Siheyuan: I eat melons while doing scientific research

Chapter 1180 Torpedoes Faster Than Planes (5k)

Several leaders knew it was Gao Zhendong without looking up. After all, they were so familiar with his voice.

Deny me? Good denial! This is the simplest thought in the minds of the navy leaders.

Comrade Zhendong has always been clear about his intentions. Since he denied it so categorically, it means that he must have some ideas, and having ideas is a good thing.

As for what Gao Zhendong said, "It has nothing to do with the topic of today's meeting", that doesn't matter. Even if it is irrelevant, the worst that can happen is that the meeting can be prolonged to hear Gao Zhendong's ideas.

"Not just sonic guidance? What else?" The comrades from the Naval Equipment Bureau have already picked up paper and pen, waiting attentively.

Gao Zhendong smiled and said, "First of all, we can use wire guides."

Wire-guided torpedo is a very common type of guided torpedo. To some extent, it can be regarded as an underwater version of the wire-guided anti-tank missile. However, it does not have the semi-active command guidance of the sighting line, but is closer to the original manual operation. However, this manual operation has become a guidance system that automatically calculates and issues commands.

Line guide? Casting line in the sea?

"If you cast a line in the sea, is it easy for it to get tangled or something? Won't it break?"

Gao Zhendong shook his head. "The army's anti-tank missiles are wire-guided. The wires didn't break even after 3 kilometers. And because the torpedoes are slow, the requirements for the wires can be said to be further reduced. The advantage of this method is that it is more reliable than acoustic guidance, and the hit rate and other performance can be better. After all, the caliber of the torpedo is limited, and the size of the transducer it can carry is incomparable to that of the submarine. Moreover, this thing is cheap, and most of it is on the submarine. In theory, it only needs a wire release and a very simple command control device."

This is similar to the radio command guidance of air defense missiles, reliable and cheap.

"There are benefits, but what are the disadvantages?" Gao Zhendong felt that the words of the Defense Work Committee leader were very familiar.

"The downside is that the launcher must maintain optical or acoustic tracking of the target, and the torpedo tube must remain open before it hits or fails, which may cause some acoustic troubles and increase the probability of exposing itself. In addition, in this process, there are certain requirements for the launcher's movement state."

You can’t just fire and forget about a wire guide, but you also can’t just turn around and run away after firing.

"Well, that's good." The navy leader nodded.

He knew very well that these shortcomings were actually acceptable compared to its advantages. Wire-guided torpedoes, especially heavy-duty wire-guided torpedoes, were not completely eliminated until the 21st century, just like semi-active anti-aircraft missiles are still flying in the sky in the 21st century.

"I think we can ask the comrades who are working on torpedoes to study Comrade Zhendong's idea carefully. After all, we also want to develop submarines." The leader of the Defense Work Committee said with a smile.

"Yes, I agree. Even if we don't use it, it's good to just start the research first." The naval leader nodded in agreement. This reminded him of the magnetic anomaly detector proposed by Gao Zhendong, which was one of the reasons for this meeting.

We don't have to produce, but we still have to reserve technology. For us, whose national strength is still weak, this is an effective way to keep up with the technology.

"Zhendong, what else?"

Gao Zhendong’s next suggestion was not as clear and easy to understand as the wire guide.

"We can do wake guidance!"

"Wake guidance? Which wake?" The comrade who asked this question only heard the pronunciation of "wake" but was not sure which two words it was.

"The wake of the ship. It's mainly used to hit the boat." Gao Zhendong said with a smile.

Submarines also have wakes, but the exact depth of a submarine's wake is difficult to determine, and the depth of the wake will change during the submarine's voyage, which makes wake-guided attacks on submarines ineffective in theory.

But it is different for ships on the sea, they must be within a certain depth range starting from the water surface.

Wake-guided torpedoes use the wake generated by a ship as it moves forward to gradually approach the target ship. This wake is not only generated by the propeller. In fact, as long as a ship moves forward on the water, the movement of its hull in the water will generate a wake, the only difference is the size.

"This method can be fired and forgotten, which greatly improves the safety of the launch vehicle. In addition, the wake itself has a certain effect of filtering targets, which can further ensure the strike efficiency. At the same time, wake-guided torpedoes are difficult to interfere with because it is difficult to generate guidance signals similar to the wake."

"For anti-ship weapons, wake guidance is almost the best comprehensive guidance method. It is not as unreliable and easy to interfere as acoustic guidance, nor as troublesome to use as wire guidance, and its hit rate is not low. Putting aside the technical difficulty and some details, the only problem with wake guidance is that it has certain requirements for the range and speed of torpedoes."

Because of the guidance method, no matter which method is used, the wake is very different from straight-flying torpedoes, acoustic wire guidance and other methods, that is, it has to "take a detour", so there are some requirements for the speed and range of the torpedo, but overall it is okay.

"Well, these defects are basically acceptable." The navy leader nodded as he listened. This thing is not bad.

"And another advantage of wake guidance is that you don't have to aim. You just need to shoot towards the rear of the target within a certain distance." Gao Zhendong threw out the last bait.

This is what a wake-guided torpedo works like in theory. You just fire it out, and if it passes through a wake within a certain distance, it will stay focused on that wake until its range is exhausted or it hits the target.

"Well, this can indeed be done. We won't go into details here, but Comrade Zhendong's suggestion is very good." Both the Navy and the Defense Working Committee were very envious of these various torpedoes. If our submarines could use these weapons, it would be like adding wings to a tiger.

You know, in the original history, in the 60s our naval construction policy was still "air, submarine, and fast", so it was very normal no matter how much they attached importance to submarine weapons.

Although Gao Zhendong changed a lot of things on this line, our emphasis on submarines did not change at all.

"We understand what you just said, but you just said that it is necessary to keep even the direct-flying torpedoes. I think there is no need for this, right?"

The navy leaders are familiar with submarines. After all, a few years ago, it was one of the three core principles of our navy's military construction. Therefore, they are naturally not so fond of straight-line torpedoes, especially when there are two more guidance methods, wire guidance and wake guidance, in addition to acoustic guidance. Even when these methods may be used in combination, straight-line torpedoes really seem unnecessary.

After all, just like a free-fall bomb, the attack hit rate of a straight-line torpedo is directly linked to the distance. In order to achieve a higher hit rate, the shooting distance is actually so close that it can be called a bayonet fight. The existence of sonar in modern anti-submarine technology makes the carrier that launches a straight-line torpedo attack almost dead as soon as it is launched.

Gao Zhendong nodded: "Well, if it is an ordinary direct-flight torpedo, of course the problem you mentioned exists. However, if this direct-flight torpedo is not too ordinary, I think it is worth studying."

"Unordinary? How unusual?" Gao Zhendong's words aroused great interest among the naval leaders. Gao Zhendong said it was unusual, so it seemed that it was indeed very unusual.

Gao Zhendong gave a parameter that left his comrades dumbfounded.

"Range 10 kilometers, underwater speed 200 knots..."

A range of 10 kilometers is already a relatively good number. The early range of the American MK48 heavy torpedo was only 8 kilometers.

The rocket-propelled torpedo we originally developed for the Laogong-5 had an air-to-air range of 5 kilometers and a surface range of 500 meters... Even with these indicators, we still struggled to get it right.

But compared to the number Gao Zhendong mentioned, this is nothing.

The whole audience exploded, what what what?
The navy leader looked at Gao Zhendong with wide eyes: "200 what?"

Did I hear you right? 200 knots? This number is even more incredible than the 200-kilometer range. After all, the 200-kilometer range can be achieved theoretically by piling up materials. Don't worry about whether I can hit the target or not, just ask whether it is a 200-kilometer range.

But the underwater speed of 200 knots, even in theory, is a fantasy. The water resistance is too great. The change from 2 knots to 20 knots is far less significant than that from 20 knots to 200 knots, even though they are both increased tenfold.

Anyone who knows something about fluids and underwater things knows that this is complete nonsense, and almost everyone here today knows something about underwater things.

This guy is so boastful that even the leaders of the Defense Work Committee don't believe him. Zhendong is a little bit arrogant. In the eyes of the crowd that were no longer questioning but directly opposed, Gao Zhendong still smiled and answered the words of the Navy leader.

"Section 200!"

Is it really 200 knots? What does this speed mean? Some of the comrades attending the conference today came here on a flying tractor, and this speed is about 30% faster than the maximum speed of a flying tractor.

A torpedo in the water flies faster than an airplane. That’s nonsense!
"Comrade Zhendong, did you make a mistake in the calculation?" In the silence, the leader of the Defense Work Committee was the first to speak.

He knew that many of Gao Zhendong's ideas and thoughts were derived from his head and calculations. Although the results were often very good, they had not been tested in practice. However, this also gave him an excuse to relieve Gao Zhendong's anxiety. It was normal to make mistakes in calculations. Who in research has never made mistakes in calculations?

Some people even get three plus two minus five times zero wrong, and some people even get 0.8 times 0.5 wrong and say the answer is 0.04. Can mistakes in scientific research be called mistakes?

However, Gao Zhendong disappointed him. Gao Zhendong did not take the ladder he handed over. Instead, he confirmed it again: "Yes, it is 200 knots, which is about 370 kilometers per hour."

As if afraid that his comrades didn't know what a "knot" meant, Gao Zhendong even calculated kilometers per hour. However, this is obviously unnecessary. Who here doesn't know what a knot is?

"Well, tell me what you think." The leader of the Defense Work Committee was at a loss, so just tell me. Originally, he didn't want Gao Zhendong to say the details later.

The sun rises from the west, Gao Zhendong thought, and then began to explain.

"Actually, the principle is very simple..."

Here it comes again, "It's very simple", but since Gao Zhendong said this, it means that the principle may really be simple for him, which makes the leaders of the Defense Work Committee feel a little relieved.

"...That is to use the supercavitation principle and build a supercavitation generator in front of the torpedo. As long as the design is appropriate, we will get a torpedo that is underwater but actually moving in a bubble. In this way, what we face is not the resistance of water, but the resistance of gas. There is no need to say more..."

As soon as Gao Zhendong finished speaking, the meeting hall exploded and became boiling with excitement.

"This, this, this...will this work?"

"Yes, how to produce continuously renewable supercavitation?"

"You know what, it should actually work. At least it sounds okay in theory."

"It's amazing. They cleverly changed the underwater environment into the air environment... This conversion is so clever..."

"The most amazing thing is that he actually took advantage of the cavitation that we hate the most. He turned a harm into a treasure. It's hard not to accept it." Speaking of cavitation, comrades in the shipbuilding industry can be said to be heartbroken and cry when they hear about it. After all, supercavitation is also cavitation.

"He is an expert in fluid mechanics. Didn't expect that?"

"How did you know?"

"What are you asking about? It's good enough for you to know that he is very good at fluid mechanics..." It seems that this comrade is also an expert in fluid mechanics, otherwise he would not know this. After all, those who know this are people who have a lot of dealings with Air Force aircraft.

"air……"

Seeing how Gao Zhendong changed his comrades' ideas 180 degrees with just a few simple words, without any skills in the whole process, relying entirely on brute force and the brute force of knowledge, the leaders of the Defense Committee and the Navy looked at each other and realized that they still underestimated this "Sun Dasheng".

Seeing that everyone was led astray by Gao Zhendong with just one move, many comrades started discussing supercavitation in the meeting. The two of them couldn't help but laugh, what a great achievement.

Gao Zhendong is working on this, in fact, the torpedo itself is not the main thing, but this is a very interesting basic research. At the same time, the supercavitating torpedo with a range of 10 kilometers and a speed of 200 knots, even if it cannot be guided due to its special principle, it still has important significance and can be used at present.

After all, the faster you run, the more accurate you hit, because the shorter the strike process, the less likely it is that an accident will happen. And the straight-line torpedo can be used for a long time. When the hit rate and reliability of various guided torpedoes are not so optimistic due to technical limitations, this extremely violent straight-line torpedo still has its place.

Not to mention the distant past, when the John Bull nuclear submarine attacked the British cruiser, it did not dare to use the latest "Swordfish" guided torpedo, but used an old-fashioned straight-course torpedo that was finalized and put into service in 1925 to solve the problem.

As long as the supercavitating torpedo is developed well, it will be better than this John Bull thing, right?
It doesn’t matter if you don’t do it well. For many studies, the gains in the process are more important than the results themselves. It’s like many math problems. Even if they are proved, they may not mean much at the moment. However, the mathematical tools and methods discovered in the proof process are the greatest wealth.

The comrades were discussing happily, and suddenly one of them slapped his head and said, "That's not right. Where can we get a battery with such a strong discharge capacity, and where can we get a propeller with such a high efficiency?"

Huh? Yeah, I'm afraid it would be hard for the battery to push this thing.

Gao Zhendong laughed and said, "Who said we must use propellers? Propellers are useless in supercavitation. We can use the same thing we use in the air."

What is used in the air?
Some comrades realized that he was going to install rockets on the torpedo, and that they were not to be used to propel it through the air, but to be used underwater.

This is exactly like an underwater rocket. Except for the different working area, the speed, estimated shape and power are similar in every way.

"Well, it's quite interesting. I think this thing is really useful." The navy leader laughed. Sometimes this kind of "one-trick" weapon really has its unique use. This thing can weaken all doubts just by its speed.

The leader of the Defense Work Committee nodded: "Yes, I think so too. Well, comrades, we have discussed this for a while, let's take a ten-minute break."

This arrangement had two purposes. One was to really take a break, and the other was to separate the things that Gao Zhendong had just mentioned that were irrelevant to the topic of the meeting, so as not to affect the atmosphere and attention during the discussion of the meeting topic.

Comrades stood up one after another, some stretched themselves, some smoked. Although smoking was not prohibited at meetings these days, it was a different feeling when everyone gathered together to smoke and brag during breaks.

Gao Zhendong was about to stand up when a comrade came over.

"Hello, Commissioner Gao, my last name is Zhu. My work is closely related to underwater life, and I have something I would like to ask you." Underwater means submarines, and submarines are highly confidential. It is already the limit for the other party to introduce themselves to this extent.

"Good luck to the workers. Please give your comments." Gao Zhendong used honorifics, showing great respect to those who worked on submarines and those who used submarines.

"You're welcome. I just heard you mention supercavitation. I heard that in addition to materials, you also have in-depth research in fluid mechanics. So you should have researched cavitation, right?"

Not knowing what the comrade wanted to ask, Gao Zhendong could only answer vaguely: "I know a little bit..."

Look, Commissioner Gao is humble.

Gao Zhendong's "simplicity" and "ignorance" are already well-known in the small circle and cannot be trusted.

Therefore, Mr. Zhu was not worried at all that he didn’t understand. After all, how could someone who could play with supercavitation so well not understand cavitation?

"That's right. The cavitation phenomenon has caused us a lot of trouble..."

Gao Zhendong does have some knowledge about this. As a military fan, who doesn't have some curiosity about submarines?

"Oh, I see. Cavitation, noise, and propeller performance, right?" he said smoothly.

(End of this chapter)