From a small broken ship to a large aircraft carrier, how can the People's Navy develop from scratch?
Do you believe it? On the day the People's Navy was established, the total combat strength was only 13 people, which could fit in three American jeeps. The ships that the navy relies on for its survival are only a few thousand tons, which are not even comparable to a destroyer of the navy of a great power.
Did China really have no warships at that time? actually exists. When Zhang Aiping led 12 people to complete the formation of the People's Navy, he immediately drove to Jiangyin Fortress to prepare to receive the Second Fleet of the Navy under Chiang Kai-shek. But who is Chiang Kai-shek? What he can’t get, he would rather destroy it than give it away. Through military power in the air and on the sea, Chiang Kai-shek frantically blew up ships, including those that could go to sea. In other words, the People's Navy at that time had no ships available.
It’s such a joke that the navy has no ships available, but the reality back then was so cruel. But this did not defeat Zhang Aiping. He began to recruit talents from all over the country and accepted dilapidated ships in an eclectic way. With the efforts of Zhang Aiping, and Zeng Guosheng appeared. Zeng Guosheng, a rear admiral of the Chinese navy, led an uprising in July 1949 because he was dissatisfied with the civil war provoked by Chiang Kai-shek . In the naval field, Zeng Guosheng is a great master, and Zhang Aiping attaches great importance to his suggestions on naval ships. During this period, the People's Navy's work on ships was modification and overhaul.
In the Huangpu River, our army salvaged three Japanese-style frigates, and then modified and repaired them; the Huang'an frigate that rebelled in Qingdao, the Weihai frigate captured in Jiangyin , and the Yongji gunboat Also entered the ranks of major renovations. At the same time, as the mayor of Shanghai, Chen Yi handed over 6 traditional cargo ships to the navy for modification. Thanks to such efforts, the People's Navy has ships and frigates . Although they cannot compete with the big powers, they are the best things we can get.
On April 23, 1950, the first anniversary of the founding of the People's Navy arrived. 134 ships of various types gathered in the Caoxie Gorge of the Yangtze River in Nanjing for review. Seeing this scene, Su Yu said: "It is a miracle to build a navy of this size in one year!"
If you want to strengthen the navy and complete the great cause of reunification, just relying on these few modified fleets is enough. If this is not possible, our country must have its own shipbuilding technology. Chairman Mao, the then national leader, saw this matter and was anxious in his heart. In 1958, Chairman Mao said this: "We must vigorously develop the shipbuilding industry, build a large number of ships, establish maritime railways, and build a powerful maritime combat force in the next few years!"
But at that time, Our country not only needs to develop atomic bombs and missiles, but also research ship technology, and our wallets simply cannot support them. So, the priority is set, that is to develop the atomic bomb first. At this stage, our country's shipbuilding technology began to come to a halt, almost falling into an endless cycle of building cars behind closed doors. So much so that in the 1970s, if our country wanted to conduct ocean-going trade, it had to lease foreign ships. In order to change this dilemma, our country is determined to enter the international shipping market and push ships into the sea.
In the 1970s, Deng Gong put forward the theory of "integrating the military and civilians, focusing on the military, developing civilian uses, and supporting the military with the people", requiring major shipyards to enter the international market and seek their own development. The person who was entrusted with important tasks by Deng Gong was Chai Shufan. In 1978, Chai Shufan was appointed as the Minister of Construction of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, responsible for our country's shipbuilding industry.
But this news is nothing short of a bolt from the blue for the major shipyards. After all, over the years, they have become accustomed to the planned economy, accustomed to living on a few domestic orders, and they have rashly appeared internationally. A little timid. But if they don't do this, these companies will fail completely, and China's shipbuilding industry will be in trouble. Therefore, Chai Shufan took the initiative and began to promote business for my country's shipyards.
In March 1980, Chai Shufan visited Lu Xuzhang, director of the National Tourism Administration, hoping that he would come forward to introduce the Bao brothers, known as the world's shipping kings. The Bao brothers are the top leaders in Hong Kong's shipping industry. Among them, Bao Yugang is Lu Xuzhang's brother-in-law. The two of them can still talk to each other. Under this kind of connection, the Bao brothers reached a cooperation with Dalian Shipyard to build two 27,000-ton bulk carriers domestically.
Of course, the Bao brothers did not give the order in vain. Their requirement was that the ship should be built in accordance with international standards, and after the cargo ship was completed, it would be inspected and accepted by a third-party British company. For experts who are accustomed to shipbuilding based on domestic standards, international standards are simply a new world. Because there are three big books of technical instructions alone, and there are standards for everything in them. Even the hooks on the bed have acceptance standards.
But I was dumbfounded. Now that I have got this job, I can't run away. For this reason, Sun Wenxue, the director of Dalian Shipyard, directly issued a military order to complete the construction of ships within 18 months. If the delivery is one day late, there will be a fine of US$4,500. If the delivery is 150 days late, the Bao Brothers can simply abandon the ship and all economic losses will be borne by ourselves.
Sun Wenxue's determination greatly affected the workers of the shipyard. Whether it was the department, quality inspection, or logistics, they all issued letters of determination one after another, vowing to win this big order and fight for the Dalian Shipyard. Let’s strive for the country’s success in the international shipping industry. In order to deliver the ship smoothly, during the construction period, Dalian Shipyard invited a surveyor Ellen from the UK to participate in the entire process.
But what Ellen didn't expect was that international standards are very strict, and Chinese workers are even stricter. After more than 300 days of construction, the Great Wall finally ushered in the final inspection moment. Ellen measured it again and again and found almost no error. The only error was the length of the ship, but the error was only two millimeters. The scene of surprised Allen very much. He could not imagine that these Chinese workers, who had just started to use international standards, could go through 122 processes without making mistakes. But in the end, he could only say sincerely: "It's perfect, I didn't expect it!"
On September 14, 1981, the much-anticipated Great Wall was officially launched. The smooth sailing of the Great Wall has become a living symbol of China's shipbuilding industry, and has also opened up the international reputation of China's shipbuilding industry. From this moment on, foreign shipbuilding orders flew to China one after another. China's shipbuilding industry finally achieved the goal Deng Gong said: earning foreign exchange!
The upgrade of civilian shipbuilding technology has also continued to promote the development of my country's military shipbuilding technology. Soon, the Liaoning we are familiar with will also be unveiled at the Dalian Shipyard!
After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Ukraine inherited the unfinished Varyag number . But Ukraine does not have the strength to complete the construction of this aircraft carrier and can only sell it. At the same time, Xu Zengping, chairman of the Macau Chuanglu Group, rushed to Ukraine after receiving the news and wanted to purchase the semi-finished aircraft carrier and negotiated with the Ukrainian side. In the end, Chuanglu Group bought the demolished and empty Varyag and a bunch of drawings for US$20 million.
In July 1999, in order to pull the aircraft carrier back to China, Chuanglu Group hired a tugboat. But when the ship sailed to the Bosporus Strait, Turkey , which was instructed by a third country, suddenly jumped out, criticized the normal commercial behavior of Chinese companies, and resolutely refused to allow passage. In the end, the relevant departments of our country came forward and negotiated and argued with Turkey for more than half a year before taking away the aircraft carrier from Turkey.
Finally, the Varyag officially entered China’s territorial waters in February 2002. One month later, the aircraft carrier appeared at the Dalian port. But by the time it officially entered the Dalian Shipyard, it was already April 26, 2005. Since then, Dalian Shipyard began to modify and manufacture this semi-finished aircraft carrier, and it took 7 years to complete this task and call the aircraft carrier into the hands of the People's Navy. And this aircraft carrier has become the most familiar aircraft carrier Liaoning to the Chinese people.
On December 17, 2019, my country’s completely independently developed Shandong ship was officially listed, making our country a country with dual aircraft carriers. On June 17, 2022, the 003 Fujian ship was also successfully launched, giving China three aircraft carriers.
If we look carefully at the names of our country’s aircraft carriers, we will find that what these aircraft carriers represent is actually China’s past suffering history. The Liaoning ship represents the Great War of Sino-Japanese War; the Shandong ship represents the Sino-Japanese War of Weihaiwei; the Fujian ship represents the Mawei Sea Battle between China and France. These three naval battles are all a shame in China’s modern history, and they are a past that countless Chinese young people want to avenge.
Based on this situation, some netizens speculated whether my country's future aircraft carriers would be called Guangdong ships and Jiangsu ships! The former is to remember the Opium War , while the latter is to let us remember the Nanjing Treaty . The reason why it is not named after a direct location is because our country has regulations on aircraft carrier names, which require them to be named after administrative provinces and municipalities.
In addition, it is worth mentioning that in the latest Fujian aircraft carrier, our country is equipped with electromagnetic ejection and blocking devices. The electromagnetic catapult system has always been the main direction of research on aircraft carriers by countries around the world. The United States spent 21 years and US$3.2 billion to develop this technology. But our country started from scratch and overtook the curve in just a few years. It can be said that this technology is worthy of all Chinese people being proud of.
Today, when we appreciate the majesty and domineering power of the three aircraft carriers, we must remember that it is not easy for the People's Navy to achieve such high achievements.
