- Yes
- No
- 4.0
- 4.3
- 4.7
- I said no
Design
The origins of the Jiangnan-class frigates lie within the Chengdu-class, which in turn were copies of the Project 50 Riga-class frigates.
Most of the Jiangnan’s design was plagued by lack of materials following the Sino-Soviet split and the inability to copy some intricate Soviet-made parts. As there weren’t large enough engines in stock in the Navy’s inventory they had to use two 9EDZ43/67 civilian diesel engines to propel it, with 6,600 hp each being transferred between two shafts dishing out a speed of 23 knots or 42.6 km/h. Because of the size of the engines, the design team was forced to completely redesign the hull, which was originally intended to be based on its predecessors.
Five ships of the class were made:
- Haikou (209)
- Dongchuan (504)
- Xiaguan (501)
- Nanchong (502)
- Kaiyuan (503)
They had a displacement of 1350 tons, a length of 90 metres, a beam of 10.2 metres and a draft of 2.9 metres.
Armament and systems
Their armament was similar to their forebears & Soviet equivalents, with three single 100mm guns, two of which were mounted at the stern, followed by four Soviet-made 37mm 61-K guns taken from shore batteries on single mounts throughout the ship and two dual reverse-engineered KPVT machine guns mounted at the rear deckhouse. They also had two anti-submarine rocket launchers and depth charges. It was criticised for being too weak and having little space for any torpedo tubes or missile launchers but it was improved by replacing the single 37mm mounts with dual ones.
These were aided by a “Ball Gun” surface warning radar, “Wok Won” radar, “Neptune” navigation system and possibly a bow sonar system.
History
Construction of the Nanchong began on May 1966 and she was commissioned in around June 1969, though sources differ on the exact date. Alongside her sisters, she was deployed to the South China Sea to patrol the Paracel and Spratly Islands, which are still contested to this day.
During the battle of the Paracel Islands on 19 January 1974, she and her sisters were under maintenance and thus were unable to attend the battle.
On 14 March 1988, along with the frigates Xiangtan and Yingtan and some transport ships, she encountered a group of Vietnamese transports, including an old WWII-era LST, transporting troops to the Johnston South Reef in the Spratly Islands. Sources from China and Vietnam are conflicting as to what happened next and who started the battle but all Vietnamese ships were sunk with 64 killed and the Chinese took over the reef.
She was decommissioned on 15 March 1995 and was initially preserved as a museum ship at Qingdao, but due to her deteriorating condition and safety concerns, she was taken off to be scrapped in late 2012.
Specifications
Spoiler
- Displacement (at full load): 1350 tons
- Length: 90 metres
- Width: 10.2 metres
- Draft: 2.9 metres
- Propulsion: 2 x 9EDZ43/67 diesel engines, 6,600 hp each
- Speed: 23 knots (42.6 km/h)
- Radar, sensors, etc.: “Ball Gun” surface warning radar, “Wok Won” radar, “Neptune” navigation system, bow sonar(?)
Armament: - 3 x single 100 mm guns
- 4 x single 37 mm autocannons in single mounts (later replaced by dual mounts)
- 2 x dual 14,5 mm machine guns
- 2 x anti-submarine rocket launchers of an unknown type
- Depth charges
Gallery
Spoiler
Sources