Chapter 8: The Great Development Plan (Second Minor Revision)

  "Today, I've invited Brother Huang over, not only to ask you to arm the floating base, but also to seek your advice on the current development of air force equipment. Because I just returned to China, I'm not very clear about the situation in this regard." He Juncai said while sipping his tea. He needed to understand the current situation in China, so that he could use his knowledge across eras to quickly enhance the combat effectiveness of the Chinese military.

  "China's military industry is now very poor, originally we could develop and manufacture our own aircraft, and even more so with firearms. However, after the Japanese occupation of major industrial cities like Shanghai, Wuhan, and Nanchang, our manufacturing industry suffered a heavy blow. Although some equipment was relocated to the southwest, due to transportation, resource, and skilled labor issues, it is impossible to restore production to pre-war levels." Every time he thinks about this, Huang Guangrui feels a belly full of bitter water. "With heavy industry in decline, military industry is even more unthinkable. Now we can only manufacture rifles and bullets, while aircraft, automobiles, and artillery can only be maintained."

  "Moreover, it is also difficult to get assistance from the international community at present. The United States remains neutral, Britain and France are struggling to maintain themselves, and the Soviet Union has gradually withdrawn its pilots and experts who came to China's aid since March this year, leaving only a fighter squadron. Moreover, all the ports for going abroad are under the threat of the Japanese, and only part of the emergency supplies can be transported through Burma and Hong Kong." Huang Guangrui continued.

  "It seems that the domestic situation is really not optimistic, I said why at the beginning of the war, the Chinese and Japanese air forces could still fight a battle, now one side has fallen. He Juncai only then understood the wisdom of those industrial pioneers in the Republic of China era."

  "Huang, I have some techniques in my hands, let's see if we can use them." He Juncai organized some new technologies that were five years ahead of the existing technical level of various countries. "For example: large-scale production of antibiotics, radar technology, electronic technology, etc. Some of these are things we can manufacture, and we can introduce equipment to produce for our own use and export. Others are difficult to manufacture domestically, is it possible to set up a company in the United States, using their equipment and personnel to produce?"

  He Juncai handed over a list to Huang Guangrui one of these nights. Huang Guangrui quickly scanned it, his mouth agape as if he could swallow an egg.

  "If the records above are true, then that would have solved a big problem." Huang Guangrui sighed that the espionage skills of overseas Chinese were indeed profound, and some obviously cutting-edge military technologies could be obtained.

  "I think it's okay, I'll suggest to General Zhou Zhiyou that we set up an overseas branch of the Equipment Department. Chen Qingyun, our air force attaché in the US, used to be my colleague and is very familiar with equipment matters, so I think he can take on the work overseas." Huang Guangrui quickly found a suitable person.

  "That's great. I think the priority is to establish a base in the US, with formal military procurement and equipment purchases handled by different people. We can consider setting up a material transfer station in a remote but transportation-convenient location in the US, taking advantage of the long-range transport capabilities of floating bases to directly transport from the US to the Bishan Base in Chongqing. I estimate it would only take 20-30 hours, much faster than current methods." He Juncai continued to suggest.

  "Exactly! Stealthy and undetectable, this is the advantage of a floating base after all, haha!" Huang Guangxu, the head of the equipment department, had high expectations for the floating base.

  "In addition, the Japanese army was severely taught a lesson by the Soviets in Nomonhan last year, and the 'Northward Advance' strategy has been replaced by the 'Southward Advance' strategy. The Japanese have already reached our southern border, and it is estimated that they will invade Vietnam in August, blocking all our sea routes. At that time, we can only rely on the channels from Burma and India for import and export, so I suggest buying a large piece of wasteland near Rangoon Port in Burma and Calcutta Port in India, which are remote but have relatively convenient transportation, to establish a material transit base, using the air transport capacity of the floating bases to ensure smooth logistics. He Jun thought of the defense battle of the secret highway between China and Burma, the sacrifices and achievements of the expeditionary army, and the tragic story of the Hump Airline, and decided to make some preparations in advance, so as not to be passive at the last moment."

  "This should also be considered, but for now the primary task is to establish a base in the US because we are too short of money. Establishing a base in the US, using the technology in your hands to make some money first, and everything will be easy to say." Huang Guangyu added.

  "In addition, in order to facilitate the transportation of domestic materials and logistics, Brother Huang is asked to consider selecting a location for establishing a secret base in Gansu, Yunnan, Guizhou, and Guangxi, which will serve as a floating base for takeoff and landing." He Juncai said finally.

  "This is no problem, it's my responsibility, I'll arrange for the construction department to select a site after I go back. On the other hand, little brother, you will soon be taking over the airports in Chongqing, Baishiyi, Guangyangba and Liangshan, do you have any requirements?" Huang Guangrui returned the favor, since He Junci had pointed out a bright path for developing air force equipment, he would use his own authority to support his brother's work.

  "Haha, Brother Huang, how can I be so presumptuous?" He Junci smiled and said, "However, I'm really busy and want to ask for your help. You know the enemy is coming in droves, the naval and army air forces are jointly bombing Chongqing and Chengdu, with hundreds of sorties every day. But we only have two large aviation brigades stationed in Chongqing and Chengdu, each with more than 30 planes, which can't fully fulfill the duty of air defense."

  "I know this, little brother, you have a heavy burden on your shoulders." Huang Guangrui sighed.

  "So I think we can take advantage of Chongqing's mountainous terrain and hollow out the mountains near the airport to create warehouses for parking, maintenance, and logistics. Especially for bombers that are not currently in use, they can be stored inside to avoid having to sound the alarm every time there is an air raid, wasting precious fuel and risking being shot down. Didn't Lin Rizun from the 5th Squadron of Chengdu Air Force crash into a mountain last month because he was late returning from a 'false alarm'? " He Juncai proposed his idea.

  "This method is good, Chongqing can also use it properly, it's just a bit of trouble." Huang Guangrui thought for a moment.

  "'Sweat more in peacetime, bleed less in wartime', I hope Brother Huang will assist!" He Juncai said seriously.

  "I agree with you. Hehe, the phrase 'more sweat in peacetime, less blood in wartime' is really good, is it the motto of your Fourth Route Headquarters? I think it's also quite suitable for our Equipment Department." Huang Guangrui joked.

  "Haha, I just thought of it casually."

  It wasn't until later that this sentence somehow made its way into Zhou Zhiyong's ears, and Zhou Zhiyong adopted it as the "motto" of the Chinese Air Force. It can be seen everywhere in the air force troops. However, the person who proposed it was complacent about plagiarizing famous sayings from later generations.

  Back in the Air Force Command Center, Mei Long'an, Director of Equipment Department and his staff had finished discussing and were preparing to find Huang Guangrui and He Junci to report.

  "We carefully studied the structural diagram of the DK-2 aircraft and decided to add 7.7mm armor to the engine, fuel tank, and cockpit, install four 12.7mm machine guns on the fuselage and wings, remove two sets of equipment from the rear seat, and add a fuel tank."

  "Can't we change the armor to 12.7mm? The Zero and subsequent Japanese fighters will be equipped with 20mm cannons, 7.7mm armor may not be enough. We can lose planes, but we must protect the pilots well. It's easier to make a plane than to cultivate an experienced pilot. Also, when modifying the machine guns on the wing, it's best to leave space for upgrading to 20mm cannons later. In the future, we will face more heavily armored bombers, and 20mm cannons are much better than machine guns. Finally, the panoramic camera in the rear seat can be removed and installed on a reconnaissance plane later, but don't remove the other set of emergency control devices yet, I have another use for it." He Juncai thought for a moment and suggested.

  "We need to recalculate then." The technicians under Director Mei's command quickly led a group of people to the other side to recalculate the plane's weight distribution and implement the parameters after these changes.

  "I'll report on the modification of the close-in defense system. We disassembled a close-in defense tower and found some unarmored rocket shells (bird-repellent rockets), which can be modified into an anti-aircraft gun. Two calibers, 37mm and 20mm, are available for selection. It is suggested to use 20mm anti-aircraft guns on the upper and lower decks of the floating base, and 37mm anti-aircraft guns around the floating base."

  "This is great, I finally have some confidence." He Juncai said happily.

  "We've done the calculations, and according to Captain He's modification plan, there shouldn't be any major issues. However, in order to balance the weight, we need to adjust the position of the cockpit. With this modification, while still retaining the firepower of four machine guns, the empty weight will increase to around 1800 kilograms, with an estimated flight speed of approximately 550 kilometers per hour."

  "It's great, the medium- and long-range defense will rely on these planes." He Juncai and Huang Guangrui looked at each other, both satisfied with this modification.

  "That's the plan, we'll head back to prepare personnel and equipment, and tomorrow when you're resupplying in Bishan, Director Mei will lead the team to officially move into the floating base for renovation." Huang Guangrui instructed. He himself rushed back from the floating base to find Zhou Zhijuan to discuss his military development plans, and called He Junci that night to tell him that his plan had been approved, and Chen Qingyun would be summoned back to the country soon to discuss it. He also told He Junci that he had taken on another role, as Deputy Minister of Equipment, specifically to assist Huang Guangrui in developing overseas bases. It turned out that Huang Guangrui was still worried that He Junci wasn't a member of their department and wouldn't focus on helping, so he suggested it to Zhou Zhijuan.

  "What's going on, under the Air Force Headquarters, four departments are all hanging with three departmental posts. If the Training Department comes again, it will be interesting." He Juncai sighed that promotion in the Republic of China was fast, but he was thinking about how to spend this time. In fact, Shen Depei from the Training Department was really thinking of him, hoping to make use of the training facilities on the floating air base as soon as possible, train a batch of pilots and make up for the current shortage.

  He Juncai received Shen Depei and his party who came to inspect the floating base on the second day.

  "Director He, our training department is preparing to divide into two sections: training and education. The training section will be divided into three specialties: fighter aircraft, bomber aircraft, reconnaissance, and transportation. We want to know if the training base for the fighter aircraft specialty can be placed on a floating airbase. Of course, the personnel trained will be selected by the Air Force Fourth Route Command first." Shen Depei directly stated his request.

  "No problem, you can send someone to take over the training area, tactical training room, simulator and 5 trainer aircraft at any time." He Juncai said bluntly, he also knew that Chinese Air Force pilots were in a shortage stage now. In the early days, due to the preciousness of aircraft, many pilots took measures such as forced landing to protect the aircraft after being injured, resulting in too many casualties. At that time, the four great kings all died, if these people were still there, the Chinese Air Force would not be like this now.

  "I only have one requirement, pay strict attention to safety during training, strengthen emergency and parachute training for personnel. By the way, the trainer aircraft has ejection equipment, which can enhance personnel safety, I'll introduce it to you another day, in case of emergency, this method can be used."

  "Thank you so much, let's get familiar with it starting today." Shen Dehui personally led the team to receive training facilities. The floating base finally found its original positioning.

  The training facilities of the floating base played a huge role in the process of the Anti-Japanese War. Several months later, the relevant equipment for training was transferred to the Central Aviation School located in Kunming, and these devices were widely used for simulated training and confrontation training of fighter pilots. Even the initial training of bomber, reconnaissance and transport aircraft pilots was also completed with the help of these devices.