Chapter 1299
Let's change the design of the Type 65 and add a helicopter, how about that?
Type 65 frigate.
Type: Domestically produced near-shore gun frigate with a displacement of 1,000 tons.
Core missions: patrol and surveillance, escort, mine laying, and near-shore support.
The ship is 90 meters long, 10.2 meters wide, and has a displacement of 1146 tons.
Inside the office.
Li Aiguo flipped through the blueprints.
The construction of the deck must take into account the overall design of the ship.
Otherwise, if the thickness is too excessive or too thin, it will affect the performance of the ship.
This time, Jiangnan Shipyard and Institute 701 showed great sincerity, bringing with them all the blueprints except for the weapons section.
The blueprints filled half a large wooden crate!
After Li Aiguo had roughly gone through the drawings, he looked up and saw that the sky outside the window was already full of sunset colors, and it was evening.
"Comrade Patriot, can we do the work tomorrow?"
Knowing that Li Aiguo was already married with three children and that his wife worked at the neighborhood office, Zhao Qingyang took the initiative to offer his services.
"Let's eat first, then I'll work overtime a bit more." Li Aiguo rubbed his sore neck, but his mind was still processing the details of the blueprints he had just worked on.
Upon hearing this...
Section Chief Xing immediately shouted at Zhou Ke, who was on duty outside the door.
"Zhou Ke! Quickly notify the canteen to bring over the best food! And also get a bottle of sweet potato liquor!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Section Chief Xing seemed to feel that it wasn't impressive enough, so he quickly added another sentence.
"Wait, go to my office and bring me that bottle of Moutai I've been saving in my cabinet!"
Just kidding. The people sitting here today are all top experts in the military industry and shipyards. How can we deal with them with ordinary sweet potato cakes?
Although Moutai is not as popular as Fenjiu now, it is still a very prestigious drink to serve distinguished guests!
"No need, no need! Section Chief Xing, you're too kind. When in Rome, do as the Romans do. A little sweet potato liquor will do just fine!" Zhao Qingyang waved his hands repeatedly when he heard that Moutai was to be served.
"The value of wine isn't in its price, it's all about who you're drinking it with!"
"That's right, that's it."
Chief Engineer Qin from Institute 710 also said, "Chief Engineer Li is a very capable person in our institute. It is a great honor to drink with him."
Section Chief Xing was taken aback for a moment before remembering that Li Aiguo also held the title of Chief Engineer.
In contrast.
I'm just a section chief, not on the same level as these technical experts.
That kid...
Zhou Ke was quite sensible; he not only brought the old wine but also a bottle of Moutai.
Several aluminum lunchboxes containing food were placed on the table, and the bottle caps were opened.
Section Chief Xing personally took the wine glasses and poured wine for the experts, then poured one for Li Aiguo.
Everyone raised their glasses, while Zhou Ke stood to the side, unsure whether to leave or stay and work as a "waiter".
Seeing Zhou Ke's expression, Li Aiguo stood up, poured a glass of wine, and placed it on the table.
"Section Chief Xing, experts, may I interject?"
Today we can sit here peacefully, studying blueprints, drinking and eating meat.
Have we forgotten the great heroes who made such a difference in our security work?
Upon hearing this, Zhao Qingyang immediately understood and laughed heartily, "Right, right! Look at my memory! This must be Comrade Xiao Zhou, right? Come, come, have a seat!"
"We're all gathered here today, so we're family. There's no need for all those formalities!"
Zhou Ke's eyes were filled with gratitude.
Zhou Ke is now the captain of the railway police station, so he doesn't lack for food and drinks.
The key difference is the significance. Those present are shipbuilding experts and military experts, all of whom Zhou Ke greatly admires.
This little brother is such a thoughtful person.
He had already figured out his own thoughts and even brought them up in front of so many experts.
It seems that my mother's decision to let him drink more milk back then really paid off!
Section Chief Xing also remembered: "That's right! We're all one family!"
"Come on, Zhou Ke, sit down! Your security duties at the rolling mill are going to be very important!"
Li Aiguo really has a lot of influence!
Looking at the food in front of him, Zhou Ke was deeply moved.
Li Aiguo easily built a closer relationship between the experts and the security personnel.
The real purpose of Li Aiguo is to ensure that the two sides can cooperate more smoothly when carrying out work in the future.
The group raised their glasses and clinked them together. After a few drinks, the atmosphere at the dinner table became lively.
"Chief Engineer Li, you've already looked at the blueprints. Do you have any thoughts on the deck construction?" Zhao Qingyang asked eagerly while picking up some food.
He knew Li Aiguo's expertise in materials and machinery.
Li Aiguo put down his wine glass: "I do have some ideas."
However… I feel that our Type 65 corvettes seem to be missing something.”
These words caused a slight pause in the atmosphere at the dinner table.
Zhao Qingyang and the two experts from Institute 701 simultaneously put down their chopsticks and turned their gazes to Li Aiguo.
In fact, all the experts present knew exactly what was going on.
The Type 65 corvette was, frankly speaking, a product born out of necessity.
Back then, our southern fleet was poor, with only one ship, the "Nanning," to maintain appearances.
It was a converted coastal defense ship that had been captured years ago, and it was old and dilapidated.
Against this challenging backdrop, the design principles of the Type 65 were very clear.
First, address the question of "whether it exists or not," then discuss "good or bad."
The highest priority is to ensure a smooth launch and commissioning.
The goal itself is not wrong, but the problem that arises from this compromise is that the performance indicators are really just average.
In its original historical trajectory, the Type 65 quickly became obsolete as times changed.
Its direct replacement was the renowned Type 053H series missile frigate.
Subsequently, the 053H3, 054 series, and 056 series took over, finally completing a comprehensive upgrade of near-shore defense.
Chen, an expert from Institute 701, spoke first, sighed, and said, "Comrade Aiguo, what you're referring to as the missing piece... is the adoption of a long forecastle, right? Well, there's nothing we can do about that."
The Type 65 fighter jet adopted a long forecastle design for two main unavoidable reasons.
First, it is equipped with a 9ESDZ43/67 diesel engine, which weighs as much as 75 tons and is extremely tall, requiring a long forecastle to barely accommodate it, while also raising the freeboard.
Secondly, the long forecastle has a large internal volume and good stability, which can prevent the two compartments from sinking, thus improving the survival rate.
However, the drawbacks are equally fatal!
The use of a long forecastle meant that the engine compartment was custom-made, making it impossible to replace it with newer engine models (such as the later TB-8/9).
This resulted in the Type 65 having a top speed of only a pitiful 21.5 knots, which was even far lower than the speed of the warships of the neighboring Indians.
Even more critically, the long forecastle severely encroaches on deck space, resulting in insufficient space on board to install shipborne missiles!
In the coming era of missile-based naval warfare, this is the most fatal weakness.
Zhao Qingyang understood this as well, and nodded in agreement, saying helplessly, "The design cannot exceed the existing manufacturing capabilities."
Even with this compromise, we still encountered major problems in deck construction, wasting a lot of time.
“The long forecastle can’t be changed; it’s the core compartment. But we can lengthen part of the deck!” Li Aiguo poured himself a glass of wine and drank it all in one gulp.
"Extended length?"
The voice just fell.
Zhao Qingyang and the two experts were all stunned, as if they had heard something unbelievable.
You know, a ship's deck isn't a building block structure!
As the ship's structural support deck, it bears the total longitudinal bending stress when the ship is sailing in waves.
"Chief Engineer Li, I respect your achievements in the field of machinery, but ships are different from machinery, and even more different from trains!"
Arbitrarily changing the deck length will cause the entire ship's longitudinal strength to fail, which could lead to a major accident!
Expert Chen was a little angry, feeling that Li Aiguo was interfering with his professional work.
Seeing that the atmosphere was about to become tense, Zhao Qingyang quickly reached out to stop Expert Chen.
"Old Chen, don't rush, let Comrade Aiguo finish speaking."
Zhao Qingyang had dealt with Li Aiguo before and knew very well that this kid wouldn't speak carelessly about things he wasn't sure of.
Li Aiguo was indeed confident: "Expert Chen is right, ordinary decks really won't work."
However, if we use high-strength steel plates with yield strength reaching special grades.
Then what about using 'cantilever extension' or 'high-strength splicing extension' technology?
In fact, in later generations...
The technology for extending decks is already extremely mature.
In particular, extending the flight deck and midships weapons deck outwards or aft is a routine operation without changing the ship's overall waterline length.
For example, our Type 052DL destroyer is actually based on the Type 052D, with the addition of a stern helicopter deck to accommodate the take-off and landing of Z-20 anti-submarine helicopters.
There's also the "Newport" class tank landing ship from Xiaomei's family, which is equipped with a cantilevered gantry bracket and ramp at the bow, suitable for rapid vehicle unloading.
"Of course."
Li Aiguo emphasized.
"All of this is based on the premise that the decks provided by our steel rolling mill must meet the absolute standards in terms of yield strength and welding quality!"
Only in this way can it withstand the weight of the extended part and the stress changes after weapons are added in the future.
At the same time, it does not compromise the original longitudinal strength of the ship's hull.
At that time, there were no similar bold technological concepts in China.
The two experts widened their eyes in surprise.
After listening to Li Aiguo's idea, the anger on his face gradually dissipated, replaced by deep contemplation.
Expert Chen even took out a small notebook from his pocket and started calculating.
"If the deck's yield strength can really reach the standard you mentioned... maybe it really will work!"
Another chief engineer, Qin, was also excited.
"Theoretically speaking, as long as the materials are up to standard and the stress distribution can be rebalanced, there shouldn't be any problems!"
However, expert Chen still had some concerns.
"However, such a change could easily trigger a chain reaction affecting the entire ship's center of gravity, and the risk is still very high..."
Expert Chen put down his pen: "But if it really works, we can install missile launchers on the Type 65!"
Even if it involves some risk, it's absolutely worth it!
It should be noted that the main firepower currently used in the Type 65 design is still three 100mm manually loaded cannons.
If a ship cannot outspeed an enemy vessel, hitting the enemy with cannons is an incredibly difficult task.
If, without increasing speed, the extended deck space could be used to install two twin-mounted "Shangyou-1" anti-ship missiles...
The combat capability of the Type 65 will undergo a qualitative leap!
"Comrade Patriot, this matter is extremely important. Please allow us to go back and report to our superiors immediately!"
Expert Chen took a deep breath and made a decision on the spot.
"This is just a preliminary suggestion from me," Li Aiguo said with a modest smile.
He is indeed very brave.
While the Type 65 model cannot be completely overhauled and rebuilt, such minor modifications are still worth trying.
This can be considered as laying some material and technological foundation for future large aircraft carriers.
"Come on, Comrade Aiguo, let me toast you." Expert Chen stood up, poured a glass of wine, and handed it to Li Aiguo.
"I hope you can write those two techniques down in writing so we can use them to explain the situation to our superiors."
Li Aiguo readily agreed, took the glass, and drank it all in one gulp.
Zhou Ke remained completely bewildered.
What kind of missile?
What deck? What cantilever extension?
Why were those two experts so cold and hostile towards Li Aiguo just now?
In the blink of an eye, they've become so friendly? They even stood up to offer a toast?!
Zhou Ke scratched his head, thinking to himself: Could it be... that my sharp mind is really because I drank a lot of milk when I was a baby?
Thinking of this, Zhou Ke felt a pang of regret.
If I had known this would happen, I shouldn't have given those few mouthfuls of milk to Li Aiguo in the first place!
Dinner ended quickly.
Today was the day for the Qianmen Locomotive Depot to collect living allowances. Li Aiguo went to the Materials Section to collect his share before riding his mountain bike back to the courtyard house.
Li Aiguo was in a very good mood, enjoying the evening breeze.
This little butterfly that traveled from another world has been flapping its wings for so long, and it has finally made a real impact on the warship!
The thought of the new Type 65 corvettes carrying large missiles sailing the seas made him hum a cheerful tune.
I just rode my motorcycle into the compound.
Then, Banggeng, Liu Guangqi, and Liu Guangfu, those three mischievous monkeys, ran past like the wind.
Bang Geng, who was running in the lead, turned his head and saw that it was Li Aiguo. His face changed instantly, and he ran away as fast as a mouse seeing a cat.
"Could this guy have stolen a chicken?" Li Aiguo wondered.
Before he could finish speaking, a furious roar came from the backyard.
Liu Haizhong charged out, brandishing the Seven Wolves leather belt high, cursing under his breath. "You three little brats, stop right there! You three ruined the yolks of those perfectly good eggs! I'll whip you to death today!"
The nearby residents burst into laughter.
Even Qin Huairu was laughing heartily with Xiao Dang and Xiao Huaihua.
Li Aiguo shook his head and chuckled as he watched this scene.
Well, ever since that kid Banggeng was assigned to Liu Haizhong's "special management" team...
Although he's still as mischievous as ever, at least he hasn't gone down the path of no return to becoming a "courtyard thief."
Qin Huairu also sensed this, which is why she repeatedly rejected Yi Zhonghai's suggestion and kept Banggeng at Liu Haizhong's house.
Li Aiguo got back on his motorcycle and went back to the backyard.
Xu Damao had been waiting for Li Aiguo to return.
As soon as he heard the sound of a motorcycle, he quickly came out.
"Patriotic brother, I've got something good for you."
As Xu Damao spoke, he went into the house, took out a strange old hen, and handed it over.
This chicken has colorful feathers and a rather long tail; it's clearly a wild pheasant!
This stuff not only tastes delicious, but it's also incredibly nutritious.
"Wow, this is good stuff, Brother Da Mao, where did you get it?" Li Aiguo said with a smile.
"Hehe, my wife went back to her parents' house today, and guess what? This pheasant just happened to run into my bicycle, and lo and behold, it died on the spot!"
Xu Damao, without blushing, wove a basket that even the current locust flowers wouldn't believe.
Li Aiguo didn't expose him. He reached out and took the pheasant, weighing it in his hand. It was quite heavy.
"This must weigh three or four pounds, right? Brother Da Mao, name your price, and I'll go inside and get the money for you."
"Don't be so formal. If you have any cloth coupons, just give me a few." Xu Damao said somewhat embarrassedly, "Next month is Xiao Xu Hua's birthday, and Liu Lan has been wanting to make her a new dress."
Upon hearing this, Li Aiguo immediately pulled out the few cloth coupons he had just received from his pocket and waved them in front of Xu Damao: "Take them."
Xu Damao glanced at the denomination and quickly reached into his pocket: "How much? I'll buy it!"
Li Aiguo said with a smile, "It's not much, just fifteen feet. Forget about the money for this month's subsidy. If you have any more pheasants in the future, just bring them to me."
Fifteen feet of cloth ration coupons—that's definitely not a small amount!
That's enough to make two beautiful new outfits for Xiao Xuhua.
You should know that back then, an adult's annual cloth ration was less than ten feet at most.
If Li Aiguo were to accept money from Xu Damao now, the nature of the transaction would change, and it would become known as reselling tickets.
Just look at the deaf old lady in the backyard; she used to sell some grain coupons privately, and now people are still talking behind her back.
If we use wild chickens instead, there won't be any problem. Even if word gets out, I'm helping the people, so do you dare to object?
"Fifteen feet isn't enough? Okay, I'll take it, haha."
Xu Damao knew that Li Aiguo was taking care of him.
That's just how people are; if someone helps you, you should remember their kindness.
As for the pheasant issue, that's hardly a problem!
Liu Lan's family home is in the countryside, near the mountains, where there are plenty of pheasants.
We can ask her brother and sister-in-law to help us set some traps to catch some; that would be very convenient.
When Xu Hua learned that Xu Damao had received the cloth ration coupons, she cheered with joy.
She's in elementary school now, just like Xiao Hongsheng. The little girl loves to dress up, but she's never worn a real floral dress before.
Li Aiguo chatted with Xu Damao for a few minutes, then carried the pheasant back to his house; he still had a lot to do.
Chen Xueru returned that evening.
Since becoming the deputy director of the subdistrict office, Ms. Chen has been very busy with her work.
Li Aiguo has already made tomato and egg noodles.
While eating, I listened to Chen Xueru talk about the neighborhood office.
"Sometimes I really wish I could just be a staff member; this deputy director's job is too difficult," said Ms. Chen, somewhat frustrated.
“That’s how leaders are; once they occupy a position, they have to take on responsibility,” Li Aiguo nodded.
He was happy when he was a train driver; all he had to do was enjoy driving the train.
Now we have to take on all sorts of issues, including Hextech and the studio, as well as funding and personnel allocation.
“Yes, if you occupy a position, you have to take responsibility.” Miss Chen repeated Li Aiguo’s words and nodded emphatically.
For some reason, Chen Xueru felt as if she had relieved all the stress of the day after just a few casual words with Li Aiguo.
This rough-around-the-edges guy is just amazing.
Thinking of this, Miss Chen glanced at Li Aiguo, her face turning slightly red.
After finishing his meal, Li Aiguo did not go into the inner room, but instead went into the study and closed the door.
Seeing this, Chen Xueru immediately put away her romantic thoughts.
My husband has something important to do again.
Chen Xueru naturally wouldn't disturb them. After cleaning up the dishes, she took the three children out and strolled to the tailor shop.
I've been so busy with work lately that I haven't been able to visit Chen Fangxuan for quite some time.
Under the lights.
Li Aiguo began writing the refit plan for the Type 65 frigate.
Li Aiguo already had a well-thought-out plan in mind regarding the technology for extending the deck and the specific construction scheme.
Using the technology gleaned from the system, it was done in no time.
The most crucial aspect is firepower.
Li Aiguo decided to install two twin-mounted Shangyou-1 missile launchers behind the long forecastle on the Type 65 corvette.
Although the center of gravity shifts aft and the bow tilts upward, the center of gravity can still be stabilized due to the increased deck length.
With the missile launchers sorted out, the next big thing is the takeoff and landing deck!
That's right, Li Aiguo plans to use "cantilever extension" technology to extend the stern of the Type 65 ship by five meters to create a dedicated helicopter landing deck!
It can be equipped with Thunderbolt attack helicopters in the future.
This is more than just an idea.
Li Aiguo included detailed actual parameters, stress test models, and feasibility studies in his report, and every set of data was rigorously examined.
It was already past midnight when I finished all this.
When Li Aiguo returned to the inner room, Miss Chen was already fast asleep.
As soon as she lay down, Miss Chen rolled over and sprawled out on top of Li Aiguo.
Night deepened.
The next morning, after having breakfast, Li Aiguo went to the rolling mill factory.
Two experts from Institute 701 were already waiting in the office.
"How about patriotism?"
"I have successfully completed the task. Please take a look." Li Aiguo smiled and handed over the thick stack of materials.
Expert Chen opened it, glanced at it twice, and his expression became excited.
“Not only is there a design, but also a demonstration. Great! Patriotism! I’ll go back to Institute 701 right now and try my best to persuade them to change the design.”
It's important to understand that warships like the Type 65 corvette undergo a complex and complicated process from design to finalization.
Even if expert Chen agrees with Li Aiguo's idea, persuading the leaders in the institute and the leaders in the navy will not be an easy task.
The two experts left in a hurry, carrying the blueprints.
In the following days, Li Aiguo was not idle either, and immediately began to prepare for the rolling of special deck steel.
This has left the leaders of the Ministry of Railways and the First Ministry of Machine Building completely bewildered.
Everyone's eyes are glued to the 100,000-ton rolling mill.
Why is there still no movement from the rolling mill factory after several days?
Faced with the inquiry call from above, Section Chief Xing could only bite the bullet and vaguely brush it off by saying that "the equipment is still being debugged and the materials are still being prepared."
Upon hearing this, Yi Zhonghai, sitting in his wheelchair, began to gloat.
"Without asking, we know it's a problem with the rolling mill. Even the eldest brother couldn't fix it, how could Li Aiguo handle it?"
"Yi Zhonghai, get to work!" The workshop director's voice rang out as soon as he finished speaking.
Yi Zhonghai quickly had Qin Huairu push him back.
When Yi Zhonghai chose to "go into battle despite his injury," the workshop director didn't even consider letting him work.
After all, the worker is the factory director. If he makes a master craftsman with a broken leg work, does he still want to be the workshop director?
Unexpectedly, Yi Zhonghai pretended to be a master craftsman, chatting idly with the veteran workers in the workshop.
The workshop foreman got angry too. "Fine, since you're so eager, then so be it."
Yi Zhonghai picked up the parts and felt as if he had shot himself in the foot.
a few days later.
Institute 701, located thousands of miles away.
Inside the conference room, a high-level technical conference is being held.
The attendees included not only leaders at all levels and top technical experts from Institute 701, but also the naval leadership.
Apart from the head of Institute 701, most of the people present were completely baffled.
"Wasn't Old Chen supposed to be in Beijing overseeing deck manufacturing at the steel rolling mill? Why did he suddenly come back?"
"Yeah, why all this fuss? What happened?"
Amidst whispers.
The leader of Institute 701 slammed his hand on the table and stood up: "Comrades, the reason we are holding this emergency meeting today is because... the design plan for our Type 65 frigate may face a major change!"
These words caused a huge uproar, like a stone thrown into still water.
"What? Changing commanders at the last minute? This won't do!"
"The blueprints are all finalized. If we change them now, what will happen to the construction schedule?"
"Everyone, please be quiet for a moment!"
The leader gestured for him to speak, saying, "Let Lao Chen give everyone a report on the specifics."
As the room gradually quieted down, Expert Chen stood up, picked up the document written by Li Aiguo, and walked to the blackboard.
First, he explained the mechanical principles of "deck extension technology," and then he proposed a "modified" plan to add missile and helicopter decks.
In the very beginning.
The technical experts in the audience, who had spent their entire lives designing ships, still looked puzzled.
Some even frowned, ready to launch a rebuttal at any moment.
Extend it? Isn't that ridiculous?
However, as expert Chen listed out the data and arguments in Li Aiguo's report one by one...
The experts' expressions gradually shifted from doubt to shock, and finally to solemnity and ecstasy.
"My God... You know what, if this plan can really be implemented, the firepower of the Type 65 corvette will be upgraded by at least one level!"
"Yes! The Type 65 is too slow. I was worried it would be at a disadvantage in naval battles. Now that we have the 'Shangyou-1' missile, we can launch attacks beyond visual range!"
"And that helicopter deck! Amazing! With armed helicopters, the anti-submarine capabilities of the frigate will undergo a qualitative leap!"
I've heard that Russian submarines have been acting suspiciously in our waters lately!
"This Comrade Li Aiguo seems to be a warship expert!"
Seeing the enthusiastic response from the audience, the leaders of Institute 701 knew the time was right, and loudly announced, "Comrades, time is of the essence. Those who support the redesign of the Type 65 frigate, please raise your hands!"
"I agree!" The first to stand up was not one of the experts, but a leader from the Navy.
"I believe that this improved Type 65 corvette is more suitable for our current fleet! This is the sharp sword our navy truly needs!"
In later generations, clients were notoriously difficult to please.
The same applies to this era.
In particular, their design solution increased firepower by at least 20% without major modifications, so why shouldn't we support it?
As for whose design it was, the experts didn't care; everyone was gathered together to build a blue-water warship.
If they were truly concerned with personal fame and fortune, back when the country was first liberated, with their qualifications and skills, they would have already gone abroad to enjoy a life of luxury.
Li Aiguo put forward this plan precisely because he believed in the awareness of these senior figures.
The experts all raised their hands.
"I agree!"
I agree!
I second that!
Seeing this, the leaders of Institute 701 made a decisive move: "Good! Since everyone agrees, let's immediately submit a report to the higher authorities!"
Let's follow Comrade Li Aiguo's plan and carry out a comprehensive transformation!
The renovation work was to be fully overseen by Comrade Li Aiguo.
When Li Aiguo learned of the news, he had already completed the preliminary preparations.
"Patriotism! Let's...begin!" Expert Chen handed over the approval documents and drawings, which were stamped with the seals of several departments!
(End of this chapter)