Chapter 338 The dismantled K-534
"Of course not." Qin Tao was very direct: "We have never thought about making that thing at all. Except for the wealthy Red Empire, it is impossible for any country to use precious titanium alloy to build nuclear submarines. It is too luxurious."
There are only four Type 945 nuclear submarines, and the fifth was stopped in the early stages of construction. This does not mean that Moscow looks down on the red Solmovo Shipyard. Another main reason is that titanium alloy submarines are too difficult to build. .
During the welding process of the first Type 945 nuclear submarine, it was found that the quality of the welds was very low and cracks existed in many places. Later, it had to be reworked, and it was only by the time of the second ship that the quality was stabilized.
Qin Tao spent three million US dollars to purchase this welding technology from the Celestite Design Bureau. It was absolutely worth it.
Although the production is in the shipyard, technical things are all controlled by the design bureau. At the beginning, the Celestite Design Bureau had a long time headache for the welding of titanium alloy.
At the beginning, they planned to use treated T-17 zirconium-containing titanium alloy. However, due to the problem of welding cracking, they specially ordered a new 48-inch alloy from the "Prometheus" Central Shipbuilding Technology Research Institute. - ОТЗВ type low zirconium titanium alloy. These were all solved by Celestite Design Bureau.
Now, it’s not that it can’t be given. Twenty Lavkovsky felt that Qin Tao’s request was a bit strange. According to their engineering experience, this thing is used to build submarines!
Now, what does Qin Tao plan to use it for?
"If our transaction goes well, I want to use these materials to build advanced deep-diving lifeboats to fill our gaps." Qin Tao said, "Of course, since we have very little experience, I would like to ask you to Some experts from the design bureau went to our place to help with the design.”
If these titanium alloys are taken back and sold as junk, these people will never believe it. If they are talking about titanium alloy components for making airplanes, then they will definitely think that the price is cheap. After all, airplanes are very expensive, so Qin Tao simply Talked about a new idea.
Deep diving lifeboat.
Just by listening to the name, you can know its function. This kind of small boat can dive to deeper places and carry out rescue work.
Who to rescue?
Of course it was the submarine in distress.
A normal submarine is a killer weapon at the bottom of the sea. However, once something malfunctions and cannot float, it will be very difficult. Especially if there is a water leak or the like, it will face a crisis.
At this time, this kind of specialized deep-diving lifeboat is needed.
Compared with ordinary submarines that can only dive to a depth of two to three hundred meters, its diving depth must be at least 600 meters or even less than a thousand meters. The deeper the better, so that it can cope with more situations. more.
This kind of lifeboat does not need to have strong maneuverability or high speed, but it must be able to make complex posture adjustments, because a submarine in distress can sit on the bottom of the sea in various postures, and the upright one is best, but if If it's tilted, you have to tilt it too.
Because it has to be docked with the hatch of the submarine, the crew members in distress can climb directly to the lifeboat through the docking port. At that depth, personnel cannot be directly exposed to the outside.
Any country with a submarine should have a deep-diving lifeboat. However, this kind of thing is too difficult, so only a few countries can build it.
Even domestic submarines that have been operating for decades only started construction of the first deep-diving lifeboat in 1988, with a diving depth of only 600 meters.
Before it was put into service, once something happened to the previous submarines, they had to find ways to save themselves.
Now that Qin Tao has made this request, it is reasonable and reasonable.
The designed depth of Type 945 nuclear submarine is 900 meters, but in fact, this submarine can dive to 1,200 meters without any problem. After all, it uses the strongest and thickest titanium alloy. (There is also some information saying that the diving depth is 600 meters. I don’t know which one is true.)
At the same time, the displacement of the Type 945 nuclear submarine is more than 8,000 tons, while the displacement of the deep-diving lifeboat is only a few dozen tons. This lifeboat has a smaller diameter and can be made into the most pressure-resistant spherical shape. Therefore, if the same materials as the 945 nuclear submarine are used, In terms of technology and craftsmanship, then this kind of deep-diving lifeboat can dive to a depth of two thousand meters without any problem!
Ravkovsky nodded, but he still thought of something and said seriously: "In this case, wouldn't it be more cost-effective for us to design it in the design bureau, build it in the shipyard, and then sell it to you? Such a deep-diving lifeboat can be sold for at least 20 million US dollars, right?"
Taplov is a little embarrassed. Brother, can you say this directly?
"No, no, no." Qin Tao shook his head repeatedly. He pointed at Lavkovsky and then at Lapilov: "You, you, even if you work together, you can't build this thing, because You have no money!”
Qin Tao revealed the secret with one word. It was impossible for the other party to do this, because both design and construction required money, and their child, whose father did not love his mother, was even more so now. Abandoned, where is the money? What to do if you have no money?
Actually, since Lavkovsky could say it face to face, he actually already had the answer in his heart. Now, he is not angry when Qin Tao points it out directly.
“Yes, we have no money. In the past, we never thought about money.”
For these third-line shipbuilders, the feeling is even deeper. They miss the lost empire very much.
"So, it's best if you choose to cooperate with us." Qin Tao said: "If we go to the East, those designers can earn high wages and live a comfortable life. By the way, if our project is successfully negotiated , I also hope that the shipyard can send some skilled workers there, and it would be better if the relevant equipment is lent to us for use. We will pay for it."
Xu Zhengyang felt like a bright mirror in his heart. Mr. Qin began to recruit people and equipment again. This time he was even bolder and came out directly!
Those designers and technical workers are definitely just meat buns beating dogs, and they will never come back.
As long as those people get to the East, they will definitely fall in love with it and not want to come back.
Although they are using the guise of deep-diving lifeboats, these designers are actually designing submarines. In other words, after they decide to stay, Mingzhou Shipbuilding Industry Group can set up a third design office. , specially designed for submarines!
Thinking of this, Xu Zhengyang felt excited.
He was right. However, there were only some minor changes. If a special submarine design office were to be established in the future, it would probably have to belong to the Navy. After all, such an organization cannot be privately owned. However, those are all for later. Something happened.
Now, let’s fool these people and equipment first.
Under Qin Tao's gaze, Lavkovsky finally nodded: "If you send those designers out in the name of our design bureau, in addition to paying the designers' wages and business trip subsidies, you will also We need to pay a fee to our design bureau.”
This guy also knows how to get more benefits for their design bureau. In fact, most of these expenses have to go into his pocket, right?
"Of course it's no problem." Qin Tao nodded immediately: "Each person will be given one hundred dollars to your design bureau every month. The more people there are and the longer the time, the more your design bureau will get. The same goes for the shipyard. Same, how do you feel?"
“Okay!” Both of them nodded in agreement without any hesitation.
“Tomorrow, I will take you to the production workshop of the Type 945 nuclear submarine.” Rapilov said.
The agreement was reached in this way. Sure enough, without that guy Grishen causing trouble, his gains would be even greater!
After the banquet, everyone returned to the guest house. On the way, Zheng Ming said to Qin Tao with a smile: "Mr. Qin, the harvest is good this time!"
“Well, with luck, you can go and see it together tomorrow.”
“Mr. Qin, it seems that our navy’s new generation of nuclear submarines will also depend on you.” Deng Rui, a submarine expert who was following Zheng Ming, said.
“Mr. Deng, please don’t put any more pressure on us. We’ll talk about the rest later.”
“Mr. Qin, I’m a little confused.”
Xu Zhengyang started talking more and more. Qin Tao glanced at his secretary: "Do you think there is something wrong with my payment method?"
Xu Zhengyang nodded.
He could guess everything else, but Xu Zhengyang couldn't understand the way Qin Tao paid the design bureau and shipbuilding dispatch personnel.
“Do you know how the Red Empire’s factories were reformed after the collapse?”
“Isn’t it just one ticket per person? In the end it became waste paper.”
"Of course it's not this." Qin Tao said: "It's their personnel system. Forget it, let me talk about it. They have also begun to learn from the West and have some kind of contract system. These workers and designers have all signed labor employment contracts. . Moreover, the original contract was only signed for three years."
The Red Empire collapsed at the end of 1991, and it is now the end of 1993. In other words, the contract signed by these people only lasts for one year?
Qin Tao only needs to pay the additional cost for one year. After one year, these people have nothing to do with the design bureau and the shipyard. It is time for them to sign a contract with Mingzhou!
Xu Zhengyang's eyes lit up. Mr. Qin had indeed calculated everything.
“Mr. Qin, how did you know?” Zheng Ming asked curiously.
Qin Tao smiled: "My friend said it."
This is of course an experience from his previous life. He once went to a submarine design unit and communicated with an old man there. The other person told how he came to the East: he signed a three-year contract. After the contract expired, the design bureau no longer wanted him. So, I followed others and went to the East together.
Today, Qin Tao suddenly thought of this, so he can boldly propose these plans.
The other party was not prepared at all, because no one took the labor agreement seriously.
Zheng Ming was in a very excited mood.
Although there are nuclear submarines in China, they are only at the level of the first-generation nuclear submarines of the West and Lao Maozi. That is, the problem of whether they have or not has just been solved, and they cannot be said to be advanced at all.
When these old and professional submarine designers return, the domestic second-generation nuclear submarines, even with strong foreign aid, can be officially launched!
Zheng Ming did not sleep well that night. When he woke up in the morning, he had two black circles under his eyes. As a result, he was laughed at by Qin Tao.
Shipyard, closed production workshop.
The group of people continued walking along the road they walked yesterday. They were at least 500 meters away from the river. The building that looked like a warehouse turned out to be the production workshop of nuclear submarines.
Yesterday, no one noticed it. It is estimated that even the reconnaissance satellites in the sky would not see it. There were already dense woods all around.
With a creaking sound, the door of the workshop opened, and everyone stepped inside, but Qin Tao stopped.
His finger pointed to the side of the door: "There are still tapes hanging on your door?"
It is estimated that it has been a few years, and these rubber strips are somewhat aged and cracked. However, it is definitely creative enough to install rubber strips on a door that allows submarines to come out.
What are the adhesive strips used for? Seal it!
Could this kind of workshop still be sealed?
"These are for sealing. More than ten years ago, when building the first Type 945 nuclear submarine, we found that the quality of many welds was not up to standard. Later we improved the production process because the airflow would affect the protective argon gas. , in order to reduce the flow of air flow, the entire workshop has been sealed.”
If it is an aircraft like the Su-27, especially for the titanium alloy components of the engine, a special welding room can be built. The welders wear the same equipment as astronauts. It is most suitable to weld inside the space.
However, for nuclear submarine shell welding, it is impossible to fill such a huge factory with argon gas! In that case, the consumption during the construction process will be astronomical.
Therefore, a method similar to argon arc welding is used, in which argon gas is passed around the weld. However, it is more strict and the argon gas must be completely covered. If there is air flow passing through the workshop, the argon gas will be Blown away, resulting in poor quality welds.
Everyone sighed.
Titanium alloy submarines, as expected, only Lao Maozi can do it well. Just this welding process costs a lot of money!
With emotion, everyone walked in. At this time, dozens of workers were working inside the workshop, and they could see the welded components being dismantled.
“The dismantling project started ten days ago. If you had come ten days earlier, you would have seen the completed components.” Lapilov said.
This is just an afterthought. If it had really come ten days earlier and it hadn't been disassembled yet, they wouldn't have been able to come in and take a look!
"But it's not too late now." Qin Tao said: "You can dismantle the internal devices. Keep the useful ones that can leak secrets, and sell the useless ones to us. You don't need to touch this shell. When the time comes, , we will take them away directly!”
On the outside of the Type 945 nuclear submarine, the diameter of the non-pressure hull is about 12 meters, but the diameter of the internal titanium alloy pressure hull is about eight meters. At this time, several pressure hulls in the middle of the hull were built. The three internal decks of the eight-meter-diameter section have been welded together, and some devices have even been installed.
The disassembly work started from the inside first, and the outside has not been touched yet, so the outer titanium alloy shell remains intact.
Like the two Kilo-class ships, it has also been idle for several years. However, the titanium alloy shell is still shining, which is in sharp contrast to the rusty Kilo-class.
The casing has not been disassembled yet, so these titanium alloy casings are kept intact and have not been violently damaged by disassembly, which is really great!
However, when he said this, Rapilov felt a little embarrassed.
Are you going to agree or not?
Qin Tao thought of something and quickly explained: "Don't worry, even if we weld it together when we go back, it will be useless. Without the bow and stern, it is not a complete submarine!"
After dismantling, it is just a solid piece of scrap titanium alloy. What now? It's still in good condition. Will Qin Tao build it after buying it back?
Taipilov had this concern just now, but now Qin Tao's explanation puts him at ease.
This is incomplete. There is no head or tail, only the middle. What use can it be? Qin Tao just didn't want workers to damage the precious titanium alloy when cutting, so he wanted it to be intact.
"We have always attached great importance to credibility. The Kiev purchased from the Northern Fleet was rumored to be renovated by the outside world. Now it has been turned into an aircraft carrier park for tourists to enjoy. If you are interested, you can also go and have a look. I will reimburse you for your round trip expenses and accommodation." Qin Tao said.
The renovation of the Kiev aircraft carrier park has put all the slanderous remarks in the face. We at Mingzhou Group will do what we say and do what we say we will do.
"Mr. Kvasa, why are you here?" At this time, Ravkovsky, who came with him, saw a person standing inside and couldn't help shouting: "And, Krasnopolsky Sir, are you here too?"
Looking at the two gray-haired old men, Lavkovsky was extremely shocked.
"Yeah, let's take a look. I heard that this Type 945 nuclear submarine is going to be dismantled. Let's... send it off." Kvasa said.
"Yes, when the Ulyanovsk was dismantled, I didn't catch up. Now I heard that this ship will be dismantled, so I came to take a look. However, I didn't seem to see anything when I came. After all, Its nuclear reactor has not yet been assembled."
“Ravkovsky, these are all seniors, can you introduce them to me?” Qin Tao asked. At this time, he was also very excited. Because he already knew the identities of these two people.
"Of course." Lavkovsky immediately introduced: "This Mr. Kvasa was the previous chief designer of our design bureau. I was still his student. He designed the Type 945 nuclear submarine. Yes, I am just doing some modification work. This Mr. Krasnopolsky also retired the year before last. He used to be in the Experimental Design Bureau of Machinery Industry and is a native of our city, so he returned to our city to retire."
These two people are both powerful. Kvasa started designing the Type 945 in the 1970s. After ten years of hard work, he designed this submarine. Definitely a seasoned veteran.
As for Krasnopolsky, it is even more powerful. The name of the Machinery Industry Experimental Design Bureau may sound ordinary, but it is actually the most powerful nuclear reactor design bureau in China!
Although their Celestite Design Bureau designed nuclear-powered submarines, the nuclear reactors on them came directly from the Mechanical Industry Experimental Design Bureau. Even the nuclear reactor of the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier came from there.
This trip was really a great harvest!
Qin Tao sighed in his heart, walked up quickly and stretched out his hand.
"Two gentlemen, this is the boss of Dongfang Mingzhou Group. He came here with Dongfang's naval inspection team to buy our two 877 submarines and some scraps." Ravkovsky continued to introduce them to the two. Qin Tao.
Next, it was time to introduce Zheng Ming, but behind Zheng Ming, Deng Rui strode over and held Kvasa's hand tightly: "Teacher Kvasa, do you still remember me?"
Kvasa looked at the person in front of him carefully. In terms of age, the other person might be older, but the other person respectfully called him teacher. Decades have passed, and the years have left a mark on both their faces. There are a lot of wrinkles, but there is always something vaguely identifiable between the eyebrows.
“Are you Deng?”
“That’s right, it’s me. Decades have passed, but I never thought we could meet again!”
"Yes, according to the February 4th Agreement, we went to the East to help you master the construction technology of the 633 submarine. After so many years, those submarines have long been eliminated, right?"
This sentence made the naval personnel present a little embarrassed. Elimination? Submarines with that kind of World War II technology are still our main force!
On February 4, 1959, the two sides signed the "Agreement on the Soviet Government's New Technological Assistance to the Chinese Navy in Manufacturing Ships", referred to as the "February 4th Agreement". The agreement stipulated that the Soviet Union would transfer the construction rights of the "6633" medium-sized torpedo submarine for a fee , provide drawings, equipment and equipment, and dispatch expert guidance.
According to this agreement, a large number of Soviet submarine experts came to China to participate in the construction of this submarine, including Kvasa.
After all, the Type 6633 submarine was designed by the Celestite Design Bureau. Of course, their experts were responsible for the training. However, Kvasa was not the chief designer at the time, just an ordinary designer.
Although they are ordinary people, people in the East also respect them very much and regard them as teachers, and the two sides have established a deep friendship.
Recalling the scenes from decades ago, Kvasha also had red circles in his eyes.
“It’s not easy to get together again after decades.” Qin Tao said from the side: “Today at noon, let’s go to the largest restaurant in the city for a drink. I’ll treat you!”
Since we have met, it’s fate, everyone should have a good drink!
For Lao Maozi, he would never refuse this proposal.
Next, everyone continued to observe the K-534 submarine being dismantled. For our own designers, there was a lot to study about the submarine being dismantled, and everyone took it seriously.
Lao Maozi is also very generous. When he sees something that everyone is interested in, he will also introduce it. It should be the banquet at noon that makes them more enthusiastic.
(End of this chapter)