Chapter 406 Jiaolong deep-submersible lifeboat

From the appearance, Jiaolong looks like a large bomb with a piece cut off.

The whole thing is approximately a cylinder, with the tail retracted backwards and four tail fins. The upper part at the front is convex and the lower part is concave. There are two mechanical arms on both sides. There is a piece of glass in the concave center. It is the only observation window in this deep-diving lifeboat.

There is a searchlight on it and four small water jet propellers on the tail, which can flexibly change the direction of the nozzle for maneuvering.

 The overall length is less than ten meters, and the width and height are about three meters. Such a displacement is on the order of more than twenty tons.

At this time, Kvasa, the designer of this deep-diving lifeboat, was standing in front, explaining to everyone.

"After entering the 1980s, the deep-diving equipment built by various countries all have similar appearances. France's Parrot and the island country's Deep-Dive 6500 all have this shape. In fact, its appearance is not important because it is a double-shell There are two spherical pressure-resistant chambers inside the submarine. The front one is smaller in diameter and can only accommodate three or four people. The rear pressure-resistant chamber is larger in diameter and can accommodate more than a dozen victims at a time. Submarine sailor.”

The spherical shape is the shape that can withstand the greatest pressure. Therefore, no matter what the shape of this deep-diving lifeboat is, the cabins that actually carry people inside are spherical structures. This is the most secure.

At this time, listening to Kvasa's introduction, Qin Tao was a little confused: "Since the spherical shape inside is the pressure-resistant chamber that carries personnel, why is our outer shell also made of titanium alloy?"

The silver light is shining on the outside, this is obviously pure titanium alloy!

Since the outer shell does not need to withstand pressure, why use this material? This thing is very expensive!

"Of course it is for lightness and strength. The lighter our deep-diving lifeboat is, the better its maneuverability will be in the ocean. If you think about it, if it needs to be docked with the submarine's rescue hatch, it will have to be adjusted carefully. If it is too small It’s heavy and has too much inertia, so it may be difficult to adjust.”

 “Doesn’t it have a mechanical arm?”

 The existence of the robotic arm makes the movement of the submarine very convenient. Just like an excavator, it can get on and off the transport vehicle by itself. It uses the robotic arm to grab the submarine shell and fix itself, which facilitates fine movements.

"Ahem, ahem, let's talk about its power system now. It is divided into two methods. It can sail freely by relying on the internal battery, or it can drag a cable for power like a diving bell, but this method will be very troublesome. , is not flexible at all. As for its diving depth, after our repeated calculations, it should be able to dive to 10,000 meters."

Kvasa actually ignored Qin Tao’s question.

why why?

 This guy must be hiding something! Qin Tao can already guess what it is. Kvasa also designed the shell to be made of titanium alloy, purely out of his love for titanium alloy. Anyway, they got a lot of titanium alloy, so consuming part of it is nothing.

 Actually, this is a waste. These titanium alloys can be used for many things. No matter how much of this stuff we have, we cannot waste it!

Qin Tao's heart was bleeding, but the others didn't care. They were stunned by the depth of what Kvasa said.

 Ten thousand meters!

 What is this concept?

The French, the islanders, and even Lao Maozi himself seem to be able to only dive to a depth of six thousand meters. I have never heard of a submersible that can dive to a depth of 10,000 meters!

 This is definitely a world record!

"Of course, taking into account a certain safety margin, there is no problem for this deep-diving lifeboat to dive to a depth of seven thousand meters. In this way, our Jiaolong will become the world's leading diving boat. The deepest deep diving device.”

In fact, if a submarine crashes, there is no need to rescue at this depth. After all, the limit depth of a conventional submarine is three hundred meters. If it crashes, a pressure hull of one or two kilometers may still be able to survive, but below three to five thousand meters , was completely crushed.

 So, if it is just for rescuing submarines, a maximum diving depth of two thousand meters is enough. The specialized submarine deep-diving lifeboats imported by later navies from Britain could only go down to five or six hundred meters.

The current Jiaolong is not only used for submarine rescue, but also for scientific research. It has a dual identity.

“Seven thousand meters, I really don’t know what is under the water there.” Wu Shengli sighed with emotion: “When the equipment is in our navy, we can go down and have a look.”

“If the Navy wants this Jiaolong, then it should allocate funds to us quickly.” Qin Tao said: “This deep-submersible lifeboat is not cheap. I think it is worth at least 200 million.”

 Two hundred million!

Wu Shengli opened his eyes wide: "Is it so expensive?"

“Two hundred million yuan, not US dollars, is this expensive?” Qin Tao said: “If we push it to the international market, it should be able to sell for US$200 million.”

Wu Shengli was speechless. Did this guy blackmail the navy?

The previous crises of their Mingzhou Group were all disguised. They are still thriving now. Why do they need so much money and do they need to blackmail the navy like this?

“Furthermore, this kind of deep-diving lifeboat cannot operate alone. It also requires a mother ship, which is another expense. I think the Navy will have to place an order for another 200 million mother ship for us, and finally package and sell it together.”

This kind of deep-diving lifeboat has a displacement of only a few dozen tons and must not have the ability to be self-sustaining. It can only operate underwater for a few hours. If you want it to be able to run around at sea, it must be carried by a mother ship.

This is indeed a complete package, but asking for another 200 million is too much. How much does a 054 cost?

"You think of it as meat and potatoes, then you can use it yourself, we won't use it." Wu Shengli said.

 That is to say, the navy needs it. The Mingzhou Group is not a scientific expedition team and does not have a submarine force, so it simply does not want such ships.

Hearing what Wu Shengli said, Qin Tao nodded: "It seems that we can only use it ourselves. Let's go north first and salvage the wreckage of the Dingyuan ship."

Wu Shengli then realized that Qin Tao felt uncomfortable because of this matter!

When the aircraft carrier park opened last year, Qin Tao said that he would salvage the wreckage of the Dingyuan ship and build a Dingyuan ship museum in the aircraft carrier park to provide patriotic education.

Wu Shengli agreed at that time, but he had to wait until spring when the wind and waves were light before salvaging.

The results of it?

 The result was forgotten.

How can I remember so many things? This kind of thing is just a trivial matter. It is estimated that even Qin Tao has forgotten it.

Until now, after seeing this deep-diving lifeboat, Qin Tao suddenly remembered that there was also the matter of salvaging the wreckage of the sunken ship!

 So, I started to make a fuss here. My son-in-law, although he is capable, can also cause headaches.

"When you are salvaging, it is okay for us to send a few divers to work together, right?" Wu Shengli said: "Salvaging the wreckage of the Dingyuan ship can allow our people to remember history and has important patriotic educational significance. We will definitely support it fully. "

“Then let’s do it quickly. If it’s too late, the sea over there will be very rough and the waves will be too rough, so we won’t be able to salvage it, and we’ll have to do it again for another year.”

 “Didn’t you just say you need a mother ship?”

“Well, we need a mother ship, but we can temporarily replace it with other ships, as long as there is a crane.”

When he said this, Qin Tao thought of something: "The Nancang comprehensive supply ship is currently undergoing sea trials. This ship will do."

 Nancang No.?

 The naval officers and soldiers had different expressions.

That integrated supply ship was also Qin Tao's masterpiece. Qin Tao originally obtained it as a semi-finished product from Lao Maozi, and also ordered a large amount of supporting equipment from St. Petersburg and assembled it at the Mingzhou Shipyard.

With its appearance, it immediately became the largest comprehensive supply ship in the navy, with a displacement of 37,000 tons and the ability to provide more than 20,000 tons of supplies!

 Mingzhou Group's work is not fast. It has been working **** this warship. Of course, it is also to attract the attention of others and plan to sell warships of the same type.

This large comprehensive supply ship has 4 liquid cargo supply stations, which can carry out horizontal and vertical supply operations, 2 dry cargo supply stations and 6 heavy-duty cranes. Any heavy-duty crane can easily lift hundreds of Ton, this kind of deep-diving lifeboat of 20 to 30 tons is naturally childish.

However, that is a large comprehensive supply ship of 37,000 tons. Using it as a mothership for the Jiaolong is not killing a chicken with a knife. How much oil do you need to burn when you take something out?

 Mr. Qin is quite shameless, our navy cannot afford to burn oil!

“Mr. Qin, can we use other boats?” someone asked Qin Tao cautiously.

"Other ships?" Qin Tao shook his head: "No, no, the other ships are too small and not stable enough. Moreover, it is time for the Nanchang to undergo a special voyage test. We just took this opportunity to carry it with us for salvage work. , and save the Navy from being dissatisfied with the unreliable power system of this supply ship."

Generally speaking, naval ships must have at least two oars and two rudders, so that if one side is broken, the other side can still be used.

Since the Nancang is an oil tanker, it uses a single propeller and a single rudder. The Navy was worried that it would not have enough power. However, there was no other way and it was decided in the end.

This time we went on a long voyage, from Mingzhou to the northern seas, to test the reliability of the power system, which was just enough to reassure the navy.

“Yes, we should do a test, then just listen to Mr. Qin.” Wu Shengli nodded.

The money that should be spent has to be spent, isn't it just a long-distance voyage test?

So, things were arranged like this.

 Half a month later, Weihai Bay.

"Our superiors attach great importance to our salvage this time and specially allocated a special fund to us." Liu Yong, the captain of the Nanchang, looked at Qin Tao coming off the helicopter platform and said: "And, if necessary, we will also Specialized archaeological experts will be sent to help.”

 Qin Tao shook his head: "We can allocate funds, but let the experts forget it. What if the experts take a fancy to the wreckage that is pulled out?"

Of course Qin Tao knows how important the wreckage of the Dingyuan ship is to those who study history, and being entangled with them will also be very troublesome.

"However, without the help of experts, we cannot determine the specific location. After all, the main body of the Dingyuan ship has been taken away by the islanders. There are not many wrecks we can salvage, and there are no advanced equipment on our supply ship. Sonar equipment. Should we send divers down first to take a look?"

If the entire Dingyuan ship is down there, then of course they can find it easily. The problem is, how to find it when there are only some wreckage left?

Qin Tao smiled: "I have consulted a lot of information and determined several locations where the wreckage may appear. Now, we will look for it from the most likely location. The relevant coordinate data is here. The divers are not needed for the time being, let's Jiaolong first Go down and try your luck.”

Looking at the A4 printing paper handed over by Qin Tao, there were more than a dozen possible locations written on it, all marked with GPS coordinates. He was very curious. Mr. Qin was so amazing. He actually knew all of this? Moreover, he had a hunch that Mr. Qin's coordinate data was probably correct!

The Nancang has a large displacement and a wide ship. Qin Tao walked forward from the helicopter platform, bypassed the ship bridge, passed through the gantry, and came to a lifting platform on the left side in front.

The shiny Jiaolong number is fixed here, and its surface is spray-painted with three big red characters, Jiaolong number, which is said to be written by Wu Lili with a pen, with dragons and phoenixes dancing. Next to the three characters, there is a bright national flag. .

Other than these, there are no other coatings.

“Although I think it looks better without spray paint, it has to have a boat name after all. Now, this color combination is not bad. You Chinese just like red.” Kvasa said.

Qin Tao smiled: "Yes, it needs to be embellished. Kvasa, do you want to go down with us?"

“Yes, as a submarine designer, I have to go on a submarine and go out and test it.”

 Submarines are different from other equipment. Once something goes wrong, there may not even be a chance of rescue. Especially a brand new submarine will face many dangers.

However, submarine designers must get on the submarine. If they don’t dare to get on the submarine, how can they have the dignity to ask others to test it?

Even some aircraft designers will fly the aircraft they designed for flight tests, and submarine designers are even more responsible for this.

 “Okay, then I’ll go down with you.”

“President Qin, you can’t go down there, it’s dangerous.” Xu Zhengyang expressed his stance immediately.

"The average depth of the water here is only tens of meters, and the deepest point is only 70 meters. What danger can there be? Our Jiaolong can dive to 7,000 meters. Now, I will only go down to tens of meters. Can’t we look at it in depth?”

 Xu Zhengyang did not persist.

Generally speaking, descending to a depth of ten meters will increase the pressure by one atmosphere. A depth of seventy meters, which is seven atmospheres, will not cause great harm to people. After all, in the world record, people do not have any equipment. Under normal circumstances, you can dive more than 100 meters with bare hands.

Even if there is any fatal problem with this deep-diving lifeboat, it is impossible for it to leak at a depth of tens of meters, right? Even if it slips through, there is ample opportunity to save oneself.

Xu Zhengyang would never agree to go to the Mariana Trench.

 “Plus me.” Another person expressed his position.

 Xu Hua, the leader in automation major at Huating University!

The hull structure of Jiaolong was designed by Kvasa, and the power system was developed by Krasnopolsky and Mingzhou Machinery Factory. However, as a deep-submersible lifeboat, these alone are not enough.

For example, it needs to have automatic control capabilities. It can automatically orient, fix depth, height, and hover positioning functions in the water. To put it simply, it is like autonomous driving. As long as you set a target position for it, it will automatically Just drive through!

In seawater, due to the resistance of the water, various operations will be very complicated. Without this kind of automatic control equipment, it would be an absolute nightmare for the driver.

 This device was developed by a team led by Xu Hua. So he came with him for this test, and now he has to go down and test his system.

“Okay, then the three of us will go down together.”

 “Mr. Qin, I’m going too.” Xu Zhengyang was anxious.

"What are you going to do?" Qin Tao asked back: "The cockpit in front is just right for three people, but one more person will be too crowded."

 “Then I’ll go to the back.”

"There is no connection between the front and back, so what will happen if you go to the back? Just stay here honestly."

Xu Zhengyang's mission is to protect Qin Tao, but no one can threaten Qin Tao underwater, so it is better for him to stay.

Xu Zhengyang lowered his head again. Mr. Qin was right. It seemed that there was really no use for him to go down.

"What kind of treasure are we trying to salvage?" Kvasa was a little curious at this time.

“What we salvage is history.” Qin Tao’s answer was very philosophical.

 History, yes, what they salvaged is a piece of history!

"Yes, it is the history of humiliation in modern China." Xu Hua said: "In modern times, our motherland has fallen behind. As a result, the country was opened by the ships and cannons of foreign powers, and unequal treaties were signed one after another. .”

 When talking about that period of history, every Chinese will clench their fists.

“The Westernization Movement was originally launched to enrich the country and strengthen the military. Unfortunately, it changed its taste in the end. After the Beiyang Navy was completely wiped out, it completely lost its ability to resist.”

"However, we were not defeated. In the following years, countless outstanding sons and daughters emerged from our motherland. They stood up bravely and worked hard for national independence and revitalization of the country. They succeeded one after another and they had the courage to sacrifice because they had the courage to do so. Only with such a group of people can our motherland become strong again."

Xu Zhengyang did not speak. At this time, he was moved by this conversation.

 That's right, in order to prevent the humiliating historical scene from recurring, we must have a strong national defense force! We must also remember history and never forget it no matter when!

 “We’re here!” Liu Yong shouted to everyone.

"Okay, let's go down!" Qin Tao got in first, followed by Kvasa and Yang Hua. The staff behind helped close the hatch cover and checked repeatedly.

The crane lifted the Jiaolong, slowly left the side of the ship, and slowly lowered it onto the sea. Countless people stood on the side of the ship, watching the Jiaolong slowly enter the water.

"I don't know what I can gain from going into the water this time." Everyone started talking.

“Yeah, we didn’t send divers down in advance.”

"There will definitely be something harvested." Xu Zhengyang was very sure: "Now, let's go to the ship bridge."

Although it is not a professional mother ship, in order to meet the needs of carrying the Jiaolong, the Nanchang has been slightly modified, such as installing a hydroacoustic communication system specifically for communicating with the Jiaolong.

Electromagnetic waves cannot be used underwater. This is a specialized sonar communication device installed at the bow of the ship where noise interference is minimal.

At this time, the Jiaolong was already sailing underwater.

 This is a wonderful world.

Within two hundred meters, sunlight can pass through, and the water here looks extremely blue. Occasionally, you can see sea fish swimming around, and the Jiaolong is in the water, like a big shark.

“We can save a lot of electricity by not turning on the searchlights,” Kwasha said.

 Small nuclear reactors are unrealistic. This deep-diving lifeboat is equipped with ordinary batteries, which can only maintain activity for one or two hours. Therefore, if you can save electricity, you must save as much as possible.

Two heads were crowded in front of the observation window, observing the outside world. This was actually the first time for Kvasa.

"We have arrived at the target location." Yang Hua remained calm. He looked at the various instruments showing that he had arrived at the destination, but where was the target?

 There is nothing!

“Well, let’s look carefully now. We don’t have a special magnetic field detector, so we can only use our eyes.” Qin Tao said.

 This is not for scientific research after all, and there are no specialized instruments and equipment.

However, Qin Tao can be sure that the goal is here!

 Ten minutes later.

“Ahead, where the fish swam, there is a bulge! It’s like a steel plate is inserted diagonally!” Kvasa pointed to the front and shouted.

“Yes, that’s right! We need to use a robotic arm to dig up the mud there!”

Under Qin Tao's command, Yang Hua switched to manual operation. When the robotic arm poked into the mud, Yang Hua became excited: "It's about half a meter under the water. It's all hard. The area of ​​this wreckage is very large." big!"

A large piece of the wreckage has long been taken away by the islanders. Now this piece of wreckage is definitely huge. When it is revealed to the light, it will shock the entire archaeological world!

The Jiaolong hovered above the wreckage, and its mechanical arm kept digging. Soon, the true appearance of the armor plate was revealed.

“The length is about three meters, the width is about two and a half meters, and the thickness is more than thirty centimeters. It should be the armor plate of the Dingyuan ship!”

Yang Hua was very excited. He remembered clearly that the Qing government's shipbuilding agreement mentioned that "the steel armor used by the Dingyuan ship was purchased by the Volcan Factory and assembled on the ship with exquisite workmanship. The armor on the four sides of the fort was 1540 mm below the waterline." (i.e. 5 feet) and ends...14 inches thick." Converted, the Dingyuan ship's armor is about 35 centimeters thick.

 It’s almost the same as the iron plate in front of you.

 Looking at the weight, it’s estimated to be about twenty tons!

“We have to come down one more time, clean up all the mud now, and next time we come down, bring a sling and lift it up directly!”

When the news came back to the Nancang, everyone was incredibly surprised. Over the past few decades, countless people have tried to search for it, but none of them found it. The first time they came, the first time the Jiaolong was launched into the water, they actually found it?

“Our Mr. Qin is a miracle worker. Everything in his hands is no big deal.” Xu Zhengyang was very excited.

 Looking at the fuss you are making, it is really strange!

"Report, we just received a telegram." At this moment, the telegraph soldier came over to report the news, his face serious.

 (End of this chapter)