Fan Yukang (1922-2011), a native of Xuyi, Jiangsu Province, joined the revolution in November 1939 and joined the Communist Party of China in the same year. He once served as secretary of the district party committee, political commissar of Changzhou warship, captain of Anshan ship, commander of Qingdao Marine Police District, director of the "719 Research Institute", deputy chief of staff of the navy and director of the operations department, and was one of the founders of the new Chinese navy, and authored "Journey and Inspiration - Memoirs of General Fan Yukang".
(1 One of the thirteen cadres who formed the new Chinese Navy, 2 the flagship of the Republic Navy - captain of The Anshan Warship)
3 served as the director of the "719 Research Institute", and the nuclear submarine was successfully developed
Nuclear submarines, with their advantages of good concealment, strong mobility, fast navigation speed, wide range of activities, and large endurance that conventional submarines cannot match, are considered to be unprecedented changes in naval military technology after World War II.
In 1954, the United States built the world's first nuclear submarine "Nautilus", and in the next three years, the "Nautilus" sailed more than 60,000 nautical miles, and even crossed the Arctic from under the ice, shocking the world. Since then, Britain, France, the former Soviet Union and other Western powers have successively developed successful nuclear submarines.
In the face of the world situation and the latest developments in naval developments at that time, the first generation of leaders of New China had great foresight and believed that China must have its own nuclear submarines in order to deal with deterrence with deterrence.
In 1957, when the Soviet Union refused to provide China with nuclear submarine technology, Chairman Mao took the case and issued a zhengzheng oath: "China's nuclear submarines will be built in ten thousand years." On June 27 of the following year, the development of nuclear submarines code-named "Project 09" was approved, kicking off the prelude to the development of nuclear submarines.
In 1970, the development of nuclear submarines had been going on for twelve years, and progress was slow. At that time, the "719 Research Institute", which was responsible for the research and manufacture of nuclear submarines, was located in Huludao, on the coast of the Bohai Sea. At that time, during the "Cultural Revolution", the 719 Institutes were also affected, and the people's hearts were scattered, forming two factions that were seriously opposed, and the phenomenon of infighting was very serious. On the same topic, everyone did not communicate with each other and were not convinced of each other, and the scientific research work was seriously affected.
The Central Military Commission resolutely decided to transfer Fan Yukang to be the director of the 719 Research Institute to accelerate the development of nuclear submarines.
When Fan Yukang arrived at the 719 Institute, he first investigated and studied, and after finding out the situation, he immediately set out to rectify discipline, vigorously grasp the building of work style, unify thinking, unify understanding, unify the pace, and strictly investigate and punish individual personnel with impure ideological motives; some people were dismissed from their posts and investigated, some people were transferred away, some people were demobilized and returned to their hometowns, and the whole institute was strongly shaken, eliminating in one fell swoop the phenomenon of infighting that hindered scientific research work.
Huludao has a harsh climate, simple office conditions, no office building, everyone is crowded in bungalows to nervously carry out design; many scientific researchers and their families live in two places, single dormitories are bunk beds, and family members cannot be reunited when they come to visit relatives; the staple food is brown rice noodle nest head, and the supply of side food is difficult. Fan Yukang started from the lives of employees, and strived for higher levels to increase funding, improve office conditions, and improve living standards; help scientific research personnel solve the problem of children's schooling, solve the problem of separating husband and wife, and eliminate their worries, so as to unite people's hearts and inspire morale. After some rectification, the 719 institute has a new look, and the development of nuclear submarines has advanced by leaps and bounds.
Fan Yukang worked in the 719 Institute for three years, sharing weal and woe with the vast number of scientific researchers, eating in the canteen, not opening a small stove, not resting for a day, never returning home once, and paying hard sweat for the cause of nuclear submarines. With the joint efforts of the vast number of researchers, on August 23, 1971, China's first nuclear submarine 1701 (later changed to 401) was built, launched into the water for sea trials, and the two-year sea trial was a complete success, and the Western world was shocked and panicked. Since then, the mainland has entered the ranks of the world's five major nuclear submarine states, laid the foundation for its status as a great power in the international community, and gained a decisive say in international affairs.
In 1982, Fan Yukang participated in the organization, planning and command of the "09" supporting project - the whole test of the "Giant Wave" missile, and successfully completed the task.
In 1985, Fan Yukang retired, and also served as a member of the Standing Committee of the Naval Science and Technology Committee and the Military Academic Committee, deputy director of the National Antarctic Expedition Committee, and representative of the Navy Party, engaged in naval theoretical research, wrote academic papers such as "Military Reasons and Main Lessons of the Defeat of the Sino-Japanese Naval Battle", and edited more than ten naval theoretical anthology, which had a wide impact in the military theory circles.
In April 2009, on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the founding of the Navy and the 70th anniversary of his entry into the Party, he published a monograph entitled "Journey and Perception - Memoirs of General Fan Yukang", summarizing his experience in more than 70 years of military career and leaving valuable historical materials for future generations. General Fan Yukang made indelible contributions to the cause of the New China Navy, and his brilliant deeds will forever be recorded in the annals of history.