which is difficult to move, would likely be destroyed as a result.

This is also why the Japanese army installed super artillery on trains.

After thinking it over, Fang Wen realized that this thing was not very useful, so he turned around and left, heading towards the container at the stern of the ship.

The container was damaged in the fighting, but the impact was minor; there were only some scratches on the outer walls, and the interior was unaffected.

Fang Wen pried open the container door and examined the contents.

It is the Pratt & Whitney R1830 engine.

Fang Wen had a lot of this stuff in stock, all of which he bought from Puhui Company in installments, so it wasn't anything special to him.

After all, their own gunship aircraft use the same engine.

He then inspected the other three containers, which were all filled with Pratt & Whitney R1830 engines.

Subsequently, accompanied by William, Fang Wen entered the cabin.

The lower deck was littered with shrapnel and bullet marks, and in some places there was blood.

Having experienced numerous battles, Fang Wen ignored these warnings and headed straight for the cargo hold.

The three cargo holds, filled with cargo, contained DC-3-specific propellers, connectors, and other aircraft parts.

Judging from the quantity of these supplies, Fang Wen estimated that their value was no less than $30.

Clearly, Japan increased its purchases after the negotiations concluded.

But now they've all become Fang Wen's spoils of war.

Fang Wen was not happy about this; his main objective for this operation was to obtain the production technology data for DC-3.

Where did the Japanese hide it after it fell to the ground?
In order to find it, Fang Wen quietly activated his X-ray vision and searched inside the cabin.

Even so, there was still no gain.

Just as he was wondering, he suddenly remembered the scene at the end of the battle.

Anchor chain locker!
Yes, that's right there. The person carrying important documents was being protected and hidden in the anchor chain compartment.

Later, a dispute broke out, and a grenade was detonated, wiping everyone inside.

He immediately walked to the bow of the ship, ready to go inside and take a look.

Seeing that the regimental commander was about to go in himself, a soldier volunteered, "Commander, let me go."

"I'll do it." "Let me go."

The soldiers were eager to go inside, not wanting their commander to see the disgusting sight on the walls.

Then, a soldier with his mouth and nose covered crawled inside.

After staying inside for twenty minutes, they took out a black box.

"Commander, we found it. It was buried underneath. We almost missed it."

William took the box, cleaned it, and then opened it.

The box contained a stack of documents. Fang Wen took them out and examined them; they were the production data for DC-3.

This is extremely important for the military industry development of Taishan Aviation.

Throughout World War II, the technology for the DC-3 large aircraft, which was the most produced, used, and durable, was acquired.

Fang Wen was eager to study it.

He then left the task of moving the supplies to William and disembarked, taking a speedboat away.

After returning to Yangon by speedboat, Fang Wen immediately began his research.

He stayed alone in the archives, first reading through the entire document on DC-3 and summarizing its advantages.

The DC-3's fuselage structure was carefully designed and optimized, resulting in high structural stability and enabling it to maintain a stable flight attitude under various flight conditions.

Its relatively simple structure and good fuselage design make it cheaper to manufacture than other large aircraft and easier to maintain.

In summary, it features a robust and durable structure, excellent flight performance, a large interior space that allows for versatility and provides comfort, and is both economical and reliable.

In terms of overall performance.

It has an empty weight of 8.2 tons, a payload of 6 tons, and a maximum takeoff weight of 14 tons.

Top speed is 360 km/h, cruising speed is 260 km/h.

The maximum altitude is 8000 meters.

It can be said that it is excellent in all aspects.

In comparison, the F.220 night bomber (Taishan No. 1) that Fang Wen bought from France was far inferior in overall performance.

No wonder the Soviet Union and Japan successively purchased the DC-3 production technology from Douglas.

Then, Fang Wen read through the entire document again from beginning to end.

He wanted to master the production technology of the DC-3 so that it could be produced at the Taishan Aircraft Manufacturing Plant.

If a copy of the DC-3 can be manufactured, it will mean that Taishan Aircraft Manufacturing Plant has officially entered the field of large aircraft manufacturing.

At that time, Taishan Airlines will replace all its international flights with its own civilian aircraft, and will also produce a batch of land-based high-capacity transport aircraft for domestic logistics transportation.

It can even be converted into a bomber for use in frontline warfare.

(End of this chapter)