Liaoning Captain Liu Zhe gave a lecture to explain why the aircraft carrier went to Hong Kong for the first time

At 10:30 p.m. on August 26, 2017, China's first youth television open class "Let's Talk" broadcast on the CCTV comprehensive channel invited Colonel Liu Zhe, captain of the Liaoning warship of the People's Liberation Army Navy.

From graduating from the Public Security University to becoming an army officer and then to a navy officer, Liu Zhe, who was born in a military family, spent 4 years to complete the road of captain, which usually takes 8 to 10 years.

Known as the "Doctor Captain", he has served as the captain of a new type of frigate of the East China Sea Fleet, the deputy captain of the Liaoning Ship, and was promoted to the captain of the Liaoning Ship in 2016.

In the show, Liu Zhe recounts his legendary path as a captain and how he witnessed The Journey of China's First Aircraft Carrier from Scratch. In addition, he also used the CCTV platform to explain to the outside world why the Liaoning warship went to Hong Kong for the first time.

Legendary Captain's Road

Liu Zhe's story is full of legends.

Liu Zhe mentioned in his speech that his original dream was to become an infantry company commander. It is precisely because of this that after graduating from university, he came to the company that was awarded the honorary title during the War of Resistance Against Japan- the Eighth Company of Steel. There, he experienced the spirit of hard work of the troops, and also realized that as a young officer, he should go to the place where the motherland needed him more.

Subsequently, Liu Zhe left the company and was admitted to the PLA Military Economics College, and later applied for a doctoral degree in strategy at the Academy of Military Sciences. When the graduation assignment was made, he made up his mind to go to the naval fleet, spending four years walking the path of captainship, which usually takes eight to ten years.

After graduating with a doctorate, Liu Zhe went to a frigate detachment of the East China Sea Fleet. This is a unit created at the same time as the People's Liberation Army Navy, and it is the seed unit of the Navy. Liu Zhe said, "In the next three years, I took my small but most advanced frigate at the time, braved one storm after another, and completed one mission after another. ”

"But in my third year as captain of a frigate, I was stimulated." Liu Zhe recalled that that year, the flagship of the US Pacific Fleet, the Blue Ridge, came to visit, and one evening, at the deck reception held by the Blue Ridge, he looked at the beautiful scenery on both sides of the Pujiang River and raised a glass to the captain of the Blue Ridge and said, We toast to this beautiful view. And the captain of the Blue Ridge responded, cheers to your warship, which is small but beautiful.

Hearing this, Liu Zhe was very angry. But looking back at the 20,000-ton Blue Ridge, compared with his own 2,000-ton warship, Liu Zhe was deeply touched, "I took a vicious sip of the wine dry, I was thinking in my heart, in the future we have a ship bigger than you, we have an aircraft carrier, I must go to be the captain, I must take this breath." ”

"Unexpectedly, the aircraft carrier really came." Liu Zhe recalled that at the end of 2009, the aircraft carrier unit was formed, and he rushed to Dalian with joy and joy, and finally saw the aircraft carrier he had in mind. However, Liu Zhe, who saw the aircraft carrier for the first time, "was cold in his heart", completely out of his imagination, the aircraft carrier was full of rust, small and broken, "there is no bottom in my heart." ”

It was not until later when he boarded the aircraft carrier and assisted in the construction of the aircraft carrier (following the workers to produce and help them build the aircraft carrier), that Liu Zhe's heart rekindled hope. When he boarded the aircraft carrier again, wiped the rust off the steel plate with his hand, and saw that it was polished and shiny inside, just like new, he knew that "it was really not far from the day we were looking forward to."

The exclusive glory of the aircraft carrier

On September 25, 2012, China's first aircraft carrier successfully completed construction and test sea trials, and was successfully delivered to the Navy, and was named "Liaoning Ship of the people's liberation army navy of the Chinese" with the hull number "16". After the Liaoning was delivered to the Navy, Liu Zhe served as the deputy captain of the Liaoning.

In the program "Let's Talk", Liu Zhe recounted the scene when the carrier-based aircraft that impressed him most on the aircraft carrier first landed on the ship and the "glory of the aircraft carrier" exclusive to the officers and men of the Liaoning warship.

Carrier-based aircraft are known as "dances on the tip of the knife" and have a very high risk factor. On that day, the cold wind on the Bohai Sea was fierce, and Liu Zhe was also extremely nervous, making countless plans in his heart. But this is the first time that China's carrier-based aircraft has taken off and landed on an aircraft carrier, and there is no experience to learn from.

Talking about the scene at that time, Captain Liu Zhe still remembered it vividly: "When the test flight hero Dai Mingmeng's first pilot plane roared from the sky to the deck, steadily hung up the blocking rope, and in an instant the plane stopped from a speed of more than two hundred kilometers per hour, and all the people were very quiet. It wasn't until he turned off the engine and stood up from the cockpit to salute and wave to everyone that the crowd suddenly woke up and applauded warmly! Many people flocked to the fighters, and my heart finally let go. ”

Behind every mission, there are many comrades who pay silently. Liu Zhe recalled, "After the plane landed, I turned back to the wheelhouse, and the then captain Zhang Zheng was still operating the ship. I asked him, 'Captain, did you see that the plane had just landed?' Zhang Zheng said, "No, I saw the wind moving." In fact, there are still many comrades-in-arms who have not seen the take-off and landing of the carrier-based aircraft until they leave the team. ”

So now, Liu Zhe said in the program, "Every soldier, when the soldier takes off and lands on the ship for the first time, he must organize them to watch it once, they will retire from the army, and organize them to watch it again, so that they can also share the exclusive glory and unique shock of this aircraft carrier." ”

"I'm waiting for you on the carrier"

When interacting with the youth representatives in the program, Liu Zhe also revealed whether he would fly a plane. He said, "The chiefs attach great importance to our cultivation. Since we came out of the destroyer unit, we have experienced and flown junior trainer aircraft. After becoming the deputy captain of the aircraft carrier, because I was too old, I was more than 42 years old at that time, I began to learn helicopters, and I had several hours of flying experience. ”

In reply, Liu Zhe did not forget to humorously laugh at himself, "The helicopter has the difficulty of a helicopter, anyway, when I fly, it is different from the helicopter you have seen, if you see it, you will feel that it is about to crash." ”

In addition, it is worth mentioning that Liu Zhe also explained the reason why the Liaoning was first opened to the public in Hong Kong in the program.

With the approval of the Central Military Commission, the Navy's Liaoning aircraft carrier formation combined with training tasks to go to Hong Kong in early July this year to participate in the celebration of the 20th anniversary of the People's Liberation Army stationed in Hong Kong. This is the first time that the Navy's aircraft carrier formation has docked in Hong Kong, the first time the Liaoning has been opened to the public, and the first time that the carrier-based fighter jets have been displayed in a concentrated manner.

Liu Zhe said in the program, "Just use this platform to explain a thing, how to open up for the first time, you see Hong Kong, why not open up to the people in our mainland?" First, although it is not this kind of open opening up, in fact, many colleges and universities, enterprises and institutions in the mainland have visited it. Outside our camp, at Hope Elementary School, teachers and students have gone up twice. Second, the berthing of aircraft carriers must have special facilities, and these facilities cost huge sums of money, and Hong Kong has precisely this condition. For these reasons, there is no such form of opening, but every year on some major festivals, such as the Navy Festival, in some ports, some combat ships are opened for everyone to visit. I believe that in the near future, our aircraft carrier will also join this rank and will also accept a visit from everyone. I am waiting for you on the aircraft carrier. ”