afterglow

Chapter 670: The Birth of the Bungarus; On the Way to Reinstatement
Zhou Changfeng was not happy with some people in the Ming Air Force, who always liked to interfere in some technical matters to show off their own opinions.

Leaders who are ambitious and unrealistic can be found everywhere, but he found that there are particularly many such people in the Air Force, which is a strange phenomenon.

In comparison, the more conservative and pedantic army and navy are not so radical and are relatively pragmatic.

After spending huge amounts of money and continuously improving the "Kite" series V-shaped twelve-cylinder liquid-cooled engine project of the Aviation Science Association, it was finally modified to a usable level.

By increasing the intake pressure, using direct injection, and adding four valves to improve ventilation efficiency, the prototype Kite 1400 was able to output 1700 horsepower in tests a few months ago, and could reach horsepower when using water injection.

Now that the problems of large vibration, oil leakage, short lifespan, etc. have been solved, the Ibis IV has officially started mass production.

When filled with standard No. 94 aviation gasoline, the nominal output power is 1500 horsepower, and can reach 1800 horsepower when water injection is turned on.

Another good news is that after unremitting efforts and benefiting from the Sino-German wartime trade, the Ming National Oil and Gas Company made a technological breakthrough with reference to the high-grade gasoline process guidance provided by the German Society, and was able to stably mass-produce No. 100 special aviation gasoline. According to the Anglo-American classification method, this fuel should actually be close to the 100/140 level.

This high-quality aviation gasoline is called "No. 100 aviation gasoline". It not only improves the aircraft's range, but also significantly enhances the maximum power during combat.

If filled with No. 1600 aviation fuel, the power of the Kite 1900 can be greatly increased - the nominal power is horsepower, and horsepower when afterburning.

With a good heart, the next thing should be a natural progression.

However, the Air Force strongly wanted to equip it with an exhaust gas turbocharger that had better performance on paper, which resulted in a lot of trouble.

Traditional superchargers require a small amount of power to work, but turbochargers do not. They are driven by exhaust gas from the engine and seem to be more preferable.

However, its technical difficulty is also higher. During the war, only the United States had the leisure to work on it, and it was also troubled by the overheating problem. The R-29 engine of the B-3350 bomber frequently crashed due to turbine overheating and fire.

Therefore, the Ming aviation industry had enough spare time, money and leisure to carry out research and development work, and the Air Force was also calm and even expected to achieve it in one step.

The main reason why the Air Force was so calm was that there were too many planes and pilots - about two thousand combat aircraft were shipped and hundreds of pilots entered service every month. Although the losses on the front line were serious, they were still slower than the replacement rate.

Zhou Changfeng, who was so angry that he laughed, once again rebuked the head of the Air Force and asked them to postpone the plan of equipping the engine with a turbocharger, immediately adapt the engine to the supercharger, and then hand it over to the upstream company for final assembly.

"Aren't there several prototypes? Let's take turns to test drive them and get familiar with them. It's always better for people to wait for the plane than for the plane to wait for people. I don't want to see this situation again. I hope to see the new plane flying in the sky over Oahu within a month."

After saying that, Zhou Changfeng waved his hand to send the person away.

After much anticipation, it has been a year since Shangxing Company's high-performance fighter jet project was redeveloped, and the Air Force has high hopes for it.

The SX-102 project can be traced back to the Battle of Guadalcanal two years ago. The U.S. military's P-39 Cobra (Flying Snake) fighter left a deep impression on the Ming Army Air Force. Later, the Ming Army obtained a lot of Flying Snake wreckage and pieced together a complete Flying Snake for evaluation.

Bell's Viper is unique - its engine is placed in the middle of the fuselage, the center of gravity is just right, and the handling is excellent, but it also has a weird car-style hatch that is criticized.

Ascend Aircraft Company has a high opinion of the Snake, believing that its aerodynamic shape is well designed and has great potential, but unfortunately it is held back by the poor Allison liquid-cooled engine.

Therefore, Upward Company launched an ambitious high-performance fighter project, intending to design and manufacture a powerful air superiority fighter based on the Flying Snake.

Later, the successor model of the P-39 Flying Snake, the P-63 King Cobra, also appeared in the Pacific battlefield, and many of its wreckage was also collected by the Ming army for reference.

【Picture】

The research and development process was full of twists and turns, and many of the technologies were quite difficult for Ming Dynasty's aviation industry.

For example, the laminar airfoil that can effectively reduce wind resistance requires not only reasonable design but also strict and precise processing, otherwise it will be worse than an ordinary airfoil.

This posed an unprecedented severe test to aircraft parts manufacturers - at the beginning, a large number of parts were not processed properly and the yield rate was low.

After more than a year of step-by-step optimization and improvement, several major manufacturers are now finally able to deliver qualified parts; Shangxing Company has also roughly understood the designs of the three fighter jets: King Cobra, Mustang, and Corsair.

The Sx-102 was designed as a three-type fighter with a streamlined fuselage that was quite smooth and slender throughout.

长10.1m、翼展11.8m、空重2960㎏，圆形翼尖；使用一台鸢四式V形十二缸液冷发动机，输出功率1600（1900）匹马力，搭配一级二速机械增压器，二速5㎞临界高度极速727㎞/h；海平面高度最大爬升率为24m/s。

The weapon configuration consists of four 20.8mm aviation cannons distributed on both sides of the nose, a 20.8mm axial cannon in the nose, and a wingless cannon, with sufficient firepower.

There is a 12mm thick surface carburized hardened armor steel plate behind the pilot's seat, and the nitrogen-filled self-sealing fuel tank is equipped with a semi-automatic fire extinguisher.

The total capacity of the internal fuel tanks is 950 liters, and the maximum range can reach 2600 km.

In addition, the three-type fighter jets are designed to remove the dross and retain the essence -

The Flying Snake's weird car-style hatch was naturally abandoned, and replaced by the Malcolm canopy and the teardrop-shaped canopy that is currently being tested.

Mustang's famous and wonderful Meredith effect radiator was also adopted, and the design team placed the carefully sculpted radiator in the belly of the aircraft.

In order to achieve the best aerodynamic shape, the models and prototypes of the Type 3 fighter underwent countless wind tunnel tests, and the design team tried every means to optimize drag reduction.

The Ministry of War gave it an official nickname - Bungarus multicinctus.

Because of the previously implemented "Draft Measures for the Rotation and Training of Skilled Pilots", a large number of experienced veteran pilots were stranded in the aviation schools and training bases in Ming Dynasty.

Several ace pilots took turns to test-drive this "Chinese version of King Cobra" and gave good comments on its performance.

Judging from the data on paper, the three-type J-51 is fully capable of suppressing the P-4A and F1U-, and the simulated confrontation also confirms this.

At about the same time, the U.S. Air Force, which had dominated the skies over the Hawaiian Islands for two months, suddenly stopped.

For several days in a row, the previous continuous electronic interference and air strikes disappeared, which was particularly abnormal.

Some people think that the US military can't bear it. After all, high-intensity attacks cannot be carried out for a long time, and the gap between the enemy and us is no longer the same as before. We also have new aircraft and new radars to assist in the battle. The losses of US military aircraft have increased significantly in recent days.

Cautious people are more alert, suspecting that this is the prelude to a large-scale counterattack, the calm before the storm.

Zhou Changfeng is like this. He firmly believes that the Americans will never sit down at the negotiating table easily, or even if they do, they may fight while talking.

In the Pacific Ocean, the significance of gaining one more island is huge.

The main force of the Ming army fleet will not be ready until the beginning of spring. There is still more than two months of window period from now, and the possibility of the US military sitting idle is very small.

Zhou Changfeng did not dare to take it lightly. He realized that he should immediately return to the front line and take charge of Oahu.

"Oahu is heavily guarded and we are powerful. As you said, it should be as strong as a rock. It would be a big mistake to disappoint me. If you make any mistakes again, don't come back." Zhu Lingjing instructed.

"Oahu is far from being a burial place. I still want to come back." Zhou Changfeng smiled.

Zhu Lingjing said with dissatisfaction: "You were the same last time, your answer was not accurate." Zhou Changfeng said seriously: "This time, I guarantee that Your Majesty can ask for a military order from me."

Hearing this, Zhu Lingjing turned her head and waved her hand, telling him to get out!

The previous Maui attack operation did not go as expected. Although there were many objective reasons, it was indeed a failure for Zhou.

When saying goodbye to his wife the next day, Xia Xiaoshi, contrary to his usual behavior, did not show any reluctance.

The cold wind was biting, and the damp and cold north wind carrying water vapor penetrated everywhere, making people shiver all over.

She bowed and saluted, and said softly and slowly: "The final battle is very important, Zhou Kexing, just rest assured."

Zhou Changfeng's eyes jumped on several people in turn, and finally nodded and said: "Well, it's cold, be careful not to catch a cold."

After that, he got into the back seat of the car.

The attendants nearby closed the car doors and got in one after another. The sound of motorcycles rang out and the convoy soon disappeared around the corner of the street.

Although the Ming Dynasty's rulers and ministers did not approve of senior generals traveling by plane easily, there were many times when the situation was urgent and forced them to do so.

Zhou Changfeng set off on a special plane converted from a reconnaissance plane, landed in Guam and Wake Island for supplies, and finally arrived at Midway Island to end the journey.

Next, it is not advisable to fly to Hawaii, as the sky there is full of dangers, unless it is an emergency.

At this time, nearly ten days had passed since the last fleet passed Midway Island, and the next fleet was about to arrive.

明军的海运保障状况大致是每个月向夏威夷兵团发出三支运输船队，每支船队由5~6艘货轮组成，护航力量一般有4~5艘本草级护卫舰和2~3艘至清级猎潜舰。

If the war situation becomes urgent, an additional fleet will be dispatched.

The dominance of the US Air Force in the past two months has also threatened sea transportation. Previously, the US military's main means of attacking the Ming army's transportation lines was submarines, but in the past two months there have been many cases of submarines guiding long-range seaplane formations to carry out air strikes.

The anti-submarine systems of both sides were already very mature. The Ming army had several anti-submarine squadrons composed of anti-submarine ships, seaplane carriers, escort aircraft carriers, and oil tankers. They patrolled near the main shipping routes, searching for the traces of US submarines and encircling and intercepting them.

The same was true for the U.S. military. They formed an anti-submarine brigade with escort destroyers and escort aircraft carriers, cruising in the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, hunting down Ming and German submarines.

Among them, the German submarine force suffered the most - its combat results were reduced threefold, with only 255 million tons achieved last year; its losses increased threefold, with as many as 228 ships lost last year.

The glory of the long-renowned wolf pack at the beginning of the war has become a thing of the past.

After staying at Midway Island for one day and two nights, with black smoke rising, the first fleet of the year - the Gengzi 311 transport fleet - appeared in Zhou Changfeng's sight on time.

A series of wartime fast-built cargo ships are mostly equipped with coal-fired boilers and have extremely long cruising ranges, but the escorting frigates and anti-submarine ships are only small warships of less than a thousand tons and need to be resupplied with supplies midway.

Zhou Changfeng decisively chose to take one of the anti-submarine ships to Qing No. 54 - the freighter was the primary target of attack, as it was large but fragile; the design of the Bencao-class frigate was derived from the Guangning-class freighter, which was also the basis of a civilian ship, slow and weak.

Compared with the other two, the Zhiqing-class anti-submarine ship is a properly designed warship with a higher speed and greater flexibility.

After a brief replenishment, the fleet set off again, heading for its destination more than 2,000 kilometers away.

The voyage theoretically takes 120 hours and is expected to arrive at Pearl Harbor at noon on January 1.

The small-sized anti-submarine ship has average seaworthiness. The seemingly calm sea also hides waves, and the constant ups and downs make people miserable.

The sailors were already used to it, and Zhou Changfeng was no problem at all, but several of the accompanying personnel were vomiting all over the place.

The sun sets and the moon rises, the moon sets and the sun rises.

It is quite special to admire the red sun and white moon on the vast sea. Maybe I can bring my wife and children with me in the future? Zhou Changfeng thought.

When they were only a few hundred kilometers away from the Hawaiian Islands, Pearl Harbor sent a warning message: Attention! An enemy aircraft formation has been detected approaching you!

Soon, the radar of Zhiqing No. 54 also discovered American aircraft approaching from the east.

Suddenly, alarm bells rang loudly, and the escort fleet was busy. The sailors dropped their work and rushed to their battle posts.

"Now, except for the extremely brave ones, enemy submarines usually dare not touch the fleet. They will hide far away and spy, and then call in aircraft to attack."

Captain Peng Chang, the ship's commander, explained to Zhou Changfeng and then continued to issue various instructions.

According to the situation, in the past seven battles, the American aircraft that launched attacks on the Ming army's transport fleet were mainly two types of seaplanes, PBY Catalina and PBM Mariner, which have slow speed and long range.

Afterwards, everyone visually confirmed the invading enemy - 12 PBM Sailor twin-engine large seaplanes.

【Picture】

The battle started soon after, and those huge and clumsy seaplanes were divided into four groups, rushing towards the rising sun with their backs to the east!
The 112mm naval guns equipped on frigates and anti-submarine ships do not have the ability to fire anti-aircraft fire, so the entire fleet can only rely on medium and short-range air defense weapons such as 38.4mm and 20.8mm anti-aircraft guns.

"Sight angle 28, slant distance 3100, ready!"

"put!"

Dense tracer bullets were fired at the US attack formation, and the sound of artillery fire was deafening.

The seaplane hit by the tracer bomb caught fire, and all kinds of fragments scattered, then slowly fell into the sea.

"Hit!!!"

"Focus your fire on the one on the right!"

"Cannon No. 2 is out of order!"

Under the cover of the sun, these seaplanes continued to approach in the face of anti-aircraft fire, and then dropped torpedoes one after another when they were more than 1,500 meters away.

Each PBM can carry three Mk13 aerial torpedoes. In the blink of an eye, a series of splashes appeared on the sea, followed by dozens of long white trails.

Looking at the numerous incoming torpedoes, Zhou Changfeng felt his heart tighten.

Peng Chang in the front ordered calmly: "Right rudder, both cars move to three."

(End of this chapter)