Glorious Mission 1937

() The development of the navy is inseparable from military expenditures. Compared with the army, the navy is a bottomless pit of burning money. A warship with a small tonnage can range from hundreds of thousands of oceans to as many as several million .The money for purchasing one more warship can completely form an army of a regiment or even a division. Therefore, the military budget allocated by the Nationalist Government to the Navy every year is very limited.

Despite the financial difficulties, Chen Shaokuan was not discouraged. He squeezed out money from the surplus of the navy's monthly budget to build "Yongsui", "Minquan", "Minsheng" and the 1500-ton "Yixian" one after another. ship.After the September 2600th Incident, the Ministry of the Navy asked the central government to allocate funds to order the 1928-ton "Ninghai" from Japan, and the Jiangnan Shipyard also built the "Pinghai" with the same tonnage according to the Japanese diagram , while building new ships, Chen also devoted himself to building gunboats and refitting old ships.From 1936 to 8, after 7 years of hard work, the Ministry of the Navy built a total of 10 warships and 300 1400-ton Ningzi gunboats, and refitted the 13-ton "Jian'an" and "Jianwei" ships. ", Hushan", "Wu Sheng", "De Sheng", "Wei Sheng", "Gong Sheng", "Yi Sheng", "Cheng Sheng", "Ren Sheng", "Yong Sheng", "Shun Sheng" , "Qingtian" and a total of 4.4 ships.So far, the total tonnage of naval ships has increased to more than [-] tons, and their strength has been greatly strengthened.

However, even so, the strength of the Chinese navy is still far inferior to that of the Japanese navy.Although the Chinese army is also at an absolute disadvantage, after all, the army can still compete with the Japanese army by relying on its large number of people, although it has been defeated continuously.However, there is always the capital to fight.

However, the navy is far behind. Compared with the weak Chinese navy, the Japanese navy can be called a giant.At this time, Japan has a world-class naval force that is completely designed and produced by itself. Japan has a complete fleet of battleships and aircraft carriers that are second to none in the world. There are a total of 285 large warships with a total naval tonnage of 400 million tons.However, China only has 57 small and obsolete warships capable of inland rivers and coastal activities, with a total capacity of [-] tons.Therefore, in terms of the combat power of the navy, the Chinese navy and the Japanese navy do not even have the ability to engage in frontal fire, and can only conduct sneak attacks, blasting, and mine warfare.

Although there is a huge difference in strength, they are facing national peril.The Chinese navy has exploded with unprecedented combat power.Although the tonnage, performance, and firepower of various ships are far inferior to the sworn enemy, the Imperial Japanese Navy.However, the navy soldiers are worthy of the military spirit of the Chinese navy. They bravely and tenaciously faced the powerful enemy of Fusang.It is better to salvage its weapons and parts and continue to fight against the Japanese invaders.

The gap between the Chinese and Japanese navies gradually widened with the outbreak of the war.Especially after the Jiangyin naval battle, it became more obvious.

Jiangyin was called Jiyang in ancient times.This is the narrowest section of the Yangtze River between Shanghai and Nanjing, with a river width of only 1250 meters.Borrowing the spirituality of the Yangtze River, the small town of Jiangyin strangles the throat of the Yangtze River.The geographical environment is superior, and it is convenient for freight and tax collection. Jiangyin was an important port in the Tang Dynasty.In the Song Dynasty, it was even more crowded with foreign ships.In the Southern Song Dynasty, it was one of the 11 foreign trade ports with the establishment of the Maritime Shipping Department along the coast of my country.The waves are surging high, and the steep rocks are clamped. As long as a few large-caliber artillery are installed on both sides of the river, no matter how large the fleet is in the river, it will be difficult to trace back.

In 1937, with the coming of the war of resistance against Japan, Chen Shaokuan, the first-rank admiral of the navy at that time, launched the most tragic and last brutal sea, land and air battle of the Chinese navy in World War II here.In this naval battle, the Chinese navy blocked the Yangtze River waterway with the tragic tactic of self-sinking, and launched the final battle against the Japanese navy.

On August 8th, the main forces of the two fleets assembled on the Jiangyin River. This was the first large-scale mobilization of the navy after the Sino-Japanese War.But when the fleet was concentrated on the Jiangyin River, the officers and soldiers who waited with enthusiasm for the flag order "China deeply hopes that everyone can do their best" were shocked to find that they were about to witness the largest collective sinking of the Chinese navy.It is ridiculous and heavy that a country's navy wants to protect its territorial waters in such a tragic way!

The first batch of self-sinking warships are the oldest "Tongji" practice ship, "Datong", "Ziqiang" cruiser, "Desheng", "Weisheng" water aircraft carrier, "Wusheng" survey boat (disabled) ), "Chen" and "Su" torpedo boats (all have been discontinued), most of these warships are old ships left over from the Qing Dynasty.In addition, the Navy also solicited from China Merchants and various shipping companies "Jiahe", "Xinming", "Tonghua", "Yushun", "Taishun", "Guangli", "Xingshi", "Huaxin" , "Huian", "Tongli", "Tranquility", "Kunxing", "Xinpingan", "Maoli No. 20", "Yuanchang", "Muyou", "Huafu", "Daqi" 1 ships, "Tonghe" and "Ruikang" sank at the same time to form the Jiangyin lock line.When the 28st Fleet arrived at Jiangyin, [-] military and civilian ships waiting to sink had already berthed on the Junshan River.

At 12 a.m. on the 8th, the ships on the Jiangyin River were led by the "Ping Hai" ship to conduct a flag-raising ceremony. At 8 o'clock, the "Pinghai" ship held a flag-raising ceremony, and the officers and soldiers of each ship "stand on the slope" on the ship's side to salute the military flag.Chen Shaokuan's admiral's flag rose slowly to the top of the mainmast amidst military music.Subsequently, the self-sinking fleet was led by the flagship "Tongji" and sailed to Fujiangsa to take its place.

After the ships arrived at their positions, Chen Shaokuan, who was in charge of "Pinghai", issued an order to sink the ship, and all the ships opened their underwater doors at the same time and sank slowly.The self-sinking operation only came to an end in the evening. However, due to the rapid current, most of the first batch of ships were washed away from their ideal positions by the current when they sank, resulting in an incomplete blockade.

When the Admiralty found that the blockade was incomplete and there were many gaps, it requisitioned three private ships including "Fair", "Wanzai" and "Yongji" to sink into the blockade. The 8 barges of "Ji'an", "Zhen'an", "Fu'an", "Han'an", "Tai'an", "Yongqing", "De'an" and "Shashi" seized by other places were also towed to the blockade successively. Line scuttling.The Ministry of the Navy also asked the Executive Yuan to order the governments of Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Anhui, and Hubei provinces to urgently requisition 185 small civilian boats and salt boats, and sink them full of stones into the gaps in the blockade.A total of 30.94 cubic feet of gravel were used by these civilian ships.A total of 65020 loads.If you add the four cruisers "Hai Rong", "Hai Qi", "Hai Chi" and "Hai Chen" that sank on September 9th, a total of old warships and merchant ships sank during the Jiangyin shipwreck closure operation. 25 ships, with a total tonnage of more than 43 tons.With the self-sinking of the four cruisers "Hairong", "Haiqi", "Haichou", and "Haichen" on September 63800, the Chinese navy lost its main force on that day.

After the main force of the navy was annihilated, Chen Shaokuan became a bare-bones commander. His heart was extremely heavy. Without the navy, China had completely lost control of thousands of miles of sea.But he doesn't regret it, even though the main force is all sinking in Jiang Yin.However, the battle to defend the Jiangyin blockade blocked the Japanese army's attempt to march westward along the Yangtze River, shattered the Japanese army's three-month dream of destroying China, and protected the safe transfer of military and political institutions, industrial and mining enterprises in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River to the rear of Sichuan.Made an outstanding contribution to the final victory of the national government's long-lasting war of resistance in which space was exchanged for time.

This time I heard that the army actually seized three large warships of the Japanese army in Tianjin.This allowed Chen Shaokuan to see the hope of the navy's rise again.

As six large transport planes slowly landed at Tianjin Airport, 150 officers and soldiers of the Chinese Navy stepped off the plane quickly. Chen Feng could see clearly that a lieutenant general and two major generals were walking in the rear.He saw Chen Feng and others walking towards him.Chen Shaokuan also hurried over with several officers.

"Chen Feng, Commander of the No.60 First Army of the National Revolutionary Army, welcomes Commander Chen!"

"Mr. Chen is too polite. I'm ashamed to say it. I'm really useless as a navy commander. I don't have a decent ship in my hand. I didn't hear that you captured the three ironclad ships of the Japanese army in Tianjin, so I came here eagerly." I wonder if you captured the three warships of the Japanese army? Hehehe!" Chen Shaokuan said with a smile.

"The three warships we captured this time are the Chuanchi, the Tenryu, and the Yubari. As for the specific types of warships and their performance, Commander Chen has to go and see for himself. I am an amateur. I don't know anything about it!" Chen Feng said with a smile.

"Are you sure there's the Chuannei number inside?" Chen Shaokuan asked excitedly.

"Yes, I went to see it in person, it is indeed the Chuanchi, it looks like a cruiser, I don't know if it is right!" Chen Feng said.

"That's right, it's a cruiser. It would be great if it was really the Sichuan Ship." Chen Shaokuan said happily.

"Commander Chen, is the cruiser Chuanchi very powerful?"Chen Feng asked with a smile.

"It's not very powerful either. The light cruiser Kawauchi is an improved version of the Tenryu class. There are three warships of this class, namely Kawauchi, Shentong, and Naka. The design purpose of these three warships is the same as other light cruisers. As the command ship of the torpedo team, it is equipped with a torpedo launch-guided water observation plane and a launcher. The number of main guns has increased to 3, and it is equipped with the most powerful Type 7 acid torpedo in the world. The displacement is 93 tons, and the main gun is Seven 7100mm main guns, one seaplane can be carried, the design speed is 7 knots, and the crew is 140. There are many warships in the Japanese navy that are larger and more powerful than this class, but none of them are suitable for us. Now that the main force of our navy is gone, the only way to fight against the Japanese army is to focus on sneak attacks, which requires the warship to sail fast, and the speed of the Sendai is 1 knots, which can fully meet our requirements."

"Then what is the performance of the remaining two warships, can they meet the requirements of the navy?".Chen Feng asked again.

Chen Shaokuan thought for a while and said: "The Yubari is not bad. This warship was designed by Japan's most famous naval designer at the time - Yuzuru Hiraga. Its combined main funnel and bow design was quite avant-garde at the time. The gun adopts a unique configuration, using a new type of turbine shaft, and its combat capability is outstanding compared to its displacement, which surprised the navies of various countries. The displacement is 3587 tons, and the firepower is two double 140mm main guns. Torpedo launchers and 2 anti-aircraft guns. Generally speaking, the performance is average. This kind of warship with a short range is mostly used for offshore defense. The Tianlong is even worse. It was the first cruiser built by the Japanese Navy , It has been built and put into service after the First World War. The main guns loaded by manpower and the three-connected torpedo launching tubes are its main weapons. The combat tactics are to lead the destroyers close to the enemy's main ships for hand-to-hand combat at night, usually as a torpedo team Flagship. Not much better than our self-sinking "Hai Rong" and "Hai Qi"."

Originally, Chen Feng wanted to settle down Chen Shaokuan and others first, at least he had to clean up the dust and have a meal for them. Unfortunately, Chen Shaokuan's interest in the three warships he was about to acquire far exceeded eating, and he strongly urged Chen Feng to take him first. Go to the port to see the warships. (to be continued...)

ps: Ask for tickets in the third shift, thank you! ! !