Enemy at the Gates

Since late 1930s, most top engineering students from the best Chinese universities, i.e. Tongji, Tsinghua, and Zhejian joined the defense industry.  While the vast military academy graduates were commissioned 2^nd lieutenant, these technical minority under the Ordnance Ministry were straight commissioned lieutenant.  Their importance was considered unreplaceable, as Japan started shrewd devastating China.  One of the young 2^nd Lt. was my dad, he was mechanical engineering major in Tongji  and joined the OM's Metallurgy Laboratory in Nanking.  When the devil was at doorstep of the capital in 1937, he was still focus on forming mortar shells by using rotating casting.  After his lab withdrawn to Chongqing, he became a mechanical and metallurgical engineer in the Electrical Refinery Factory, which provided the brass of 99.9% purity for ammo cartridge production.  Lacking of sufficient raw material, my dad's team had to purchased tons of ancient coins from countryside to fulfill the huge demand of brass.

During the Sino-Japanese War, in total 23 Ordnance Factories scattered around the home front.  To prevent enemy's air raid, the factories were hidden in the mountainous area in Sichuan, nine of them were nearby Chongqing and vicinity.  Among the 200,000 OM's workers, nearly 10,000 were with the OF 21, which was the most versatile and largest factory.  Located on the northern bank of Gialing River, 21's workforce of three shifts operated round-the-clock to maximize production.  In average the OFs monthly produced 5,675 rifles, 444 light machine guns, 195 heavy machine guns and 144 mortars, etc. to partially replace the battle losses of 8,368 rifles, 515 light machine guns, 119 heavy machine guns, etc. per month in 1937-45.  The victory was never cheap, my dad was one of the numerous unsung hero who fixed a calamity that’s proved unfixable without extraordinary devotion.  In his later years in Taiwan, 1946-98, he still enjoy the time tested friendship from ordnance buddy.  Sometimes the 60's machine gun chief visited my dad for manufacturing advise, their OF 60 and 26's villages were adjacent to our Talco (Taiwan Aluminum Corp.) complex, at Kaohsiung in southern Taiwan.

Based on the OF numbering system, 20-40 block stand for southwestern provinces, 60 block stands for Jiangsu province, i.e. OF 60 in Nanking and OF 61 in Shanghai. 70 block stands for Northern China, only OF 70 in Beijing. 80 block stands for southern China, only 80 OF in Guangdong. 90 block stands for Northeast province (Manchuria), only OF 90 in Shenyang (Mukden).  After 1949 the Red China gained a permanent foothold in mainland, the OFs captured by the Reds diverted to make Russian models, while the four moved to Taiwan switched to the U.S. spec.  In my childhood, I always heard remote machine gun burst from 60's arsenal test range.