As China's first mass-produced tank, the Type 59 tank can be said to have made outstanding achievements.
But the so-called heroes will only grow old gradually, 59, 59, and now it is 82 years. You can know from the name that this is already a very old piece of equipment, not to mention that the Type 59 is actually a copy of the Soviet Union The T-54 tank was born 45 years earlier.
From the first appearance in the military parade in 1959 to the suspension of production in 1985, China produced at least 10,000 tanks of this type. Currently, the number of tanks in service in the Chinese army exceeds 5,000, and the rest are basically For export.
There are two main reasons why so many are produced.
First, in the past few years, faced with the threat of war from the Soviet Union in the north, as the most skilled tank in domestic production, there was basically no other choice. It could only frantically produce the Type 59 in an attempt to resist the Soviet steel torrent.
Second, more than ten years ago, the 59 was still a very useful tank equipment and was widely used to provide military support to brotherly countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America.
However, times have changed.
After the 1980s, with the replacement of tanks in other countries around the world, the old 59 was completely out of date. In addition, the domestic Type 69 tanks had completed testing and began to be fielded, and the role of the 59 was greatly reduced.
Then a troubling problem arose. The number of 59 troops retained was too high!
Normally, when a piece of equipment is not advanced enough, it should be gradually replaced with new advanced equipment step by step. However, now that domestic military expenditures have been repeatedly reduced, there is no money to purchase new tanks. In addition, The first batch of old 59s equipped with the vehicle are already more than 20 years old. The maintenance cost has greatly increased. They can’t return it anymore, and they can’t afford to use it. They can only park it there most of the time, which puts them in an embarrassing situation. .
The handling problems of the old 59 almost reached its peak in the early 1990s after its birth in the 1980s. At that time, the technology of the 59 was completely outdated, and the country had some money and replaced some new tanks, but looking at those still The old 59s that could be used were simply discarded and dismantled. It was hard to bear to melt them into molten steel. However, if they continued to be kept like this, it seemed like they were worthless and cost money for the establishment. So various modification and improvement plans sprung up like mushrooms after a spring rain. .
The most successful model is probably the 59d model equipped with a new, stronger 105-caliber gun.
The most famous one, the 59-g type with a 125-caliber cannon, naturally takes its place. It is precisely because of this model that a joke has been circulating on the Internet for many years, called "The turret is scary when you look at it from a distance, but it is scary when you look at it up close." To the road wheels".
The coolest thing is undoubtedly the export model improved by Poly Company after the new century. The original oval turret was modified into a boxy shape that looked like a welded turret. At first glance, it looked a bit bluffing.
But anyway.
No matter how successful the modification of the Type 59 around the new century was, it could not hide one problem, that is, the foundation of the five pairs of wheels was not good, and if the foundation was not good, the upper limit of the modification was limited, and it was impossible to be popular internationally.
However, this problem does not exist in 1982. Today's 59 is indeed lagging behind, but it is not that backward. As long as it is modified properly and the price is appropriate, it can definitely sell well!
So a long time ago, Wang Ye had been thinking about the second-hand 59s in the army.
"Director Wang, do you want to install the weapons station on the 59?"
After Wang Ye's words fell and many old people at the scene were silent for a few seconds, the bald old man next to him asked, and Wang Ye nodded and said with a smile:
"Yes, install it on 59."
"It is an indisputable fact that the overall technical level of our 59 is currently lagging behind. Although the lifespan has been extended to a certain extent by replacing it with new artillery and shells, this is only a stop-gap measure."
Regarding Wang Ye's statement, several tanks and artillerymen present nodded slightly. From a technical perspective, what Wang Ye said was true.
"However, we ancient Chinese people were wise and called Tian Ji to race horses."
"If we use the 59 tank to face the most advanced tanks in the world, it may be ineffective, but if we install the weapon station on the 59, we can use the 59 to deal with those lightly armored and motorized troops."
"I think the advantages are huge!"
"As for the enemy's tanks, we can think of other ways, such as using Red Arrows?"
"Isn't this the modern version of Tian Ji's horse racing? Or is it an asymmetric tactic called war? It's like playing animal chess, going around in circles to capture, but we can use lower costs to ensure sufficient advantages."
"The modified fire support vehicle 59 is a good choice whether we take it to the south for our own use or for export to earn foreign exchange."
"If we can sell foreign exchange, won't we have money to purchase and equip new tanks?"
Here, Wang Yehua used a concept that would become clear nearly ten years later, that is, asymmetric warfare.
After hearing Wang Ye's narration, the eyes of many old people present once again filled with brilliant looks, because Wang Ye's statement was very reasonable, and to a certain extent, no one had ever used such a clear word to describe this situation. A warlike situation!
"Yes, yes! It's Tian Ji's horse racing! Hahaha! I think this plan will work!"
"Director Wang is indeed a young hero! Amazing! Amazing!"
In the end, the bald old man couldn't bear it anymore. He no longer had any doubts about the young man in front of him. He couldn't help but give a thumbs up. Others also nodded and looked at Wang Ye with expressions filled with emotion. Appreciation, admiration, and admiration.
"I think you are engaged in this field. I don't know about this project. Can you take it forward?"
"I will report to the superiors to solve the tank procurement problem. Do you think so?"
Under Wang Ye's gaze, the bald old man was no longer reserved, nodded and said firmly:
"Okay, absolutely no problem!"
Subsequently, the weapon station rocket was tested again on site. However, the rocket used in the weapon station was not the low-end style with fixed tail fins that had been exported before. Instead, it was cylindrical in shape and used a tile-shaped folding tail fin belt. A high-end model with a spinning projectile, smaller in size and higher in accuracy.
When the rockets are fired, the test is over.
Then Wang Ye took the group of old people and went straight to the "Honor Showroom" of the consortium, where many past products were displayed, from gas tanks to rotorcraft photos and models, recording the step-by-step development of the machinery factory. .
In the showroom, following Wang Ye's introduction, many old people were stunned when looking at the products!
They never imagined that a third-tier factory would make a fortune by selling dog meat on the sidelines, and that it could achieve such a terrifying scale of foreign exchange earnings in just a few months!
At that moment, everyone looked at Wang Ye with different expressions, because they thought they couldn't do it, but this young man did it!
"So in the future, it doesn't matter what we call it internally."
"If it is exported, it is best to use a product name in the civilian field. To a certain extent, it can be deceived!"
"As for how long you can hide it, then cover it up as long as you can. As long as it can be ignored once, it is worth it."
"And in the future, we will indeed produce various civilian products, such as rain-increasing rockets, special fire trucks, rapid rescue vehicles and other products, so if anyone is interested in similar projects or has done similar projects."
"You can take the initiative to apply to me!"
Finally, Wang Ye said this, and many old people present nodded their heads. At the same time, their hearts were relieved and excited. They put aside the scale and development of the machinery factory, but were excited about the longing for the future!
When the elderly are settled into apartments.
In a fishing village under Weihai County-level city in Luqi Province, at four o'clock in the afternoon, accompanied by the sound of bicycle bells "dinging bells", I saw a man wearing green old military trousers and a striped sea soul shirt. , a man wearing an old green military cap rode a bicycle into the village.
It can be seen from his green bicycle and the bag slung on the back seat that he is a postman.
After a while, he rode his bicycle and stopped at the door of a house. He saw that the yard of this house was quite large, with a chai door as the door, and a middle-aged woman in the yard was washing clothes.
"Hi? Are you from Feng Hongbing's family?"
Following the voice of the postman, the middle-aged woman who was doing laundry and attracted by the movement of the bicycle nodded, and then said:
"Yes, yes, what's wrong?"
The postman smiled and took out a special document bag from the back bag, then walked outside Chai Fei and said:
"Is Feng Kai your child?"
"This is his admission notice. He is such a good boy. Now he will not have to worry about food and drink in the future!"
Hearing this, the woman had a look of astonishment on her face, full of disbelief. She quickly stood up and wiped her hands on her clothes, walked over quickly, took the document bag from the postman and took a look.
Sure enough, there was a big "Admission Notice" on the front, with his home address written in small characters below, and the recipient was his son Feng Kai. In order not to mistake the person, he even included his man's name and his own. The name is also written on it.
"Yes! Yes! Yes! But my son's choice was Luqi University, but he didn't get into it!"
"The score is not enough? How come there is an admission notice?"
Hearing this, the postman was also confused, scratched his head and asked:
"Is there a family named Feng in your village? Does it have the same name as your son and your man?"
Regarding this statement, the woman shook her head and said:
"There are many people with the surname Feng, but none with the same name."
"It must be for my family. How about we open it and take a look?"
The postman thought for a moment, then looked left and right, looked at the woman and asked:
"Where are your man and your son?"
Regarding this question, the woman never looked away from the document bag and said without thinking:
"I went to sea and should be back soon."
Hearing what the woman said, the postman took the document bag from the woman's hand, and then said with a smile:
"Let's do this. When the man and the child come back, let's take it apart and take a look!"
"Anyway, you are also the last family. I will definitely not be able to go back today. Can I stay at your house for one night?"
Nowadays, the transportation is underdeveloped and it is sent to remote areas. It is impossible to go back and forth on the same day by bicycle. It is a very common operation to stay in the villagers' homes. It is reasonable and there is no problem.
"Okay! Okay! Okay! Sit down! Sit down!"
The woman said three lines in a row, but the postman did not go in to sit down. He just leaned against the firewood door and began to roll up the trumpet and started smoking. Although the woman went back to continue washing clothes, she would look at him every few seconds. Look at the bag on the back of the bicycle.
Because a mother knows her son best. How sad her son was when he failed in his application!
finally.
The time came to five o'clock in the evening.
Along with the sound of voices, I saw a group of shirtless men walking towards the sea from the direction of the setting sun. Some were carrying catches, some were carrying fishing nets, and some were carrying various household items.
Hearing this sound, the woman who had finished washing her clothes and feeding several chickens eight times rushed outside and shouted:
"Red soldiers! Red soldiers! Kaikai, come here quickly!"
"Your acceptance letter has arrived!"
Accompanied by the women's broken shouts, the group of men were stunned for a moment, especially the young man who looked a bit immature among the many bronze-skinned middle-aged men. He was completely confused!
The next second, he rushed to the door of his house faster than everyone else!
"Where is it? Where is the admission notice?"
With his urgent voice, the postman quickly took it out and handed it to him, and then said:
"If there is no one with the same name in your village, it should be you."
"But your mother just said that you didn't get into Luqi University where you applied, right? So I don't know what the admission notice is about."
"Open it and take a look, but be careful not to tear it!"
At this moment, other men also gathered around. Some were confused, some were envious, and some said like swearing:
"Although there are people with the same name in our village, there are no fathers, sons, and women with the same name!"
"Yes, yes, this is absolutely impossible, it must be in regular script!"
"Kaikai, open it quickly and take a look. My uncle has never seen what the admission notice looks like!"
"Yes, open it quickly and gain some knowledge for us!"
"Hahaha, I really didn't expect that Kaikai cried in vain the past few days!"
Amidst the commotion, the young man named Kaikai hesitated for a moment before opening the seal on the document bag, and under the watchful eyes of everyone, he pulled out two pieces of paper.
The first piece of paper is thick and beautifully printed, with "Admission Notice of Yuntai Laiyang Hongxing Secondary Vocational and Technical School" written on the cover. Below it reads: "Student Feng Kai, congratulations on being admitted to the weapons engineering major of our school. Please give me your On August 30th or 31st, go to the bus station in Laiyang County, Yuntai City, take a shuttle bus, and go to the school for reports and accommodation arrangements." Finally, the principal signed, Wang Ye.
The second piece of paper contains various notes. It says that the reason why I was admitted is because the Red Star Technical High School only started enrolling students this year. It is a supplementary admission after the college entrance examination. If you don't want to come, it will be invalid as long as you don't report it. There are no consequences, but if you come, you will get food and accommodation for free. The study time is three years plus two years, three years of school study and factory internship, two years of factory work plus study, and you will enjoy the treatment of apprentice workers during this period. There are various scholarships, shuttle buses to Laiyang Bus Station and Yuntai Bus Station during holidays, and you can directly work in Laiyang Hongxing Mechanical and Steel Complex after graduation.
"Go? Son?"
In the silence, the middle-aged man looked at his son and asked. The postman next to him became anxious and couldn't help but laughed and cursed:
"I will definitely go! Although I didn't get into college, what happened to technical secondary school?"
"Besides, haven't you seen? The major of this Red Star Vocational School is actually a weapons major. This is such a major, manufacturing weapons for the country!"
"And they allocate work directly to us. It's not far from us in Laiyang, so it's convenient to go home!"
"Maybe in the future, I can even bring you both over to enjoy the blessings!"
The postman is considered a well-informed person in this era. The middle-aged man couldn't help but laugh twice, and the other middle-aged people couldn't help but echoed:
"That's right! If you pass the exam, you will have to eat commercial food!"
"And if you take the exam again next year, no one knows what will happen?"
"Yes, I finally managed to escape from this fish nest!"
Along with the crowd's voices, the young man holding the admission notice wiped his eyes and breathed a long sigh of relief, and smiled at the same time:
"Go! Of course I'm going!"
At that moment, cheers erupted from the scene. This fishing village finally had a technical secondary school student!
