In the history of the development of nuclear weapons in China, in addition to 23 two bombs and one satellite heroes including Wang Ganchang, Cheng Kaijia, Deng Jiaxian, and Yu Min, there is also an unavoidable name, he is the first nuclear commander of the Republic, Zhang Yunyu, .
In August 1958, Zhang Yunyu, chief of staff of the Third Corps stationed in Dalian, received a call from his old leader and then deputy chief of staff, General Chen Geng. On the phone, General Chen Geng said straight to Zhang Yunyu: The country wants to develop atomic bomb , and the central government decided to let you build an atomic bomb range, which is what I recommend. Do it well, China should have an atomic bomb.
After listening to the old leader’s words, Zhang Yunyu answered without hesitation: Obey the order and ensure that the task is completed!
This atomic bomb range is the Lop Nur Malan nuclear test base that we later known. So, why did General Chen Geng find Zhang Yunyu and ask him to be responsible for building a nuclear test base?
1917, Zhang Yunyu was born in Wuchang Village, Zanhuang County, Hebei Province. In 1937, the War of Resistance Against Japan broke out in full swing, and 20-year-old Zhang Yunyu also joined the Anti-Japanese National Rescue Movement and participated in the Eighth Route Army. He participated in Qinghe, Maling, Dachenzhuang, 00 Regiment Battles and and other combat campaigns. Due to his bravery in combat, he went from captain of the guerrillas in Zanhuang County to deputy commander of the 33rd Regiment of the 1st Military Sub-district of the Taihang Military Region.
During the Liberation War, Zhang Yunyu started from the deputy commander of the 24th Regiment of the 1st Military Sub-district of the Taihang Military Region and served as deputy chief of staff of the 15th Army of the 2nd Field Army. He once participated in the mediation negotiations on the Anping incident of the famous military conflict between the People's Liberation Army and the US military. Because the mediation result of the Anping incident was "unresolved", many people expressed their confusion about this, but Zhang Yunyu smiled and said, "The war between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party is coming, why should Anping?" It can be seen that Zhang Yunyu has a great view of the overall situation.
After the liberation, Zhang Yunyu served as the chief of staff of the 15th Army, and the then commander was Qin Jiwei.
After the outbreak of the Korean War , Zhang Yunyu, as the chief of staff of the 15th Army of the Volunteer Army, entered North Korea to fight, and participated in command of the famous Shangganling Battle . The Shangganling tunnel battle was proposed by him.
Zhang Yunyu has the nickname "Mr. Kong Ming" in the 15th Army. In the words of Commander Qin Jiwei, "I have two good chiefs of staff, one is He Zhengwen , and the other is Zhang Yunyu." It can be seen that Zhang Yunyu's military talent is very extraordinary.
1955, Zhang Yunyu was transferred from the 15th Army to the deputy chief of staff of the 3rd Corps. With the deputy commander of Zeng Shaoshan, he led the direct team of the 3rd Corps to directly station in Dalian from North Korea, and was responsible for accepting the defense after the Soviet army evacuated.
During the 3rd Corps, as one of the earliest commanders in the joint combat command practice of our army's three armies, Zhang Yunyu organized and participated in the Liaodong Anti-Landing Navy and Air Group's army-level joint exercise. The exercise was very successful and had a great influence in the army.
It was at this time that Zhang Yunyu received a call from Chen Geng, recommended and approved him to be responsible for the construction of the nuclear test base. In fact, Zhang Yunyu's previous understanding of the atomic bomb was limited to the documentary scenes of the US military dropping atomic bombs into Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan when he was working in Nanjing in 1946 when he followed Marshal Ye Jianying to work in Nanjing. But the trust of the organization made Zhang Yunyu full of confidence in the new challenges he was about to begin.
After receiving the appointment of the director of the nuclear weapons test range, Zhang Yunyu briefly cleaned up and rushed to the northwest in October 1958, embarking on a new journey from combat troops to nuclear tests.
At first, Soviet experts suggested that the nuclear test base be set at Dunhuang , but Zhang Yunyu led the survey brigade to Dunhuang to see that this place was not good. On the one hand, the geological conditions could only withstand the atomic bomb explosion of 20,000 tons of TNT equivalent , and at that time, the United States and the Soviet Union had tens of millions of tons of equivalents. Our starting point should not be low and we should not eat the leftover steamed buns that others had chewed; on the other hand, where is Dunhuang? A place that precipitates Chinese history, various historical sites such as Yangguan , Han Great Wall , Beacon Tower , Mingsha Mountain and Dunhuang Grottoes, etc. The nuclear test base is here, which is a life-threatening life, and it is definitely not good; finally, there is water shortage here and the soil is loose, which is not suitable.Report the
problem to Chen Geng. Chen Geng said one thing, if it doesn’t work here, just find another one!
Zhang Yunyu led the team again and plunged into the vast desert and Gobi in the cold wind of December. After several rushing, Lop Nur, which is deserted for hundreds of kilometers, fell into the sight of the survey brigade. The natural conditions here are so suitable for nuclear testing bases. There are all conditions that should be found in such highly confidential projects. After the site selection of
was approved, Zhang Yunyu led the survey brigade to start looking for living areas for the experimental base.
One day, they came to the place near the north of Tianshan and the south of Bosten Lake , and were filled with beautiful malans. It is here. This oasis in the vast desert Gobi is so suitable for scientific researchers as a living area. Looking at the Malan flowers blooming everywhere, Zhang Yunyu said, "In the future, our place will be called Malan. Our career is like Malan in this desert, with tenacious vitality!"
From then on, the Malan Base has entered an era of writing a new chapter in history.
is easy to say, but difficult to do, and the vast desert and Gobi are always full of dangers. On the way back from an investigation, Zhang Yunyu drove alone to observe the terrain. A strong wind suddenly blew from the Gobi Desert. The violent sand and dust instantly blinded the surrounding sky, and their vision was suppressed to less than 30 meters. In this case, Zhang Yunyu got lost.
It is very dangerous to get lost in the Gobi Desert. If one is not properly handled, the consequences will be unpredictable. Soon it became dark, and Zhang Yunyu drove around the Gobi Desert in a car. Until the second half of the night, the oil was almost exhausted, but he still couldn't find a way out.
Fortunately, at this time, he saw a dead tree on a nearby sand dune. This was a very obvious target in the desert. So he parked the car under the tree, closed the car door, and then he rested and waited in the car. Because I was so tired, I fell asleep in a daze soon.
The surveyors who went back early waited for a long time but did not wait until Zhang Yunyu returned. The commander disappeared. Everyone was panicked and hurriedly sent a large number of people to search. But there was a strong wind outside, sand and dust everywhere, and the vision was extremely poor. I couldn't see Zhang Yunyu's shadow after all night.
At this time, the sky was getting lighter. Everyone found that Commander Zhang's car was parked under a dead tree in a sand dune less than two kilometers away from the Malan base. They hurried over and saw that the commander was sleeping inside. The comrades came to search for him but did not wake him up. The relationship was really too tiring.
people found it. Seeing Zhang Yunyu so tired, some comrades couldn't help but shed tears.
Looking at everyone's concerned eyes, Zhang Yunyu was very moved, but in order to make everyone relax, he humorously said, the reason why I can survive is that when the strong wind blows in the Gobi Desert, Sun Wukong came and gave him an atomic bomb. He yelled at the strong wind with the atomic bomb, and then he was safe. After the arduous survey task was completed, at the end of 1959, the Malan Base entered a large-scale construction stage. In a very short time, as many as 50,000 PLA soldiers and workers gathered from all directions of the motherland in the desert and Gobi, and began a long four-year construction period.
In 1961, 44-year-old Zhang Yunyu was promoted from colonel to major general. In the same year, the nuclear weapons test range was changed to a nuclear weapons test base, and Zhang Yunyu was appointed as commander and became the first nuclear commander of the Republic.
During the construction of the nuclear test base, it was the most difficult period of three years of natural disasters. Many projects were dismissed, coupled with the withdrawal of Soviet experts, the existence and destruction of the nuclear test base has always been a pain for the base builders. Just when they didn't know what the future was, there was another rumor that the Malan base would temporarily relocate to Wuxi, and everyone was a little confused and lost for a moment.
At this time, Zhang Yunyu stood up.
He said that our nuclear test base will not be dismantled, because Premier Zhou said to the person in charge of Xinjiang, "The central government has an atomic weapon range in Xinjiang. The conditions are very difficult, but the task is very arduous. I hope the leaders of the autonomous region can give them some help and support. I will toast to everyone!"
Zhang Yunyu said excitedly: "Just relying on the Prime Minister's words, I will never go back anywhere. If I don't have a year, I will work for two years. If I don't have a two-year period, I will work for three years. I will work for our own atomic bomb test site!"
Zhang Yunyu's words inspired these comrades who have put in great efforts to the nuclear test base. At this moment, they only have one belief. If the nuclear test base is not built, they will never stop! They used their sweat to build reservoirs, build airports and barracks, and made great sacrifices with their strong willpower to repair the roads that run hundreds of kilometers through the desert Gobi, laying a solid foundation for the smooth progress of China's nuclear tests.
In December 1963, the nuclear test base was fully completed and passed the acceptance and officially put into use. The
base has been built, and scientists' development of the atomic bomb has also entered a critical moment, and the days of conducting nuclear tests are getting closer.
At the afternoon of October 14, 1964, General Zhang Aiping, Chairman of the Nuclear Testing Committee and Commander-in-Chief of Field Testing, announced at the meeting that the explosion of the atomic bomb was scheduled for October 16, 1964.
In fact, for this nuclear test, the nuclear test site Zhang Yunyu was responsible for made all preparations as early as September 25, with the purpose of which was to conduct atomic bomb explosion test before National Day, because this is undoubtedly the best gift to the motherland, and it will be approved by the central government.
However, for various reasons, the nuclear test was scheduled to be carried out after all foreign guests who watched the National Day ceremony left.
test date is postponed, which is a huge pressure for all personnel in the nuclear test base. They need to re-check every link of the test again to completely eliminate possible hidden dangers.
In order to relieve everyone's tension, General Zhang Aiping, commander-in-chief, took everyone to Peacock River and the ruins of the ancient Loulan Kingdom.
As the clock hand rotates, time finally comes October 16th, and the time to test everyone has finally come.
At 10 a.m. that day, the weather in Lop Nur was extremely powerful. Under the command of Zhang Yunyu, Li Jue, and Zhu Qingyun , the atomic bomb code-named "Ms. Qiu" was steadily placed on the 102.438-meter-high test tower by the base staff.
After the final inspection before detonation, Zhang Yunyu signed the operating procedures: October 16, 1964, Zhang Yunyu.
This may be the heaviest words in his life signed by Zhang Yunyu, and the "Ms. Qiu" whom the people of the whole country have high expectations is there quietly, waiting for its most glorious moment.
Before leaving the detonation site, Li Jue suddenly remembered that there was a great man on the tower, which looked like a very important detail, and needs to be taken down before detonation. Zhang Yunyu and Li Jue specifically instructed the machine operator to remove the great man's statue before the explosion and must not be forgotten.
Then, Zhang Yunyu solemnly handed over the key to detonating the atomic bomb to Major General Zhang Zhenhuan , a member of the Nuclear Testing Committee and the Minister of the Testing Department, and commanded the main control room.
16 at 15 o'clock, the most exciting moment is coming.
As the countdown ended, the main control room pressed the detonation button vigorously, and a strong flash immediately shone over Lop Nur. Then a strong explosion sounded as if it could destroy the world. A huge fireball rose into the air, symbolizing the successful explosion of the atomic bomb slowly rising above the test field.
succeeded!
At this moment, people burst out of the bunker, cheering and hugging, and tears of excitement flowed...
As the commander of the nuclear test base, General Zhang Yunyu was very excited on the spot and wrote a poem that magnifies mountains and rivers:
Light and bright
Sound and loud
Endless Gobi and the giant dragon
Flying and laughing and melting the mountains and rivers.
call success
未分类
未分类
ring the fifth update!
When Premier Zhou, who was far away in Beijing, received the news that General Zhang Aiping's atomic bomb was successfully exploded, the first sentence was, how did you prove that it was successful nuclear explosion ? The experts at the
nuclear test base immediately began to sort out and classify and analyze the various data collected. All data showed that after the explosion, Yunyan rose to a height of 8-9 kilometers, the fireball glowed for more than 3 seconds, and the appearance of Yanyun was consistent with the literature reports. Our atomic bomb explosion was really successful!
That night, when meeting with all the performers of the large-scale music and dance drama "Oriental Red" in the Great Hall of the People, Premier Zhou solemnly announced to the world: "A atomic bomb exploded in the west and successfully conducted a nuclear test!"
That night, when the radio broadcast of the "News Bulletin" came: "China will not use nuclear weapons first at any time or under any circumstances", General Zhang Yunyu listened repeatedly over and over again, so excited that he couldn't sleep at night.
Yes, the atomic bomb has been successfully exploded, and we no longer have to be afraid of nuclear blackmail from any external forces. How can we not excite people?
As a participant in this glorious history, although General Zhang Yunyu did not receive the same title as the two bombs and one satellite, he is still a meritorious figure in people's minds of , two bombs and one satellite . He is a meritorious person without the title of meritorious.
According to the memories of General Zhang Yunyu's son Zhang Lutian, because he rarely saw his father when he was a child, his father's image was too vague in his mind, so once when Zhang Yunyu came home, Zhang Lutian quickly told his mother that a guest was coming to our house!
When he learned from his mother that this strange "guest" was actually his father, he raised his head and asked his father in a tender voice: "Dad, is your place to work far away? Why don't you go home?"
Looking at his lovely son, Zhang Yunyu stretched out his arm and pointed to the west: "It's a very far away from the west, you have to take a plane and a train to get there."
After completing the explosion mission of the atomic bomb and the hydrogen bomb , Zhang Yunyu's position also changed. Since 1971, Zhang Yunyu has served as deputy chief of staff of the Shenyang Military Region Command, deputy director of the National Defense Science and Technology Commission and commander of the Nuclear Test Base.
In 1978, according to work needs, Zhang Yunyu was transferred back to Beijing. He served as deputy director of the National Defense Science and Technology Commission and chief of staff of the headquarters, and deputy director of the National Defense Science and Technology Commission and other positions. He participated in the completion of the test tasks of intercontinental missiles, submarine-submarine missiles and communication satellite , and made great contributions to China's national defense cause.
1985, 68-year-old General Zhang Yunyu retired.
On August 29, 2008, General Zhang Yunyu died in Beijing at the age of 91. At this time, the Beijing Olympics had just ended.
At the last moment of life, General Zhang Yunyu was still concerned about China's nuclear weapons industry, and kept muttering "Three million, three million tons!" These three million tons are nothing else, they are the equivalent of my country's first hydrogen bomb test.
Before his death, General Zhang Yunyu told his family that after he left, he would not say goodbye to his body, not set up a mourning hall, and the ashes would be cremated and sent back to his hometown.
Learning that the old commander of the base was passed away, the leaders of the Malan nuclear base rushed to Beijing to pay tribute to their first commander and proposed to bury the old commander's ashes in the martyrs' cemetery at the base.
In this way, part of the ashes of the old general were sent to the nuclear test base, the place where he was so obsessed with his dreams, and part of him returned to his hometown, the place where he gave birth to and raised him.
tribute, General Zhang Yunyu, rest in peace!
