Soho-class Frigate, 823

ChieftainWarrior · August 30, 2024, 7:30pm

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Soho-class, 823

TL;DR: A catamaran frigate equipped with a helicopter pad and armed with a 100mm, four AShM launchers, two dual 57mm cannons, two twin 30mm cannons, two twin 25mm cannons and six anti-submarine rocket launchers

History
North Korea constructed two frigates – the Najin-class – in the 70s, entering service in 1973 and 1975. These ships were largely out-of-date immediately, and only received important upgrades like the addition of AShMs later in their life.

These are the only frigates North Korea built, aside from the Soho-class (not the official North Korean name, and initially named ‘Naj-A’ by the CIA). This was a one-off catamaran-hulled frigate that was laid down in 1980 in the north-eastern port of Najin, and was launched in early 1982. It took a much more radical design, incorporating two-hulls, missiles and a helicopter pad.

The ship, numbered 823, was tested and entered service briefly, being moved to Singyo Ri around three years after its construction. It was likely quite unstable and unsafe in exposed waters, and spent most of its service life lying in port, until it was eventually moved back to Najin and scrapped in 2009. This is very unusual for North Korea, with ships from WW2 and the early Cold War still very much in service. Not all was lost from this gigantic waste of resources though, as it did inspire a much more successful class of catamaran stealth missile boats – the Nongo-class.

The Soho-class was not officially revealed by North Korea, and so the few photos that do exist are blurry, only show small sections of the ship or are satellite photos. The weaponry is well-understood, but any small details are almost impossible to discern.

Characteristics

The most powerful armament of the Soho-class are the anti-ship missiles. The ship was equipped with four launchers, two on either side of the superstructure. These contained the Soviet P-15 Termit (NATO: Styx) missiles, or potentially North Korea’s locally-produced derivative of the P-15 (and more specifically, China’s improved ‘Silkworm’ series) called the Kŭmsŏng-1 (KN-01).

The P-15 has a range of 40-80km, and the KN-01 has a much greater range, from 85-160km for the first version, and potentially reaching 300km with a version from around 2013 carrying the same turbojet engine as in the Kh-35. The warheads likely remain the same as the P-15, with a 500kg HEAT charge.

Accompanying these missiles is a fairly extensive set of traditional weaponry. The main gun, located on raised area forward of the bridge, is a turreted 100mm cannon. This is probably the same weapon as on the Najin-class, being a Soviet 100mm/56 B-34 naval gun, although other ships in the KPANF arsenal have 100mm cannons derived from the Soviet D-10.

31-10343325-29.07.1986

100mm turret of Najin-class no. 531

Amidships, on the main deck facing the rear of the ship, are two twin 57mm ZiF-31 turrets. These are Soviet naval guns designed in the 50s – they were clip-fed, and could fire at 50 rounds/minute, with similar performance to the S-60 present on the ZSU-57-2, albeit without the AP rounds.

Located on a raised section at the rear of the superstructure, as well as above the frontal 100mm turret, are two 25mm 2M-3 naval turrets. These have two 25mm auto-cannons each, and fire AP-T and FI-T rounds at 300 rounds/minute.

Just behind the rear 25mm, at the highest point of the main part of the superstructure, are two AK-230 turrets, which North Korea copied from the Soviet Union. The AK-230 is a fully-automatic twin 30mm cannon, with a rate of fire of 1000 rounds / minute. The cannons fire HE and AP-T rounds. In-game, the AP-T rounds penetrate 68mm of armour at 10m.

Lastly, the ship has four RBU-1200s close to the bow. These have five launcher pipes, and each fire 213mm rockets equipped with depth charges.

Figure3-frigates-051514

Harbin Z-5 in KPAAF service on the Soho-class helicopter pad

The ship is estimated to have weighed 1,600t, and have engines providing 16,000bhp, but as far as I can tell these are just estimations and could easily be wrong. The ship likely had a full crew of 190, and was around 72m long, with a beam of 17m.

Conclusion
The Soho-class is a little-known but nonetheless important part of North Korean naval shipbuilding, and would be a good option for an event or premium vehicle in a future coastal tree for North Korea, as either a sub-tree for China’s future fleet, or as part of a United Korean tree.

Specifications

General
Displacement: 1,600t
Engine: ~16,000bhp
Top Speed: 25 knots (46km/h)
Crew: ~190
Armament:
Main Armament
1x 100mm
2x 57mm ZiF-31
AA Armament
2x 30mm AK-230
2x 25mm 2M-3
ASW Armament
4x RBU-1200
Sensors and Systems:
“Square Tie” (Rangout) Radar
MR-104 “Drum Tilt” (Rys) Targeting Radar
MR-123 “Bass Tilt” (Vympel) Radar