Chapter 56: 56, Gourd Incendiary Bombs, Chemical Talent Huo Duanyang
After the first day’s adjustment, Ning Hangsheng’s Department launched continuous bandit suppression operations.
He left 300 soldiers to guard the airport to protect Fang Wen after his return to base, and the rest of the troops all set off toward Chaiji.
Under Fang Wen’s aerial command, the troops accurately grasped the bandits’ movements and encircled and suppressed them one by one.
The bandits entrenched in Chaiji never expected to face such a bizarre situation.
No matter how they hid, they were always discovered by the National Army.
It was only later that they realized the airplanes in the sky were the eyes of the National Army.
But by then it was too late. As the bandit suppression deepened, the bandits hidden in several manors near Chaiji were all defeated and cleared out.
Later, realizing that the bandits were no longer as rampant as before, the people in the Chaiji area spontaneously cooperated in arresting the bandits. With the help of the locals, this group of bandits that had harmed the area for years was completely cleared out.
Next were the deserter groups in Fangji and Gongqiao areas.
Those deserters were originally a regiment of the National Army, but they collectively mutinied under their regiment commander’s lead and turned to banditry.
Their combat power was much stronger than ordinary bandits; they could even match Ning Hangsheng’s infantry regiment.
Although Ning Hangsheng took the initiative to send a letter offering amnesty, promising to restore their troop designation, form an independent regiment, and arrange garrison elsewhere.
But the other side did not accept it, instead clamoring to eat up Ning Hangsheng’s Department and then monopolize Fuyang.
This of course wouldn’t do, so a real ground war was about to unfold.
A week had already passed, and Nanjing was about to negotiate tung oil business with American businessmen, which involved whether the Boeing 80 could arrive on time.
For this reason, Fang Wen was also a bit anxious.
He took the initiative to communicate with Ning Hangsheng, who had returned to the airport to garrison and rest.
“Does your department have confidence in attacking Fangji and defeating them?”
“Hard to say. In numbers we’re about even, but they have a lot of cavalry with higher mobility. If during head-on engagement the cavalry flanks us, it’ll be very passive.”
“Do cavalry fear fire?”
“Warhorses are trained, but they still instinctively fear fire.”
Fang Wen thought thoughtfully. If he could defeat that group of bandits’ cavalry team, the bandit suppression would basically be settled, and he could leave.
But how to defeat the cavalry team?
He thought of the auxiliary fuel tank.
That thing could assist long-range flight, but had to be discarded when encountering enemy aircraft to avoid affecting mobility.
Aviation gasoline of this era was different from future aviation kerosene; it had high flammability.
Hundreds of liters of aviation fuel dropped to the ground could very likely ignite on impact.
Wasn’t that just a ready-made incendiary bomb?
But just dropping it like that wasn’t reliable; what if it didn’t ignite?
It must be modified somehow.
Fang Wen suddenly said something.
“Does Fuyang have a chemistry teacher at the school?”
“Ah? I’ll send someone to ask.” Ning Hangsheng called his adjutant and instructed him to go into the city.
After a while, a young man in a long robe with short hair and glasses came from the city.
He introduced himself: “I am Huo Duanyang, math and physics instructor at Fuyang Middle School, also teaching chemistry. I studied chemistry in school.”
Ning Hangsheng scratched the back of his head: “Manager Fang asked for you. You two talk; whatever you need from us, just say.”
Fang Wen spoke up: “I have a question. For a sealed fuel tank filled with highly flammable and explosive gasoline dropped from 2000 meters altitude, how to ensure it will definitely ignite?”
Huo Duanyang adjusted his glasses and replied after thinking.
“A sealed fuel tank dropped from 2000 meters altitude, even if filled with highly flammable and explosive gasoline, will not necessarily ignite. Ignition requires certain conditions, like an ignition source and appropriate oxygen concentration.”
“So, a sealed fuel tank dropped from high altitude to the ground at most causes the tank to rupture, partial burning, then gradually igniting the rest. It won’t cause a full explosive reaction.”
Fang Wen looked surprised at this skinny young man with glasses.
In this era, few people had such knowledge, and he was stuck teaching at Fuyang Middle School—what a pity.
Then, he asked: “I now have three hundred liters of aviation fuel and want to make incendiary bombs to drop from the airplane to attack the bandits. In your opinion, what methods can achieve this?”
Huo Duanyang looked surprised at Fang Wen: “You want me to do it?”
“Yes. In two days the infantry regiment will have a decisive battle with the bandits; they might not win. What we can help with is making incendiary bombs from aviation fuel to attack the bandits from the air.” Fang Wen explained.
“Isn’t this a fighter jet? You can use the machine gun.” Huo Duanyang didn’t understand.
“It was once a fighter jet, later bought by me, but the transaction didn’t include ammunition.” Fang Wen said helplessly. Back then, the Northeast Army officer clearly stated that the bullets for the Potez 25 brought from the Northeast were limited and wouldn’t be sold.
“So only incendiary bombs as airdrop weapons? I understand.” Huo Duanyang fell into thought again.
His chemistry knowledge, unused for years, finally came into play.
“At school, we once theorized about it but never actually made it. For fuel, it needs a wooden outer shell, inside with upper and lower layers: upper layer is accelerant and ignition device, lower layer is fuel, and the upper layer connects externally to a fuze.”
In Huo Duanyang’s description, he designed a gourd-shaped wooden shell incendiary bomb, ignited by an extended fuze, to be dropped from high altitude.
Upon landing, the calculated fuze would ignite the white phosphorus accelerant, thereby exploding the gasoline in the lower layer.
This design was simple but perfectly solved Fang Wen’s current problem.
What remained was to produce this batch of incendiary bombs.
A group of carpenters came from Fuyang City, handmade the gourd-shaped outer shells, hollowed them out inside, with only a small hole connecting the upper and lower layers.
The fuze was made by local fireworks craftsmen, producing corresponding fuses based on the incendiary bomb’s fall time.
After these things were done, old rules: bomb drop test from the airplane.
Then Fang Wen took Huo Duanyang up in the airplane.
In the rear pilot seat, Huo Duanyang was very nervous, sitting properly, holding a box of gourd incendiary bombs.
To ease his mood, Fang Wen said: “Don’t be nervous. What you need to do is, upon hearing my bomb drop order, light the fuse and throw the incendiary bomb down. If you’re scared, someone else can do it.”
“No need, I can do it.” Huo Duanyang nodded vigorously.
“Good then, let’s begin.”
Fang Wen piloted the airplane for takeoff, circled in the air looking for the drop point, and once confirmed, said: “Begin dropping bombs.”
Highly focused Huo Duanyang immediately lit the fuse with Ning Hangsheng’s windproof kerosene lighter and dropped the gourd incendiary bomb from the airplane.
“Continue, don’t stop.”
Then, Huo Duanyang continuously lit and threw them.
As the incendiary bombs fell, a discontinuous ignition area appeared on the ground.
Sun Debiao waved a flag from afar.
This meant the bomb drop was unqualified.
Fang Wen thought about it and roughly understood why.
The wooden shell incendiary bomb would drift due to air resistance, so this factor needed to be accounted for.
Thus, he returned to the origin and continued testing.
This bomb drop result was good: it accurately landed in the drop area on the ground and created a large burning area.
This burning effect would only cause brief chaos for humans, but for horses, it was different.
The test warhorses in the drop area fell into extreme panic, breaking free from the reins tied to wooden stakes and fleeing the drop zone.
Good effect; now to see the actual combat result.
Two days later, thousands of troops assembled in Fangji.
Neither side intended any positional warfare; instead, they engaged head-on on the plain.
From an aerial view, Ning Hangsheng’s Department held the advantage relying on weapons and equipment, steadily advancing forward.
While the bandits retreated.
But farther away, a cavalry team of about 400 circled around and launched an attack from behind Ning Hangsheng’s Department.
If they broke through, combined with the bandits’ pincer attack front and rear, Ning Hangsheng’s Department might collapse.
“Jackal note, your department’s rear slightly west position has a cavalry sneak attack. I’m heading for airdrop; defend yourselves.”
Fang Wen reminded Ning Hangsheng’s Department as the airplane dived down.
When descending to 1500 meters altitude, about to cross the ground cavalry team, he gave the order.
“Drop bombs immediately.”
Huo Duanyang, prepared for a long time, dropped incendiary bomb after incendiary bomb below.
After a dozen seconds, the incendiary bombs ignited amid the cavalry team.
Massive flames erupted, sending the warhorses into panic; they reared up, throwing their riders to the ground, then fled in all directions.
This chaos neutralized the bandits’ most combat-effective cavalry team, and Ning Hangsheng’s Department launched a full offensive.
