The Fate of 502 "Nanchong"
The Nanchong frigate was an old ship that participated in the South China Sea maritime battle twice. Its historical significance was extraordinary. Especially under the severe marine situation around China, its existence is a symbol of China's defense of the spirit of sovereignty and a heritage of the glorious culture of the Navy.
On March 14, 1988, during the naval battle at Chigua Reef in the Spratly Islands, the Type 65 frigate Ship 502 not only organized personnel to climb the reef, but also responded first after the battle started. The forward main gun hit the enemy's machine gun position in the first shot, and then fired with the 100mm main gun and 37mm gun, with ship 604 of the Vietnamese side sinking in 4 minutes. According to public information, the three naval vessels of the Chinese Navy consumed a total of 285 rounds of 100 mm shells and 266 rounds of 37 mm shells, sinking 2 Vietnamese ships and damaging 1 ship. The number of artillery shells should be the least. As a representative of the Type 65 frigate, the victory of the 502 war with the battle has brought the value of this type of artillery frigate to the peak. In this battle, the Chinese side captured the Vietnamese flag and captured 9 Vietnamese troops, causing about 400 casualties and disappearance of the Vietnamese army.
Construction of the Type 65 frigate No. 3 ship No. 502 "Nanchong" ship, which took two years, started in August 1964 and was delivered on August 1, 1966. The frigate Nanchong participated in the "314 Naval Battle" in 1988. After the 502 ship was retired, was on display at the Qingdao Naval Museum. But in October 2012 the naval ship Nangang (ship number 502) was transferred from Qingdao to a recycling station in Qinhuangdao for dismantling. The 44-year-old "Veteran" had finished his glorious life.
The antique ship Anshan from the 1930s was still on display. Why was the meritorious ship Nanchong from the 1960s destroyed? The official answer was "the ship is old, difficult to maintain, and has many hidden dangers." Of course, long manufacturing time, aging of steel and severe seawater corrosion affected its preservation. There is also a problem of maintenance costs. Of course, there are many well-preserved warships in the world, but no one can think that maintaining them requires a lot of manpower and material resources.
The "Anshan" ship was originally the first type of destroyer built in the Soviet Union in large quantities. Although the Soviets also had problems with this or other warships due to flaws in their design, they were the second five-year plan of the Soviet Union. For the key projects in the Soviet Union, the Soviets also received strong technical assistance from the Italian shipyards in Ansaldo and Orlando. The construction quality is also considered to be excellent. The Soviets also considered sailing in harsh weather. It required that special enhancements may be made in the selection of hull plates. The strengthened hull plates will definitely help extend the life of the hull.
It may be that at the time when the "Nanchong" was built, there were some defects in the quality of the hull steel plates of domestic ships. The "Nanchong" was a type of small ship built by China on the basis of self-reliance under difficult and turbulent times. Because foreign aid had been cut off at that time, the western world was still carrying out strict technology on the new China. With the blockade, China's shipbuilding technology has formed a large gap with the world's advanced level, and there may be unknown defects in the quality of the hull material selection.
Secondly, there may be a difference in the intensity of use. As the South China Sea Fleet with the widest range of activities of the People's Navy, the use of its subordinate ships is much stronger than that of the North Sea Fleet, which is responsible for guarding the area surrounding the capital. The high-intensity use will naturally intensify over the years. The irreversible metal fatigue of the hull and the hot and humid environment of the South China Sea will also cause invisible corrosion to the hull.
For China, rather than maintaining the museum exhibits with a considerable amount of money, it was better to use the funds to create new warships and put them into active service, which is more conducive to China's national defense, especially in the current situation where the situation in the East China Sea and the South China Sea is not optimistic. In addition, according to the progress of the "dumping dumplings", many retired old ships' names have been applied to the new ships. It was expected that there will soon be a new "Nanchong" named service, and the new ships inheriting the glorious ship name will also be inherited. The expectations of the folks in Nanchong City will guard the blue territory of the motherland. The best way to remember the achievements of the ancestors is to inherit their spirit, continuously enrich themselves, develop national defense forces, and protect every inch of the country, it was said.
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