- Yes
- No
Hey guys today I’ll be suggesting the Minjiang (PGM-107) a former Japanese No 4 class submarine chaser.
History
Minjiang or PGM-107 was the former Japanese No. 4 class submarine chaser No. 9 that was handed over to the Republic of China in October 1947 along with a No. 13 class sub-chaser, No.49. She was initially renamed as No. 31 and had all armaments removed before reception, however armaments were reinstalled sometime afterwards. It’s unknown if they were American, Japanese or a combination of both (only sources I’ve seen mainly mentioned Japanese armaments). After reception there were attempts to hand her over to Jiaozhou customs to be used as a customs ship however they didn’t want her as she was in fairly poor condition. Subsequently in June 1948 she was handed over as a security ship in Shandong Province. Surprisingly in September 1948 the navy took her over and assigned her to the 1st gunboat fleet and renamed her No 12. In January 1950 she was renamed as “Haida” (SC-402) as per new regulations. Then in January 1951 she was renamed again as “Fuling” (PC-107) and finally in 1954, to keep in line with ROCN’s US PC boat naming, she was renamed “MinJiang”. As “Minjiang” she served with the 21st battle force of the patrol fleet and between 1954 to February 1955 as part of Dachen Special mission fleet.
Even though her combat record is not as well known as her more famous sister “Yalong” (the No. 13 class sub-chaser) she still had a small impact during the her service with the ROCN. She captured 3 Chinese communist merchant boat/ships near Kinmen in early to mid 1950 and may have had a few skirmishes against the PLAN. She was apparently a thorn on the side for the PLA and was subsequently given the nickname “Kinmen’s Ao (legendary turtle)” by the ROC’s Kinmen defense command. On March 16, 1955 she was finally decommissioned from service and scrapped.
Specifications:
Length (Overall): 56.2 m (184 ft 5 in)
Length (Waterline): 55.5 m (182 ft 1 in)
Beam: 5.6 m (18 ft 4 in)
Draught: 2.1 m (6 ft 11 in)
Displacement: 309 tons
Propulsion: 2 × Kampon Mk.22 Model 6 diesels, 2 shafts, 2,600 bhp
Speed: 20.0 knots ( 23 mph; 37 km/h)
Armaments:
2 x 40 mm bofors cannon
3 x type 96 25 mm guns
Depth charges never restored
Minjiang as “Fuling” in Qingdao, China after reception from Japan.
AI colorized photo of Minjiang as “Haida” in a camouflaged paint job… Note: she has a few external differences compared the usual Japanese No.4 sub-chaser.
In game:
In game the Minjiang could be a good mid-low tier coastal ship for the Chinese naval tree. Her 40mm and 25mm cannons (assuming Japanese armament) would be able to do serious damage to enemy boats. She would also help flesh out the Chinese coastal tech tree either as either a premium, event, or tech tree vehicle.
During demobilization after the war.
Sources:
https://homepage.ntu.edu.tw/~yingshao/pc107.htm
https://web.archive.org/web/20080915193534/http://60.250.180.26/war/3215.html
https://play.google.com/store/books/details/抗战胜利日本投降舰船志?id=3Mx2EAAAQBAJ&hl=zh&gl=US
