Chapter 267: 266 Arms Deal, Paris Catacombs, Heading To Spain
The aviation industry is not big if you say it is big, nor small if you say it is small; everyone is interconnected. If they encounter client demand, many aviation people will not only promote their own products but also act as brokers to sell colleagues’ products, and if successful, they will receive a certain percentage commission of the total transaction amount.
Fang Wen is not new to this industry and naturally knows the rules inside, so he invited Falmang and Emile Devatine to introduce European fighter jets.
After all, they are acquaintances; letting them earn the commission fee can also obtain more fighter jet information.
Now, the other party provided a series of European fighter jets, which really opened Fang Wen’s eyes.
France alone has 3 models: MB.150, Morane-Saulnier M.S.406, Devatine D.510.
There is also Czech B-534, Soviet I-16.
Among these airplanes, Fang Wen first ruled out the Czech B-534; biplanes are at the end of the road, and he absolutely will not waste on this.
So, the options are the other four.
Fang Wen communicated with Emile Devatine: “How about the Devatine D.510?”
Emile Devatine did not boast about his work like he did with other clients in the past, after all, Fang Wen had once worked with him to modify and perfect the D.332 passenger aircraft, and now the orders from the United States side have already overwhelmed him.
He replied: “I am not satisfied with the D.510; its craftsmanship itself is not complex, and performance-wise it is average. The next version will be better; if you want to buy later, you can consider the D.520.”
It seems the Devatine D.510 can also be ruled out.
That leaves MB.150, Morane-Saulnier M.S.406, and the Soviet I-16.
Fang Wen was familiar with the performance of the first two, but not so much with the I-16.
Moreover, how could Europe have Soviet fighter jets for sale.
Therefore, Fang Wen asked: “How did you get the I-16?”
In response, Falmang’s executive explained.
“From Spain; last month the Spanish People’s Front won the general election, and since it is a communist coalition government, the Soviet Union immediately supplied I-15 and I-16 fighter jets in large quantities; they can sell off some of them.”
So that’s how it is; Fang Wen became interested in the I-16 and planned to decide after understanding this airplane’s performance.
Immediately, he asked Emile Devatine to inquire, then ended this meeting.
After seeing off Emile Devatine and Falmang executives, Fang Wen stayed at the Taishan Airlines Paris Branch guesthouse.
The current Taishan Airlines Paris Branch, as the European general station dispatch operation center for international routes, is much larger in scale than at the beginning and no longer requires staying in the crude temporary pilot dormitory like before.
After settling in the residence, Fang Wen took out that note.
The note said, ‘Moulin Rouge, find Lloronia Baratheon’.
He had Li Tie Zhu call the Taishan Airlines Paris Branch manager Lin Baoluo.
After Lin Baoluo arrived, Fang Wen asked: “What is Moulin Rouge?”
“In Paris’s Pigalle district, a very famous cabaret club where all sorts of people gather.” Lin Baoluo replied.
“Is there someone called Lloronia Baratheon there?” Fang Wen asked again.
“I don’t know; I don’t go there much.”
“Mm, take me there tonight.”
At dusk, Pigalle district north of Paris city center was lit up with brilliant lights, bustling with activity.
Fang Wen, Lin Baoluo, Li Tie Zhu and others parked the car and strolled along the street.
This place has more than just Moulin Rouge as a musical theater; it is a gathering place for Parisians’ nightlife.
But Moulin Rouge is the iconic venue here.
The three walked for a while and arrived outside Moulin Rouge.
A large crowd was queuing at the door waiting, with police officers standing at the entrance to maintain order.
Lin Baoluo spoke up: “General Manager, wait here; I’ll go buy tickets.”
But he did not go directly to queue for tickets; instead, he walked to a man in a sleeveless outfit by the roadside, negotiated for a bit, and returned with three tickets.
This was 1930s France Paris scalper tickets!
Fang Wen sighed inwardly; this kind of business exists in every era.
Ten minutes later, Moulin Rouge opened, and people with tickets filed in.
Fang Wen and the other two followed the crowd inside; after entering, it was a small garden with some outdoor table and chairs, a small stage, and a wooden elephant.
This was not the place for evening performances; the crowd continued forward to a grand theater.
It was just like Broadway theaters in New York, United States, providing dancers a large public stage for performance.
Next to the grand theater, there was also a bar, and some guests chose to go to the bar.
It was better to look for people in the bar than the theater; Fang Wen turned and walked into the bar.
He sat on a bar stool and said in French that he had learned for two years, fairly fluent: “A Sidecar.”
When the bartender mixed the drink and pushed over the cocktail glass, Fang Wen placed a large-denomination franc on the table.
This franc was worth more than the cocktail; the bartender was immediately delighted.
Just as he was about to take the money, Fang Wen spoke: “Help me pass a message to Lloronia Baratheon; a guest from the East wants to talk business.”
The bartender took the banknote, “Please wait a moment.” Then he turned and left the bar.
It seems the right place was found; Fang Wen waited right there.
After a while, a woman in a colorful dance costume walked over.
She seemed to have just finished performing.
Fang Wen was somewhat surprised by this, “You are Paris’s biggest arms dealer?”
Lloronia Baratheon sat on the bar stool, naturally took out a slender lady cigarette, and the bartender lit it.
“No, I am just a contact person responsible for screening clients; please state your demand.”
“20 mm autocannon, needs to be modified for depression shooting, with baffle.”
Fang Wen was interrupted before finishing.
“Enough; I want to know how much you can buy. Transactions less than 200,000 francs will not be accepted.”
So the so-called client screening is based on purchasing power; Fang Wen smiled: “Absolutely more than 200,000 francs.”
“Alright, come with me.”
Lloronia Baratheon stood up and led Fang Wen and the other two toward the rear of Moulin Rouge.
They exited through the back door, then had their eyes blindfolded and got into a car.
Obviously, this was because the mysterious arms dealer did not want to reveal their location.
But this setup was useless against Fang Wen.
Although not targeting the arms dealer, Fang Wen still activated mechanical perception to understand the situation.
In mechanical perception state, he merged with the car and thereby discovered their whereabouts.
The car left Pigalle district, passed through the Triumphant Return, the Eiffel Tower, then stopped at a street corner.
Fang Wen and the other two, still blindfolded, were led into a house.
Then, they went down a tunnel inside the room.
At this point, the three men’s goggles were finally removed.
Everything that came into view made Lin Baoluo exclaim in shock; Li Tie Zhu also nervously clenched his fists.
Too creepy.
The walls were full of skulls neatly arranged and displayed.
Only Fang Wen faced all this calmly; he was surprised in his heart: Isn’t this Paris’s underground ossuary?!
The underground ossuary of this era had not yet opened to tourists, and the outside world did not know about it, but future Fang Wen knew this underground ossuary that buried 6 million Parisians would receive many bold tourists each year.
So, he was not panicked at all, having long known the pitiful life stories of these skulls.
Fang Wen’s demeanor surprised Lloronia Baratheon, who said no more along the way.
The group walked for quite a while through passages lined with skulls and finally arrived at the destination.
An underground secret room full of various weapons, and a group of armed people.
Lloronia Baratheon walked over and whispered in the ear of the leader among them.
After hearing Lloronia Baratheon, the leader looked at Fang Wen with some surprise.
“Worthy of the Eastern Legendary Pilot; your courage is the greatest I have ever seen. We can formally talk business now.”
Fang Wen walked over, shook hands, and said: “I want to custom-make a 20 mm autocannon, but it must be able to depression shoot, and various design changes corresponding to depression shooting must be made.”
The leader was somewhat puzzled: “Be clear; is it suppressive heavy firepower mounted on highlands and building rooftops?”
“More flexible; I plan to use it on an airplane.” Fang Wen replied.
“Worthy of a pilot, wanting to use a 20 mm autocannon for air-to-ground shooting.” The leader showed an interested expression: “This is much more complex than fixed-position shooting; I won’t ask how you maintain hit rate, and can find people to custom-make it for you. The question is how many you can buy. My arms business only gives special treatment to big clients.”
From his tone, if the order quantity was small, he would not do it.
Fang Wen pondered his demand for 20 mm autocannons.
According to Shuiyun Type 1 Seaplane output, by the time war breaks out, there will probably be 200 aircraft, requiring 300 units for this aspect, with 200 for equipping and 100 for backup.
Even future high-speed fighter jets will fully replace to 20 mm autocannons as main weapons, which will also require many.
After thinking, he smiled and responded: “We can sign a long-term order for 500 20 mm autocannons; I guarantee purchasing 100 this year and the remaining 400 within the next 2 years.”
This procurement volume made the arms dealer beam with joy.
He enthusiastically discussed the quotation with Fang Wen.
The custom quotation was much more expensive than directly buying existing models.
Swiss Oerlikon Company, as the holder of 20 mm technology, had the highest quotation; custom-making 20 mm autocannons from them required a unit price of 7,000 US dollars.
Swiss Solothurn Company’s custom quotation was much lower, at 5,000 dollars.
Danish Madsen Company would not provide custom quotations, as their weapons were newly released last year, and customizing would affect sales of their own model.
One at 7,000 dollars, one at 5,000 dollars; neither was cheap.
Purchasing 100 units at once would be 700,000 and 500,000.
More would be spent on this in the future.
After a period of aircraft manufacturing plant expansion, Fang Wen’s funds were tight now; just procuring 20 mm autocannons would use two or three million dollars, which was indeed luxurious.
After all, 20 mm autocannons also required large ammunition supply, which was another big expense.
Plus high-speed fighter jet procurement, Fang Wen at this moment did not dare to spend lavishly.
He asked: “Is there a lower quotation plan?”
“Yes.” The arms dealer responded: “You can purchase Oerlikon Company’s 20 mm autocannon technology to produce yourself; they have sold this technology to multiple countries, and the price is not expensive, only 100,000 US dollars.”
Fang Wen was tempted; if there was autocannon production technology, it was not impossible.
He asked: “How to solve production equipment?”
“Add another 300,000, and you can purchase a production line with annual output of 100 20 mm autocannons, including installation and technical guidance.” The arms dealer leader replied; seeing Fang Wen interested in this plan, he added: “If you choose this, it will also include 1,000 20 mm shells, including armor-piercing and high-explosive types. Future ammunition purchases from me can get a 10% discount.”
Fang Wen calculated this in his mind.
300,000 dollars for technology and equipment, and with his own technical talent, production was indeed possible.
This way, a large sum of funds could be saved.
For this, he negotiated details with the arms dealer leader, agreeing on a three-party transaction time with Swiss Oerlikon Company present; at that time, a formal legal contract would be signed to complete the transaction.
This was quite a formal arms deal; the arms dealer leader was very satisfied, as he would get substantial broker profit without bearing much danger.
3 days later, Swiss Oerlikon Company’s representative arrived in Paris; under the witness of Paris lawyers and notaries, the 20 mm autocannon technology license was signed.
Thus, Taishan Group obtained its first publicly available arms equipment production technology and complete production line.
That production line and the complimentary 5,000 shells would be shipped by sea to Yangon in two weeks.
After resolving this matter, Fang Wen was not idle; he respectively test-flew France’s MB.150 and Morane-Saulnier M.S.406.
For both fighter jet models, Fang Wen discovered some problems.
MB.150 had insufficient power, caused by its power system and aerodynamic design; this defect would cause major problems in combat.
Therefore, Fang Wen directly discarded the MB.150.
The Morane-Saulnier M.S.406 fighter jet surprisingly had the same problem as the MB.150.
This fighter jet already in service with the French Air Force also had insufficient power.
At first Fang Wen suspected the removable heat sinks on the airplane, but later discovered it was a defect in the overall airplane design.
This defect would make the French Air Force suffer greatly in future combat; Fang Wen did not want to step into this trap again.
Abandoning French fighter jets, the only remaining option was the Soviet I-16.
If the I-16 was also unsuitable, Fang Wen could only change targets and seek better fighter jets in the United States, but that would not be easy either.
Taishan Airlines Paris Branch guesthouse VIP room.
In the exquisitely decorated, spacious and bright VIP room living room, Fang Wen met with Emile Devatine.
Emile Devatine placed the document bag on the table: “The information is here; this is also my first time seeing a Soviet fighter jet. A heads-up: it’s very good.”
Fang Wen picked up the document bag, opened it, and took out the information inside to review.
I-16, currently available for sale: 3 aircraft.
Monoplane single-seat propeller fighter jet.
Test-flown in 1934, entered service in 1935.
Retractable landing gear: After takeoff, the pilot counterclockwise turns the handle on the right side of the cabin 44 times to retract into the wing; clockwise for landing.
Open cockpit; front half of fuselage is aluminum hard shell, rear main body is wooden hard shell, steel tubes and wood as frame, covered with fabric mixed with a small amount of hard aluminum panels as skin.
M-22 engine, output power 480 horsepower.
Empty weight: about 1,350 kg
Maximum takeoff weight: 1,700 kg
Maximum speed: about 440 km/h
Ceiling: about 8,200 m
Maximum range: 810 km
After reading the I-16 information introduction.
Fang Wen felt very strange.
This was clearly a roughly made airplane, so why did it have seemingly good performance?
Fang Wen decided to go to Spain and personally fly the I-16 once.
