The Mighty Underwater Force of the Republic

This report written by Our Staff Reporters Chen Wanjun, Xu Sen, Wang Guochun and Zhai Qiyun is about how a submarine unit of the People's Navy marches toward the new century. Following are excerpts of this report.

One day in January 2000, a certain submarine unit organized a gigantic drill on the sea, raising the curtain for the People's Navy's large-scale scientific and technological drill this year.

Officers and men of this submarine unit, honored as a "powerful underwater army", in a bid to fulfill the sacred mission entrusted by the Party and the people, used superior equipment, displayed perfect specialized technological skill and brand-new tactics and method of operation, practiced hard to build up their marine operational skill in order to win the war under the high-tech condition, fulfilling with credit the tasks of several major scientific research experiments and war-preparation patrols, such as submarine underwater launch of carrier rockets, underwater long-distance navigation, and land, sea and air joint operational exercises, thus becoming an important underwater shock force, it has been cordially received by President Jiang. Since 1997, the unit has been cited as an advanced unit distinguishing itself in naval military training for three consecutive years. Not long ago, the Headquarters of the General Staff issued a circular commending their advanced deeds.

*Creating Firsts in the Long-Distance Ocean Navigation

At sharp 10:00 a.m. that day, officers and men of the submarine unit who had been fighting for dozens of days and nights against frightful billows and terrible waves, slowly steered the submarine into the military port.

This submarine is a main new-type military equipment developed by China itself. To inspect the performance and underwater attacking capability of this submarine, the underwater operational skill and subsistence ability of the officers and soldiers, with approval from the Central Military Commission, this submarine was entrusted with this special task of "underwater long navigation".

Success in this long navigation will become an important hallmark of the modernization of the People's Navy. Before the start of the long navigation, Shi Yunsheng, commander of the Navy, will issue the order of advance to officers and men involved in the long navigation.

The underwater long march is a matter of life and death. For several months, officers and men had set new, long navigation records in the history of conventional submarine navigating in the depth of the "Dragon Palace".

This is a limit test of the submarine, crew and weapons. Unit leader Liu Guangyou issued the order that the long navigation was to be extended for five days. At a mobilization meeting, he announced that "the longer we hold out underwater, the more certain we will win the sea battle. At the crucial moment when we are being tested by the Party and the people, we must hand in a satisfactory answer sheet.

After the planned extended navigation was approved by the higher authorities, the submarine unit continued the long navigation.

The submarine continued to steer into the depth of the ocean.

That day the sea was enveloped in heavy fog, with the visibility being less than 100 meters. The submarine unit was ordered by the higher authorities to torpedo the "enemy's" escort vessel. Upon the order "start launching" was given by coxswain Liu Zimin, two new torpedoes went directly to the target, the "enemy" corvette was destroyed in the sea bed.

After carrying out "underwater long navigation" for dozens of days and nights, the submarine officers and mean had set the record of six firsts in the history of the People's Navy's submarine-the longest navigation time, the farthest navigation course, reaching the most sea areas, the most inspected items, the most complexity of the sea areas entered, and the most weapons used.

Over the past 20 years, the submarine unit has successively organized dozens of long-distance navigation, all submarines of the unit have experienced the tests of the winds and waves of the Pacific Ocean, creating dozens of firsts in the construction history of the People's Navy's submarine unit.

*Being Vanguard in Scientific and Technological Drill

As people enter this submarine unit, they will immediately feel the strong atmosphere of a mass scientific and technological drill; after acquiring a deeper understanding, people will acclaim the unit's achievements from the bottom of their hearts.

In June 1999, a professor with the Naval Submarine Institute paid a special trip to the submarine unit, asking Wang Changlai, head of the torpedo noncommissioned office, about the procedures for the operation of a new torpedoes and inviting him to jointly compile a teaching material on the use of torpedoes.

Wang Changlai, 42, is the oldest submarine cadet. Over the past 20 years and more, he has proficiently mastered the specialized skill of four types of submarine torpedo launching, becoming a "soldier professor" able to operate high-tech equipment.

In recent years, Wang Changlai has trained more than 300 torpedo specialized core members, current torpedo squad leaders all are his "students".

Sonar is the "ear" of a submarine. After becoming a sonar soldier of the submarine, Chou Yuping deeply felt a heavy responsibility placed on his shoulders. Every day, he wears an earphone to train his hearing. One year later, he had grasped a perfect skill of getting an accurate hearing every time. Last October, Chou Yuping lay in ambush underwater with the submarine for six days and nights, hundreds of targets above and under water were accurately identified by him.

"One should think about, study and work for modernization as long as one serves in the army"-this is the requirement set by the Party committee of the unit for the officers and men.

In order to stimulate the enthusiasm of the officers and men to pitch into scientific and technological drill, the submarine unit has launched the "three minors" (minor creation, minor renovation and minor invention" activities. In 1999 alone, the unit scored over 160 new technological innovation results.

*Practicing the Skill to Win in Seabed Battlefield

At the turn of the century, the profound change in the military field and the grim challenge posed by the world's military revolution have enabled the Party committee of the unit to clearly see that to fulfill the sacred mission of winning future partial marine war under high-tech condition, they must tap the existing potential of equipment and create new method of operation.

The South China Sea rages like storms, where water is deep and waves rapid. Liu Guangyou led a new submarine to sail thousands of nautical miles. The submarine lay in continuous ambush for five days and nights underwater, , launching 12 long-distance torpedo attacks on surface ships and submarines, directly hitting the targets 11 times.

Unit leader Liu Guangyou and political commissar Huang Yaonian repeatedly told coxswains: high-tech war, battle opportunity and risk exist side by side, in order to seize the battle opportunity in future sea warfare, it is worthwhile to take some risk at present. You should take bold action, if something go wrong, I will hold myself responsible for it.

In order to achieve a breakthrough in this highly difficult subject, the unit form a "think-tank" composed of experienced coxswains, key technological members, departmental staff officers and business heads, carefully worked out three sets of application formulas and conducted thorough feasibility studies on each formula, and mapped out relevant countermeasures to cope with five possible circumstances. On this basis, they organized officers and men to carry out over 100 simulation drills.

Creating new operational methods for winning future high-tech wars not only requires taking risks, but also building up the ability to endure setbacks and failures. Due to the limitation of the performance of equipment, a certain type of submarine can only lay mines in shallow water. Proceeding from the actual need, leaders of the unit decided to employ the method for the submarine to fully load itself and lay mines at great depth, Laying mines in accordance with this formula, the mining depth would be several times the original depth.

After repeated mining trials, the navy's new-type submarine achieved complete success in mining at great depth for the first time.

Victory belongs to pioneers daring to make innovation. In 1999, news of successes kept pouring in about the several new operational methods employed by this underwater mighty unit in organizing attack, mining and anti-submarines These repeated successes in the decisive battles indicate that the submarine unit of the People's Navy has had the unusual ability to attack the adversary!

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