[cultural relics image]
Liaoning ship arresting cable, China Maritime Museum collection
On September 25, 2012, China's first aircraft carrier "Liaoning ship" was officially delivered to the People's Liberation Army Navy, which marks that China's defense industry has made great strides The progress also marks that our country will firmly move towards the deep blue and build an ocean-going navy. On November 23 of the same year, the J-15 carrier aircraft successfully landed on the Liaoning ship for the first time, which means that the Liaoning ship became a real aircraft carrier .
This is a section of the arresting cable used by the Liaoning ship during the first test flight of the carrier-based aircraft . Its diameter is about 4 centimeters, and from the cross-section, it can be seen that the inner wires are tightly wound together. This seemingly ordinary exhibit represents the highest level of my country's maritime science and technology, and is the crystallization of the spirit of independent, self-reliant, and ever-climbing scientific research of countless Chinese military workers.
【Home and Country Story】
Married to China's "Varyag"
The story of this exhibit has to start half a century ago.
One day in late April 1970, the Seventh Naval Academy received an order from the Central Military Commission: starting today, an aircraft carrier research team will be formed. This is the first order for to carry out aircraft carrier research after the establishment of in New China. The task of the 14th Institute of the Seventh Research Institute (referred to as the 714th Institute) at that time was: to study the history, present and future, advantages and disadvantages, key technologies, etc. of aircraft carriers for the reference of leadership decision-making.
"Liu Huaqing's Memoirs" published in October 2004 mentioned this research work: "As early as 1970, when I was still working in the office of the Shipbuilding Industry Leading Group, I organized a special demonstration of aircraft carriers according to the instructions of my superiors, and reported It is a pity that the relevant institutions have not carried out in-depth research on the aircraft carrier this time, let alone the construction plan.
The promotion of China's aircraft carrier plan is inseparable from Liu Huaqing, the former vice chairman of the Central Military Commission. In January 1980, Liu Huaqing became the deputy chief of staff of the Chinese People's Liberation Army. In May of the same year, he led a delegation to visit the United States, and the United States arranged for them to visit the "Kitty Hawk" aircraft carrier . This is the first time the Chinese People's Liberation Army and scientific and technical personnel have set foot on an aircraft carrier. Liu Huaqing was deeply impressed by the scale and combat capability of the US aircraft carrier. Since then, he has devoted himself to realizing China's aircraft carrier dream and has become a representative of my country's support for the aircraft carrier program.
But the super military project of launching an aircraft carrier not only requires the determination of the upper levels, but also requires super strong economic and technological strength as support. It can be said that it is a symbol of a country's military and technological strength. Some people have calculated that the cost of a aircraft carrier battle group is about 10 billion US dollars, and two aircraft carrier battle groups are 20 billion US dollars. Routine training, maintenance, repairs and fuel costs about $2 billion a year. Such a huge expenditure was unimaginable in the 1970s and 1980s when the Chinese had just solved the problem of food and clothing.
By the 1990s, although the plan to develop China's aircraft carrier had not made great strides, some things were quietly changing.
At the beginning of 1992, when a Chinese teacher communicated with a colleague from the Ukrainian Shipbuilding Institute, the other party mentioned that his country's aircraft carrier could not be built anymore, so he placed it near the school and invited the teacher to visit it when he had time. After returning from Ukraine, the teacher reported the matter to his superiors. In March, an aircraft carrier delegation consisting of shipbuilding technical experts and military representatives arrived in the small Ukrainian town of Nikolayev . The aircraft carrier they are about to inspect is the "Varyag" . At that time, the whole ship had been launched from the slipway, 60% of the construction project had been completed, and some large equipment had been installed. The Ukrainian side is actively looking for a buyer because the construction project has been suspended due to funding problems.
After careful research, the delegation concluded that the "Varyag" has good performance and is worth buying. Ukraine is willing to sell. The later story is known to most peopleAfter some twists and turns, the Ukrainian aircraft carrier finally docked in the Chinese port of Dalian in March 2002. At this time, it has been ten years since the 1992 delegation first saw the "Varyag". After ten years of development, China's total GDP has tripled.
J-15 "Liaoning Ship" broke out of the cocoon at the moment of landing
In April 2005, three years after arriving in China, the "Varyag" was towed by six high-horsepower tugs into the newly completed Dalian Shipbuilding Factory 300,000-ton dock. At this time, the thick marine life on the bottom of the "Varyag" was thoroughly cleaned, the propeller , the rudder surface and other components were overhauled, and the entire surface of the ship was sprayed with anti-corrosion materials. In August, the "Varyag" dressed in light gray and blue of the Chinese navy reappeared at the dock.
Liaoning ship majestic
is also from 2005 onwards, the "Varyag" began to be refitted internally, and the process was calm and long. In July 2011, black smoke rose from the chimney of the "Varyag", and at the same time, a large number of naval personnel lined up to board the ship. On the "August 1st" Army Founding Day that year, the Chinese aircraft carrier became a hot spot of people's concern. It was difficult to find a ticket to Dalian. Military fans from all over the country flew to Dalian to wait for the "Varyag".
In January of that year, Liu Huaqing, known as the "father of China's aircraft carrier", died in Beijing, and he still failed to see the Chinese aircraft carrier set sail. He wrote in his memoir: "It is gratifying that for the development of our country's aircraft carrier, I have done some planning responsibilities." Ship delivery ceremony. On September 25, the Ministry of National Defense announced that it was officially renamed " Liaoning " and delivered to the Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy.
Two months later, a photo of an aircraft carrier deck staff directing a carrier-based aircraft to take off went viral. In the photo, the commander wearing a yellow jacket guiding the plane to take off was called "aircraft carrier STYLE" by netizens, and people imitated it for a while. The popularity of this photo reflects people's joy in realizing the dream of an aircraft carrier and their pride in the people's navy moving towards the deep blue. Behind the
aircraft carrier dream is the sweat of countless military and scientific researchers. It took ten years from the arrival of the "Varyag" in 2002 to the entry of the "Liaoning" in 2012. During this period, it has undergone numerous technical breakthroughs, which can be seen only from a blocking cable on the deck of the aircraft carrier.
arresting cable, also known as "the cable of life" for carrier-based aircraft landing. When the carrier-based aircraft lands on the deck of the aircraft carrier, the hook at the tail will hook the arresting cable installed on the deck, and the aircraft quickly stops under the huge pulling force of the arresting cable. There are four arresting cables on the deck of the Liaoning ship, and each arresting cable is more than ten meters apart. That is to say, when the carrier-based aircraft is landing, it must hook the arresting cable at a distance of more than 50 meters. When the carrier-based aircraft is landing, it must maintain a take-off speed of at least 150 km/h, so that once the arresting cable is not hooked, the carrier-based aircraft can go around immediately. Therefore, the arresting cable needs to pull the high-speed moving carrier-based aircraft weighing dozens of tons within a few seconds, which requires extremely high strength and flexibility.
Because of the extremely high requirements on materials and craftsmanship, the blocking cable has become an out-of-the-box high-tech product, and currently only a few countries can produce it. Therefore, the production technology of arresting cables is a national core secret. When China's Ministry of Defense announced the news of the transformation of the "Varyag", some Western media asserted that the technical bottleneck of the blocking cable would make the "Varyag" a pile of scrap iron. However, on November 23, 2012, the J-15 successfully took off and landed on the "Liaoning" for the first time, which completely "slapped" these remarks.
The arresting cables used by the "Liaoning" are self-developed by my country. Each arresting cable is composed of 6 strands of steel wire rope. . According to media reports, my country's first carrier-based aircraft blocking landing test was a complete success, from the carrier-based aircraft tail hook and blockingIt only takes 2-3 seconds for the cable to "draw the hook" to stop the plane, and the blocking cable fully meets the requirements.
In April 2017, my country's first domestically-made aircraft carrier was launched. With the approval of the Central Military Commission, it was named "Shandong", hull number "17". The two Chinese aircraft carriers have already entered the state of daily cruising and training, and they are guarding the vast territorial waters of the motherland with a high-spirited attitude.
Article source: excerpted from People's Daily Publishing House "Since the Party: The Story of Homeland and Country Behind Cultural Relics"
