In 1962, New China independently designed and developed the first short- and medium-range missile, but when the launch test was held, the missile only flew in the air for 18 seconds, and when it rose to an altitude of 3,000 meters, it suddenly crashed out of control, leaving the originally noisy missile test base into a dead silence.
The content of this issue is a useful history, deciphering China's first short- and medium-range missile, why did it suddenly crash out of control after 18 seconds of liftoff? How did Marshal Nie Rongzhen, who was in charge of the military industry's national defense science and technology experiment at that time, react after seeing the missile launch fail? What did you say to the scientists?
Why did China launch its first missile crash out of control after 18 seconds?
In August 1960, sino-Soviet diplomatic relations continued to deteriorate, and the Soviet Union unilaterally betrayed its faith, tore up the contract agreement to aid China, terminated technical support assistance for China's cutting-edge weapons, and withdrew all industrial and technical experts who aided China, in an attempt to completely strangle the concept of China's cutting-edge science and technology in the cradle.
Before the Soviet experts left, they did not leave a complete drawing, and said viciously: You will guard this pile of scrap copper and rotten iron without our help, and you will not be able to do anything for another 15 years.
Three years of major natural disasters have made new China unable to make ends meet, coupled with the Soviet Union's default, withdrawal of investment and debt, so that the then secretary of the party group of the Scientific Planning Commission, as well as Marshal Nie Rongzhen, vice premier of the country, immediately took the case and said angrily: We have now been forced by the Soviets to Liangshan.
They don't help, they sneer at us, so we do it ourselves. Relying on the mountains and relying on everyone to go, we can only pin all our hopes on our own experts.
If I succeed, I don't want any credit; if I fail, I bear the responsibility
In the second month after the Soviet experts left China, China's comprehensive missile experimental base in the Great Northwest successfully launched a Soviet-made P-2 missile for the first time using a domestically developed rocket propellant.
On the 83rd day of the departure of Soviet experts, in early November 1960, China independently developed an imitation P-2 missile based on the Soviet P-2 missile model.
On November 4, accompanied by General Zhang Aiping and General Chen Shiyu, Nie Shuai personally took a special plane to the Northwest Missile Base.
This is the first missile independently developed by our country, it is a "gas bomb," the launch work must be meticulous and conscientious, and there must be no sloppiness.
The next morning, Nie Shuai came to the missile launch site in advance, and looking at the missiles erected on the launch pad and reflected by the morning sun, it looked dazzling and dazzling, like emeralds, and Nie Shuai's heart was extremely proud.
Then he excitedly said to the officers and men comrades in charge of the launch: China's first missile of independent design and development will take off from your hands today, we must be calm and calm, do not be nervous, we must fire this cannon, the party and the state, as well as the people are looking at you, do not betray their trust.
With a command, the missile spewed tongues of fire and soared into the sky, accompanied by a series of harsh sonic booms, disappearing into the end of the sky, Nie Shuai finally couldn't contain his excitement and clapped and cheered with all the participants in the experiment.
After the staff of the front target reported the target, after the trembling voice came to the news of "accurate concentration of the target", Nie Shuai's hanging heart finally fell. Happily, on Chinese soil, we have launched the first domestically produced missile we have developed and manufactured, which is a very great and important turning point in the history of our military.
This missile not only hit the target accurately, but also completely shattered the hostile "prophecies" that looked down on China. And when the cadres saw Nie Shuai happily walk out of the command center, they began to feel a little afraid for the safety of the marshal.
This time the command center is only a temporary board room, which can shield the wind and rain, but it is not earthquake-resistant or explosion-proof, and if there is any deviation in the missile launch test just now, the consequences will be absolutely unimaginable.
However, China's independent development of missiles has not been smooth sailing, and it has blossomed with successful flowers and tasted the bitter fruit of failure. After the launch test of China's imitation Soviet-style P-2 missile was greatly successful, Nie Shuai pointed out in advance:
Blindly imitating foreign missiles is not our ultimate goal; we must stand up and learn to walk, we must truly master our skills, and we must design missiles that truly belong to our Country.
There is no doubt that independently designing and developing missiles is the most difficult road, scientists work day and night to study, it is difficult to make any breakthroughs in a short period of time, often into bottlenecks.
And every time at this time, Nie Shuai will personally stand up and cheer for everyone: Comrades, we are engaged in missiles and atomic bombs, which is not only science and technology, but also represents the military and national prestige of the country, we Chinese are not stupid or stupid, but much smarter than foreigners, why can't we have some of them, why will they, we can't?
We're just going to be self-reliant, and you just have to be bold and let it go. If you succeed, I don't want any credit, it's all yours; if you fail, I bear all the responsibilities.
The first domestically produced short- and medium-range missile crashed after 18 seconds of flight
Inspired by Nie Shuai, in 1962, the first short- and medium-range missile designed and developed by China was finally successfully developed, and the launch test was initially scheduled to be held in March. Full of excitement and joy, Nie Shuai once again rushed to the Northwest Missile Launch Base and personally presided over the launch test.
However, this missile is different from the previous one, the whole is slender and slender, swaying with the wind on the launch pad, and some leading comrades can't help but compare it to Lin Daiyu in the dream of the Red Chamber after watching it, standing there twisting and pinching, as if a gust of wind can blow down.
There is no doubt that the missile launch test was a complete failure. The reason for this situation is due to lack of experience, which leads to the design and development of missiles, the impact of elastic vibration on the missile stabilization system is not fully considered, but only blindly reduces the weight of the missile.
Finally, when the missile was launched and took off to an altitude of 3,000 meters, it completely lost its stability in the middle of the hurricane, and it crashed headlong into the ground, flying for only 18 seconds.
The state has invested a lot of manpower, material and financial resources in order to test the missile, but the launch test has failed. Therefore, the scientific researchers involved in the development of missiles and flight experiments are very upset and frustrated, and bluntly say that they are sorry for the cultivation of the state and the trust of the people, and some people even burst into tears.
In the face of this situation, Nie Shuai's heart was also uncomfortable, and his heart was very heavy, but he did not want to attack these scientific researchers, if they were to collapse, then China would never be able to build its own missiles, and how could the military and national defense forces develop and grow?
So he tried his best to reassure everyone not to be discouraged: scientific experiments are originally allowed to fail, we have independently developed and designed, and we have taken a difficult first step, and children who learn to walk may fall and fall, let alone a highly lethal missile?
So I think it doesn't matter, we get up and keep walking. The failure of scientific experiments is the tuition we pay, and our ultimate goal is to find problems from the tuition fees we pay, and then find a way to solve them.
When Nie Shuai left the missile base, he shook hands with all the scientific researchers one by one, and once again encouraged and advised him unassuredly: It doesn't matter if you fail once, do a good job next time, today the missile fell, then tomorrow we will hit it again.
But in that special era of prominent politics, any problem will be infinitely magnified, and after the missile launch failed, researchers were already very depressed, but there were still people who poured salt on their wounds.
Saying that in order to delve into the political reasons, it is necessary to find the culprit who caused the missile crash, and this kind of inappropriate remarks has also made the scientific researchers at the missile base even more frightened and worried about their future prospects.
Soon, Nie Shuai also heard the rumors from the outside world, and immediately slapped the desk in the office and was furious: What? What are you going to do? Scientific experiments are the same as wars, there has never been a general who always wins, and how can he succeed without experiencing failure? Communists must seek truth from facts in their work, and you will not allow failure, that is, you will not seek truth from facts.
It is precisely because of Nie Shuai's personal interrogation that a distraction and political investigation of the scientific researchers have been eliminated. The scientific researchers did not live up to Nie Shuai's expectations, and immediately found the cause of the missile crash. In June 1964, another missile launch flight test was held, and 3 missiles were fired in a row, all of which hit the target accurately and were very successful.
Two-bomb combined experiment
Also in this year, China's independent design and development of medium-range missiles and the first atomic bomb were all successfully tested, and the research and development and manufacture of cutting-edge weapons has made amazing breakthroughs.
However, the Western powers still looked down on New China, believing that we had no bullets and no guns, and could not pose any threat at all, so in 1966, the heads of the state headquarters and organs held a meeting to resolve to conduct a nuclear missile test combined with two bombs in October.
The use of missiles to carry nuclear warheads on their own territory for experiments, which is the first time in the history of the world, means that the country has to bear a lot of risks, if the missile and nuclear bomb in combination, the scene suddenly exploded, or suddenly fell after lifting off, deviating from the landing zone, the consequences are absolutely unimaginable.
One day in October, Chairman Mao made a special appointment with Marshal Nie Rongzhen and President Qian Xuesen in the parlor, and listened carefully to their reports on the combined test of the two bombs, only to learn that the development work was progressing smoothly and that the preparations for the shooting range experiment were basically ready Chinese.
After the report was over, Chairman Mao personally went out with Nie Shuai and Qian Xuesen, and when they walked to the door, Chairman Mao took special care of Nie Shuai: Rong Zhen, you are a general who always wins, but this experiment may win the battle, or it may lose the battle, it does not matter if it fails, but we must make all the necessary preparations in the early stages, we must think of the bad, and we must never fight a battle that is unprepared and uncertain.
But when he was close to the test, Nie Shuai fell ill, and Premier Zhou personally called to ask about his physical health: Rong Zhen, how are you doing lately? Can you go to the launch site?
Nie Shuai knew the responsibility he was carrying, and immediately replied without thinking: I am in good health, why can't I? After Premier Zhou heard his loud and full of vigor voice, he explained: The state has decided to send you to the launch site in person and take full command to ensure the safe launch and operation of this experiment. Nie Shuai nodded yes and accepted the task very happily.
The dragon of the East finally took off
On October 25, 67-year-old Nie Shuai rushed to the Northwest Missile Launch Base by special plane with illness, listened in detail to the experts' reports and the progress of the test work, and personally sat where he was important and dangerous.
He also personally received 7 death squads guarding the launch site, and in the event of a serious accident during the experiment, these 7 young people will sacrifice their precious lives.
Comrade Xu Hong, who is only 20 years old, is an operator, and he has held Nie Shuai's hand for a long time: I am not a party member, but I thank the party and the state for their trust and cultivation of me, if I sacrifice, please posthumously recognize me as a communist party member, and all my allowances will be paid as party fees. After Nie Shuai listened, he couldn't help but be moved to tears, and he couldn't say a word, just nodded vigorously.
On October 27, the Lanzhou-Xinhai Railway was suspended, the Northwest Aviation Line was shut down, and hundreds of thousands of troops of the Lanzhou Military Region entered a state of emergency combat readiness, waiting for the results of the launch experiment combining the two bombs.
At dawn, Nie Shuai came to the launch site and personally sat down to observe the last inspection before the launch experiment such as hoisting, docking, aiming and school zero. It was not until the missile was refueled that Nie Shuai was evacuated to the safety zone under the advice of comrade Xie Guangxuan, a scientist.
As the two signal bombs lifted off, the operator immediately pressed the launch button to ignite, and the missile loaded with a nuclear warhead suddenly took off into the air, hitting the predetermined target in a blink of an eye, and the nuclear missile exploded triumphantly over Lop Nur in the Great Gobi.
In June 1967, Nie Shuai presided over the test explosion of China's first hydrogen bomb at the experimental base, the experiment was a complete success, the dragon finally took off, and no one in the world dared to underestimate the new China that was reborn from the fire.