Sariwŏn-class, 510

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Sariwŏn-class, 510

TL;DR
A North Korean-built ship, heavily based on the Soviet Fugas-class, with an 85mm, one twin 57mm and 4x quadruple 14.5mm cannons

History
The Soviet Project 53-class, part of the Fugas-class (also incorrectly known as Tral-class), was a class of minesweepers constructed in the mid-1930s. They saw service throughout WWII with the Soviet Navy, and most were scrapped/decommissioned by 1960.

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. Along with limited numbers of P-4 and P-6 torpedo boats, the Soviet Union also sent 2 Project 53-class ships – T-2 Tros and T-8 Cheka. These entered service with the KPN very shortly after, numbered 1008 and 1003 respectively.

The DPRK used these two to construct a new class of ships in the late 1960s, named Sariwŏn-class by the US DoD. These ships remained very similar to the two Pr. 53-class ships in their early configurations. Four ships were constructed, initially numbered 511-514. It appears that ships 511-513 received various upgrades throughout their service, and were renumbered multiple times, creating huge confusion online. The same goes for Pr. 53 no. 1003, which received an upgrade at some point in the late 80s, very similar to those of the Sariwŏn-class. They probably held the numbers 725-727 at some point in the mid-1990s, and at least one was then re-numbered to 613 sometime before 2008. All of them serve(d) in the East Sea fleet of the KPANF. Their current status is unknown.

Note: I believe – based on all the information I’ve gathered – that Sariwŏn no. 510 is the same ship as no. 514, just renumbered. There are no images that I’ve found of no. 510, and no. 514 is not really mentioned anywhere, so this is speculation, but it’s the only conclusion that makes sense, given all the other ships were upgraded. This suggestion focuses on this particular ship (perhaps the least-interesting of the series).

Characteristics
Sariwŏn no. 510 has a turreted 85mm gun mounted forward, seemingly identical to the turret design seen on a number of other KPANF vessels, like the Ch’ŏngjin-class. The 85mm 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.

Sariwŏn no. 510 also has one twin 57mm ZiF-31 anti-aircraft cannon towards the rear of the ship. This is a Soviet naval gun designed in the 50s – they were clip-fed, and could fire at 50 rounds/minute. The ship also has 4x ZPU-4 quadruple 14.5mm auto-cannons, with two on either side of the superstructure amidships.

  • The dual 57mm set-up of an unknown Sariwŏn-class ship

Very little information exists on the rest of the Sariwŏn-class’ equipment. While the Pr. 53 had 2 depth charges and 30 mines, I don’t believe the Sariwŏn-class inherited these – namely because the CIA note that only Sariwŏn no. 513 was given RBU-600s and depth charges in 1983.

Once again, no information exists on the radar equipment used on the Sariwŏn-class. I believe that there is at least a Soviet ‘Pot Head’ search radar (‘Reya’), judging by various images of other ships in the class. This is backed up by a few sources, which also claim it has one Don-2 navigation radar.

The ship has an all steel hull, a length of 62.1m, and a displacement of ~650 tons. It has 2 diesel engines, giving an output of 3000bhp. This allows the ship to reach a speed of 21 knots, or 39 km/h. The ship has a crew of 65-70 (all approximate data).

Unkwown Sariwon w: 57mm

  • Rear of an unknown Sariwŏn with the standard weaponry

Conclusion
The Sariwŏn-class is one of the few classes of domestic large North Korean ships, and would be a fun mid-rank ship for a future North Korean coastal fleet sub-tree for China, or as part of a United Korean coastal fleet tree. I suggest it gets a BR of around 3.7-4.0, with a solid 85mm cannon and great secondary weaponry.

Specifications

  • General
    Displacement: 650t
    Engine: 2x 1500bhp
    Top Speed: 21 knots (39km/h)
    Crew: 65-70

  • Armament:
    Main Armament
    1x 85mm
    1x dual 57mm ZiF-31

    AA Armament
    4x quadruple 14.5mm ZPU-4

  • Sensors and Systems:
    “Pot Head” (Reya) Search Radar
    Don-2 Navigation Radar

Images
No other definitive images exist online.

Sources

Spoiler

The Armed Forces of North Korea: On the Path of Songun – Stijn Mitzer and Joost Oliemans

Construction and Modification of North Korean Naval Combatants, January 1983 through July 1986 – CIA Imagery Analysis Report

Modifications to Patrol Ships, North Korea – CIA Report

The Naval Institute Guide to Combat Fleets of the World, 2005-2006

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