50s: Starting with a storage ring

Chapter 244 Persuading the Submarine Captain
At the end of February, Sun Zhiwei began his final flight course: fighter jet piloting.

Coach Yang was still teaching Sun Zhiwei. He was originally a fighter pilot, which was his original profession.

Currently, the base mainly operates J-5, J-6 and J-7 fighter jets. Just as Coach Yang was preparing to teach him how to fly fighter jets one by one, Sun Zhiwei clearly stated that he would only learn to fly the J-7.

His reasoning was simple: he believed that the development trend of fighter jets was beyond-visual-range combat, rendering cannons obsolete in the future.

Therefore, it's better not to learn from the J-5 and J-6 aircraft, which only have cannons.

After consulting with his superiors, Coach Yang reluctantly agreed to Sun Zhiwei's request, but he felt that the trend Sun Zhiwei was talking about was definitely still a long way off.

In his words, "Missiles are so expensive. If we don't use cannons, then we'll just use missiles. How much would it cost to carry missiles all over an airplane?"

"Besides, how many missiles can an aircraft carry? It can't just fly up, fire a few shots, and then run out of ammunition."

In short, the advice was to encourage him to learn about aircraft cannons and fighter jets as well, so as not to leave any weaknesses.

Sun Zhiwei just smiled without saying a word and insisted on only learning J7.

By flying only one type of aircraft, the teaching progress was immediately accelerated. Half a month later, Sun Zhiwei officially finished his flight training course.

Afterwards, he spent several days summarizing and optimizing the flight training course that had lasted for more than a month.

In the future, these courses will become the standard curriculum for special training (specifically for agents and special forces).

With his experience in the Air Force flight course, Sun Zhiwei made advance plans for the naval ship piloting course he would be attending later.

He no longer required him to learn how to operate all types of ships, but instead made a careful selection, choosing only two: torpedo boats and submarines.

He did not include other surface warships, including the smallest frigates, in the study list.

He had figured it out. Aircraft were relatively easy to handle, as the equipment was integrated into the cabin. Even a more complex bomber like the H-6 could be flown by one person.

But warships are completely different. At the frigate level, one person simply cannot operate them. This is because, in addition to navigating the bridge, the ship also requires engineers to provide power support from the bottom.

Of the two types of ships he selected, torpedo boats are small, fast boats that can be operated by a single person, while submarines are something he must learn to operate, and he has his own plans to implement them.

After completing his flight training, he did not rest and immediately began his ship piloting course.

The torpedo boat was relatively easy to operate, and he only practiced for two days. Once he was familiar with the boat's operation and the torpedo launch, he stopped worrying about it.

On the contrary, they encountered difficulties in learning about submarines.

Because submarines are extremely valuable vessels in our fleet, the captains of several submarines were unwilling to cooperate with him in practicing solo piloting training.

Sun Zhiwei understood them. These ship captains and sailors regarded the ships they served on as their lifeblood, and they instinctively believed that it was impossible for a single person to pilot a submarine.

Sun Zhiwei had no choice but to ask his father-in-law to persuade them.

Tong Guodong set aside some time to gather more than a dozen captains of active submarines together, and also called Sun Zhiwei over for a meeting to discuss the matter.

The submarine force holds a very high position in the navy. Unless it is a combat order, even Tong Guodong usually gives way to these submarine captains.

Therefore, this matter can only be discussed and resolved through a meeting.

When Sun Zhiwei arrived at the conference room, all the captains were already there.

What amused him was that in such a large conference room, all the captains were sitting on one side, divided into two rows. The front row consisted of the captains of the Type 33 and Type 35 ships, with the Type 33 captains being the most numerous and the Type 35 captains only having two.

The captains of the two types of submarines purchased from the north in the early years are in the back row. They are no longer the main force, so they are in the back row.

Among these dozen or so captains, the one in the central position is naturally the captain of the No. 1 submarine, who is located in the front row.

Because it's powered by an H-type engine, and there's only one like it in the whole country. Isn't that amazing?

Tong Guodong, as the leader of the base, sat at one end of the conference table as the referee, leaving the other half of the conference table empty, waiting for Sun Zhiwei to sit down.

Sun Zhiwei knew that they were protesting silently.

This has put Tong Guodong in a difficult position to speak up for him, leaving him to persuade the captains himself.

As long as he can get these captains to agree, he'll definitely have no objections.

He had already planned it out when he came: telling stories and making grand promises—the basic tactics of small business owners in later generations. It would definitely work to fool these captains who had never seen the world.

After entering the conference room, he went directly to the captains, sat upright, and began his speech with a serious expression.

"Since none of you know me, let me start by telling you about my profession." He had barely finished speaking when he turned his gaze to Tong Guodong, who sat at the head of the table.

"Sir, are the security clearance levels of the captains present up to meet the requirements?"

"No problem, their security clearance level is definitely sufficient."

Tong Guodong can guarantee that the submarine is already the most technologically advanced equipment in the country, and that their captains are appointed only after going through layers of screening.

"My profession is called a secret agent, or 'underground party' before liberation. But we used to operate mainly in China. Now we mainly operate overseas."

Upon hearing his identity, the captains were no longer so hostile towards him. Underground work is dangerous, let alone going abroad.

"Our country is backward, and backwardness invites aggression. Even now, enemy planes frequently circle overhead, and we are powerless to do anything about it. It's so frustrating."

This statement immediately resonated with the captains present, who often felt helpless against the enemy's advanced ships, experiencing the same frustration.

"Everyone knows we already have mushroom bombs, but did you know that neither the Russian bear nor the bald eagle are afraid of our mushroom bombs?"

"Why? Because our mushroom bombs can't hit the core areas of their homeland, so they can't create a deterrent effect."

"Later I also heard that a few years ago we developed a suicide nuclear bomber, which was intended to be used to take down the enemy together."

Finally, one of the captains couldn't help but chime in: "I know that, the Q5A, it's in the hangar at the flight school, everyone calls it a 'daredevil machine'."

"Yes, we are lagging behind, so we can only risk the lives of our pilots."

"At the time, I was thinking, if we can't build it ourselves for the time being, it's because we lack experience. If there are ready-made things from others, why don't we just take them and copy their work?"

"That would be great. So, I set my sights on the Bald Eagle's B-52."

Everyone has heard of the B-52, and they know that we can't handle it, nor do we have any aircraft of the same class that can compete with it.

(End of this chapter)