Aircraft carriers, known as "moving continents at sea", are the peak of a country's naval force value, and it can be said that with this big power's heavy weapon, it is qualified to become a military power in the first echelon.
Aircraft carriers can carry more than 100 carrier-based fighter jets, and are surrounded by frigates, destroyers, cruisers, submarines, supply ships, etc., forming an aircraft carrier battle group that can cruise around the seven continents of the world.
An aircraft carrier can destroy a country.
After World War II, the aircraft carrier battle group's powerful ocean-going strike capabilities and coastal defense capabilities made the development of aircraft carriers the core of modern navies of various countries. We have been working on our own aircraft carrier since the 1970s, most notably the "building a medium-sized aircraft carrier of 50,000 tons" proposed in January 1989.
But there will always be a gap between the ideal and the reality, after countless scientific research experts spent 7 years of hard work, they only completed the preliminary scientific research work of the construction plan. You know, in the case of the technical blockade of the US and soviet aircraft carriers at that time, we want to build an aircraft carrier from 0, which is tantamount to a step up to the sky, which is not a matter of money and ability, but a matter of time.
And what we lack most is time.
Because there is no aircraft carrier, the Western powers will come to the coast to provoke us at every turn, they know that our army is the first in the world, and they dare not go ashore to provoke, but the navy is at least 50 years away from them, so the aircraft carrier formation swings at us to "blockade the sea" in a vain attempt to trap New China on land.
Time is not waiting for anyone, a "curve to save the country" plan surfaced, that is: direct purchase of foreign aircraft carriers.
At that time, there were many countries with aircraft carriers, but in the international environment of the Us-Soviet hegemony at that time, there were very few countries that were willing to sell to us.
The mainland has introduced three aircraft carriers:
"Melbourne": this is a classic car, can not carry fighter jets, sold to us has been retired, the internal equipment has been dismantled, only an empty shell remains;
Minsk
"Minsk": the hull is very "small birds rely on people", there is no runway for fighter jets to take off, said to be an aircraft carrier, but rather an anti-ship missile cruiser, later placed in Shenzhen, became a theme park;
"Kiev": slightly stronger than the previous two, more like a "mobile cannon", Kiev more emphasis on "strong firepower", the ship is full of various weapons, can only carry a small number of fighters, the overall design idea has been outdated.
The small boats were useless, the big ships could not be bought, and we were in such an embarrassing situation. Fortunately, God bless China, the turnaround will come soon!
In 1991, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, more than a dozen brothers "divided their family property", and Ukraine, as the base of Soviet heavy industry, naturally received a lot of good things, including an aircraft carrier in the Nikolaev shipyard, the Varyag.
The Varyag under construction
This aircraft carrier was built in 1982 by the former Soviet Union, in order to compete with the United States for hegemony, it can be said that it spared no effort to allocate special funds, using a large number of technicians and experts, but until the collapse of the Soviet Union, the construction progress of the Varyag was only 68% completed.
In the face of such a "semi-finished product", Ukraine is worried, because although they have shipyards, thousands of spare parts need the support of other former Soviet countries, and without the unified leadership of the former Soviet Union, the Varyag has become an empty ship shell.
At that time, Makarov, the chief designer of the Varyag, said helplessly:
If you want to continue to complete the construction of the aircraft carrier, you need the support of the State Planning Commission, the Military Industry Commission, the Nine Ministries of Defense Industry, 600 related professions, and 8,000 supporting manufacturers.
So, in January 1992, the Varyag was forced to stop work and leave it in the dock to be blown by the wind and rain, and after a few years, the aircraft carrier that was left unpowed quickly became rusty.
The rusty deck of the Varyag
In 1995, Ukraine did not have a good way to take this "big guy", and its own territorial sea could not use the aircraft carrier at all, and the more this thing was put, the less valuable it was, and it was simply distributed to the Black Sea Shipyard: You look at it!
The Black Sea Shipyard saw that the ball had been brought over, and this thing was in the way, biting its teeth and stomping its feet: While it was still worth some money, simply sell it!
As soon as the news came out, many countries showed a strong willingness to buy, this is a serious aircraft carrier, not the "cottage version" of Minsk and Kiev, "Varyag" can carry a large number of carrier-based aircraft, put into the sea, and can break the wrist with the world's most advanced aircraft carrier at that time.
In 1996, after learning of this news, the relevant personnel of the mainland rushed to Ukraine to negotiate the purchase, which was a perfect opportunity for the mainland to quickly catch up with the progress of aircraft carrier research.
At the time, the purchase conditions were very favorable: the two countries themselves had good relations, plus the mainland had the money and the ability to buy.
Just when the two sides were about to enter the next step of procurement negotiations, European and American countries inserted a lever to prevent Ukraine from selling aircraft carriers to us, coupled with their continuous price increases behind their backs, Ukraine's attitude suddenly became delicate, and the confidence of their own broken ship fans declared bankruptcy.
After the mainland withdrew from the purchase, Ukraine found itself "put together", the original buyers who had increased the price disappeared, catching up with the 1997 financial crisis, and many buyers could not afford to buy.
So, the "Varyag", which was full of joy, continued to stop at the Black Sea Shipyard, allowing the wind and rain to drizzle, and the rust on the ship grew layer after layer, like the mottled annual rings of the years.
Until 1998, another "curve to save the country" plan was proposed, since it could not be in the name of the state, then try to buy the "Varyag" in the name of individuals.
A Hong Kong businessman named Xu Zengping submitted a quotation to Ukraine.
Xu Zengping
Xu Zengping, a native of Shandong, served as a soldier in Guangzhou and was successful in doing business in Hong Kong after retiring from the military. After learning that Ukraine agreed to the attitude of individuals to buy aircraft carriers, Xu Zengping, in order to avoid European and American interference, deliberately set up a maritime entertainment company called "Chuang law Group" called "Varyag" to build an aircraft carrier theme park.
Ukraine put forward 4 requirements for Xu Zengping's personal purchase of aircraft carriers:
1. There are more than 50 million US dollars in the account; 2. Can not be used for military purposes; 3. The project needs to be approved by the authorities; 4. To obtain an import license issued by the destination port.
On January 27, 1998, after obtaining the relevant certification documents, Xu Zengping borrowed money from many parties to make up enough qualifications, and arrived at the Ukrainian Black Sea Shipyard with all his wealth and 5 boxes of 62-degree second pot heads, boarded the Varyag, and decided to give it a go.
The early negotiations were very smooth, Xu Zengping was purchased in the name of an individual, Ukraine was also eager to get rid of this depreciating big guy, and finally the two sides negotiated the packaging price of the drawing plus the aircraft carrier: 18 million US dollars.
The price was still conscientious at the time, and Ukraine couldn't wait to get out of it, just at this time, the United States and Japan were once again in trouble, and they questioned Xu Zengping's purchase of an aircraft carrier:
1. The waterline of the aircraft carrier is very deep, and the water depth of the theme park cannot be moored at all;
2. The cabin inside the aircraft carrier is low and low, and it is not suitable for transformation into entertainment venues such as dance halls.
Under pressure, Ukraine rejected Xu Zengping's purchase intentions, but thought of a way to kill two birds with one stone: listed at auction, and the highest price will be obtained.
This can block the mouth of the United States and Japan, and the second is to maximize the price of "Varyag".
Varyag
3 days later, at the auction, it was not surprising that a group of American, Japanese, Indian, Australian, and Korean "bidders" came, and whenever Xu Zengping broke a price, they began to increase the price by 100,000 and 200,000 in turn, in a vain attempt to make Xu Zengping die.
In the eyes full of jokes, Xu Zengping looked down and thought for a while, and then slowly raised the price card in his hand: 20 million US dollars.
That's all he has.
The audience was silent, and the "bidders" looked at each other, got up and left, and spent $20 million to buy a scrap iron with the ship's weapons and power systems dismantled, which was a loss-making transaction, and they did not have such a great courage.
On the night of the deal, 2 large trucks pulled away all the drawings of the Varyag, weighing 50 tons, and returned home a week later.
However, the "journey" of the Varyag was not so smooth, and even everyone did not expect that this road back to China would take two years and eight months, including one and a half years trapped in the Black Sea by Turkey.
In July 1999, Xu Zengping hired the Dutch ITC company tow a tugboat to tow the giant ship from the Ukrainian Black Sea port, and the Varyag officially embarked on a journey back to China.
In order to return home, the Varyag must sail out of the Black Sea to the Mediterranean Sea, and between the Black Sea and the Mediterranean Sea, there is only a narrow Turkish strait, that is, only this road can be taken.
And the jurisdiction of the strait is in the hands of Turkey. According to the international conventions of the time, merchant ships could pass directly, but the passage of warships must first be declared to Turkey for approval.
In accordance with international practice, the Varyag issued an application for passage to Turkey.
Turkey quickly replied: no traffic! The Varyag was asked to leave the northern waters of Turkey immediately, from where it came from, and preferably back to the Ukrainian Black Sea Shipyard.
After several days of negotiations, Turkey gave the reason that the "Varyag" hull was huge and easy to block the channel and affect the passage of other ships; And losing the power system, it is easy to lose control and crash into the Istanbul Bridge, or damage the temple monuments on the shore, which are thousands of years old antiques, even if it hits flowers and plants, it is not good...
On the surface, it is awe-inspiring, but in fact, Turkey was "well-intentionedly reminded" from the United States at that time, in order to take care of its own international face, Turkey proposed two "solutions": either saw the aircraft carrier into parts, and you pulled it back with a tugboat; Either put the power system on the carrier and I'll let you drive over.
Both of these schemes are clearly deliberately difficult, and neither is possible. In desperation, the Varyag had to return to the Ukrainian shipyard again, and this time, it waited for 14 months.
During this time, Xu Zengping paid $8,500 a day to the tugboat company, $17,000 a month to the port, and to appease the restless crew. In order to buy an aircraft carrier, Xu Zengping almost exhausted his family wealth, the real estate and land were all mortgaged, in the face of the crisis-ridden sea, Xu Zengping strengthened his belief that "people are on the ship", if in the end it is still not possible, he will sink the "Varyag" and never leave it to other countries.
Varyag
In July 2001, the mainland intervened in mediation, after all, we are one of the five permanents, Turkey finally "embarrassed" to relax, saying that the "Varyag" can pass, but must accept turkey's 20 conditions, mainly including: pay the aircraft carrier berthing fee; Open for tourism of 2 million people per year; $360 million in financial aid programs.
In order to welcome the aircraft carrier home as soon as possible, we deliberated again and again, gritted our teeth and agreed.
Unexpectedly, at this time, the Turkish lion opened its mouth and put forward a harsh requirement: the Chinese side needed to pay a "risk deposit" of 1 billion US dollars, and then returned it after the aircraft carrier successfully passed through the strait.
This is very obvious is the meaning of taking advantage of the fire and robbery, the standard "this road is opened by me, leaving to buy road money", no one can guarantee the credibility of Turkey, how long after the money is in the mouth, how long can it be spit out, and even whether it will be spit out.
In the face of Turkey's insatiable greed and repeated extortion, we firmly disagree with the unreasonable demand of 1 billion US dollars, although we have repeatedly promised to send tugboats to protect along the way and promised to bear all the costs if there is any loss, but Turkey bites to death and does not let go.
At this time, international public opinion began to be quite dissatisfied with Turkey, blocking people's boats for more than a year without reason, and also rebelling and deliberately making things difficult.
Turkey finally agreed to a compromise for the sake of international face: either pay a $1 billion deposit, or the state is willing to guarantee it.
Turkey's wishful thinking is that with the international pressure of Europe and the United States, no country is willing to stand up as a guarantee.
At a time when many countries were under pressure from the great powers and feared that they would not be able to avoid it, Greece stepped forward.
Turkey was dumbfounded, but the big words had been released, and the Varyag had to be released. On November 1, 2001, the aircraft carrier, which had been adrift in the Black Sea for more than two years, finally formed a fleet surrounded by 11 tugboats and fire ships and slowly left the Turkish Strait.
"Vote for me with a wooden peach, and repay it with Qiong Yao." For Greece's help at a critical moment, although Greece also has a private message of discord with Turkey, we Chinese people have always been grateful, and the "Varyag" has just come out of the Black Sea, and there has signed a series of cooperation projects with Greece. And in 2009, when Greece was in an economic crisis, we immediately reached out, giving $1.5 billion in aid and helping Greece with port construction.
On 3 November, the Varyag sailed to the Aegean Sea and encountered a major storm near the island of Skyros.
Due to the huge hull and no power towing, the towing cables of the 3 tugboats were scraped off one after another, and the "Varyag", which had a displacement of up to 60,000 tons, was like a wild horse that had lost its reins, completely lost control, and ran amok in the Aegean Sea! Once it hits the island, the Varyag will be completely scrapped, and several years of hard work will be destroyed.
At the crucial moment, it was Greece that stepped forward again.
They deliberately dispatched the world's most powerful tugboat and maritime ambulance helicopter to rescue the personnel on the Varyag, and did their best to stabilize the aircraft carrier in the storm, and successfully controlled the steel beast when it was 80 kilometers away from the island of Evia around the Aegean Sea.
In this rescue, Iris Lima, a sailor on the Greek tugboat Haridwar Champion, was arranging a fixed tow cable on the tugboat, due to the huge wind and waves, the hull of the ship changed sharply, and Iris was dragged into the sea by a heavy cable, and unfortunately died in the Aegean Sea.
Let's pay tribute to this Greek friend!
After entering the Mediterranean Sea safely, the best route for my ship to return home was to take the Suez Canal, but at that time, Egypt and the United States were on the same hill, and they released their words early: It is impossible to let go!
In order to avoid further obstruction, the Varyag turned around and headed west, turning around the Strait of Gibraltar and then bypassing the Cape of Good Hope to return home, which is equivalent to taking an extra 8,000 kilometers around the road, but it is safe, and we really can't afford toss it.
The Strait of Gibraltar was under the control of morocco, Spain and Britain at that time, and no one could say anything, but no one was willing to bear the name of offending China, so they simply sent a personal favor along the water and let the Varyag pass smoothly.
After making a large circle, on 11 December 2001, varyag sailed through the Cape of Good Hope in Africa into the Indian Ocean and, on 5 February 2002, began to cross the Strait of Malacca.
The controlling countries in the Strait of Malacca at that time included Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia, which had a high proportion of Chinese and good relations with us, but there was no embarrassment. After resupplying here, our ship set out again into the South China Sea.
In the South China Sea, Xu Zengping hung his heart for several years before he finally fell, and he finally completed his mission.
On March 4, 2002, the Varyag finally arrived in Dalian, a total of 627 days of sailing along the way, along the way spent on tuging fees, fuel costs, tolls, port fees, seafarer fees, adding up to more than 30 million US dollars, that is, the freight is more expensive than the ship.
Route back home to Varyag
But the cost was worth it, and the Varyag advanced our aircraft carrier research by at least 20 years, saving us 20 billion in research costs.
To know that the Varyag was the last aircraft carrier of the former Soviet Union, poured into the experience and technology accumulation of Soviet experts in the construction of aircraft carriers for 26 years, although the power and weapons system was dismantled, it was a seed, it allowed us to have the first aircraft carrier from then on, it is the future of our navy.
Varyag before and after the cleaning
After the "Varyag" arrived in Dalian, Xu Zengping announced that due to problems with the company's business license, it was impossible to rebuild the aircraft carrier according to the original plan, and decided to give up the ownership of the aircraft carrier and use it to repay debts.
Reasonable and reasonable.
10 years later, the Varyag was rebuilt and handed over to the Navy for use, named "Liaoning"!
Let us pay tribute to this patriotic businessman, to the Greek sailors who sacrificed their lives, and to all those who have quietly dedicated themselves to the cause of the continental aircraft carrier, who are the backbone of the heavy weapons of a great power!
And now, the Western powers that have obstructed us in every way have seen us getting stronger and stronger, in 2022, three ships into the water, defending the sea frontier, chopping waves, who dares to try the sword?