Ch'ŏngjin-class gunboat

ChieftainWarrior · May 4, 2024, 2:58am

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Ch’ŏngjin-class

TL;DR
A Soviet P-6-class (Pr. 183) torpedo boat re-armed with an 85mm cannon and multiple machine guns

History
The P-6 torpedo boat, also known as the Pr. 183, was a class of large Soviet torpedo boats developed just after World War II. Over 421 were built by the Soviet Union, and the ships saw service in a number of navies across the world. In limited cases, they are still in service to this day.

Following the signing of the Korean Armistice in 1953, the DPRK sought to re-equip its navy (the Korean People’s Navy, KPN or KPANF) and replace its dated inventory. They had primarily been equipped with basic Soviet torpedo boats, as well as a variety of civilian boats converted to military use. The Soviet Union delivered limited numbers of P-4 and P-6 torpedo boats, and China supplied a large number of Type-025 torpedo boats. It was the P-6 that the DPRK would modify in a few forms, one of which was to create the Ch’ŏngjin-class. Since 1971, around 50 Ch’ŏngjin-class have been produced.

In June 2002, the Battle of Yeongpyeong took place in the Yellow Sea to the west of the Korean Peninsula. Two North Korean patrol boats crossed the UN border, known as the Northern Limit Line.
This border is contested by the DPRK, who declare a border much further south. South Korean boats were monitoring the North Korean ships, and were fired upon after the North Korean ships had traveled over 5 km south – the ship that was hit sunk, and 6 soldiers died. It is believe that at least one of the two North Korean ships was a Ch’ŏngjin-class. At least one Ch’ŏngjin-class also took part in a similar skirmish 3 years prior.

Characteristics
The Ch’ŏngjin-class stands out from the P-6 in a few significant ways. Most obvious is the addition of an 85mm cannon at the front of the hull. The cannon is highly likely to be a derivative of the ZiS-S-53 found on the T-34-85, or the Type-62-85-TC as found on the Type 62/63, all of which are operated by the KPA. This cannon can fire APHE and HE rounds. The Ch’ŏngjin doesn’t keep the two 533mm torpedoes of the P-6, which were completely removed.

Secondary armament seems to vary – descriptions vary between either dual 14.5mm rotary machine guns, dual 14.5mm KPVTs or dual 25mm 2M-3s. The only photos that appear to exist online support both of the 14.5mm claims (some ships with the KPVTs, some with the rotary machine guns), but not the 2M-3s. The P-6 was normally equipped with the 2M-3s, and so I believe the original Ch’ŏngjin’s were equipped with these, and then later, at least some examples were re-armed with 14.5mm guns. This likely means all 3 options are valid options if this ship were to be added to the game.

The Ch’ŏngjin appears to otherwise have the same characteristics as the P-6. The ship has an all-wood hull, and has 4 M-50T engines, providing 4800hp and enabling the ship to reach speeds of 81km/h. The standard P-6 has a displacement of 67t, and the Ch’ŏngjin is likely similar, although possibly >70t.

Conclusion
The Ch’ŏngjin would be a fun mid-rank gunboat, for either a North Korean branch in a future Chinese coastal fleet or a United Korean fleet tree, likely at around 3.3.

Specifications
Armour