Recently, 11 fishermen and 7 related personnel in Jiangsu Province, China, were awarded a heavy prize for catching 10 overseas underwater secret devices during fishing. This is not the first time that Chinese fishermen have fished for these things, and the equipment fished from the sea not only threatens China's security, but also has certain benefits, and even promotes China's progress in equipment in this field.
The "sidewinder" was fished out to promote the rapid development of Sino-Soviet air-to-air missiles
Chinese fishermen fished for advanced foreign weapons dating back to 1958. When the Chinese Air Force pilot Wang Zizhong landplane was fighting with the enemy army, he was shot down by the AIM-9 "Sidewinder" air-to-air missile launched by the enemy aircraft, and the pilot died heroically. At that time, one of the five AIM-9 air-to-air missiles fired by the enemy army hit the aircraft, and the other four lost their targets and disappeared, and one was picked up by Wenzhou farmers, and three may have fallen into the vast sea.
The Sidewinder air-to-air missile is considered a top equipment
At that time, the Chinese navy was very weak, so a large number of fishermen were mobilized to participate in the search and salvage of this air-to-air missile. After several days and nights of fighting by Fujian fishermen, the AIM-9 air-to-air missile that fell into the sea was finally recovered. In view of the weak industrial base of new China at that time, after many consultations, this hard-won missile was sent to the Soviet Union, and the Soviet side shared the technology with China after studying the technology of this type of missile thoroughly.
Thunderbolt-2 air-to-air missile
On this basis, the Soviet Side successfully developed the K-13 air-to-air missile, which was widely equipped with the Vietnamese MiG-21 fighter jet in the Vietnam War and shot down many US military aircraft; and this missile came to China and was finalized in 1967, that is, the "Thunderbolt-2" air-to-air missile. The Thunderbolt-2 air-to-air missile was then equipped with fighters such as the J-6 and J-7 fighters, and served in the homeland air defense equipment system for a long time, and "supported" until the mass production of the Thunderbolt-5B air-to-air missile in 1986. The "Sidewinder" air-to-air missiles fished by Fujian fishermen have greatly promoted the rapid development of Sino-Soviet air-to-air missiles.
The MK-46 and MK-48 light and heavy torpedoes were fished: Chinese torpedoes and anti-submarine missiles ushered in great progress
In October 1978, Chinese fishermen accidentally caught live ammunition from the MK-46 light torpedo while fishing in the South China Sea. It is said that this light torpedo, which was the most advanced in the world at that time, was equipped with a self-destruct device, but it may be because the self-destruct device failed, and the torpedo was not self-destructed. The torpedo was quickly sent to the Research Institute after being fished on board by Chinese fishermen, and China's scientific research work on torpedoes was able to come into contact with advanced American products.
Domestically produced torpedoes launched
On the basis of the MK-46 light torpedo, China quickly launched a comprehensive imitation work, in 1994 developed a domestic light torpedo "Yu-7", it is reported that the Yu-7 light torpedo in terms of power system and guidance module is almost exactly the same as the MK-46 light torpedo. After the successful imitation of the model, the Yu-7 light torpedo made up for the lack of medium-caliber light torpedoes in China, and is still widely equipped on the mainland's 054A, 056 and other medium and light frigates for anti-submarine use, and can also be carried by Z-9C shipboard anti-submarine helicopters and air-dropped anti-submarine.
The 324mm medium-caliber light torpedo of the Fish-7 was most likely later added to the original design of the Torpedo(s), also known as the Anti-Submarine Missile, which was boosted by the Fish-8 rocket. The Fish-8 rocket booster added a solid rocket booster to the tail of the torpedo, which is generally launched by the AJK-16 missile vertical launcher equipped on board the 054A ship, while the warhead is a 324mm light torpedo. After the rocket booster fails, the booster is detached from the warhead, and the warhead enters the water and activates the torpedo's power system, which in turn provides the power for the torpedo to advance towards the enemy ship.
Chinese fishermen have also salvaged MK-48 heavy torpedoes, but the specific time is not known. The MK-48 is the main heavy torpedo still equipped by the US military, and the operation mine can be understood as a full-size training model for the MK-48 torpedo, which is used for the daily anti-submarine and anti-ship training of submarines. To put it bluntly, the purpose of the existence of the mine is only to let the submariners experience the torpedo from loading into the boat, to loading into the launch tube and launching out of the moment. After launching the boat, the mine will quickly exhaust its power and then float or self-destruct, which generally does not have much research value. Earlier, the Chinese Navy fired a Yu-6 heavy torpedo that was washed up on the beaches of Vietnam by the coast.
It is worth mentioning that the development of the Yu-6 heavy torpedo coincides with the time period when the MK-48 mine was caught by Chinese fishermen. The captured MK-48 operation mines were eventually returned to the United States, and the United States also provided some information technology for the MK-48 torpedoes, on the basis of which China developed a new generation of heavy torpedo torpedo-6s. At present, the Yu-6 is one of the most advanced heavy torpedoes equipped by the Chinese Navy and has reached the world's advanced level. After the Yu-6 heavy torpedo, China has also developed three heavy torpedoes, the Yu-9, the Yu-10 and the Yu-11, and the performance has reached the forefront of the world. At the Zhuhai Air Show, there are also Chinese torpedoes, and as the mainland weapons platform becomes more advanced, China's torpedoes will also enter the international market.
Before that, China simply didn't have light torpedoes that could be equipped with helicopters, let alone rocket-boosted torpedoes. Domestically produced torpedoes used by submarine forces were not finalized until 1971 the "Fish-1" and "Fish-4" heavy torpedoes were also carried in a fairly strong Soviet 53-51 torpedo pedigree. Therefore, MK-46 and MK-48 light and heavy torpedoes were caught by Chinese fishermen, which also greatly promoted the development of the mainland torpedo industry.
Fishing up unmanned underwater vehicles, China's same products have made rapid progress
Perhaps some netizens still remember the unmanned underwater vehicles caught by Chinese fishermen in 2016. As early as 2015, Chinese fishermen also fished for unmanned underwater vehicles, but they were not the yellow-shelled "underwater gliders" fished in 2016. Such submersibles can be rapidly deployed in a short period of time, some with underwater photography, satellite communication functions, and some specializing in hydrological data acquisition and transmission to the computers of nearby submarines for processing.
On the one hand, unmanned underwater vehicles can collect information such as seabed terrain and hydrological conditions in the surrounding seas and transmit them back to nearby submarines, which is to put it bluntly, "mapping the seabed". When these submarines carry out illegal activities in Chinese waters, they will be able to travel freely through these hydrological data collected in advance, which will completely damage the mainland's maritime rights and interests and threaten marine security. Compared with the sea, the small unmanned submersible is also a confirmation of the idiom "needle in a haystack", and it can also be fished up with a certain strength component.
Thanks to its "gift", shortly after China picked up the US-made underwater glider, that is, in February 2017, a certain Type of Unmanned Underwater Vehicle in China that also adopted the gliding method completed the record of 6329 meters of diving distance, breaking the world's deepest diving record for unmanned underwater vehicles in one fell swoop. Subsequently, China dropped as many as 12 unmanned underwater vehicles in the South China Sea at one time.
In 2019, it ushered in a great breakthrough: China successfully developed the autonomous underwater submersible vehicle "Sea Whale-2000", which has a self-sustaining force of up to 37 days and a range of more than 2,000 kilometers, while setting a world record for the maximum uninterrupted range of unmanned underwater vehicles. The salvaged unmanned submersible vehicle has also greatly promoted the development of the mainland unmanned submersible vehicle industry, although the mainland started very late in the aspect of unmanned underwater vehicles, but with the strength of scientific research and the opportunities provided by these prey, it has also developed rapidly.
brief summary
Chinese fishermen have been known for their industriousness and bravery since ancient times. The earliest can be traced back to the Ming Dynasty government organizing fishermen to resist the Wu, and in the Ming and Qing dynasties, the fishermen in Putuo also used the "boat fist" to make the Wukou feel frightened. During the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression in 1942, fishermen in Zhejiang, China, also took the initiative to go to sea and risked their lives to rescue British prisoners of war on board japanese captives. There are many similar things, and the image of Chinese fishermen's tenacity, hard work and bravery has long been established in the hearts of the people.
In general, Chinese fishermen have fished many weapons from various countries and regions in the vast seas. From guns to torpedoes, almost all have "battle results". Previously, the wreckage of Russian-made "club" submarine-launched anti-ship missiles suspected of being launched from Indonesian navy submarines was even fished out. Fishermen must make a great contribution to safeguarding the security of the mainland's maritime territory.