Traveling through the sword to engage in military industry

#395 - Ready to take off strongly

On October 1, 1953, the Qin-class large black fish's No. 001 attack nuclear submarine was launched as scheduled. With only the power system and conventional navigation system functioning normally, the simply-equipped No. 001 submarine, during initial testing, showed no major problems. Its diving depth and speed even exceeded expectations.

The power was explosively abundant. After simple familiarization, it easily reached speeds of over 30 knots underwater, and it felt like there was still more to give!

If he wasn't afraid of causing problems, the first captain, Liu Wensheng, felt he could push it even further. However, fearing that the submarine's hull might encounter issues at high speed, everyone was hesitant to recklessly experiment with the first nuclear submarine.

After easily reaching the design target of 30 knots and undergoing over 30 hours of high-speed navigation testing without any issues, the No. 001 nuclear submarine sailed south from Dalian along the Yellow Sea, directly bypassing the Miyako Strait and entering the Pacific Ocean. The subsequent diving depth tests started at 200 meters, with an hour of high-speed underwater travel every 50 meters, successively completing the 400-meter depth test before returning to base.

The operation remained very stable. The Dawn No. 1 reactor (SG-20) adapted very well to high-speed and deep-sea static tests. Switching between start and stop was slightly slower than a diesel engine, but much faster than a heavy oil steam turbine.

Nuclear reactor core components:

According to various monitoring data, the Dawn No. 1 reactor was very stable, almost perfectly matching the expected technical parameters. The supporting steam turbine, driven by a reducer to turn the propeller, was also very smooth. Although the efficiency was lower, with only 20,000 horsepower (14.7 MW) reaching the propeller from the 90MW thermal power output, another portion of the steam was sent to a 5MW steam turbine generator to power the submarine. The energy conversion efficiency of this first-generation product was not very high, less than 22%, but it was currently sufficient for submarines of the 7,000 to 8,000-ton class.

According to Professor Wu and his team's calculations, under current technical conditions, further optimization of the design and improvement of the processing technology could increase the steam thermal energy to mechanical energy conversion efficiency to 30%-35%, potentially increasing the shaft power driving the propeller to between 36,000 horsepower and 43,000 horsepower!

This proved that the first-generation reactor itself had huge potential for improvement! Based on this shaft power technology, if we need to design nuclear-powered aircraft carriers of around 50,000 to 60,000 tons in the future, we would only need a maximum of 4 Dawn No. 1 reactors.

Similarly, if this Dawn No. 1 reactor were used on large destroyers with a full-load displacement of around 8,000 tons, only 2 Dawn No. 1 reactors would be needed for propulsion. Even for 10,000-ton destroyers, the reactor could handle it comfortably after optimizing and increasing its power.

Although in the main world's historical timeline, the rogue eagle's nuclear-powered destroyers were only a flash in the pan before switching back to conventional power, it was because the gentlemen in Congress thought they were too expensive!

Moreover, with so many ships being fully nuclear-powered, the nuclear power companies that benefited were only two or three, leading to an uneven distribution of profits.

According to the information Ren Zhong obtained from the main world, Dongda lacks the support of a large number of overseas bases. If it wants to carry out global military activities, the demand for nuclear power is far more urgent than that of the rogue eagle. Therefore, a fully nuclear-powered mixed fleet is very necessary to build one or two of.

According to the main world standards and future conflict resolution capabilities, a special mixed fleet that can independently carry out overseas missions should have at least one aircraft carrier, one or two amphibious assault ships, 4-6 large destroyers, 1 comprehensive supply ship, and 2-3 attack nuclear submarines.

A fully nuclear-powered fleet is a crazy dream of Ren Zhong's in the main world. Now, the success of the first-generation nuclear-powered submarine Qin will definitely stimulate this dream to become more of a reality.

After all, the price is not a big problem for Ren Zhong now. A dozen nuclear reactors, even at current prices, may cost more than 50 million each, but that doesn't matter to Ren Zhong. He can support the cost of these reactors with the economic benefits generated within the Dawn Research Institute system!

At most, it's just over 600 million, and a fully nuclear-powered fleet is enough to run for 10 years before refueling! Even if there is only one such fleet floating on the blue planet's ocean, it represents a heavy comprehensive national power!

Now, the Dongting Lake-class amphibious assault ship, developed according to the approximate functional architecture and specifications of the Mistral-class amphibious assault ship, has begun laying the keel and will be launched in less than two years. In terms of power, Ren Zhong's current plan is for two improved Dawn No. 1 reactors!

As a pilot test ship for nuclear-powered aircraft carriers, the Dongting Lake undertakes many of the early verification tasks for aircraft carriers. It even needs to take off fighter jets on the deck. It can be said that except for landing fighter jets due to the strength and length of the runway, the other functions of the aircraft carrier need to be practiced, including steam catapults!

However, these are still under intense development. Back to reality, after more than a month of sea trials, the No. 001 nuclear submarine, which returned to the Dalian Shipyard to install weapons and equipment, successfully matched the first-generation 533mm heavy torpedo JK-1, codenamed Jing Ke, with the Qin-class after a few days of assembly!

In a secret initial sea test, the No. 001 nuclear submarine successfully achieved a one-shot kill, destroying an old 3,000-ton cargo ship!

The success of this exercise meant the formation of torpedo attack capability. From detecting the target to launching the torpedo, the torpedo's automatic homing, and the final hit and destruction of the target ship, the whole process was smooth and seamless, fully realizing the initial design indicators of this torpedo.

Immediately afterward, the nuclear submarine's avionics system successfully passed the comprehensive test and acceptance, and was connected to the Oriental satellite communication and positioning system. During the field test, after diving, through two 20-meter-deep floating beacons, the No. 001 command module achieved accurate maritime positioning and real-time communication with the headquarters!

Although floating beacons are a major disruption to the submarine's stealth, they are not directly exposed on the surface, but rather at a depth of about 20 meters underwater. This depth has avoided almost all surface targets, and optical observation can no longer detect them.

The draft depth of a 10,000-ton giant ship is generally about 9.3 meters, 11.3 meters for 50,000 tons, about 14 meters for 100,000 tons, 17.3 meters for 200,000 tons, about 19.1 meters for 250,000 tons, and about 20.4 meters for 300,000 tons.

For the current Bright Sword world, 300,000-ton giant ships are still in the budding development stage. Such floating beacons can perfectly avoid interference from transport fleets.

The first generation of nuclear submarines was thus completely formed!

On New Year's Day in '54, according to the plan, after a comprehensive inspection and resupply, the Qin-class quietly left its home port and began its first global voyage!

Ma Yingwei never dreamed that he, someone who was engaged in agriculture, would one day accompany the first nuclear submarine in history to participate in the first global combat readiness training.

In the precious space on the 001 submarine, a "test field" of 12 meters long and 5 meters wide was set aside, which was Ma Yingwei's "battle position". During this long voyage, Ma Yingwei's task was to guard this test field and provide fresh vegetable supplies for the officers and soldiers on the submarine!

Thanks to the abundant power supply of the nuclear submarine, sufficient oxygen and fresh water, or carbon dioxide, can be obtained by electrolyzing seawater, which is completely different from conventional submarines.

In addition, with the full-spectrum LED lighting brought by Ren Zhong from the main world, the soil is excellent organic soil, and there is also sufficient organic fertilizer. It can be said that Ma Yingwei has the best conditions that a vegetable farmer dreams of!

Therefore, Ma Yingwei is determined to make a career in this small area.

Of course, in addition to providing fresh vegetables to the submarine comrades, Ma Yingwei also has an experimental task to study the growth of vegetables in the submarine environment.

On his experimental field, it is now divided into 4 areas: there are pre-vegetables transplanted from the outside, which are expected to be harvested in three to five days; there are those that need ten days to mature, and there are those that have just sprouted and will probably mature in about twenty days, and the newly planted seeds.

In addition, there is an automatic bean sprout machine. According to the design standards, this automatic bean sprout machine from the main world can produce up to 100 kilograms of bean sprouts a day, whether they are soybean sprouts, mung bean sprouts, or various black bean sprouts, as long as they can germinate.

When the vegetables can't keep up, the bean sprouts will be used as fresh vegetables to supplement the diet of the officers and soldiers on the submarine.

Since the 001 nuclear submarine uses 5MW electric drive and is equipped with an air purification system, there is no longer the predicament of conventional submarines where even the air has to be carefully planned. Even if eating too many bean sprouts causes flatulence, it will not have too much impact on the submarine. Sufficient oxygen and fresh water supply, the air on the submarine can be adjusted at any time according to needs, including the adjustment of air conditioning temperature.

The comprehensive use of electric hot pots has also made canned and refrigerated pre-made dishes, which are the main food of conventional submarines, no longer mainstream in the new generation of nuclear submarines.

Of course, the current Liu Wensheng and others do not know the hardships of conventional submarines.

However, Liu Wensheng, the new generation of submarine captain who has been cultivated through rotation on various surface ship positions in China, knows that when he used to work on destroyers, there was not as much food configuration as there is on the current submarine. There is also a specially equipped vegetable grower to ensure that everyone can eat a fresh vegetable meal every few days.

However, there are not only planting experts like Ma Yingwei on the submarine, but also two medical experts!

Their task is to conduct physical examinations for the officers and soldiers on the submarine every day! Study the physical and psychological effects of long-term voyages on officers and soldiers.

For ordinary people, they can't think of these things at all.

But Ren Zhong knew that nuclear submarines had a major mission and would be the real cornerstone of Dongda's safety in the future.

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Therefore, not only is it necessary to solve the problem of everyone's meals, but also to solve everyone's physical and mental health problems. Otherwise, once a submarine mission lasts for dozens of days underwater, and it is loaded with large-scale weapons of mass destruction with great power, once these controllers have psychological problems, it will cause very heavy losses to the country.

Therefore, taking precautions and taking advantage of this global submarine voyage, Ren Zhong also asked the medical department to monitor the physical and mental health of all officers and soldiers on the ship.

Wu Ze and Liang Yongding, two young doctors, underwent strict screening and undertook this special medical research task.

In this way, a total of 107 people on the entire ship, carrying the great expectations of the senior leaders of Dongda, issued their first report after 30 hours of diving.

"Safely passed through the Miyako Strait"

The command headquarters had long expected such news. The current submarine search technology and the number of underwater sonars installed are far less dense than the sky and earth nets in the main world's time and space.

According to the current noise level of the 001 nuclear submarine, it has been reduced to the underwater 110 decibel level, which is very close to the underwater noise level of 95 decibels. It is difficult for ordinary sonars to discover it from a distance without expectation.

The Miyako Strait is about 200 kilometers wide. Although the current Rogue Eagle has a small military base on Miyako Island to conduct reconnaissance and alert to the ocean and the sky, it has not reached the level of covering everything on the seabed with sonars.

Therefore, for the command headquarters, it seems normal to pass through the Miyako Strait now that the first crossing of the Ryukyu Islands into the Pacific Ocean was not discovered.

After another 30 hours, when Liu Wensheng arrived near Iwo Jima, after repeated confirmation by passive sonar that there were no ships or vessels active in the surrounding area, the submarine slowly surfaced. Under conditions close to the surface, he used a periscope to photograph Mount Suribachi on Iwo Jima!

This wild mountain, which became famous in World War II because of the bloody battle of the Rogue Eagle, looked like a pile of cow dung in the periscope, which greatly disappointed Liu Wensheng. However, this was the first target he checked in and photographed during his global submarine voyage.

Iwo Jima, Mount Suribachi

Therefore, surrounding Mount Suribachi, Liu Wensheng asked the submarine's part-time photographer to photograph the scenery of Mount Suribachi from three directions, indicating that he had been here.

Next, the 001 nuclear submarine re-entered to a depth of 400 meters and began to sail towards the next target. About 80 hours later, it arrived at another famous island—Midway!

This time, Liu Wensheng also took a photo of this coral reef in the distance through the periscope before leaving.

After destroying the main force of the Little Devil's Combined Fleet, the Rogue Eagle realized the turning point of the Pacific War in World War II here!

However, now, the Rogue Eagle no longer values this place. It cancelled regular flights to the island from 1950, and the Navy withdrew in the same year, leaving only some troops stationed on the island. The originally large-scale submarine and naval flotilla are no longer deployed on this island.

Therefore, the Rogue Eagle's garrison was completely unaware of Liu Wensheng and their "visit"! (End of this chapter)