Chapter 291: 290 Taishan Infantry Gun, Soviet Deal, Shuiyun Type 1 Aircraft Data Exchanged For T-26 Tank Data
Time was drawing closer, and as someone who knew history, Fang Wen felt increasingly urgent inside.
He shuttled back and forth between Wuhan, Jinan, and Yangon, with endless tasks always piling up.
Taishan Airlines needed to conduct war drills for evacuation procedures; once war broke out, Northern China flight paths that had to be abandoned would be abandoned, assets that could be taken would be taken, and those that couldn’t would be destroyed on site.
Without conducting these drills in advance, ordinary employees who had never experienced war would surely descend into chaos when the time came.
To this end, Fang Wen required the entire domestic branch to undergo training that must pass assessment.
The employees initially had some complaints, but under the large-scale drill conducted by the entire company, they all accepted it.
Besides the civil aviation company’s war evacuation drills, the Taishan Mercenary Group also mobilized into the domestic area.
This unit, composed of Chinese people and foreigners, was fully incorporated into the Taishan Escort Team, all on standby at Xiangxi Airport. Every so often, a team would be sent to Jinan to rotate with the escort personnel stationed at the Yangtze River water airport in Jinan.
By early April, Fang Wen went to Yangon.
Meanwhile in Yangon, two weapons engineers poached from Europe arrived by airplane.
These two came from the Trujillo Arms Factory in northern Spain; though within Franco’s rebels’ sphere of influence, they voluntarily resigned due to their leanings toward the Popular Front.
Just then, when the Popular Front received that batch of penicillin supplies in France, Taishan Airlines proposed hiring some experienced weapons engineers.
In this wartime period, the Popular Front’s own arms factories couldn’t spare manpower to Asia, and these two weapons engineers from Franco’s sphere couldn’t be trusted for key roles, so they were simply sent to Asia as a favor to Fang Wen.
Fang Wen was quite pleased about this; in weapon manufacturing, equipment could be procured, but experience and technology were the shortcomings.
He warmly welcomed the two Spanish weapons engineers and had Kuang Anming, who knew Spanish language, serve as translator.
With Kuang Anming’s assistance, the two toured the Taishan Arms Factory.
The Taishan Arms Factory was formed by merging the 7.92mm bullet factory and the 20mm autocannon factory.
After more than a year of production, the workers had gained enough experience to handle weapon production; their proficient work state gave the two Spanish weapons engineers a new appreciation for the cleverness and capability of Chinese people.
They couldn’t help but exclaim, “They’ve really only been doing this for a year; they feel just like workers who’ve been at it for many years.”
Clearly, the work state at the Trujillo Arms Factory was very different from here.
After the tour, Fang Wen took them through the Taishan Arms Factory’s production workshops, then got down to business.
His requirements were to develop an infantry gun and a light mobile armored car.
The infantry gun would use German le. IG 18 75mm infantry gun production technology.
The two weapons engineers carefully reviewed the information and found it extremely detailed, including all components parameters and assembly structures, with full explanations.
In other words, as long as the corresponding components were manufactured, an identical le. IG 18 75mm infantry gun could be produced.
This compact gun body structure used a rifled barrel design, capable of firing conventional shells, high-explosive howitzer shells, and later-developed shaped-charge armor-piercing rounds.
It employed a unique “shotgun-style” breech action mechanism; during loading, a lever lifted the barrel’s end, making the loading process simpler.
The cannon’s recoil was mitigated through a long mount below the barrel; though the barrel was short, its power remained impressive.
A gun shield was mounted in front of the barrel, not for protecting the gunner but for protecting the cannon itself.
During firing, the gunner loaded propellant into the cartridge case, then inserted the shell section.
The propellant consisted of five separate charges, allowing the gunner to select different charge combinations based on required range and angle.
Due to its simplicity, a proficient shooter could fire 8 to 10 shells per minute, with a fast rate of fire that provided a clear advantage in suppressing firepower points.
After reviewing all the information.
One of the weapons engineers offered a suggestion.
“General Manager Fang, this is a very good infantry gun design. If I had such complete design information at the Trujillo Arms Factory, I could quickly produce the same infantry gun. But here, you don’t have a steel mill for precision casting parts.”
Fang Wen didn’t give up because of this; he confidently said: “When we started making bullets, we didn’t have suitable machining tools either; we relied entirely on universal milling machines for handcrafting. Some components can be made ourselves. The barrel and large castings you’re worried about can also be solved. Don’t forget, I run an airline company.”
Indeed, Fang Wen ran an airline company, with the fastest efficiency and transport speed of this era.
Not to mention also owning a shipping company.
Others might worry about lacking a steel mill in Asia for casting specialized parts, but Fang Wen didn’t have to.
Currently, Europe’s two major steel enterprises, Thyssen Steel Company and Krupp steel mill, could both manufacture such precision castings.
Fang Wen had already contacted them and custom-ordered the barrel and firing section castings.
With this preparation, the mechanical engineer specializing in cannons immediately became very enthusiastic.
He promptly set about manufacturing a prototype cannon.
For this, Fang Wen had Kuang Anming accompany him to communicate with the engineers assigned to jointly develop the infantry gun.
Then, he spoke with the other weapons engineer from the Trujillo Arms Factory.
“I heard you speak English; can we communicate in English?”
“Yes,” the other replied.
“My idea is to create a light, high-mobility armored vehicle, or light tank, to assist infantry combat. I heard you were involved in tank development at the Trujillo Arms Factory, right?”
In response to Fang Wen’s question, this weapons engineer explained his work experience and the Spanish military industry’s tank development process.
Compared to Britain and France and Germany, Spain, once a great naval power, had declined; its military industry stagnated for a long time after losing to France in the Peninsular War, falling far behind.
In 1925, the Trujillo Arms Factory received orders to develop tanks.
But for the Trujillo Arms Factory, which had no tank development or manufacturing experience, this was very challenging.
At the time, they referenced France’s Renault FT-17, an old World War I tank.
Through trial and error, the Trujillo Arms Factory developed its first prototype in 1928 and named it Trujillo-A4.
In the current Spanish Civil War, both the Popular Front and Franco’s rebels had small numbers of Trujillo-A4 in combat.
But this tank was similar to the German Panzer I, essentially a tracked armored car fitted with a machine gun.
It provided some protection for infantry but lacked offensive power.
Even its speed and flexibility were insufficient.
After hearing this, Fang Wen understood that he had some experience in tank development technology but lacked innovation.
And this innovation would be provided by Fang Wen.
He took this Spanish tank engineer to another factory building.
There was a Wasp R1340 engine there, already modified with a track transmission device.
This 400-horsepower aircraft engine provided strong power for a light tank, even meeting heavy tank power requirements.
Seeing such a luxurious tank power system, the Spanish tank engineer was too shocked to speak.
Too luxurious.
Keep in mind, the current Trujillo-A4 and German Panzer I in the Spanish Civil War both had less than 100 horsepower.
Even the higher-performing T-26 only used a 130-horsepower engine.
He felt that using this engine for a light tank was too wasteful.
In fact, this batch of Wasp R1340 engines was inventory from Taishan Airlines; having ordered large quantities of Pratt & Whitney’s 800-horsepower Wasp R1830 engines, these perfectly good 400-horsepower R1340s wouldn’t see use for a while.
Perfect timing for tank development; to avoid waste, Fang Wen simply used aircraft engines to equip his light tanks.
But from the Spanish tank engineer’s suggestion, using this engine on a light tank was too wasteful; it could even support higher weight configurations, working well for medium and heavy tanks.
Moreover, based on his experience, aircraft engines were far larger in volume than ordinary internal combustion engines; on a light tank, internal space would become cramped—only larger tank designs could accommodate aircraft engines.
Upon hearing this, Fang Wen changed his original plan.
No need for heavy tanks, so switch to medium tanks.
Infantry gun and tank development and manufacturing began at the Yangon Taishan Arms Factory.
Fang Wen stayed there to participate as well.
Progress on the infantry gun was smooth, requiring little oversight.
The main focus was on tank manufacturing.
This was an entirely new project; a half-baked tank expert from Spain alone wouldn’t suffice.
Design blueprints and related information were ideally needed.
The Soviet T-26 light tank that Fang Wen favored had performed impressively in the Khalkhin Gol tank battles.
To this end, he had the European branch contact Soviet military personnel in Spain.
This wasn’t information obtainable just from having fought together.
After some negotiations, they proposed a condition.
Exchange the Shuiyun Type 1 airplane design blueprint and related information for equivalent value.
This was unexpected for Fang Wen; the Soviets had their eye on the seaplane he developed.
Clearly, the Shuiyun Type 1, simple and practical for rapid proliferation, had its own value.
After some consideration, Fang Wen felt it was a good deal—the Shuiyun Type 1’s value matched the T-26 perfectly, so he agreed.
Once confirmed, both sides set the transaction in Shanghai.
In Shanghai, Taishan Secret Intelligence Station Chief Chen Suoxin left the city in plainclothes and arrived at the airport.
He showed his identity and entered the airport to wait; after the flight landed that day, Fang Wen, who had personally piloted the plane, descended carrying a box containing the Shuiyun Type 1 information.
After meeting, Chen Suoxin worriedly said: “General Manager, participating in the transaction yourself is dangerous; let me do it instead.”
“I have to do this; they sent aircraft experts who will ask questions you can’t answer,” Fang Wen replied.
Seeing the situation, Chen Suoxin said no more, but in his heart, he resolved to protect the general manager’s safety.
Then, the two took the airport shuttle bus to Old City, got off, and two intelligence station personnel disguised as rickshaw pullers took them to the French Concession.
Still in the French Concession, but this secret stronghold was on Corbel Road.
Which would be New Yong’an Road in the future.
The rickshaw arrived at the Butterfield & Swire Dock; across the dock was Gongji Hospital, and the house behind the hospital was the intelligence station’s secret stronghold.
The rickshaw stopped; the two intelligence personnel collected the fare, thanked them with smiles, then waited by the roadside as if for passengers, actually surveilling the surroundings.
Fang Wen entered the secret stronghold under Chen Suoxin’s lead.
Then, he had Chen Suoxin buy the latest issue of Jing Bao.
This was a tabloid in Shanghai that reported everything under the sun, including many small advertisements.
Fang Wen mainly looked at the middle column of the newspaper, filled with various commercial advertisements.
One advertisement caught his attention.
Fang Wen recalled the specific keywords the Soviet side had mentioned, all appearing in it.
Following a specific pattern, he selected particular text from it, forming a new message.
Contact method: Telephone to a specific number.
Fang Wen picked up the hand-crank desk phone, cranked the handle, lifted the microphone, and dialed the number.
A voice from the other end inquired: “Hello, Ferguson Trading Company.”
Fang Wen gave the passphrase: “Katyusha stands on the steep bank.”
The other side was silent for a moment, then replied: “My beloved is right by my side.”
This passphrase, impossible to be a coincidence, confirmed both parties’ identities.
Fang Wen immediately stated his purpose: “I’ve brought the airplane information; is your item ready?”
“Ready. Transaction tonight, location at…”
After the conversation, Fang Wen hung up.
Surprisingly, the other side also wanted the transaction in the French Concession, on another nearby street.
He informed Chen Suoxin, who immediately sent people to prepare.
The intelligence station personnel, originally Axe Gang members, disguised as ordinary people and quietly appeared around the transaction location, scouting the nearby situation thoroughly.
Confirmed no abnormal situations detected.
By 10 p.m., aside from nightclubs, the streets were empty.
Fang Wen drove a car to the transaction location.
There, another car arrived; neither side got out, and the cars pulled up parallel.
A voice from the opposite car asked about the Shuiyun Type 1 airplane, very professionally—clearly, the Soviets had long been interested in the Shuiyun Type 1.
After exchanging with Fang Wen, identities were reconfirmed; then, two suitcases were extended from the cars, completing the exchange.
After the exchange, the cars departed separately, quietly vanishing into the night.
Transaction complete; Soviet T-26 light tank information obtained.
Fang Wen immediately took the full box of information back to Yangon.
Then, he transferred thirty engineers from the aircraft manufacturing plant to tackle the development of Taishan’s own tank project.
After these engineers crammed on tank knowledge, Fang Wen showed them the T-26 tank information.
With this information, they gained much more understanding of tanks.
Relatively speaking, though producing airplanes and tanks differed, it wasn’t impossible to cross over.
