African Nationhood

Chapter 437 Trial voyage

After diving out of Mapou Bay, after sailing for another half an hour, the "Yaksha" arrived in the Mozambique Channel.

According to the fact that the gyroscope and magnetic gyroscope had reached the predetermined position, the "Guihai Yasha" stopped moving forward, and crew members from various departments quickly reported the situation.

After Huang Qi summarized the report, he reported to Lan Rulong: "Currently, all submarine departments are responding normally."

Lan Rulong nodded, "We will start testing the submarine's surface on site."

Huang Qi nodded and repeated the order loudly, and the crew members operating in other places also began to repeat the order.

This is a very important tradition in the Navy's military regulations to avoid the failure of the captain or captain's order transmission due to a noisy environment.

As Lan Rulong gave the order, the entire submarine began to slowly rise.

Under normal conditions, the submarine can float slowly, saving energy and making it easier to control.

At the same time, medium-pressure air such as diesel engine exhaust (high-pressure air is very precious) can also be used to empty the bow and stern ballast tanks, and the submarine will surface.

Fuel tanks and fuel ballast tanks are also important components in providing buoyancy.

The fuel ballast water tank is loaded with additional fuel. When sailing, the additional fuel is used up first, and the vacated volume can be used as the main ballast water tank.

This kind of sinking and floating is also a test of the submarine's drainage and water intake efficiency.

The more than thirty crew members in the submarine all took a greedy breath of fresh air. The crew members lit the "oxygen candle" when they were sneaking.

Huang Qi is responsible for recording the detailed data of various experiments on the boat. If an accident occurs during the trial, these records can provide a basis for subsequent research.

Today is the sea trial test. It only needs to conduct regular tests. You can train on your own when you are ready to enter service.

Lan Rulong nodded, "Well, let's conduct a sea speed test below."

Standing on the flat deck, everyone seemed to be standing on a low-altitude coral reef, surrounded by a vast expanse of blue and almost uninhabited except for seabirds and fish.

"Report, the submarine has been resurfaced and all data is normal."

When a submarine encounters an emergency such as explosion or hull leakage, it needs to surface quickly, which is called "emergency refloating."

……

At this time, we can no longer consider saving, but inject high-pressure air into all main ballast water tanks to quickly blow out seawater.

Although the combustion noise of the "oxygen candle" is a bit loud, breathing is not affected. On the contrary, the noise of the diesel engine is more unbearable.

Today's test requires a frigate to accompany the voyage. If there is a problem, timely rescue is very important.

These people came out specifically to test the surface sailing speed of the submarine, and they also had to wait here for the navy's frigate to arrive.

Emergency refloating is not common, but it requires regular practice. After all, it is a life-saving skill at critical moments.

At the same time, the bow and stern horizontal rudders are adjusted to corresponding angles, the power is turned to the maximum, and under the combined action of buoyancy and lift, the vehicle goes all out to break out of the water.

When the order was given, Huang Qi was the first to repeat it, and then continued to pass it to every position of the submarine.

"We have been contacted, but our parking position deviates from the scheduled position. We need to re-measure our coordinates and contact the frigate again. They will be here soon."

Then Lan Rulong, Huang Qi and others climbed onto the submarine deck along the gangway.

"Have you contacted the command room?"

The crew member took the lead to climb up the spiral ladder and twist the hatch door. As the hatch door opened, sea-smelling air flowed into the cabin.

Lan Rulong nodded, and Huang Qi and his soldiers began to use sextant and other instruments to determine the latitude and longitude of their location.

After the survey was completed, Huang Qi handed the latest longitude and latitude to the soldiers and asked the correspondent to pass it to the frigate.

After waiting for almost twenty minutes, a new cruiser appeared in their sight.

When the "Zhang Liao" signals to the "Xunhai Yaksha", it means it is ready for testing.

Lan Rulong issued an order to "start the sea trial."

Waves surged at the tail of the "Xunhai Yasha", and the boat began to sail rapidly. The black smoke and noise were no longer obvious in the waves.

The submarine's sea trials are getting faster and faster, and the cruiser "Zhang Liao" next to it is showing plenty of potential. The cruiser's top speed is 20 knots. Therefore, the "Guihai Yasha" that is seen moving at full speed can only reach a speed of 10 knots. The two are not on the same level at all.

After the sea trial sailed for 50 nautical miles, Huang Qi reported: "Report, the sailors tested and determined that our speed reached a maximum of 10.7 knots and a minimum of 10.5 knots. The average speed reached the calibrated speed. The sea trial speed was successful."

Lan Rulong nodded, "The surface navigation test is over, let's start the next project, the underwater navigation test."

……

After contacting the "Zhang Liao", the "Xunhai Yaksha" dived again.

There will be two types of underwater diving tests this time, one is to sail powered by a diesel engine, and the other is to sail powered by a battery.

The first battery-powered voyage was carried out. Previously, the diesel-powered voyage was used when leaving Mapu Bay.

The submarine is sailing under the water and cannot be too close to the sea. The periscope distance is about 15 meters deep. At this time, it is necessary to continue diving. 25-30 meters is the most suitable depth, and it is also convenient for stealth attacks.

This design is correct, but less than half an hour into the underwater voyage, many crew members inside the submarine heard a "click" sound.

Lan Rulong and Huang Qi were shocked, "What's going on? Each department will report the situation."

"The engine room is normal."

"The propeller is fine."

"The battery is normal."

……

All departments reported that everything was normal. Lan Rulong's hanging heart relaxed a little, but another voice made his heart fall into the abyss.

A crew member made an emergency report: "There is water leaking inside the submarine."

Huang Qi's face turned pale. Although Lan Rulong felt unstable, he still did not forget to give the order: "Emergency surface!"

Huang Qi repeated the order loudly: "Emergency surface!"

……

As the "emergency refloating" order was issued, all departments acted quickly, and the high-pressure air from the "Xunhai Yasha" rushed directly into each ballast water tank to quickly empty the air.

"crash"

There was a huge sound of water, and the dark hull of the boat broke through the sea and resurfaced on the sea.

After the crew confirmed that everything was normal, they opened the hatch cover and let in fresh air. Lan Rulong didn't bother to breathe in the fresh air. He rushed out of the gangway first and immediately checked whether there was any problem with the submarine's bridge position.

He turned around to check and quickly discovered the problem.

The problem lies in the snorkel, which is cracked, causing the submarine to leak water when it dives.

After reporting the situation to the frigate "Zhang Liao", the "Guilin Yasha" could no longer dive and sail, and could only turn around and return to the shipyard.

……

After a joint investigation by the General Armament Department and shipyard engineers, it was discovered that the problem lay in the depth of the submarine's dive and that the snorkel was very large.

Not only will it hinder the submarine's sailing speed, but if it dives too deep, it will suffer from seafloor pressure, and it will also have to withstand the resistance in the water during navigation.

In this way, it becomes the shortcoming of the entire submarine. The solution is to make the snorkel telescopic and retract it into the hull when not in use, and keep it in a shallow state when in use.

After the improvements were made, the next sea trial and sailing test continued.

Next, mooring tests and sailing tests will be carried out.

In addition, the test of diving weight, underwater communication and detection equipment test, underwater weapon launch test, underwater stability, maneuverability, speed test, sinking and deep diving test and other items will also continue to be tested.

When all these tests are completed, it is estimated that it will not be confirmed until the second half of the year or the end of the year that the submarine will be officially commissioned.

(End of this chapter)