From the decision-making of ordering German submarines at that time, we can see the decision-making mistakes of the Admiralty at that time and the historical lessons of being at the mercy of the German Admiralty. At that time, Chen Shaokuan made a plan to order 1 500-ton ocean-going submarine, 4 250-ton offshore submarines and 1 mother ship from Germany. Later, due to the war budget problem, the actual allocation of10 million marks only bought two 250-ton submarines. The first submarine was built by 1938, but it was after the Lugouqiao incident.
Germany changed the design and even refunded it.
After the Lugouqiao Incident, a full-scale war broke out between China and Germany, and Sino-German relations changed qualitatively. The US Navy retreated westward in the Yangtze River, to the middle and upper reaches of the Yangtze River. Germany strengthened its relations with Japan, which invaded China for a long time, and two submarines ordered by China were directly requisitioned by Germany. 1939, Germany * * * finally informed the nationals that * * * two submarines under construction were confiscated by the German Admiralty and the order money was willing to be returned to China.
Two submarines detained by the German Admiralty arrived in Yu Jiancheng at the end of 1940, but for design reasons, they have been used as training ships of the German Navy and did not participate in actual combat. 1945 in may, the general trend in Germany was gone, and two submarines sank in the Bremen seaport on the north coast of Germany. 1949, Germany * * * salvaged the two submarines again, and then sold the submarine equipment. As can be seen from the above historical facts, Chen Shaokuan's misjudgment in charge of the Admiralty at that time led to a waste of time and a lot of foreign exchange, and he was at the mercy of the Germans at that time.
After the Lugouqiao Incident, China has basically lost the right to control the sea. Facing the formation of Japanese aircraft carriers and cruisers, the Central Navy can only sink Jiangyin with old ships, and then the remaining ships retreat to Jiangxi and Hunan to become the Yangtze River inland fleet. At this time, the purchased warships can be transported to the combat area by rail except Italian torpedo boats, not to mention ocean-going submarines in the Yangtze River.
At that time, Chen Shaokuan was signing a treaty to buy warships in Germany, only a few days before the July 7th Incident. At this time, there is no payment and no construction. It should be wise to choose to buy army and air force equipment at this time. Even if the contract is broken, it is better to waste a deposit or a fine at most than to waste two years and ten million marks of interest.
In addition, the German submarine purchased at that time was still a failed experiment designed and manufactured by Germany, and it was a defective product manufactured by changing the design and test with China's foreign exchange. In fact, this type of submarine is very mature in seaworthiness and flexibility. At that time, the German navy had equipped 18 ships. These eighteen German navy submarines all participated in World War II, and all had records of damaging allied warships. However, the German-made submarine in China changed the design drawings and the design of the submarine control tower, and sold it to China for testing. Chen Shaokuan, who participated in the procurement, didn't do a good job of research and didn't understand the technology of foreign arms and services. I just paid to sign the contract and then closed my eyes and accepted the inferior goods made in Germany, which was a big loss.
Causes of abortion in purchasing submarines
The main reasons for this situation are various. Most importantly, the central navy at that time was the navy of the former Beiyang warlord * * *, and it was only because of the victory of the National Revolutionary Army in the Northern Expedition that it turned its gun to join the national * * *. But after all, they are two systems, so there was a lack of trust between them before, and there were many barriers. During the whole War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression period, only one of the ordered 12 naval vessels was successful, and the others were aborted.
In addition, only Nazi Germany was the target of buying the navy at that time, and other countries such as Britain, France or the United States were not considered. Due to the tense relations between China and Japan, the establishment of axis countries between Germany and Japan can delay the warships ordered by China. It would be easier to buy warships from Britain than Germany, because there were contradictions between Britain and Japan at that time. Moreover, after Britain declared war on Germany, the naval vessels ordered from Germany could not be transported to China through the British-controlled seaport.
The navy submarines ordered by China can actually be seen after more than half a century. At that time, the German submarine U9 was sunk by the Soviet Air Force near Constantinople in the Black Sea1August 944. This warship, the same model as the submarine purchased by China, is now lying in the Black Sea Fleet Museum.