Some time ago we told in detail about the unimaginable path of development of the Chinese nuclear submarine: in a relatively short period of time, Chinese nuclear submarines (NPS) have transformed from noisy and noisy troughs into a completely modern means of global strategic deterrence. Today we invite you to look at this amazing transformation from a slightly different angle, namely through the eyes of Chinese submarines. The life of the crews of Chinese nuclear submarines, like many things in this country, is covered by a veil of secrecy, but the main paradox of the Celestial Empire is that the more this or that information is hidden, the more resonance and detail it has. is. pours out in one moment. All secrets become clear Not so long ago, information about the living conditions of Chinese submarines, rightfully considered the elite of the People’s Liberation Army of China (PLA), became available to the general world community. The unsung heroes of the sea shared this with the ubiquitous Americans from the China Marine Science Institute (CMSI) at the US Naval War College. The latter were so interested in this topic that they rushed to systematize the information (spies are meticulous people) and even published an entire report on the hardships and difficulties faced by the crews of Chinese submarines. Chinese sailors captured by a dragon have their own name for service on submarines: “staying in the dragon palace.” However, judging by the content of the report, despite the artistic name, there is nothing romantic or even healthy about this service. Chinese submariners have long jokingly called their boats “dragon palaces”, associating them with the palace of Ao Guang, the mythical dragon king at the bottom of the East Sea. However, as the Chinese submariners note, life in this palace is far from luxurious, although there is no shortage of “dragons”. Han-class nuclear attack submarine of the Chinese Navy. © ru.wikipedia.org The CMSI report says crews suffer from excessive noise, poor lighting, and poor air quality. Canned food is so tasteless that some sailors develop eating disorders. “Serving on PLA submarines is costly for crew members,” the CMSI report says. For example, various studies over the past two decades have found a variety of ailments, including mouth ulcers and back pain. “In 2018, researchers from several PLA institutes and hospitals conducting studies at submarine bases found that submariners are susceptible to lumbar and musculoskeletal disorders due to limited workspace, prolonged stay in fixed or twisted positions, and constant vibration. The results showed a 33.81% incidence of related diseases among officers and staff,” the CMSI report says. Ships suffer from the psychological effects of constant noise and poor air quality, which are unavoidable during long voyages. “Crew members working and living in poor underwater environments are subject to boredom, fatigue, apathy and discomfort, which affect their psychological state, cognitive abilities and emotional well-being. These problems are further aggravated by harmful gases, magnetic fields, noise, vibration and many other obstacles to restful sleep and comfort,” the report notes. Noise levels on submarines, especially diesel ones, reach 90-130 decibels, which exceeds the threshold set for the Chinese military of 85-100 decibels. Submarine crews complain of vision problems caused by poor lighting. “The analysis links these complaints to poor lighting, which causes eye strain, and tight spaces, which cause problems in the ciliary muscles that regulate changes in the curvature of the eye’s lens. The ships have requested more lighting in the compartments and lighting modes that could provide a day/night indicator,” CMSI writes. No one to turn to for help? The submarines’ situation is aggravated by the poor quality of medical care during long voyages. This is due to the poor training of medical personnel and the lack of necessary medical equipment. All this has led to the fact that Chinese submariners have begun to turn more often to traditional Chinese medicine. It is enough to recall the famous film by Eisenstein “Battleship Potemkin”. The Navy, which generally considers the food better than the sailors on surface ships, constantly expresses dissatisfaction with the quality of food on the American missile submarine © ru.wikipedia.org In the Chinese submarine fleet, the situation with the crew’s food looks simple against this background. On Chinese submarines, finding edible food to last for months at sea is an insurmountable problem. And this is despite the fact that the crew size varies from 60 people on a diesel boat to 120 people on a nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine. “Since open-fire cooking is prohibited on submarines, canned food is the mainstay of food for many days and weeks on long voyages,” CMSI reports. After the poor quality of canned food eventually drove some sailors to anorexia, crews began to receive more fresh and frozen food. But when fresh food runs out or energy-saving measures are introduced, submariners are forced to switch to standard dry rations. What if there is a war tomorrow? It is clear that CMSI experts are not talking about the difficult service of Chinese submarines out of human compassion. Their main question: are these problems undermining the combat readiness of the PLA’s 61 submarines? Although almost all of these submarines are conventional and do not carry nuclear missiles, they could prove to be one of Beijing’s most effective weapons in the event of an invasion of Taiwan.
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