First, Mo Dao Sang Yu evening, for xia still full of heaven
In the late 1960s, the world's major military powers began to develop and produce main battle tanks with more powerful fire control systems, armor protection and more maneuverability, which were "third-generation main battle tanks".
Compared with the M-26 Pershing tank of the United States during the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, or the Soviet T-72 tank (which is the threshold of the quasi-third generation tank, or the third generation tank), the power of the third generation of main battle tanks has been completely upgraded to an epoch-making degree.
For the two superpowers of the United States and the Soviet Union at that time, although the development of three generations of tanks was costly and the time period was relatively long, it was not difficult, and the early models of the American M1A2 "Abrams" tank equipped with composite armor began to equip the troops in 1981, and the "T-80" with stronger defensive power in the former Soviet Union formed combat effectiveness in 1976.
In 1979, Germany's "Leopard 2" began to enter service, in 1982, the British "Challenger" joined the British Army, and the French "Leclerc" main battle tank, although it only began to be delivered in 1991, its combat effectiveness exceeded that of similar equipment in the United States and Germany, and was proudly called "the fourth generation of main battle tanks" by the French.
Compared with Western countries, the development of new China's main battle tanks can be described as difficult, the first generation of main battle tanks developed in 1969 has just been born and has been outdated, due to the delay of the special era, the Commission of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense did not start the demonstration of the second generation tank until April 1978.
By 1983, the Type 80, as the second-generation main battle tank of New China, was still in the prototype test stage, and the third generation of tanks had already run all over the world!
American M1A2 Abrams tank
This made the leading comrades of the Commission of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense very anxious: Our tanks are two generations behind others! There must be no return to the way soldiers took explosive packs to blow up enemy tanks, as was the case during the Korean War!
However, we are not even building a second-generation tank to develop a third-generation tank, is this not a rush to run before we have learned to walk?
At this time, Zou Jiahua, deputy director of the Commission of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense, thought of Zhu Yusheng, an old comrade-in-arms who had just retired from the Fifth Machine Department, and Lao Zhu was born in 1918, when he was 66 years old.
However, In his heart, Zou Jiahua was convinced that this "life" could only be picked up by Zhu Yusheng, because he knew "Lao Zhu" best, which was an old eighth road from the revolutionary war years.
Although Zhu Yusheng had never built a tank, he had been in the army for many years, and he knew very well what kind of weapons the army needed, and he had served as the vice president in charge of scientific research at the Ordnance Science Research Institute of the Fifth Machine Department (later the Ministry of Weapons Industry), which was enough.
When Zou Jiahua told Zhu Yusheng that the Commission of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense intended to appoint him as the chief designer of the new main battle tank, the hero who joined the Eighth Route Army in 1938 and fought with the Japanese devils and Kuomintang reactionaries for more than ten years, and was responsible for the independent weapons research and development of New China for more than thirty years, but only one arm remained, still hesitated.
It is not that he is afraid of hardship and tiredness, but that he is afraid that he will not be able to do his duty, delay the research and development time of the main battle tank, and fail to live up to the expectations of the party and the people.
New China's self-designed and produced first-generation main battle tank "Type 69"
After all, he is already 66 years old, his energy and physical strength are no longer in his prime, and the burden is not something that can be picked if he wants to!
In March 1948, when the People's Liberation War was in full swing, Zhu Yusheng, then deputy director of the Military Education Department of East China Military and Political University, organized a flat-firing mortar to test fire in front of the enemy when the artillery suddenly failed.
After evacuating the crowd, he checked the artillery himself and tried to troubleshoot, just at which point the shell suddenly exploded, shattering his right arm on the spot.
Later, Zhu Yusheng lay in the hospital for more than three months, underwent two surgeries, and his right arm was completely removed and he became disabled.
I thought that this accident would leave a huge shadow on him and keep him away from the military industry, but I did not expect that he would soon return to his front-line post.
At that time, Zhu Yusheng was young, dared to think, dared to fight, lost an arm is nothing, as long as the brain is not bad, he can continue to contribute to the revolution!
After liberation, Zhu Yusheng successively engaged in military education in the General Senior Infantry School of the Chinese People's Liberation Army and the Military Engineering College (Kazakhstan Military Industry), and later served as the deputy dean of the Artillery Engineering College and the East China Institute of Engineering (the predecessor of Nanjing University of Science and Technology), and was awarded the rank of colonel in 1960.
In The Kazakh Military Industry, Zhu Yusheng, as the leader of the Artillery Engineering Department, carried the textbook and listened to almost all the courses in the department, as long as he listened to the weapons research and development, he did not care whether he was the head of the department or not!
While studying and practicing, Zhu Yusheng, who was originally a "soil eight road" and specialized in transforming soil weapons, actually became an expert in systematic artillery research.
In this way, after more than 30 years of immersion in the military industrial system, Zhu Yusheng has successively participated in the development of various types of weapons such as suppression, air defense, and anti-tank weapons.
Wish Yu Sheng
In 1978, the First National Science and Technology Conference awarded the team led by Zhu Yusheng the "National Science Conference Award" for 16 achievements such as the 82mm recoilless gun, the rocket range armor-breaking shell, and the ballistic parameter measurement computer developed by the team.
But now "Lao Zhu" is really old, and this time after listening to Zou Jiahua explain his intentions, Zhu Yusheng did not say a word.
Zou Jiahua is not dead-hearted: This is a key project of army equipment directly issued by the State Council and the Central Military Commission!
He went once again in the spirit of Liu Bei's "Three Gu Maolu" at that time, and again, the third time Zhu Yusheng finally relaxed.
At the end of January 1984, Zhu Yusheng was appointed by the Commission of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense as the chief designer of the new main battle tank.
However, the difficulties when he took office were unexpected: in the early 1980s, the level of mainland weapons industry technology was too far from the international advanced level, Zhu Yusheng went to the design institutes and factories to turn around, and found that there were only a few computers available, and there were even fewer CNC machine tools and CNC machining centers.
As for the design level and process level, it is even more heart-wrenching, the factory has long-term losses, where is the money to invest in hardware and software? In other words, even with a first-class mind, the design institute and the factory can't turn it into a first-class main battle tank!
But Zhu Yusheng was not discouraged at all: people like them who came from the revolutionary war years had seen many more winds and waves, hardships and obstacles, and now this situation can only be regarded as a small problem at best.
Since he had become the chief division, it was his duty to get the third generation of main battle tanks out, and it was a kind that was more powerful than the tanks of foreigners.
Zhu Yusheng was at the tank research and development site
When Zhu Yusheng was given the task, the leading comrades of the Central Military Commission said to him very subtly: Your task is to develop domestically produced tanks that can compete with international advanced tanks...
To tell the truth, according to the resources that Zhu Yusheng had at hand at that time, this was already a high requirement.
But Zhu Yusheng did not think so in his heart: What is the use of playing a draw? If you want to develop, develop tanks that can knock out your opponents!
This is the ambition of the old revolution!
He specifically defined this goal into three directions: the firepower system of the domestically produced three-generation main battle tank should occupy the commanding heights of the world's main battle tanks, the protection system should reach the international advanced level, and the power system ton power should be equivalent to that of the United States M1A2 tank.
At that time, Zhu Yusheng did not expect that the brightest moment of his life actually came from after retirement.
Mordaunt Sang Yu evening, for Xia shang full of heaven!
After the military parade for the 50th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China, Americans said: "If M1A2 encounters type 99, it must suffer a big loss!" ”
Soon, Wang Zherong, Fu Baoyu, and Du Huichang were also in place, Wang Zherong was responsible for the overall group, Fu Baoyu was responsible for the general division office (design and technical coordination), and Du Huichang was responsible for the power group.
At the same time, the technical personnel led by Yao Shenbao, chief engineer of the Armored Corps Bureau of the General Staff, cooperated with Zhu Yusheng to carry out the design work.
According to conventional thinking, the domestic three generations of main battle tanks should have a benchmark object, popularly speaking, that is, to have a "mold", in the late 1980s, the mainland can get close to the Soviet T-80 and the United States M1A2. When other designers proposed to choose a model between Soviet tanks and American tanks, Zhu Yusheng disagreed.
Russian-made T-80 main battle tank
His idea is: I don't care whether it is Soviet or American, as long as I can win the opponent is the style we want. Since it is a domestic tank, it is necessary to rely on ourselves, independently develop and develop our Chinese characteristics.
This is a new idea: system integration, take the strengths of each family, avoid the shortcomings of each family.
The team members admired and vaguely worried: although the idea was very clever, it was probably not realized according to the existing level of technology.
Soon the first hurdle came: artillery selection.
Artillery is the soul of the tank, in the case of equal firepower, who can hit the other side will win, in the case of simultaneous fire, who can beat through the other side will win.
At that time, the smoothbore guns on the three generations of main battle tanks mainly had two models, the Soviet 125mm and the American 120mm, and the colleagues in the project team generally preferred to use the American 120mm smoothbore gun.
Why? Because the muzzle of the 120mm gun has strong kinetic energy, that is, my shell can penetrate you and you may not be able to penetrate me.
But Zhu Yusheng chose the Soviet 125mm gun because the charge chamber volume of the Soviet gun was more than 30% larger than that of the American gun: the volume of the M1A2's medicine chamber was less than 10 liters, while the volume of the T-80's medicine chamber was as high as 13.4 liters.
He reminded his colleagues to the point: The current firing powder power produced by the mainland is only 80% of the power of American gunpowder, and if the small medicine room of american artillery is used, it will not be able to reach the design kinetic energy of the gun muzzle.
In 1985, Zhu Yusheng was present at the selection meeting of the third-generation tank firepower system
If we fight against the M1A2, the range of other people's artillery can hit 10 kilometers, and we can only hit 8 kilometers, which is equivalent to us being beaten in vain in 2 minutes.
On the other hand, if the large medicine room of the Soviet-style artillery is used, the muzzle kinetic energy can be improved more, and the performance of the mainland firing gunpowder can be improved in the future. Before they could fire, our shells hit their heads.
What else is there to say about this? Convinced!
Under the innovative design of mainland technicians, the 125mm smoothbore gun equipped with domestically produced third-generation tanks adopts a new gun steel, plating technology and hydraulic self-tightening process, and the power is not only not under the Soviet gun, but also more excessive.
When the two kinds of artillery were compared to test firing, the accuracy of the domestic gun was almost unchanged after 300 rounds, while the gun bore was worn by 3.4mm after the Soviet gun hit 300 rounds, and the accuracy was significantly reduced.
The second difficulty is the power system, which is actually the relationship between the antithesis and unity of the third difficulty armor system, because under the premise of constant power, the tank armor runs slowly when it is thick, and the thin armor runs fast.
Whether it is a tank or a self-propelled gun, a common sense principle is "big horse cart", you have to have a big horse, then you can have a big car, and then you can have a defensive armor.
The R&D team's eyes turned to the East: the Type 90 main battle tank developed by Japan at that time used a turbo diesel engine produced by Mitsubishi, with a maximum power of 1103 kilowatts, which is about 1500 horsepower.
And in order to achieve the universal engine, the engine power of the mainstream three-generation tanks in Western countries is 1103 kilowatts, which is an uncompromising "Malaysia".
Zhu Yusheng's tank research and development base in Inner Mongolia
As for the continental engine, it could reach about 880 kilowatts at most, nearly a quarter lower than the Western engine.
In fact, the mainland has not negotiated with foreign tank engine manufacturers, the other side's engine performance data is very eye-catching, but there are also defects, that is, the volume is too large, the mainland three generations of tanks leave limited space for the engine, can not be plugged.
Of course, it is too expensive! Don't say that the import cost is expensive, after taking it, you have to "change the knife" in batches, and you have to spend a lot of money. And what if foreigners don't sell it to us in the future?
Speaking of which, there is still only one way to self-reliance.
Although the power is a little smaller, Zhu Yusheng is still confident: the combat weight of the mainland three-generation tank is one-fifth lighter than that of the American M1A2, and even if it uses a domestic engine, it may not run slower than the M1A2.
The final test showed that the road speed of the Chinese third-generation tank was 69 km / h, which was comparable to the speed of the Japanese "Type 90", while the existing test data of the M1A2 was 68 km / h, and the speed of the T-80 was 60 km / h.
In fact, due to factors such as technology, the two tracks of the domestic third-generation tank add up to more than a ton heavier than the Soviet T-80, and if we can roll the tracks instead of casting, then the speed of running can be faster.
After the problem of the engine is solved, it is the matching of the armor, and the project team selects the composite armor of the international advanced level for the domestic third-generation tank, and it is a full welding process that has never been seen in China before.
The domestic third-generation tank adopts a flat turret design, coupled with the fact that it is one circle smaller than the tanks of the United States and Germany, and the target is relatively small, but this does not affect its protection ability at all.
Type 99 main battle tank
In the live-fire protection test in 1997, the project team fired 14 rounds of 105mm armor-piercing shells at the sample vehicles of the third-generation tanks, but they failed to penetrate its armor, and what is more interesting is that the "armor" of the third-generation tanks could not even penetrate the armor-piercing shells fired by the 125mm guns they were equipped with.
And how powerful are the artillery of the third generation tank? In 1991, after the first prototype car rolled off the production line, General Liu Huaqing, vice chairman of the Central Military Commission, came to observe the live-fire target, and at a distance of 2,000 meters, the prototype car penetrated the 850mm thick steel plate with a single shot.
General Liu Huaqing was overjoyed, patted the shoulder of Deputy Commander Wang Zherong and said, "You have covered your hat!" ”
At a distance of 2,000 meters, the Test Armor Piercing Capability of the American M1A2 tank was 810mm, which was powerful enough to destroy the Soviet T-72, but could not defeat China's third-generation tanks.
With the efforts of all colleagues in the project team led by Zhu Yusheng, the newly designed parts of the third-generation tank accounted for 89.85%. After the overall plan was determined, the development of the network map eventually reached more than 100 military units.
To produce three generations of tanks, coordination is a big problem, because many units are not subordinate, and some unit leaders are still quite bullish.
But as long as Zhu Yusheng came forward, the cattle-rich units also had to obey, and those factory directors and directors were still serving as big-headed soldiers, and the division commanders and regimental commanders in the unit might still be Zhu Yusheng's old subordinates.
If you want to talk about seniority, Zhu Yusheng's "generational score" is really too high...
Zhu Yusheng once wanted to add reactive armor, cameras, and active protection systems to the third-generation tanks, but because the time was relatively tight, the first three generations of tanks did not have time to achieve.
The Type 99 tank was inspected
On October 1, 1999, tiananmen Square, at the military parade marking the 50th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China, the latest domestically produced three-generation "Type 99" main battle tanks slowly drove through the square in a mighty phalanx to accept the review of the state and the people.
The 82-year-old Zhu Yusheng waved to the Tie Party A formation in the crowd watching the ceremony, and unconsciously burst into tears: 15 years later, the People's Liberation Army now has the confidence to compete with the world's ace tanks!
It was also the first public appearance of China's third-generation tanks, an appearance that shocked military commentators around the world.
James F. Dunnigan, a military commentator and former adviser to the State and Department of Defense, head of the U.S. military think tank Strategic Research Institute, said:
China's Type 99 tank should theoretically be stronger than the U.S. M1A2 main battle tank in service, and if these two tanks meet head-on on the battlefield, the U.S. M1A2 tank will suffer a big loss.
Not only the M1A2, I'm afraid that no tank in the world at that time could withstand the Type 99 one-shot... In addition to being less protective, the Type 99 has become a nightmare for its opponents.
Of course, this is only the starting point of the Type 99 main battle tank, in the informationization, night combat system, protection system, fire control system, laser countermeasure system, etc., the follow-up improved model of the Type 99 follows the pace of development and continues to maintain the world's leading level.
At the same time, the maximum power of the engine equipped on the tank has been increased to 1500 kW, which makes its road top speed of 80 km / h.
Zhu Yusheng's concept of "the strongest king" was realized one by one in his lifetime.
Third, a lifetime of struggle, a lifetime of dedication
Life goes on and fights, which is the best portrayal of Zhu Yusheng.
In order to unify powers and strengthen management, the Commission of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense gave Zhu Yusheng financial, personnel, and technical decision-making powers, and although he was said to be a "chief division," he almost became a "general manager."
Wish the old man and he presided over the development of the Type 99 tank
Zhu Yusheng has millions of yuan in his hands that can be used at any time, but he is the "old man" in the eyes of everyone, going to the canteen to cook, which is a bowl of rice and two dishes that cannot be moved, and there has never been a small stove.
In his own office, a pair of chair covers were washed, washed, broken, broken, and used for 20 years...
The office is simple, the "old Zhu" home is simpler, even more rudimentary, the sofa chair writing desk is all old, and it looks like the latest belongings are a tank model.
Tank research and development base in Inner Mongolia, the winter is cold to the bone, considering that Zhu Yusheng is old and his health is not good, the unit Zhang Luo to change him a big house, did not expect Zhu Yusheng but refused.
He said: "I am satisfied that there is a place to live, and many of the comrades who joined the revolution with me have not yet lived to this day. ”
Zhu Yusheng also has a habit: no matter how difficult things are, he must do it himself, never trouble others, even if it is washing clothes, he also hangs his clothes on the heating pipe, bites the corner of the clothes with his teeth, and then uses the other hand to twist and rub hard.
Even if he only had one arm, it did not prevent him from drilling in and out of the tank every day, climbing up and down.
Because he did not have a right arm, Zhu Yusheng would be easy to wrestle if he walked fast, but he always walked fast, as if he was racing against time. In 1990, because he was in a hurry to attend the meeting, he fell again on the road, and when he got up, he felt a sharp pain in his chest, but he rushed to the venue in a daze and endured the pain to finish the meeting.
An examination after the meeting revealed that three of his ribs had been broken.
Zhu Yusheng read the documents in the office
In 2005, China North Industries Group awarded Zhu Yusheng the "Lifetime Achievement Award for the Development of Weapons Industry Science and Technology" and a bonus of 200,000 yuan, and at the same time, the unit also issued him a special allowance of 4,000 yuan per month.
Because he felt that the money should be reserved to reward outstanding young people.
Before dying, his last instructions to his children were: "My remaining money will help me pay the party fee again, and the body will be donated to medical research..."
In fact, Zhu Yusheng is the epitome of the older generation of Chinese military workers, and the qualities displayed in him are the common characteristics of thousands of heroes and sons and daughters who have come from the revolutionary war years.
Veterans don't die, salute!