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In the outbreak of the First World War, artillery was the weapon that dominated the battlefield, a large caliber is the truth, and a long range is the king. [^] Before the start of the war, various countries in Europe were desperately trying to create large-caliber cannons at great expense. For example, Germany, on the basis of heavy artillery, Germany had 5,000 field guns and 12,000 field howitzers before the war. However, neither Germany, nor France, nor Britain nor Russia, did they expect the war to enter a protracted war, and no country expected the great demand for artillery shells.

The first to run low was France, which consumed all its stored shells within 3 months of the start of the war; And the United Kingdom, too, only supported it for six months. Grand Duke Nikolai of Russia told the tsarist government that he needed 2.5 million rounds of artillery shells per month, which was later raised to 3.5 million rounds per month, and that Russia's industrial base, which had been demolished by China, could produce less than 500,000 rounds per month. By 1909, orders for artillery shells were snowflakes to China and the United States, mainly China, because China's labor and transportation costs were lower than those of the United States. The export of Chinese Tianlong machine guns also hit a new high, with a monthly production capacity of 7,000 units and 4,000 units exported.

As for arms, Song Xiaofei demanded that European countries should pay in advance. In this way, China's capital is increasing day by day, and Shanghai, Harbing, and Tianjin have all become famous financial centers in Asia. By the beginning of 1909, the government in Russia had run out of money and was effectively bankrupt, but Britain and France had to make loans of £25 million a month.

But here comes the problem, the European powers have put all the wealth and productive capacity of all the young men, generations of production, into the battlefield. Mutual consumption, the longer the time, the strength of the countries to fight hard. It is estimated. The Great War consumes about $50 billion in wealth each year, not counting the number of casualties in various countries. At that time, the average salary of a mature skilled worker was about $60-$100.

By 1909, Germany's military expenditure was 76 percent of GDP, compared to 70 percent in Britain and 100 percent in France. Where does all this money come from? I had to borrow from the United States and the Chinese, and I had to pay high interest. In this way, the liabilities of the major belligerents operated. China and the United States have made another big profit. By 1910. China's military strength and economic strength have increased greatly, and there is no need to open a golden finger. can fight against the European powers.

However, Britain and France mainly borrowed money from the Americans, while the Germans and Austria-Hungary mainly borrowed money from China. By 1910, Song Xiaofei had to consider whether the money lent by China could be recovered. If it is not possible to help the Germans defeat the Entente. At least not to allow Germany to be completely defeated. For China. The preservation of a relatively strong Germany was necessary to maintain the equilibrium in Europe and to restrain Russia and Great Britain. Moreover, Germany does not have many overseas colonies, and because of the factors of territory and population, its development stamina is bound to be inferior to that of China.

So, before going to war. In terms of the navy, China has vigorously developed a variety of advanced submarines. He also designed and manufactured a special kind of warship in Jiangnan Shipbuilding Group: this kind of ship has a displacement of about 10,000 tons, and is equipped with a 305 mm caliber gun, which makes the armor thick and has a super endurance. It was not a battleship, nor was it a heavy cruiser, it was called a "pocket battleship". Its design idea is very simple - in naval battles, if it encounters a heavy cruiser or battleship with the enemy's main gun of about 200 mm caliber, it will go up and beat people with its 305 mm main gun; If you run into a battleship with 300-381 mm guns, pat yourself on the ass and leave. This kind of battleship was more in line with the level of development of Chinese shipbuilding technology at that time, and there was another obvious advantage, that is, the cruiser could not beat it, and the battleship could not catch up with it. From 1907 to 1910, the Chinese Navy started the construction of ten such strange ships in one go, these battleships had the thickest armor, the strongest anti-aircraft firepower, small bodies, thick arms, like the "Popeye" who ate spinach in the cartoon.

In terms of the army, Song Xiaofei worked hard to develop the tank troops that countries did not pay much attention to at that time. Moreover, Song Xiaofei, who can predict the future, has also vigorously developed aircraft and air force units that are not available in other countries. In this way, China was one of the few countries in the world at that time that could conduct three-dimensional operations on land, sea, and air.

Because the technology of the aircraft was still very limited at that time, accidents often occurred, and for the European powers, the general staff of the Entente countries believed that the aircraft had only a limited role. The French interest in aviation, which lasted only among a small number of civilian athletes, believed that flying "is all well for sports, but of little use for the army." The British authorities were equally skeptical about the power of the aircraft as a weapon. The Germans considered the military use of the aircraft, but the German chief of staff, Schlieffen, saw the aircraft as an observation post, giving the air force a non-important place in the signal corps.

When Europe entered the war, Germany had 180 aircraft suitable for observation missions, plus 300 trainers and 13 zeppelins. There were only a hundred in France, sixty in the British, and these planes were not designed for military use, unarmed, all made of wood and metal wire, and the wings and fuselage were covered with glued cloth. There are more pilots than airplanes, but even then, less than a hundred servicemen know how to fly. Aviation officers offered to support the ground forces, which were repeatedly refused. At that time, reconnaissance was the task of the cavalry, and they complained that the noise of the engines of low-flying aircraft frightened their horses.

Moreover, aerial observation was a previously unknown technology at the time. Most of the observers were volunteer officers of artillery and cavalry, but the pilots were often conscripts who, when they saw the vague outlines on the ground, were completely unfamiliar with the shape of the troops, artillery installations, ammunition stacks, etc., on the move. Due to the design of the aircraft, it is more complicated to accurately see the concentration or movement of enemy forces. The observer's view from the top of the biplane is often blocked by the lower wing. His view of the front was cut off by the engine, exhaust pipe, and radiator. Viewed from other angles, it is also obscured by the skeletal structure of the pillars and metal wires that make the wings firm. Not surprisingly, aviation reports in the first weeks of the war were almost unanimously inaccurate. In the eyes of already skeptical commanders, this is a very detrimental effect on the inexperienced Air Force.

And the German air combat mission was mainly carried out by the Zeppelin. The effectiveness of air combat at that time was limited. German Zeppelins began air raids on London in January 1909. But only sporadic results were achieved. Their mission was to fly to the big cities of Britain and drop bombs in an attempt to force the British government to withdraw its troops and weapons from France in order to defend Britain. On the night of 31 May, London was also bombed for the first time by the LZ-38 airship commanded by Captain Linnatz. Searchlights can't shine on airships that fly very high. German bombs killed seven people and wounded thirty others in London, and also damaged buildings in a number of residential and commercial areas. Linnatz had not been able to fly to the capital during the previous attack, and the attackers dropped a piece of paper warning him: "You British. We've been here. And again. To not surrender is to die. German. ”

This period was dubbed the "Zeppelin Panic" by the British media. However, this fear, which the Germans were counting on, led the British to withdraw their troops from France. That was a miscalculation. The sadistic abilities of the Led Zeppelins are offset by their inherent disadvantage: the Led Zeppelins can only fly in the most favorable weather. Moreover, the Chief of the German General Staff Schlieffen believes that their Zeppelins fly higher than the aircraft. It was something that British fighters could not attack. As a matter of fact. These "superweapons" are completely defenseless. It is impossible for the pursuing aircraft to reach the altitude of a rigid airship, but they can easily fill holes with incendiary bombs until the huge airship can fly to a safe height. A little spark touching very flammable hydrogen would turn the airship into hell, and even the aluminum frame would melt.

The German airship could not yet maintain stability in high winds. On the night of October 20, 1909, eleven German zeppelins flew to London, and three never returned. Strong winds destroyed them. An airship dropped a bomb to no avail and was blown to France. There it was knocked down by fire from anti-aircraft weapons. The other was also blown out of control after dropping a bomb at Piccadilly Circus. Crashed in the south of France. The third was blown through the French forest by gusts of wind, cutting off the front gondola and its crew. It was then blown high into the air and finally seen losing control over the Mediterranean.

At that time, there were also airplanes in various European countries, but they also flew relatively low, and they could be strafed with pistols or machine guns, and sometimes even smashed with bricks. One day in September 1908, a French pilot, realizing that war was a cruel game, pulled out his pistol and fired at a German plane flying by, instead of waving as before. Shortly thereafter, French observers in two-seater aircraft began to carry rifles, but the gale and violent shaking of the engines greatly impaired their accuracy. Other observers brought bricks to throw German propellers - and even to the pilots. Some observers were armed with barrels of arrows—small pencil-shaped steel arrows—to throw enemy pilots. Experimenting with bomblets and grenades had limited success. At that time, there were no bombsights, and the pilot or observer took the projectile next to the aircraft and aimed it with his eyes. Speed or wind effects are not taken into account.

At that time, balloon spotters used parachutes, but the pilots of the planes and their observers did not use them. The cockpit was too small to accommodate parachutes, and no one thought to design the cockpit of an airplane to be large enough to accommodate them. If a damaged aircraft cannot glide safely to the ground, the pilot often dies in the wreckage. To protect the pilots from bullets fired from low-flying enemy aircraft or ground forces, they sat on cast-iron stove covers.

However, China's aircraft at that time, because of Feng Ru, the Wright brothers, and Luo Lang. Garros, Anthony. With the addition of a number of outstanding engineers such as Fokker, the aircraft has basically formed a strong combat effectiveness.

Historically, when it comes to the inventors and builders of airplanes, many people know the Wright brothers of the United States. But a Chinese student who lived in the same era as the Wright brothers and also designed, built and flew the first airplane in Chinese history in the United States: Feng Ru. His success was only 5 years later than that of the Wright brothers.

In 1883, Feng Ru was born in a poor peasant family in Xingpu Village, Niujiang Town, Enping City, Guangdong Province. Feng Ru's father was a simple and honest farmer who supported his family by cultivating a small piece of land. He has loved handicrafts since he was a child, and often uses clay, wooden sticks and other materials to make some models of cars, gadgets and other models. Due to the lack of money to seek medical treatment, Feng Ru's four elder brothers died of illness one after another, and he also dropped out of school to help his father with farming because the family had no money. When Feng Ru was 12 years old, his uncle, who was doing a small business in San Francisco, USA, returned home to save his family, saw that Feng Ru's family was living in poverty, and wanted to bring Feng Ru to the United States to make a living.

Feng Ru is good at studying, working as a handyman in the United States during the day and studying mechanics at night, studying hard for several years, proficient in 36 mechanical principles, inventing pumps, pile drivers, and making excellent performance of radio transceivers. He invested in aircraft manufacturing on the basis of the development of some machinery, and returned to China to work after success.

In 1906, Song Xiaofei personally went to the Tianjin wharf to meet Feng Ru, who returned to China, and after Feng Ru met Song Xiaofei, he said: "It costs millions of dollars to build a warship, and it is better to build hundreds of aircraft, which are cheap and labor-saving, and are more useful." Aircraft have become an indispensable piece of military equipment, and if China can build millions of planes and station them in various ports in China, it will be enough to make China's national defense strong! ”

Song Xiaofei nodded and said, "I know the significance of the Air Force to future wars. I hope that in the future you will be able to lead the Chinese Air Force, do you have any confidence? ”

Feng Ru was greatly moved and said firmly: "I vow to dedicate my life's energy to China's aircraft industry. If you don't succeed, you'd rather die! ”

In that year, Song Xiaofei allocated $1 million to Feng Rute for scientific research start-up funds and set up the first aircraft manufacturing company for the Chinese.

Luo Lang. Garros, who was previously known as a pilot performing aerobatics, was hired to China by Xi Muyan's international company at a high salary. His main contribution was to equip the aircraft with a Hotchkiss machine gun in front of the cockpit, aiming straight at the wooden propellers, facing the muzzle blades, protected by wedge-shaped steel plates, so that the bullets hitting the propellers were redirected.

Anthony. Fokker, who was recognized as the best aircraft designer in Europe at the time, was paid $200,000 a year by Xi Muyan's company, which was definitely a tempting annual salary at the time. Anthony. Fokker never dealt with a machine gun, let alone fired. However, within the allotted time, Fokker and his mechanics experimented with a synchronous machine gun capable of firing through a spiral arc without hitting a blade. His invention included a cam system that allowed the weapon to fire only when the propeller was not in line with the machine gun. Neither Fokker nor his assistant ever went to mechanical engineering school. Every problem is solved by a high degree of mechanical ingenuity. In March 1909, he built and flew the fastest and most robust monoplane of the time. After this kind of aircraft was accepted by the Chinese side, Song Xiaofei recognized his ability, and also met with him separately to provide him with production sites and equipment in Shenyang. Six months later, the Fokker E-1 monoplane with its synchronous machine gun appeared.

Therefore, much of China's lead in fighter aircraft is due to Fock, who designed nearly 60 different types of aircraft between 1907 and 1910. The British, who were slow to recognize his talent, offered him in writing that if he came to England to design planes for the Royal Flying Corps, they would give him ten million dollars, but Fokker did not know about this until after the end of the war. Chinese intelligence intercepted the letter and, of course, detained it.

By 1910, when China was preparing to enter the war, China already had 200 mature fighters of various types, of which more than 150 were capable of directly participating in combat missions. Compared with the primitive planes that had more accidents in the past, the performance of these fighters was basically stable, and Song Xiaofei set up a separate establishment of the mature Chinese Air Force, and organized it into three flight groups, including Feipeng, Feiying, and Feihu, which were actually under the command of Feng Ru. (To be continued......) u