[Military and Military Sub-Plane] Author: Lele
July 1, 2022 is the 25th anniversary of Hong Kong's return to . In many people's minds, the British left Hong Kong in disgrace 25 years ago is a unique trace of history. But what few people know is that on the eve of Hong Kong's official return, the British government specially organized a special task force headed by an aircraft carrier, which arrived in East Asia in a show of force and visited more than 10 countries along the way. In contrast, the equipment development of our navy was relatively backward at that time. Not only had the famous "Modern" class destroyers not yet been delivered, but the Type 052 No. 2 ship and the 051B destroyer were still under construction. Except for a large number of old 051 destroyers , there is only one type 052 Harbin ship with acceptable combat power, which is really embarrassing. However, what no one thought at the time was that just 25 years later, the situation would be completely reversed.
▲The British Navy aircraft carrier "Excellence" that arrived in the South China Sea in 1997 The British Navy task force that arrived in the South China Sea in 1997 included a total of 1 aircraft carrier, 4 frigates , and 1 Destroyer , 2 attack nuclear submarines, 3 supply ships , 1 landing craft and 1 cruise ship. Among them, the last two ships were used to evacuate British personnel deployed in Hong Kong, and the British government specially issued a set of stamps for this show of force, which was watertight. At that time, our country's navy was in a very difficult stage of development. The first two "Modern" class destroyers purchased at a cost of US$1 billion were still not completed at the Russian Northern Shipyard. The Type 001 Liaoning ship that is now familiar to the outside world, its predecessor, the "Varyag" aircraft carrier, was bought by my country for US$20 million just the year before. It is studying the route to return to China, and everything has just been laid out.
▲ "Modern" class destroyers had to wait until 1999 to begin delivery
Overall, although the People's Navy had been established for nearly 50 years at that time, the performance of the early-equipped Type 051 destroyers and Type 053 frigates was relatively simple and not suitable for high seas. action. Therefore, except for the famous high-sea formation formed to support the Dongfeng-5 intercontinental ballistic missile test, the Navy has not really moved to the high seas for a long time. Finally, the Type 052 Harbin ship was completed and put into service, and the Soviet Navy's ocean-going supply ship purchased from Ukraine was also built and renamed the "Qinghai Lake" ship, becoming the first large-scale ocean-going comprehensive supply ship of the Chinese Navy. , the navy truly has the foundation to move into the open sea.
▲The "Qinghai Lake" ship is of great significance
In February 1997, about five months before the return of Hong Kong, the Navy mobilized the Type 052 Harbin and Type 051 Zhuhai ships (this is the last ship in the 051 series) to "Qinghai Lake" "With the support of supply ships, he crossed the Pacific, visited North America and South America, and finally returned home smoothly in May 1997. The long-sea operations of these three warships were the starting point for the navy to move towards the Pacific. However, at that time, the combat effectiveness of these three warships could not be compared with the aircraft carrier task force composed of more than 10 ships of the British Navy. During the Cold War , the British Navy, which gradually shrank in size and its aircraft carrier performance declined day by day, although it has lost its former glory, its profound heritage made its development level at that time still significantly higher than that of the Chinese Navy.
▲The Type 052 Harbin ship
was once known as the "First Ship of China". However, this embarrassment did not last long. With the subsequent development of 4 "Modern" class destroyers and 12 "Kilo" class submarines After the introduction, and the launch of two 052B, two 052C, and two 051C destroyers , the scale of the advanced ships of our navy has rapidly expanded. More importantly, the "Varyag" arrived in Dalian in 2002 after many twists and turns. Different from the special treatment given to the previous two "Kiev" class aircraft carriers, it ignited the aircraft carrier dream in the hearts of the outside world and heralded the success of the 1990s. After the difficult period, the development of the People's Navy has entered a new stage.During this period, the most typical sign was to fully absorb the essence of the development of the Soviet navy. In the future, the mature combat forces "Modern" and " Kilo" introduced from Russia, and the "Varyag" acquired from Ukraine ", "Qinghai Lake", and even the UGT-25000 gas turbine have all played a vital role in the development of the navy.
▲The reborn "Varyag" became the current Liaoning ship
Finally, in 2006, the Navy began construction of a new generation of Type 054A frigates and a 20,000-ton Type 071 dock landing ship. The styles of these two warships are obviously different from those of previous domestic warships. Their novel stealth design and smooth appearance made them cause a sensation as soon as they were unveiled, becoming typical representatives of domestic warships before 2010. After 2010, the navy, which had sufficient technological accumulation and resource support, immediately entered a stage of high-level development, eventually leading to the climax of the development of domestically produced warships that the outside world is very familiar with. Advanced equipment such as the Type 055 10,000-ton destroyer, the Type 052D destroyer , the Type 002 aircraft carrier, and the Type 075 amphibious assault ship were all launched into service at this stage. The entire navy's high-sea power is developing so fast that even in the global naval power It is also very rare in hundreds of years of development history.
The Type 075 amphibious assault ship opened a new era of naval landing operations
In contrast, the British Navy, which specially dispatched an aircraft carrier task force to East Asia in 1997, has experienced twists and turns in its development in the 21st century. The Type 45 destroyer, which had high hopes, had frequent problems due to the application of too many new technologies. In addition, only 6 ships were built in the end. This made the warship, regarded as the main destroyer of the British Navy, perform very poorly, especially the dispatch rate so far. Didn't reach the ideal state. As the new generation "Queen Elizabeth" class aircraft carrier, which is the pride of the British Navy, although it has pioneered the application of novel technologies such as dual ship islands and gas turbine propulsion, the British shipbuilding industry, which has been declining for many years, has a serious lack of technological accumulation, making the two aircraft carriers The construction cost and lead time exceeded expectations. There was even a big mistake when the first ship, the HMS Queen Elizabeth, had water in its cabin during sea trials.
▲The development of the "Queen Elizabeth" class aircraft carrier is not smooth
And when the "Queen Elizabeth" aircraft carrier led a team across the Indian Ocean in the summer of 2021, trying to restore part of the glory of the British Navy, it once competed with the Chinese Navy's Type 002 Shandong in the South China Sea. ship contact. The specific process is still unknown to the outside world, but what can be seen is that the "Queen Elizabeth" did not go north after passing through the South China Sea, but turned towards the Western Pacific. The most important thing is that the domestic Type 003 Fujian aircraft carrier has been officially launched on June 17, 2022. Its displacement of more than 80,000 tons and the electromagnetic catapult it carries have completely suppressed the "Elizabeth" that the British Navy is proud of. Queen" class aircraft carrier. Twenty-five years after the British aircraft carrier task force arrived in the South China Sea to show off its force, the Chinese navy has finally completely left the British navy behind in the aircraft carrier field.
