Chapter 1682 Airspace Security
As the two were talking, the transport plane was not far from the airport. It aimed at the runway below and landed smoothly on the paved surface of the Baoji suburban airport.
In 1938, although the Far Eastern Empire had built many airports, few airports had two concrete runways like the Baoji Suburban Airport.
At present, most airports in the Far Eastern Empire are natural grass or compacted dirt runways, which can only accommodate small aircraft. For example, the Nanjing Ming Palace Airport, which opened in 1929, was initially a dirt runway, but was later partially rebuilt with a gravel surface.
Upgraded airports use simple gravel or rammed earth runways, while a few key airports are reinforced with cement concrete.
In summary, the Far Eastern Empire's current airport situation is "advanced in some areas, but backward overall."
In this way, Baoji Suburban Airport appeared somewhat ahead of its time among the many airports in the Far Eastern Empire.
Such design and standard requirements are also due to the practical needs of East Africa. From Gwadar Port to Baoji, the transport aircraft flying in between are basically large aircraft, so the airport's carrying capacity standards are inherently higher.
This is not only reflected in the airports in the suburbs of Baoji, but also in airports such as Shule Airport, Guihua Airport, and the Shancheng Airport which is under construction.
Besides the airport runway, Baoji Suburban Airport is located in the entire Far East Empire.
After He Xin, Frederick, and others disembarked from the transport plane, airport staff at the Baoji suburban airport had already made preparations to welcome them, including Wapol, the airport manager of East Africa Huayuan Airlines.
At airports in cooperation between the Far Eastern Empire and East Africa, East African staff and managers were indispensable. After all, at that time, the Far Eastern Empire itself lacked the various talents needed for the aviation industry, even airport managers and various technical or service personnel.
Wapol was one of them, responsible for the management and scheduling of the airport in the suburbs of Baoji. Of course, he was also responsible for the corresponding teaching and training of airport personnel in the Far Eastern Empire.
Wapol had already received news of the arrival of this transport fleet, so he came to greet them personally. He led He Xin and the others into a car and drove towards the edge of the airport.
Wapol said to them from the back of the train: "You've all worked hard. After this flight, you can rest here for a while. Except for the crews on special missions, you can relax for a couple of days in the local area."
No one was surprised by Wapol's words, as they had arranged it in advance when they took off from Shule County.
For their kind of work, the best-case scenario is that there are no unexpected events, especially given the current war between the Far Eastern Empire and Japan, which could potentially affect them.
Although Baoji is located quite far back in the country, there is still a possibility that it could be attacked by Japanese fighter planes and bombers.
Therefore, this job is not safe for pilots in East Africa.
However, as of now, such an event has not occurred at the Baoji suburban airport or even in the entire city of Baoji. In the previous life, Baoji was bombed by Japanese bombers around 1939.
In this timeline, this time may be advanced due to the early construction and operation of the Baoji suburban airport.
This was further confirmed by what Wapol said next.
After directing the loading process, Wapol hosted He Xin and the other East African pilots and led them to the residential area that had been specially built for them.
Wapol and many of these pilots were old acquaintances, including He Xin, while Frederick was a stranger here for the first time.
Wapol said to He Xin and a few other people he knew, "Your new dormitory has been completely completed and is not far from the airport."
"When I come to Baoji again in the future, I won't need to stay in local hotels or private houses. The new dormitory is in very good condition, with all kinds of facilities and water and electricity have been solved."
He Xin said, "That's good. Getting from the airport to Baoji city used to be quite troublesome, especially with the water and electricity issues."
Wapol said, "There's nothing we can do about it. After all, this airport was only built recently, and the corresponding infrastructure development is lagging behind."
"The key issue is that the Far Eastern Empire's development level is not high at present. They themselves are relatively short of electricity, let alone in the more underdeveloped northwest hinterland of the Far Eastern Empire."
"Therefore, we need to take responsibility for ensuring the livelihood of our staff in the Far Eastern Empire."
"This includes housing construction, water and electricity supply, and the provision of various basic household appliances..."
Undoubtedly, the developed areas of the Far Eastern Empire were concentrated in the east, especially the large cities along the coast and rivers. However, even in these large cities, the level of electricity penetration was relatively low, let alone in Baoji, a small county town in the northwest.
Although Baoji is a very important hub as the terminus of the Longhai Railway, a major railway line in the Far East Empire, the railway was only put into use in Baoji last year.
In other words, Baoji had no time to fully enjoy the benefits brought by this railway line before the war broke out.
Although Baoji City has attracted many enterprises and workers from the Far East Empire due to the operation of the railway and airport, the overall urban development has not been effectively improved.
This can be seen by looking at the temporary buildings surrounding the ancient city wall of Baoji. They are called buildings, but they are actually a bunch of messy and disorderly shacks.
Even so, housing in Baoji is extremely scarce, and more people are flocking there. In addition to workers and businesses, government personnel and military personnel have also increased significantly in Baoji.
In particular, much of the supplies and troops from the southwestern region of the Far Eastern Empire had to be transferred through Baoji to support the northwestern front.
He Xin was quite familiar with the situation in the Far East Empire, so he said, "This war is undoubtedly a disaster for the Far East Empire, but for a special place like Baoji, it may also be an opportunity."
"I just hope the war won't spread here. Japan's previous offensive against the Far Eastern Empire was too fierce."
Baoji is developing rapidly and is in a rare state of relative peace, making it a haven of tranquility in the northwest rear of the Far Eastern Empire.
Therefore, He Xin did not want this tranquility to be broken by war, which was also for his own safety.
If Baoji is also drawn into the war, it will obviously not be a good thing for those of them who work here.
Wapol sighed and said, "Baoji City may not be safe now either. Just now, we spotted a Japanese reconnaissance plane. Although it only circled over Baoji City once, I think the situation here may have been exposed."
His words made He Xin's heart leap into his throat. After all, what came now was a reconnaissance plane, but next time it might be bombers and fighter jets.
He asked Wapol, "So, does that mean the airport in the suburbs of Baoji might become a target?"
Wapol nodded heavily and said, "That possibility cannot be ruled out. I have already reported this to my superiors."
"The Far Eastern Empire's air defense capabilities are extremely weak, even negligible, and the Baoji suburban airport is clearly a strategic target that the enemy will inevitably pay attention to."
"Therefore, for the safety of this airport, I think the Empire will make corresponding arrangements to ensure the safety of its citizens."
"In accordance with the instructions from above, we are preparing to accelerate the construction of air defense systems around the airport in order to deter the enemy."
"However, this means that the security of the Baoji suburban airport remains very passive. To prevent the enemy from getting close, it would be best to have dedicated fighter jets for active defense to keep the enemy out of the area."
He Xin frowned and said, "That would be very difficult. Although we are currently on the side of the Far Eastern Empire in this war, it's hard to say whether we can get involved more deeply."
Wapol said, "It doesn't necessarily have to involve the Imperial Army. In fact, the Far Eastern Imperial Government can handle this matter."
"They could provide the personnel, and the Empire could provide the aircraft, thus forming an air force in the northwest region of the Far Eastern Empire. Of course, this is just my own idea; perhaps the Empire and the Far Eastern Empire government already had this in mind."
"Actually, Japan's air force is not that strong, but it is considered very powerful by the standards of the Far Eastern Empire."
"The Far Eastern Empire does not lack the courage and determination to confront Japan; what it lacks are aircraft and professional personnel."
In 1938, the Far Eastern Empire probably had only a few hundred pilots in the entire country, so they not only lacked aircraft, but also pilots.
In fact, with the unfolding of the Battle of Jiangcheng, the number of pilots in the Far Eastern Empire capable of actual combat has decreased again, and many have already sacrificed their lives on the aerial battlefield.
He Xin said, "Then we must speed up our actions, otherwise without air defense, the airport in the suburbs of Baoji will become a target of the enemy sooner or later."
Wapol said, "The only thing we can do now is to speed up the deployment of air defenses at the airport, which will at least serve as a deterrent to the enemy."
"The Far Eastern Empire's industry is backward, and its aviation industry is almost non-existent. Japan's situation is not much better in this regard. If their fighter planes are shot down, it will be extremely painful for them."
By 1938, Japan's aircraft manufacturing capacity had increased from over a thousand aircraft in 1937 to approximately three thousand aircraft per year.
However, Japan's military aircraft obviously cannot be used only in the Far East theater. The Soviet Union and Japan need to keep an eye on them, and some must be retained on the mainland as well. They also need to be deployed in other strategic locations controlled by Japan.
Moreover, the Japanese Navy also accounted for a large proportion of the military aircraft, but it was not the main force in the Far East theater.
In 1938, Japan actually deployed about 700 to 800 military aircraft in the Far East theater, and in order to deal with the Battle of Jiangcheng, Japan transferred about 500 military aircraft.
With only two to three hundred military aircraft remaining, there are too many things to take care of, so Japan's military aircraft numbers are also extremely scarce.
Throughout the Northwest region, Japan had a very limited number of military aircraft at its disposal, and bombers were even scarcer.
This is why Wapol is confident that he can deter Japan's air force in the northwest by relying on anti-aircraft firepower.
Even the loss of just one aircraft would be a heavy blow to Japan, especially for a powerful nation like Japan with relatively underdeveloped industry and scarce resources.
The aircraft manufacturing industry is a cutting-edge industry for any country in the world today, including East Africa and the United States. While East Africa and the United States have developed their automobile industries to such a large scale, they do not have the capacity to develop their aviation industries to such an astonishing degree.
Of course, for other countries in the world, the aviation industries of East Africa and the United States are already beyond their reach.
Japan's aviation industry is actually quite advanced by global standards. However, in addition to technological challenges, resources continue to constrain its development, such as aluminum, copper, and fuel.
In other words, Japanese aircraft do not use much metal, and the fuselage can even be made of wood. Otherwise, their development would be even more difficult due to resource constraints.
Wapol said, "Of course, it would be best if the Far Eastern Empire could establish a new air force. The number doesn't need to be too large, even just a hundred or so aircraft would significantly improve the airspace security of the Far Eastern Empire, not to mention Baoji."
"Unlike now, the entire northwest of the Far Eastern Empire is almost completely undefended against Japanese aircraft, which can fly around with impunity."
"In other words, there are more important strategic objectives in the east, such as Xi'an, Xianyang, and Luoyang, which are cities of the Far Eastern Empire. Therefore, the Japanese cannot take care of Baoji in the rear."
To the east of Baoji, there are still many places holding out. The impact of the war on the entire Shaanxi province is relatively small compared to the eastern provinces, at least the Japanese ground forces have not yet penetrated.
He Xin said, "I hope the Empire will adopt your suggestions! If necessary, it's not out of the question for us to join the Far East Air Force."
As can be seen from He Xin's name, as an East African, he actually had a deep affection for the Far Eastern Empire in terms of culture.
Therefore, if the empire allowed it, he would not mind contributing to the Far Eastern Empire's war of resistance.
Wapol said, "What you are doing now is very meaningful to the Far Eastern Empire. After all, in the international community, no country has helped the Far Eastern Empire more than East Africa."
"This Northwest Route alone is actually a loss-making operation for the Empire, not to mention that we also provided the Far Eastern Empire with a large amount of strategic materials."
At this point, Wapol suddenly asked curiously, "He Xin, what kind of goods did you transport this time?"
He Xin did not hide anything from Wapol, saying, "The plane I was piloting was transporting textiles, all bundled up in burlap sacks."
Wapol said knowingly, "Right now, the weather in the Far Eastern Empire should be getting colder soon, so textiles are indeed very necessary for the Far Eastern Empire government."
"Not to mention the front line, textiles are extremely scarce even in Baoji. Many people don't even have basic warm clothing. If this is not properly addressed, based on my understanding of the local climate, winter will definitely be very difficult to endure."
He Xin nodded and said, "I hope the Far Eastern Empire government can solve these problems! I'm afraid they won't be able to use the supplies we provide effectively."
Wapol frowned at his concern but didn't say anything more.
(End of this chapter)
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