bookbashuk #312 - Fletcher class arrival
#312 - Fletcher class arrival
Dalian Shipyard.
Two Fletcher-class destroyers were quietly moored at the dock.
For the 'Rogue Eagle,' they built as many as 175 Fletcher-class destroyers, most of which were concentrated in the Asian region and hadn't had time to return to their home country after the war.
Therefore, delivery to the Dalian Shipyard was very fast.
But these were all minor problems.
Despite the strained relationship, business was still conducted properly.
After all, everyone had their needs; the commercial crystal transistor computer ordered was already loaded onto a ship from Tianjin. In comparison, the 'Rogue Eagle' side was probably even more eager.
After all, they truly didn't have such an advanced computer.
Ren Zhong had only seen pictures of warships from this period and didn't have a direct understanding. Of course, the warships of the main world were similar; his experience was limited to seeing them on TV and in pictures. So, it was only natural for Ren Zhong to fly to Dalian to see something rare.
Arriving at the dock, Ren Zhong looked over and thought, 'Damn, it's huge!' Compared to the warship, he felt like a small bug!
On paper, Ren Zhong didn't have much of a concept of the warship's size. Seeing the Fletcher for the first time, he immediately felt his own insignificance.
The Fletcher's dimensions were 114.8 meters long × 12 meters wide × 5.5 meters draft. It didn't seem that big, but in reality, Ren Zhong was only 1.75 meters tall! Compared to this destroyer, he was like an ant.
"Professor Liu, is this destroyer useful for building our Jianghai-class destroyers?" After watching for a while, Ren Zhong felt that, apart from its size, this destroyer was incomparable to the modern missile ships in his mind. So, he quickly lost interest and turned to ask Professor Liu Deming, the person in charge who was accompanying him.
"Mr. Ren, it's extremely useful! It's a godsend for our work," Professor Liu said, still excited. After all, which person of their generation would have the opportunity to observe such a warship so closely?
"Our researchers are now living and eating on the ship. They want to quickly familiarize themselves with the difference between a real warship and a transport ship, and explore experience for the construction of new ships as much as possible."
Ren Zhong nodded, very satisfied with the work attitude of these researchers.
"We still need to pay attention to the rest time of the comrades. The regulation that researchers' daily working hours should not exceed 12 hours is a red line. We must implement it conscientiously so that the comrades can fight a protracted war. Our warship construction is just beginning. Destroyers and frigates are only our current goals. In the future, we will also build aircraft carriers!" Ren Zhong said.
Although the voice was not loud, the researchers who were with Ren Zhong felt their blood boiling.
If others said this, these researchers probably wouldn't believe it, but if Ren Zhong said it, they would absolutely believe it 100%.
Because he had already presented everyone with a brand-new destroyer design and had obtained two real destroyers for everyone to use as a reference!
What execution this was!
"Don't worry, Mr. Ren, we will strictly follow your requirements," Professor Liu said confidently. Of course, Ren Zhong couldn't see whether he could do it.
"Shall we go on board and take a look?"
Just then, a burst of urgent braking sounds came from the dock.
Immediately afterward, a group of people quickly ran towards Ren Zhong and his party.
"Professor Liu, are there other people scheduled to visit today?" Ren Zhong asked, puzzled.
"No, Mr. Ren. Only people from the fleet. They probably heard the news and are here to corner you," Professor Liu said with a wry smile after glancing at the people running over.
"The fleet has been asking us to hand over these two destroyers for them to enlist, but that's not possible. These are for our shipyard to use for research. Mr. Ren, you must not listen to the fleet's unreasonable demands and agree to them."
So that's how it was. It seemed that this matter really needed to be resolved today, otherwise it would be bad for both the shipyard and the fleet.
Ren Zhong understood in his heart and quickly made a decision.
He would just stand here and wait for them to come over before talking.
Soon, a group of panting people ran over. They hadn't changed their uniforms yet and were no different from their land-based colleagues.
"Mr. Ren, Mr. Ren," a middle-aged man at the head quickly came to Ren Zhong, snapped to attention, and saluted, "Li Changxing of the XX Fleet, reporting for duty!"
"Mr. Ren, this is Li Changxing, the commander of the XX Fleet." It seemed that Professor Liu had a lot of dealings with Li Changxing.
"Commander Li, hello. Ren is just a recluse and can't bear Commander Li's salute," Ren Zhong stretched out his hands and shook Li Changxing's hand tightly.
"Mr. Ren is a national hero, who dares to say he can't bear it? Speaking of which, when we advanced into the Great Northeast, I and Li Yunlong, Old Li, this family, once fought side by side to capture the puppet Xinjing. It's just that Old Li is now stationed in Japan, promoting our national prestige, and I haven't seen him for a year," Li Changxing said excitedly. This wasn't just him saying this; now, everyone at the research and military levels in the country knew Ren Zhong's contribution and weight.
"Commander Li is too kind. Is that so? Then we don't need to be so polite. I'll call you Old Brother Li like Li Yunlong, okay? If you don't mind, you can call me Little Brother Ren," Ren Zhong said with a smile.
A gift is given to someone with a purpose, but it just so happened that Ren Zhong also had a place to rely on this person, so Ren Zhong took advantage of the ladder Li Changxing handed over.
"Then, I, Old Li, will respectfully accept your offer." Li Changxing really took it to heart and called him Little Brother without hesitation.
"Little Brother Ren, Old Li has something to ask of you today."
"Don't rush, Old Brother Li. We haven't seen a real warship yet. Why don't we go up and take a look together and talk while we look?" Ren Zhong interrupted Li Changxing's words.
"Hahaha, Little Brother Ren is right. Let's go, let's take a look together. Speaking of which, this warship is really powerful. It's one of the top two in the country. Compared to the broken ships under my command, it's many times better!" Li Changxing laughed heartily. The group boarded the ship and began their tour of the Fletcher.
It must be said that the Fletcher-class was able to become the main destroyer of the 'Rogue Eagle' because it had its own characteristics and advantages. After boarding the ship and seeing the turret of the 127mm naval gun at the bow, it was an eye-opener for Ren Zhong. It was much larger than the 150mm heavy guns on land. It was dual-purpose, with a total of 5 guns, and was the main force in today's air defense operations!
In addition, with the relatively complete SC-1 air search radar and SG sea search radar, with an air search range of 120 kilometers and a sea search range of 41 kilometers, this was the Fletcher's ability to perform air defense operations, to see the enemy in advance. With a speed of up to 37 knots, it could also advance and guide the aircraft carrier fleet's fighters to launch a counterattack!
Coupled with complete living facilities, this was basically the top configuration for destroyers at the moment. No wonder the 'Rogue Eagle' built as many as 175 like dumplings! And they were all completed in about 3 years, with 12 ships being built and enlisted every month at its peak! The strength of the 'Rogue Eagle's' industrial foundation can be seen from the construction of this destroyer.
First update, asking for monthly tickets!