Information about the cruiser "Chongqing"

The light cruiser "Chongqing" was a famous warship presented by the British government to the China government after the Second World War. Its original name is Aurora. In many books in the past, it was often translated as "Aurora". A few years ago, Hong Kong scholar Ma Youyuan noticed that this translation was inappropriate. He pointed out that this ship and three other ships of the same type were named after the goddess of myth. Aurora is transliterated as "arora", which is the name of Leona in Roman mythology. Cha Aurora is an orchid-class light cruiser. Arethuse translated "Arethusa mythology Myth" into a fairy in the forest in Greek mythology, and later turned it into a famous spring, so it was also translated as "Lin Xian" and "Water God". The other two warships are Galatia and Penelope. The former Grazia is also the sea god in Greek mythology, while the latter Paneiro Pearl is the faithful wife of the famous Odysseus in Homer's epic, but she is not a god. Some naval history articles translated the ship into "Penelope". Although there was no big mistake, they didn't realize the western cultural meaning when the British warship was named. Just like the translation of "Aurora" mentioned above, it has the defect of being too simple. It should be said that these women's names have been translated in the field of western literature translation in China, and we should pay attention to these characteristics when translating foreign ship names.

China's "arora" is the ninth British Navy warship named after it. In the1960s, among the leander class frigates, Britain renamed them "Panerobo", "arora", "Gradia" and "Arethusa mythology Myth". These warships were retired in the 1990s.

In addition, it is worth mentioning that the cruiser Aphrodite, which shelled the Winter Palace where the interim government was located in the October Revolution, was the Russian Leona.

Performance of warships

"Arethusa mythology Myth" class light cruiser is the successor of "Anfion" class light cruiser. Anfion was later sold to Australia and renamed Perth, so it was also called Perth class.

Arethusa mythology Mythology is154.22m long,15.54m wide and 5.03m draught. Compared with Perth class, the hull is shortened by17m. Four Parsons turbine engines are installed in two engine rooms, each with a power of 16000 HP, totaling 64000 HP. Maximum speed of full load is 3 1 knot. Four Admiralty3 drum oil-fired steam boilers are divided into two boiler rooms. Four oars and one rudder, with a propeller diameter of 2.95 meters. The auxiliary system consists of two diesel DC generators and two diesel generators, with a total power generation of 1000 kW (900 kW). Fully loaded with 1250- 1325 tons of fuel, with a cruising range of 4000 nautical miles. The standard displacement is 5220-5270 tons, and the full-load displacement is 6665-67 15 tons. According to some later data of China, the full-load displacement of "Chungking" was 7,200 tons.

When the "Arethusa mythology Myth" class was completed, both the front and rear masts were single-legged masts. 194 1 During the reconstruction, the lower ends of the front and rear masts were changed into truss triangular masts to increase the strength.

In terms of armor protection, the thickness of ammunition compartment is 1-3 inches (25.4-76.2 mm), the waterline is 2 1/4 inches (57. 15 mm), and the bulkhead and turret are both 1 inch.

In terms of armament, the 6-inch/50mk ⅹ Ⅲ (1 52mm) is equipped with two front main turrets and 1 rear main turret, which is less than "Anfion" class1seat. Other weapons and equipment are slightly different. Arora has four 4-inch/45QF MK ⅹⅹ HA (102mm) auxiliary turrets, which are distributed on both sides of the rear chimney and the rear mast, and two 40.5mm (2-pound gun) /40 four-pack Vickers MkI "stick" guns are arranged on the left and right sides between the two chimneys. Two sets of 533mm torpedo tubes are in triplicate, which are also distributed at the port and starboard of the stern. In addition, there are two sets of depth charge launchers and two sets of minesweepers. 194 1 year added three 20mm double-loaded rapid-fire guns and two 20mm single-tube rapid-fire guns. "Arethusa mythology Myth" class is equipped with "Walrus" carrier aircraft, which is used to correct artillery shooting and reconnaissance, but not on "arora". However, the aircraft on other warships were also modified during World War II.

The "Arethusa mythology Myth" class is equipped with 1 high-angle control tower and 284/286 air search radar, 273 and 27 1 sea search radar, and 285 and 282 air fire control radar. Relying on these radars and fire control shooting directors, warships had advanced fire control systems at that time. Under the warship bridge, there is also an operational plotting room, which is equivalent to an operational command center (C3) integrating communication, control and command.

The "Arethusa mythology Myth" class light cruiser is a product of the mid-1960s. The launching time of the first ship1March 6, 934, and the completion time1May 23, 935. Arora was completed at the latest. It was launched on August 20th 1936 and completed on June 2nd 1937, 165438+ 10 month.

In the mid-1930s, Britain paid attention to the development of light cruisers with 6-inch main guns. The mythical warships of leander, Anfine and Arethusa mythology have been built. Among them, the "Amphine" class is an improved version of the "leander" class. The reason why Britain prefers 6-inch guns is that their high firing rate can make up for the lack of range power. Especially in bad weather or night, this advantage is more obvious. In World War II, these three-class warships successfully stood the test.

Because the "Arethusa mythology Myth" class light cruiser has only three 6-inch turrets installed in pairs, it is not suitable for artillery warfare between fleets. However, their initial idea was to act as the terminator of enemy attack ships and defend their own routes. In this respect, they have unparalleled advantages. During World War II, this class of ships gave full play to the characteristics of high speed and large endurance, especially excellent air defense capability, and mainly undertook the air defense cover task for the fleet.

Achievements of the Second World War

After introducing the characteristics of Arethusa mythology mythical light cruiser, we returned to arora.

"arora" was incorporated into the local fleet of the British Navy after its service. 1939 After the outbreak of World War II, the arora was sent to Norwegian waters and the North Atlantic for escort and anti-submarine missions. On May 24th, 194 1, in the famous naval battle to round up the German battleship Bismarck, arora, Gradia and other light cruisers escorted the carrier Victory to attack the Bismarck. The swordfish aircraft on Victory fired torpedoes at Bismarck, in which 1 torpedoes hit the middle of Bismarck, causing oil leakage in the fuel tank. It seems that arora didn't get the chance to attack Bismarck. The Victory returned to the base to refuel the next day, and arora and other ships also went with Wei, but it was still arora's pride to take part in the 24th operation.

In the autumn of the same year, in order to support the war in North Africa, Britain cut off the maritime communication line between Italy and North Africa, formed the K Fleet, and entered the Malta Naval Base in the Mediterranean. The flagship of the K Fleet is the arora, and its members include the same ship, the Pearl Panero, and two destroyers. 165438+1On October 8, the British reconnaissance plane found a German transport fleet escorted by two Italian cruisers and six destroyers heading for North Africa. "arora" led the K fleet to attack overnight. At 0: 39 the next day, the Italian fleet was found at 36 degrees 55 minutes north latitude and 0/7 degrees 58 minutes east longitude. At 0: 57, the k fleet opened fire. After 1 several hours of fierce fighting, all transport ships and the destroyer "Lei Ming" were sunk, and three destroyers were seriously damaged. Later, the British submarine sank another Italian destroyer.

165438+1On October 23rd, the K fleet attacked six transport fleets sailing in the Mediterranean. The operation was discovered by enemy planes and the fleet returned to Hong Kong one after another. Only one German transport fleet continued southward under the cover of the air force. On the afternoon of 24th, K Fleet finally intercepted the fleet and sank two German transport ships.

165438+1Late at night on October 30th, the K Fleet attacked again. In the next day's battle, arora volleyed twice and sank the Italian aircraft carrier Adelia Tizhi. On the way back, I met another fleet After a short artillery battle, I sank the Italian destroyer Mostar and the oil tanker Mantovan.

In just two months, K Fleet sank enemy ships 1 1, merchant ships 2 1, and injured 9 enemy ships. The Italian navy photographed arora's bravery and tenacity, and nicknamed him "Silver Monster".

165438+1At the end of October, the K Fleet added two cruisers and two destroyers, and its strength was strengthened. 12 16, the k fleet attacked north Africa and searched for enemy ships. 19, 10, less than 20 nautical miles from Tripoli port, broke into the Italian army minefield. The British light cruiser Neptune was sunk by lightning, and the underwater position of turret B on the port side of arora was struck by lightning. The front main gun loader was damaged, the keel was severely twisted, and the bow sank and tilted to the left 1 1 degree. After the emergency repair, it sailed back to Malta base at the speed of 10 knots for emergency repair. "Panero Pearl" was also injured in this battle.

After the restoration, the "arora" was transferred to the flagship of the British 12 cruiser and took part in the Battle of Oran in landing operation in north africa in June1942+0/KLOC-0. Since then, the base has been located in Bonny, Algeria, and it has been active in the western Mediterranean and has served as a maritime interception mission.

1943 in may, admiral Cunningham, commander of the British Mediterranean fleet, and Eisenhower, supreme commander of the allied forces, boarded the "arora" and went to Treglia island. Subsequently, the allied forces launched an attack on the island as the outpost of Sicily landing war. After completing this mission, the "arora" was selected as the British throne ship to escort George VI from Algiers to Malta to inspect the fleet. This is a lofty honor in the British navy and an affirmation of the brilliant achievements of the arora. In July, "arora" participated in the maritime support and shelling of the landing operation in Sicily. Later, "arora" also participated in the navy that accepted the Italian navy's surrender and took over the government of Toulon Vichy.

In World War II, arora sank 1 cruiser, 10 destroyer, 3 minesweepers, 7 landing ships and 7 merchant ships, and seriously damaged 9 destroyers. It is a warship with outstanding achievements. After the war, arora retired from active service and was sealed at Portsmouth Naval Base.

1May, 948 19, the British government handed over six China harbor patrol boats lost in the custody of the British authorities in Hong Kong to the Kuomintang government, so it was renamed as "Chongqing". After nearly three months of sailing, I returned to China in August and anchored in Shanghai, ready to participate in the civil war.

"Chongqing" is the largest and strongest main battle ship in the Kuomintang navy. It is regarded as a "trump card" warship. Not only military and political dignitaries boarded the ship to visit, but even Chiang Kai-shek held a meeting of senior Kuomintang generals in the Northeast Theater. 10 On June 5438+00, under the personal command of Gui Yongqing, commander-in-chief of the Kuomintang navy, the "Chongqing" bombarded the positions of Tashan and Gao Qiao occupied by the People's Liberation Army from Huludao and was pushed to the front of the civil war. The Kuomintang government used this ship as an arsenal on the river to prevent the PLA from crossing the river to the south.

Nearly 600 officers and men who served on the ship returned home with the ship in August 1948. They received two years of training in Britain, hoping to build a strong navy in China before the early winter of 1946. Driven by the rapid victory of the People's Liberation War and inspired by the the Communist Party of China (CPC) underground party organization and the CPC policy, some patriotic youths on board gradually formed two large secret organizations through secret series connection between the underground party member lurking on the "Chongqing" and the progressive officers and soldiers: one was composed of 27 soldiers including Wang Yizhen, Bi Zhongyuan, Chen Hongyuan, Wu Dingguo, Hong Jinxian and Zhang Qiyu, and the other was composed of Zeng Xiangfu and Mo Xiangchuan. The two rebel groups operated in parallel according to their own plans, but they lacked trust in each other under the specific circumstances at that time and never established horizontal ties.

When "Chungking" returned to China, it was the eve of the strategic decisive battle. Nanjing appointed Chen Liang to get in touch with Bi Zhongyuan and instructed him to take various measures to unite progressive fighters and organize uprisings whenever possible. The uprising organization composed of Zeng Xiangfu and Mo Xiangchuan got in touch with Shi Yong, secretary of Chen Xiuliang and Nanjing Municipal Party Committee. Later, because the "Chongqing" was stationed in Shanghai, Nanjing transferred its relationship to the leadership of the Shanghai Bureau of the Communist Party of China for the convenience of contact. Preparations for the uprising are progressing rapidly. Through various channels, the Shanghai Bureau of the Communist Party of China also countered Deng Zhaoxiang, the captain of the "Chongqing", and achieved good results.

On February 1949 and 17, the Chongqing sailed from Gaochang Temple to Wusongkou and suddenly broke down. There are various indications that it may be necessary to go against the Yangtze River and cooperate with the Second Fleet of Jiangyin Coastal Defence to prevent the PLA from crossing the river. If the warship sails into the Yangtze River, it will be difficult to turn around under the threat of gunfire from Jiangyin and Wusongkou because of the narrow river surface, and the situation will be very unfavorable to the uprising. The "Wei Jie Committee" made a decisive decision, changed the uprising plan originally scheduled to sail at sea, and decided to revolt in the berthing place.

On the morning of February 25th, an uprising was launched under the collective leadership and organization of the "Liberation Committee". Wang Luo cut off the telephone power, and Jin Hong shut down and controlled all the radio stations first. Bi Chongyuan and Yu Jiaxin lured the sentry on the deck and the soldiers on duty in the commander's corridor to radar room to surrender their weapons, quickly unlocked the gun rack and the magazine cabinet, and armed all the members of the "Xie Wei Committee". Subsequently, the members of the "Wei Jie Committee" immediately arrived at the designated position according to the division of labor, and all officers and staff officers were detained one by one in the cabin of the action group. Wang Yizhen immediately informed Wang Jiting of another uprising organization, and Wang Jiting awakened the personnel of the uprising organization to participate in the uprising. The "Wei Jie Committee" made the worst preparations, and Chen Hongyuan and Zhou Zheng were responsible for the task of bombing the ship. Chen Hongyuan placed 30 or 40 4-inch shells in the corridor of the ammunition depot, with the fuses exposed. Once the uprising failed, he detonated the ammunition depot and sank the warship, mutually assured destruction.

Deng Zhaoxiang, the captain of "Chongqing", has studied in England twice. He is an upright and patriotic old naval officer.

The "Wei Jie Committee" hopes that Captain Deng will understand the great sense of righteousness and join the soldiers in the uprising, and he will lead the ship. Without knowing in advance that an uprising was brewing on the ship, Captain Deng resolutely joined the ranks of the uprising, considering the fate of the "Chongqing" and the safety of hundreds of officers and men on board. I set the course myself, ordered the voyage and directed the voyage. At 5: 45 a.m. on the 25th, the "Chongqing" officially set sail, quickly and smoothly sailed out of the Yangtze River estuary with complicated waterway, turned around and headed north, and sailed to Yantai Port in the Liberated Area at a speed of 24 nautical miles per hour.

On the morning of 25th, "Xie Wei Committee" issued "Chongqing Ship Uprising to All Students" and "Chongqing Ship Uprising to Sailors and Technicians". Wang Yizhen announced the warship uprising to the whole ship, mobilized the crew to support the uprising, and called on everyone: "For the liberation of 40 million people, for the rapid arrival of a happy new China, and for the survival of the next generation, we must oppose the four families, give them our weapons and destroy them!"

On the morning of February 26th, the "Chongqing" sailed continuously for 25 hours, with a journey of 520 nautical miles, and successfully arrived at Yantai Port in Shandong Liberated Area, which was warmly welcomed by the military and political authorities of Yantai City. On March 24th, President Mao Zedong and Commander-in-Chief Zhu De sent messages of condolence to Captain Deng Zhaoxiang and all the officers and men, warmly congratulating them on their heroic uprising, pointing out: "The people of China must build their own strong national defense, and besides the army, they must also build their own air force and navy. You will be pioneers in the construction of the people's navy of China."

The uprising of "Chongqing" shattered the Kuomintang's attempt to transfer ships to cross the river and prevent the PLA from crossing the river. So Chiang Kai-shek dismissed Gui Yongqing, commander-in-chief of the navy. On March 18 and 19, he sent B-29 bombers to bomb the "Chongqing" in turn, and the officers and men on board fought back bravely. The hull of "Chongqing" was seriously damaged, six soldiers died heroically and nearly 20 people were injured. According to the instructions of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China to save the "Chongqing", the important equipment on board was dismantled and sank in Huludao on March 20th. In May, the central government decided to establish the first People's Naval School in New China-Anton (now Dandong) Naval School, with Captain Deng Zhaoxiang as the principal. On June 4th, 195 1, Chongqing was salvaged and repaired.