Chapter 59 Chongqing Base (Recommended, Collected)

  Sun Xiang's move shocked the whole world! Now, not only Chinese media are paying attention to Sun Xiang, but at least 20 American media outlets have sent war correspondents to collect information about him. Many reporters received this news and directly sent telegrams back to the United States.

  The next day, the headlines of Chinese and American newspapers were "Sun Xiang single-handedly challenged four Japanese planes, playing tricks on them before flying away". At the same time, this news was also placed on the desk of Tōyama Mitsuru, Japan's number one spy chief, who frowned at Sun Xiang's resume with a gloomy face.

  The newspaper gave a detailed description of Sun Xiang's solo challenge to the four Japanese planes, and many reporters in Beiping took out their cameras to take pictures at that time. This was the first confrontation between Chinese and Japanese air forces, with China emerging victorious. American newspapers even loudly touted the strength of the US Air Force, and people had nothing to say, after all, Sun Xiang was a ace pilot from Washington's Bolling Air Force Base.

  After Sun Xiang returned to Nanjing, he quickly made an adjustment to the aircraft. The plane didn't need too many machine guns. With the current performance of the F4U, it can fully integrate fighter and bomber capabilities.

  A takeoff weight of 6,000 kg makes all this possible. Four machine guns plus two 500kg heavy bombs have an absolute advantage over the Japanese Type 96 land-based aircraft and Type 96 carrier-based aircraft. As long as these 50 F4U are used well, they can completely guard China's airspace.

  Sun Xiang asked Fang to retrieve the data on the 96-style carrier-based aircraft.

  Wing area: 17.0 m2

  Gross weight: 1.075 kg

  Maximum weight: 1,707 kg

  Maximum speed: 432 km/h (at an altitude of 3,160 m)

  Range: 1,200 km

  Upper limit: 9,300 m

  Propellers: 3-bladed fixed-pitch propeller

  Engine: Nakajima [Kotobuki] 41 9-cylinder air-cooled engine rated at 610 horsepower × 1

  Crew: 1

  Armament: 2 × 7.7 mm machine guns

  Looking at this data, Sun Xiang sneered. Unless all Japanese fighter jets are now Zero fighters, come and fight one on one. This data is slightly better than Spain's CR·32 aircraft, with a much longer range, and the rest are similar to Italian aircraft. The idea of ??fighter jets being supreme has not yet developed, and most people think that bombers are the ultimate destination of aircraft. Sun Xiang narrowed his eyes, now let your bomber come and go without return!

  On the morning of June 9, after hastily bidding farewell to Shirley and Rita, Sun Xiang piloted the plane directly to Chongqing. Only when he arrived in Chongqing did he discover that it was impossible to land in the urban area. After circling around, he found that a narrow strip of land on the outskirts of Chongqing was actually a modern airport. The control tower and runway were clearly visible, surrounded by shallow hills, with the western side higher than the eastern side, and the Zhongliang Mountains roughly parallel to the runway. What was most remarkable was that the airport's runway was surprisingly flat, and Sun Xiang contacted the control tower as he piloted the plane.

  "Calling tower! This is Sun Xiang, requesting landing."

  Sun Xiang finished speaking and found that many places with trees on the ground suddenly adjusted an angle, this discovery instantly scared Sun Xiang into a cold sweat, all of which were anti-aircraft guns and machine guns.

  "Hey! Steve~ how's the airport repair going?" came Drake's voice from the radio.

  Xun Xiang rarely praised: "You're really fierce, and you've actually built an airport so quickly."

  "Come on down, there's a big surprise."

  The roar of the engines subsided, and the plane slowed down, taxiing slowly into the apron.

  Derek brought three young men up to greet Sun Xiang.

  Three young men looked at Sun Xiang with wave after wave of excitement, one of them with trembling lips.

  Sun Xiang saw three young people wearing shabby clothes, his heart was excited and warm, because these three people were Liu Xi, Yu Hang and Wang Botao who returned from Spain at that time.

  Sun Xiang tightly hugged them together...

  "Sun Xiang curiously asked: 'When did you return to China?'"

  "Brother, we returned to Beijing in January and shared your plan with some like-minded students. Many wanted to join the project. We raised 200,000 yuan from the business community in Beijing and Shanghai. Then my old man directly contributed 500,000 cash. Adding the $100,000 you provided, Sun Xiang, it only took three months to build this airport and a factory building on the east side."

  Wang Botao's eyes flashed with fervor: "Many students hope to participate in anti-Japanese and national salvation activities, especially those from Northeast China, their enthusiasm is the highest, I believe these hot-blooded men will stand up at the critical moment of national crisis."

  "We employed at least 20,000 local people to build this airport. They heard it was for an airbase to fight the Japanese and many came voluntarily to participate in its construction. With everyone working together, we completed the airport in four months. The airport now has a 1200m x 500m flat surface; a 1500m long, 100m wide runway made of compacted gravel; 4.3 million cubic meters of earth and stone excavated and 2.9 million cubic meters filled. After Mr. Druckerman arrived, we began expanding the airport according to his requirements. Later, Chairman Chiang also sent a telegram asking the Sichuan government to cooperate with the construction, which accelerated the progress by more than double. Our main task now is to build an aircraft factory."

  Sun Xiang looked at Drake and said, "Boss, Hughes boss gave me $20 million to take control of myself. Now we have a lot of funds in our hands. It's best to build the airport all at once. The factory has been built almost, but there is a problem with machine transportation. The geographical location here is very good, but transportation is very difficult. Only general equipment can be transported up now, which affects the speed."

  Sun Xiang furrowed his brow and thought for a moment: "I'll add another 10 million, which means I'm putting all my family's assets on the line. In that case, let's mobilize more people and use whatever method necessary to get the machine up here."

  At this time a male voice with a Sichuan accent sounded: "Mr. Sun, you indeed have a great sense of justice, Liu is impressed."

  Sun Xiang looked intently and saw that the voice was calm and steady, with a short haircut that clung tightly to his scalp, revealing the bold side of Sichuan people.

  Liu Xiang, a modern warlord in Sichuan, was brave and daring in battle, earning the nickname "Ba Bihu" or "Liu Mengzi". He rose to prominence during the internal strife in Sichuan, unifying the province by defeating various warlords. Liu was introverted, reserved, and strict with himself, but also cunning and ruthless. He maintained a delicate relationship with Chiang Kai-shek, neither fully submitting nor openly opposing him, thus preserving Sichuan's semi-independent status until his death. Both his military and political talents were highly astute, but he was deeply superstitious, believing in divine guidance, which often led to ridicule from others.

  Sun Xiang smiled slyly, this was a person who could be won over. Such a hero had not been uncommon in modern history, but those who could remain independent were few and far between.

  Xun Xiang said: "Mr. Liu is a hero in Sichuan, such an evaluation can kill someone like me." The tone suddenly changed "What does Mr. Liu want to find me for? Do you also want to participate in the airport project?"

  Sun Xiang's sudden question stunned the Sichuan brother, who paused for a moment before saying, "Mr. Sun is indeed straightforward."

  Sun Xiang's face was calm: "Maybe it's because I've been outside for too long, this 'dribbling' thing is no longer my forte."

  Liu Xiang cried and laughed: "Then I'll just say it straight, I can help you transport the goods in, but our Sichuan army's equipment is really too poor, so I'd like to ask Mr. Sun for help."

  Sun Xiang and Liu Xiang exchanged a glance: "Goods, I have, all American hardware." As soon as the two sentences were spoken, Liu Xiang's breathing suddenly became rough, but immediately returned to normal. If Sun Xiang hadn't been so perceptive, he might not have noticed it at all. He smiled slightly, already understanding his opponent's urgent mood, and that was enough.

  Liu Xiang asked: "What does Mr. Sun need?"

  Sun Xiang narrowed his eyes and spat out a sentence: "Mr. Liu's favor."

  Liu Xiang was taken aback and lost his smile: "Deal!" The two hands clasped together, such a refreshing life is rarely seen, Liu Xiang said to himself.