Jiangnan Shipyard, formerly known as the Jiangnan Machinery Manufacturing Bureau, gave birth to China's first lathe here, built China's first steam-propelled warship "Huiji" and the first ironclad warship "Jinou", developed China's first rifle, the first steel cannon, the first pound of smokeless gunpowder, and refined China's first furnace of steel......

In the history of the late Qing Dynasty, Jiangnan Factory was the most advanced and well-equipped large-scale factory in the country, and in 1905, the bureau and dock were separated, and Jiangnan Shipyard officially operated independently. In the six years from 1905 to 1911 alone, 136 ships were built with a total displacement of 21,000 tons. During World War I, Jiangnan Factory also undertook orders for 10,000-ton transport ships from the United States and built four giant ships such as the "Guanfu", which can be called a milestone in the history of Chinese shipbuilding.

But compared with the previous brilliant achievements, May 3, 1925, is an unusual day, all the workers of the shipyard are anxiously waiting, to about ten o'clock, with the cheers of countless workers, the standard displacement of 6700 tons of Zhenjiang slowly launched, becoming the first modern giant ship built by the Jiangnan Factory.

The Zhenjiang light cruiser is a first-class light cruiser of China's own design, and it is also one of the bodyguards tailored for aircraft carriers. There are a total of four ships of the same class, two built in Jiangnan Plant and two in Lushun, namely Zhenjiang, Taizhou, Liaoyang and Fengcheng.

Two months ago, the Liaoyang has been officially launched, this class of warships is 165 meters long, the standard displacement of 6,700 tons, the main gun is 8 twin 127 mm guns, equipped with 12 40 mm anti-aircraft guns, the maximum speed of 32 knots, the cruising range of 8,000 nautical miles.

The performance figures are basically similar to the Atlanta-class light cruisers built by the Americans before World War II. This standard was also put forward by Zhang Tinglan himself, and his knowledge of weapons was not rich. But there was an aircraft carrier fever in later generations, and he also knew some of the history of aircraft carriers, and he was still very clear about the Atlanta-class cruisers that had achieved outstanding results.

Construction of the Atlanta class began in 1940, with a total of four ships of the same class, which participated in all major naval battles in the Pacific and became an important air defense liliang of the aircraft carrier group.

When Zhang Tinglan was designing his own aircraft carrier battle group, he naturally would not let go of this best option. Since the capture of the Yarmouth, the Chinese engineers have conducted a detailed study. At the same time, after ordering warships from Italy, China also sent special Jishu personnel to participate in the construction process. Accumulated a wealth of experience. In addition, China has obtained some key jishu of warships from Germany.

With these reserves, in 1924, shipyards in the north and south of China began to build warships on a large scale at about the same time. At present, there are four shipyards in China, and the Huludao and Lushun shipyards are located in Mukden, both of which are located in Jishu. There are also Qingdao Shipyard and Jiangnan Factory.

Compared with. The Jiangnan plant has many advantages over the Qingdao plant, so it has been taken care of. The management system of the shipyard has been renovated. At the same time, supporting equipment has been added to make the Jiangnan plant more perfect.

With the successful launch of Zhenjiang, the history of Jiangnan Plant has also turned a new page, in order to congratulate Zhenjiang on its launch, Shen Honglie, commander-in-chief of the Navy, personally rushed to the scene to participate in the launching ceremony.

Also present were celebrities from all walks of life. Chief among them is the veteran of the navy, Sa Zhenbing. As a naval veteran from the Manchu era, Sa Zhenbing witnessed the rise and fall of the Beiyang Naval Division, and he was a little desperate at one point. However, with the rise of the Feng army, the combined fleet was defeated. Let the old man rekindle his confidence and hope.

At this time, when he saw the Zhenjiang launched, Sa Zhenbing was in tears, and Shen Honglie personally invited Sa Zhenbing to board the deck of the Zhenjiang.

After Sa Zhen got on the boat, he looked left and right. The rough big hand kept stroking the cold main gun, and he nodded again and again: "It's good, Dingyuan and Zhenyuan back then were so big!" ”

"Sa Lao, the standard displacement of the Zhenjiang is 6,700 tons, which is slightly smaller than that of the Dingyuan, but the full load displacement is about 8,300 tons, which is a little larger than the full load displacement of the Dingyuan."

When Sa Zhenbing heard this, his brows furrowed, as if he had some doubts, Shen Honglie said with a smile: "Now the idea of building a warship has changed a lot, a warship will be used for one or two decades, so there must be enough room for transformation, and more weapons will be added in the future." ”

When Sa Zhenbing heard this, he also nodded frequently: "The navy has progressed too fast, we have long been eliminated by the times, we can see the navy flourishing again, and the old man can talk to those old brothers when he goes to Jiuquan." ”

While he was talking, Sa Shijun, who came up with Sa Zhenbing, suddenly asked: "Uncle, since the Zhenjiang and Dingyuan are about the same, the Weishenme Dingyuan is equipped with a 305 mm Krupp main gun, while the Zhenjiang is only equipped with a 127 mm main gun, the gap is really too big, is this kind of firepower enough?" ”

Sa Zhenbing's eyes widened: "Don't talk too much, children, how to build a warship is based on tactical considerations, don't ask more about things that you shouldn't know!" ”

Shen Honglie smiled: "Sa Lao, you must also have this question, right?" ”

Sa Zhenbing's face also flushed slightly, it is true that as an old navy, he is more obsessed with warships, but he knows that there are some things that need to be kept secret.

"Sa Lao, in fact, it doesn't hurt to tell you, in short, this secret won't be kept for long, within half a month, the Fengtian will be launched!"

Mukden? As soon as they heard these three words, Sa Zhenbing and Sa Shijun, the old and the young, all widened their eyes, the naming of warships is very regular, according to the current situation, heavy cruisers are named according to the provincial capital, Harbin and Jilin, while light cruisers are named after ordinary cities, that is, Zhenjiang and Liaoyang.

The Fengtian is undoubtedly named after the provincial-level administrative region, and Mukden is different from other provinces, it is the place where Zhang Tinglan started and the most important shipbuilding base in China. Obviously, this Fengtian has a milestone significance, otherwise it would definitely not be eligible for this name.

Sa Shijun's face also instantly turned red, he is Sa Zhenbing's nephew, born in a naval family, since he was a child, he has been determined to wash the wings of the snow and the afternoon, since 1913, Sa Shijun has entered the navy and trained on many warships. However, the warships he served on were all river gunboats, and there were no big guys.

But Sa Shijun has been paying attention to the development of the navy, especially since the return of the Mackensen, his heart has been hanging, and he has continued to collect the situation of the Mackensen through various materials. The enthusiasm is far above those military fans in later generations, and because the current information is not developed enough, there is not much news that can be obtained. However, as soon as he saw the news of the Mackenson, he would collect it, and there was a photo of the Mackensen sailing into Huludao on the bedside.

There is no doubt that the light cruiser is the limit of China's current shipbuilding capabilities, and the only one that can afford the Mukden is the modified Mackensen. At the thought that this warship would be able to be launched in half a month, Sa Shijun was overjoyed.

Sa Zhenbing was the same, the wrinkles on the old man's face were all smiling, the goatee on his chin shook up and down, clapped his hands and said, "Okay, that's great!" In the first few years, I listened to Zhong Zhao's analysis and said that he was going to complete the Mackensen, and I thought it was quite reliable, and it seemed that there was still hope for the navy. ”

"Uncle, I saw the news, not long ago, the Japanese battle cruiser Akagi has been launched, I heard that the larger tonnage of the Waka has also entered the construction stage of Zuihou, these two battle cruisers are designed for the Mackensen, but I am afraid that even if the Mukden is attacked, it will have to face the superior Japanese combined fleet."

Shen Honglie's face showed a smug smile: "Don't worry, you just wait, when the Fengtian comes out, there will be a large number of people who will drop their jaws in shock!" ”

……

"To put it mildly, three phases of construction bonds have been issued this year, with a total of 70 million, which is a great increase compared with last year." Wang Shuhan said with a smile: "The people's enthusiasm for buying is still quite high, and the sales are very hot, I think there can be a little more." ”

In fact, since the beginning of the first five-year jihua, China has issued a large number of bonds, and the people did not approve of it at first, but Zhang Tinglan took the lead in setting an example and bought 3 million bonds, which ignited the enthusiasm of the people, and the vice president dared to buy it, in short, there will be no problems, under this blind trust, bond sales are becoming more and more popular, and 95 million yuan was bought in the first year, which greatly supported economic construction.

Zhang Tinglan also smiled: "Although China is poor and weak, after all, the country is big enough, and there are still many rich people. It is possible to issue additional bonds, but this time it is necessary to issue additional bonds for military construction, and the navy will have to make a big move. ”

When Wang Shuhan heard this, he also smiled and said: "Cheng, the economic situation has been improving in the past two years, and the army should keep up, but I don't know how much it will be issued?" ”

"Let's issue 30 million first, and then increase it later depending on the situation."

As soon as he heard Zhang Tinglan's words, Wang Shuhan couldn't help but be stunned, it seems that this action is indeed not small.

In a blink of an eye, on May 20th, Huludao Shipyard gathered several times the number of personnel of Jiangnan Factory, Vice President Zhang Tinglan, Minister of National Defense Yang Yuting, Chief of General Staff Jiang Fangzhen, Navy Commander Shen Honglie, Air Force Commander Zhang Xueliang and other important figures, all came to Huludao Shipyard.

The slipway will be star-studded, and all eyes will be on it, and if a bomb comes at this time, I am afraid that the Chinese army will be completely paralyzed. However, this possibility does not exist, as early as a few days ago, Liu Shaoqing and Feng Yongshuang personally deployed a large number of people to strictly guard against death.

At 12 o'clock in the afternoon, Zhang Tinglan held a champagne bottle in his hand and smashed it heavily on the bow of the newly built Fengtian...... (To be continued......)