Traveling Back to the 1960s: The Entire Internet Teaches Me How to Build Missiles

The so-called "autopsy" was actually just counting bullet holes.

Once the warhead is detonated, countless fragments will spread toward the target, leaving numerous holes in the specially made aluminum model aircraft.

By counting the number of perforations in each model, it becomes clear which of the three schemes is superior.

With the help of ground crew, the number of bullet holes was quickly counted.

After recording the data, Tian Fulin and Xu Haifeng walked to the side with smiles, holding the forms, and called over the three groups of people who were also sweating profusely.

"So far, the testing of the three Hongqi-1 missiles has gone smoothly without any unexpected incidents. As for the test results, the number of holes pierced by shrapnel in the aluminum plates has been counted, and the optimal solution has been selected."

Tian Fulin paced back and forth, his hands behind his back. "The experiment was conducted right under your noses, without any favoritism or cheating. If you are not satisfied with the results, you can count the bullet holes again yourselves. In short... this experiment is over."

Then Xu Haifeng spoke up, holding the form and reading aloud:

"Now I will announce the results. Shen Weidong's group had a total of 1950 bullet holes in the aluminum plates; Li Difeng's group had a total of 2300 bullet holes in the aluminum plates..."

Li Difeng smiled modestly at Shen Weidong.

Xu Haifeng continued, "However, the shrapnel from Li Difeng's group exploded directly beneath the fuselage, and the fragmentation net traveled along with the inertia towards the front of the model aircraft. Therefore, most of the shrapnel only damaged the nose; the fuel tank and cockpit were not severely damaged, and the actual damage effect was not ideal..."

Li Difeng could not refute this conclusion; he had noticed it himself when he rushed over to check the hole in the aluminum plate.

Finally, there's the number of bullet holes in Zhou Yunxiao's group.

Xiao Su, Li Baoqiang, and the two college students all held their breath and clenched their fists, hoping to hear a good number.

"3600 bullet holes!"

Seeing everyone's expectant looks, Xu Haifeng stopped keeping them in suspense and read out the numbers directly.

"Three...three thousand six? Did I hear that right?"

"Really? There are 1300 more bullet holes than Engineer Li's team?"

"The Red Chess No. 1's warhead didn't have many fragments to begin with, and most of them ended up hitting the enemy aircraft!"

As soon as the number was announced, the people around immediately went wild, finding it hard to believe.

However, when Tian Fulin had the soldiers bring over three aluminum plate models for comparison, everyone was speechless.

There's no need to count carefully; a quick glance is enough to tell that the density of bullet holes on one of the aluminum plates far exceeds that of the other two.

Seeing the aluminum plate riddled with holes, the viewers in the live stream felt a sense of satisfaction and eagerly offered their praise.

[This aluminum plate is probably almost as breathable as my window screen. If a U-2 reconnaissance plane were to crash into this fire net, it would be blown to smithereens!]

[Basic stuff, everyone sit down. This is thanks to the hard work of millions of cyber workers in our live stream room, who wasted dozens of 4090 graphics cards running CFD and Monte Carlo simulations all night long. How could it not be amazing?]

[Technician Shen, Engineer Li, you two deserved to lose. Cloud computing is indeed faster and more accurate than an abacus or a hand-cranked calculator...]

[Host, keep your expression steady, don't smile so slyly!]

[Little Su's eyes are probably shining when she looks at the streamer now. She definitely didn't expect that all those formulas she did before would have such a powerful effect!]

Faced with the shocked expressions of Engineer Li and Technician Shen, Zhou Yunxiao simply nodded slightly, then looked at Instructor Tian:

"Since this plan has the best striking effect, should I go back and write the finalization report? Once the plan is finalized, Hongqi No. 1 will be close to actual production. It'll be September soon, we need to race against time!"

Tian Fulin nodded. "Okay, then you go write the finalization report. I'm an outsider, so I won't interfere. I'll go report to Lao Fang about today's excellent test results and tell him we've taken another big step closer to shooting down the U-2 spy plane!"

After the target drone test, both Engineer Li and Technician Shen were completely convinced of Zhou Yunxiao's abilities and dared not underestimate this young man from the First Division anymore.

Even Dr. Xu, who was known for his arrogance, would often pull him aside to discuss issues and actively seek his advice.

The subsequent design of the Hongqi No. 1 Type A is also rapidly entering the final stage.

It was a Monday at the end of August.

At the routine technical discussion meeting held by the Third Division, Tian Fulin, on behalf of the superior department, conveyed the Science and Technology Commission's commendation for the progress of the Hongqi No. 1 research and development.

"Red Chess No. 1 is receiving a lot of attention right now. Our superiors have given it special instructions, urging us to fully support our research and development. Even if other departments have to tighten their belts, they cannot neglect cutting-edge technology. What America and Suriname have, we must have too."

"Only by developing cutting-edge technology can we prevent being suppressed by it. But we must proceed step by step, avoid arrogance and impatience, and not fantasize about achieving success overnight; we must work diligently, talk less and do more, and persevere. Without external assistance from Sultan, we must thoroughly understand the blueprints ourselves and not rely on others!"

"Next, all military industrial departments should contribute their personnel and resources, break down departmental and industry-specific prejudices, unite as one to overcome difficulties, and strive to develop our own surface-to-air missiles as soon as possible to safeguard our own blue skies!"

After Instructor Tian finished speaking, a long and enthusiastic round of applause erupted in the conference room.

Following this, Li Difeng, the chief engineer of Hongqi No. 1, took the stage and spoke:

"Comrades, we recently tested and finalized the aiming scheme for Red Pawn No. 1. But it's still a long way from being put into actual combat!"

"To date, the guidance algorithm and aiming logic of the Hongqi-1A missile have been fully developed, and the missile has the potential to destroy enemy aircraft. However, there are still a few issues that need to be resolved."

"After all, hitting the target towed by the Tu-2 bomber doesn't mean we can shoot down the U-2 reconnaissance plane. Whether our missiles can accurately strike and destroy enemy aircraft in the thin atmosphere at an altitude of over 20,000 meters is still an unknown."

"During this period, I discussed the matter with Comrade Zhou Yunxiao from Division One, Comrade Shen Weidong from Division Two, and Comrade Xu Haifeng from Division Four, and we identified more than a dozen design flaws..."

At this point, Li Difeng became earnest:

"However... resolving these dozen or so defects one by one would be too time-consuming. Let alone October of this year, it might not even be possible to launch Hongqi-1 next year!"

"But the situation is urgent, especially after the successful maiden flight of Dongfeng-1. The CIA and the island authorities have become obsessed and are eager to know the situation of our missile base."

"From May to August, over a period of three months, 11 U-2 sorties were launched for reconnaissance, covering almost every region, displaying extremely arrogant behavior!"

"Especially recently, U2 has become particularly focused on the Badain Jaran Desert... This is our core territory, and having people taking pictures of it is like having a window opened; there's no secrecy left."

Then, Engineer Li slammed his hand on the table and said sternly:

"Therefore, we must resolutely nip this arrogance in the bud. The J-5 fighter jet and anti-aircraft guns can't take down the U-2, so all our hopes are pinned on our Red Piece No. 1."

"No matter how many flaws remain unresolved, as long as the missile meets the three basic requirements of being able to take off, be controlled, and explode, they will all be disregarded!"

"Even if we miss, we have to make the U-2 reconnaissance plane hear a sound and shudder! Let them know that our airspace isn't so easy to enter; if we miss this time, next time we might sink it!"

After he finished speaking, thunderous applause erupted from the audience, and the comrades clapped and cheered, expressing their determination to give U-2 a good thrashing.

Li Difeng spoke until his throat was dry, and finally, through a live vote, he identified the four most critical flaws, and then worked together to solve them.

Just one week after the meeting, the most significant problems facing Red Chess No. 1 were all solved.

The Songling Machinery Factory in Shanghai took the lead in producing the first batch of six standardized projectiles according to the blueprints, which were delivered to the Third Test Department of the Dongfeng Base in mid-September.

Along with the Hongqi-1 prototype missile, a telegram from the Science and Technology Commission was also sent:

"Before October, we will cease our methodical research and trial-and-error approach and instead be prepared at any time to force a test launch of the finalized missile in a real-world scenario!"

"Even if the reliability of many subsystems of the finalized bomb, such as temperature control, fuel, and storage, is not yet up to standard, as long as it can fly, be controlled, and explode, we'll deploy it to the position and show the U-2 reconnaissance planes that the East Koreans are not pushovers!"