Reborn in Hong Kong: The Tycoon Grows Up

Ruby Design Bureau, headquartered in Leningrad. Among the three major submarine design bureaus in the Soviet Union, the Ruby Design Bureau is the one that designs the largest number of submarines, builds the largest number of submarines, and has the longest history; two-thirds of Soviet nuclear submarines were designed by this design bureau.

The Soviet submarine design bureau has a long history. At the beginning of the 20th century, Tsarist Russia prepared to build its own submarines for combat to enhance its naval strength. On January 4, 1901, the Tsarist Russian Navy assigned the design task of combat submarines to three naval officers, namely: Captain Beklymyshev, Captain Kulyunov and Senior Assistant for Battleship Manufacturing Bubolov.

These three people organized manpower to start development work at the Baltic Naval Shipyard. The first design plan was released on May 3, 1901, and was approved in July of the same year, and manufacturing began at the Baltic Naval Shipyard.

Bubolov was appointed head of the "Submarine Manufacturing Department". This "Submarine Manufacturing Department" is the ancestor of Ruby Design Bureau.

The common feature of the submarines designed by the "Submarine Manufacturing Department" during this period was the use of horizontal decks. The appearance looks very similar to a torpedo speedboat. The submarines at that time were even directly called "underwater torpedo boats" by some low-level military officials. This is why after the first submarine, the Dolphin, was launched, its hull number was ranked in the torpedo boat sequence. But fortunately, on March 19, 1906, Tsarist Russia designated submarines as a separate combat force and ship category.

During the Soviet period, especially during the Cold War, it was the existence that Americans were most afraid of.

Time came to 1966, and the 18th Central Design Bureau was renamed Ruby Marine Machinery Central Design Bureau. After that, the design of the Oscar-class nuclear submarine began in 1971. In 1974, Spaisky succeeded Netsev as the chief designer of the design bureau; the most famous submarine in the design led by Spaisky began to design the world's largest submarine in 1974. The submarine Typhoon class and the Kilo class, known as the "black hole", also participated in the Oscar class. The unique design of the Typhoon class amazed Western countries, and the Kilo class was recognized at the time as the quietest diesel-electric submarine in the world.

Bao Zixuan is a businessman after all, and some things cannot be made too obvious. Little Ustinov is in Moscow, but this is not abroad. The two cannot meet in private; one is a senior Soviet general, and the other is a super rich man. Although everyone knew what the relationship between the two was, the way they acted was too close, making it easy for people to associate each other.

No one wants to cause trouble that can be avoided as much as possible.

But today the rich man Bao is different, because he wants to inspect the Soviet submarine design bureau. And not only was he investigating for himself, several Middle Eastern countries were just waiting for his word. Although he cannot be said to be a weapons expert, when it comes to military technology and equipment, no one knows more about military technology and equipment than Bao Zixuan.

So after staying in Moscow for one night, we came to Leningrad.

The so-called Leningrad is St. Petersburg. The city was founded in 1703 and has a history of nearly 300 years. The city's name comes from Saint Peter, a disciple of Jesus. Peter I moved the capital to Petersburg in 1712, and it was the cultural, political, and economic center of Russia for more than 200 years until 1918. In 1924, it was renamed Leningrad in commemoration of Lenin. But when the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, its original name was restored to St. Petersburg.

The distance between Moscow and Leningrad is 700 kilometers, so we did not choose to fly. With little Ustinov here, it can be said that there will be no loss of face if we directly take a special train.

We didn't meet last night to avoid suspicion, but now we have no such concerns. As the Minister of General Armament, receiving customers and introducing Soviet weapons and equipment is also part of the job.

The two of them were in the box, enjoying the wine brought by Bao Zixuan. It's not that Xiaowu doesn't have good wine, it's just that it's inconvenient; after all, when working in a government department, you still have to pay attention to some things.

Bao Zixuan said with a smile: "I came to your territory and you asked me to bring you wine; isn't it a bit too much?"

This is more like a chatter between friends, a joke; it should not be said at this moment. But it is not difficult to see from this that the relationship between the two has risen to the stage of good friends.

Little Ustinov said awkwardly: "Who makes you so rich? I can only offer you a drink with vodka; I definitely don't like it. And if you finally come here, of course you have to eat from a wealthy family. I am a civil servant. I'm not as free as you. I only get a small salary every year. I estimate that this bottle of wine is almost worth half of my salary. I found out that I paid for it myself, so I will probably take off my military uniform tomorrow."

This is really not a joke, it’s just done when it’s done, and it doesn’t matter if you enjoy it. But it must not be made public, especially if people can’t get a handle on it.

Both of them chose to forget about sending home appliances and cars to engineering and technical personnel. We are all smart people, and we can just understand many things tacitly. There is no need to put everything on the table, there is no need at all.

Bao Zixuan said with a smile: "It's not easy for you guys. You can't spend it casually if you have money. It doesn't matter if you drink as much as you want. But you have to help me figure out the submarine thing this time."

When it came to business, little Ustinov immediately became serious. He said directly: "The Ruby Design Bureau is also in a bad situation, so they have no reason to refuse. But Heiyun Group still needs to pay some fees; of course, these are trivial to you."

"I can guarantee that as long as you don't buy a nuclear submarine, everything else can be easily discussed."

There are still many opportunities for cooperation among the major Soviet design bureaus. In particular, the design bureaus that produce missiles and the design bureaus that produce submarines must be in constant contact and cooperate with each other.

What do engineers from the Diamond Central Design Bureau get when they return to China? The engineers at Ruby Design Bureau don't explain everything clearly, but they basically understand it. But there is no submarine exhibition in the world, and it is not easy for them to go abroad. Without the opportunity to go abroad, relying solely on domestic wages can at best solve the basic problem of food and clothing.

They are also engineers, but their skills are no worse than those of the Diamond Design Bureau; sometimes, they are even more intimidating.

If Americans are most afraid of Soviet weapons, the strategic nuclear submarine force can definitely be ranked first. The power of the Tsarist nuclear bomb is indeed incredible. But the practicality is not very strong, at least launching it to the United States is a problem. Testing explosions on their own soil does not threaten the United States at all. Even if it could threaten the United States, no one would be that stupid.

Killing a thousand enemies and damaging oneself ten thousand is something that a normal person would never do.

Moreover, among the three types of nuclear strike forces, several major powers regard strategic nuclear submarines as the most important force and vigorously develop them. However, some people believe that more resources should be invested in missiles, which can directly improve the country's nuclear strike capabilities. In fact, for a nuclear country, the status of submarines is very important. It is not only a platform, but also a direct tool that can maintain world peace. Without it, no matter how many nuclear bombs there are on land, they will be just decorations once a war breaks out.

The status of strategic nuclear submarines is so important. It stands to reason that as a research and development unit, Ruby Design Bureau will inevitably follow the rise. But when they feel that their welfare benefits are worse than those of engineers in other design bureaus, they definitely feel uncomfortable.

Bao Zixuan was interested in Soviet submarines, but he was not very satisfied with some of the designs. Submarines are different from others. An accident can really kill the crew in the sea, without even a chance of survival. Therefore, if you want to change the design, or upgrade on the original basis, you must get help from the designer.

Without the engineers and drawings of the Ruby Central Design Bureau, even if the submarine was purchased, no engineer would dare to modify it easily.

Moreover, there must be many unusual features in the submarines designed by the Soviets. Without a thorough understanding of the technology and layout details, rash modifications are no different than courting death.

Just buying a submarine is definitely not a problem at all; there is no need to be so troublesome. But now that we are changing part of the design, we must let engineers and management get some benefits, otherwise who will work hard.

While modifying the design, Heiyun engineers were likely to possess core secret information about Soviet submarines. This is not good news for the Soviets. Moreover, what the richest man wanted was the Soviet Union's most advanced submarine. He looked down upon the things and technologies left over by the Germans during World War II.

As Ustinov Jr. said, there is a certain cost. But for Bao Shoufao, as long as it is a problem that can be solved with money, it is not a problem.

In the future, Fucairah must have the ability to independently design and produce submarines, and this goal will never change.