The rise of a great power: starting with military industry

Chapter 308: The First World-Advanced Warship

Cruisers, destroyers, and frigates are very important surface ships among naval warships.

Maybe many people don’t know how to distinguish them.

In fact, the easiest way to distinguish these three types of combat ships is to look at their tonnage. Cruisers are the largest, destroyers are the second, and frigates are the smallest.

Cruisers have multiple combat capabilities and are one of the main types of ships used by the navy in ocean operations. Modern cruisers are divided into light missile cruisers and heavy missile cruisers according to their displacement; and into conventionally powered cruisers and nuclear-powered cruisers according to their power plants.

Destroyers are medium-sized surface combat ships with missiles, torpedoes and naval guns as their main weapons and multiple combat capabilities. They are one of the important types of ships in the naval fleet. Destroyers have to undertake various tasks, so there are ocean destroyers, fleet destroyers, destroyers, and escort destroyers.

After World War II, destroyers entered a modernization stage, and missiles and ship-borne helicopters became the main weapons on the ship as well as naval guns.

By the mid-70s, destroyers with a displacement of more than 7000 tons were classified as cruisers, fleet destroyers and escort destroyers with a displacement of less than 3000 tons were classified as frigates, and all types of destroyers with a displacement of 3000 to 7000 tons were collectively referred to as destroyers.

Of course, according to their purpose, destroyers are also divided into missile destroyers, anti-submarine destroyers and multi-purpose destroyers.

A frigate is a light warship with underwater weapons, naval guns and missiles as its main weapons, used to perform combat missions such as escort, anti-submarine, and surveillance. According to the size of displacement, it can be divided into medium-sized frigates (1000-3000 tons) and small frigates (600-1000 tons), and according to the mission, it can be divided into anti-submarine, air defense and surface defense types.

The Navy's most advanced 'Four King Kong' Type 07 frigates have a standard displacement of 1657 tons and a full load displacement of 2451 tons.

Currently, China has Type 053 frigates, which are the first frigates independently developed by China. The construction of the first ship began in 1980, it was launched in 1981, and officially entered service in June 1982. Its standard displacement is 6 tons and its full load displacement is 1550 tons.

The destroyer is the Type 051 guided missile destroyer, which is the first guided missile destroyer designed and built by China. The Type 051 destroyer is 132 meters long, 12.8 meters wide, 4.6 meters deep, with a standard displacement of 3250 tons and a full load displacement of 3670 tons.

However, both the Type 053 frigate and the Type 051 missile destroyer have lagged behind the times since their birth. They more represent that China has the ability to develop large surface combat ships, rather than that it can develop advanced ships.

Speaking of which, the ship with the world's most advanced water flow developed by China is not any other, but the Type 022 missile boat developed by Liu Tao.

After they boarded the Type 022 missile boat, they were deeply shocked when they saw the advanced instruments.

This also makes them full of expectations for Liu Tao.

Liu Tao looked helpless.

"Comrades, it is not easy to develop this ship. A Type 022 missile boat has taken up a lot of my efforts, so I don't have the time and energy to develop other warships!" Liu Tao shook his head and said, "But I will develop frigates and destroyers next. For the export of our Type 022 missile boats, we need your help. As for the construction of the shipyard, we also need the cooperation of the China State Shipbuilding Corporation and the support of some talents for us."

His shipyard does not have the capacity to build ships of thousands of tons, and the dock is not big enough.

The construction of a shipyard will take at least two to three years.

After all, this kind of location at the seaside, with complex geology and high and low tides, has a great impact on the construction of a shipyard.

"Your Panshan Group is a reform pilot unit, and you have a certain degree of autonomy in weapons export. We naturally have no objection to your export of the Type 022 missile boats." The leader of the Navy Command said thoughtfully, "But I have to remind you that the export version cannot be exactly the same as the version we use for ourselves. Otherwise, if the technology is leaked, it will be a huge loss to our navy!"

"I understand this!" Liu Tao nodded. Liu Tao had been doing routine operations for several years, so he naturally understood them.

"If your shipyard cannot build it, you can go to Hudong Shipyard, Dalian Shipyard, etc. to manufacture it." The leader of the China State Shipbuilding Corporation said with a smile.

Liu Tao smiled and said, "That's no problem. We can even have our Type 022 missile boats built by these shipyards."

Liu Tao thought that it would be great if this could be done.

After all, the conditions at Yangcheng Shipyard are limited, but other shipyards can build it.

However, we have to be clear about how to settle the accounts here.

Even brothers have to settle accounts clearly!
This is something that needs to be discussed in detail.

"Comrade Liu Tao, you are a military talent who has built so many advanced weapons for the army. We also look forward to you building advanced warships for us. Our national gate was originally blown open from the sea. The Western powers used their powerful ships and guns to forcibly smash our national gate. We must have sufficient maritime power to prevent history from repeating itself." The leader of the Navy Command said in a deep voice.

For the Chinese people, having their national border breached is an absolute and unforgettable shame and pain.

Back then, it was the British who relied on their powerful ships and guns to forcibly blast open China's national borders. Since then, Western powers have repeatedly blasted open China's national borders from the sea, forcing the Qing Dynasty to sign a series of unequal terms, allowing China to slide step by step into the abyss. Such a vast country, with a civilization that has inherited more than 5,000 years, has reached the dangerous situation of national extinction.

Liu Tao looked solemn.

He understood this principle, and he was also ashamed of it. He was also worried about the future, as the enemy might once again break through China's borders from the sea, so he spent a lot of effort to develop the Type 022 missile boat.

The Type 022 missile boat is only an "assassin" for near-shore defense and does not have the ability to conduct long-distance operations. However, it can cooperate with coastal defense missiles to keep the enemy out of the near sea.

More importantly, the Type 022 missile boat is much cheaper and easier to manufacture than other warships. As long as the technology is mature and the supporting facilities can keep up, dozens or even hundreds of boats can be manufactured in a year.

Even if dozens of ships are sunk, they can be replenished quickly.

But he also knew that frigates, destroyers and even cruisers were necessary, because they could build a stronger maritime defense. Only with enough frigates, destroyers, cruisers and submarines could near-shore operations be truly invincible, and it could also deter jackals, tigers and leopards from easily starting a war.

The threat to China has never only come from the north, but also from the ocean.

At the most dangerous time of that year, we had to be prepared for the two poles to join forces and the entire North China, Northwest China, and southeast coast to fall. This was because at that time, we had to be prepared for extreme thinking.

The Third Front Project was extremely costly, but he had no choice but to do so in order to ensure that after the start of the S3 season, the Chinese people would have weapons and ammunition to continue fighting, to achieve final victory, and to drive the invaders out of China, rather than actually destroying the country and the race.

Many people understand this truth, at least none of the workers in the third-line factories that Liu Tao has come into contact with understand it. They are willing to stay in the deep mountains and old forests because this is a sacred and great cause, a true military-industrial salvation of the country.

(End of this chapter)