- Yes
- No
TL;DR: A North Korean gunboat derived from the Chinese Hainan-class (Type 037 submarine chaser), armed with an 85mm cannon, one dual 57mm cannon, one 25mm, two 14.5mm rotary cannons, two RBU-1200s, and depth charges.
History
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 Pr. 201 (NATO codename: S.O.-1) was a Soviet submarine chaser first produced in 1955. 192 were built, and they were exported to a number of countries, including the DPRK in the early 1960s. The DPRK then built ~12 indigenous variants of the S.O.-1, outfitted with better weaponry but losing their ASW capabilities. The DPRK also obtained a number of Chinese Type 037 submarine chasers (NATO codename: Hainan) around the late 1960s – at least six entered service with their West Sea Fleet (all Chinese ships in KPANF service are stationed along the west coast).
Following the acquisition of these ships, North Korea began development of a new slightly lengthened and up-gunned derivative. This class is known as the Taech’ŏng-class, and has been described as a progressive development of the Type 037, retaining most of the original Chinese design but optimising them for operations along the Korean coast. The original weaponry was kept, but new weaponry was added, along with a lengthened hull, and design changes to the bridge and sensors.
The Taech’ŏng-class is split into two classes, Taech’ŏng-I and Taech’ŏng-II. The Taech’ŏng-II comprises fairly minor changes to Taech’ŏng-I, consisting of more modern weapons and sometimes altered bridges. The Taech’ŏng-II is much more rarely seen to the public, however, so information is limited. At least seven Taech’ŏng-I and at least five Taech’ŏng-II were built, and all appear to remain in service, acting as some of the KPANF’s most successful designs.
Multiple sub-variants of the Taech’ŏng-I (and -II) exist – differing primarily in their weaponry. The dual 57mm present at the fore of the Type 037 was replaced by either a turreted 85mm or 100mm cannon. In front of the bridge was a pair of dual 14.5mm cannons (or more recently, 14.5mm gatling guns). The RBU-1200s were reduced from four to two (and some carry none). The Taech’ŏng-II has similar weaponry, but many also carry two Soviet AK-230s, along with its associated radar system.
According to the CIA in 1987, the development of the Taech’ŏng-I is as follows:
- Taech’ŏng-I units 1-4
- Armed with turreted 85mm, 2x RBU-1200 aft of foward gun, 2x twin 14.5mm guns, 1x 25mm 2M-3, 1x twin 57mm ZiF-31
- One unit was modified with the RBU-1200s forward of the main gun
- Taech’ŏng-I units 5-7
- Armed with turreted 100mm, 2x RBU-1200 in front of forward gun
- Taech’ŏng-I units 8-9
- Same weapons suite as 5-7, but with superstructure extended
- Note: Might be misidentification, and instead be Taech’ŏng-IIs
This suggestion focuses on Taech’ŏng-I number 623, named ‘Sonyeon’. This ship was photographed in relatively high detail during a visit to Wŏnsan, a port city/naval base along the east coast of the DPRK, by the Chinese navy in August 2011. From the above information, we can reasonably conclude this ship was one of the first 4 units produced.
- PLN Type 679 training ship “Zheng He” welcomed by Taech’ŏng-I no. 623 ‘Sonyeon’ in August 2011
Characteristics
Taech’ŏng-I no. 623 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 or Sariwŏn-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. This turret resembles that of an enlarged PT-76 turret, and is distinguished easily from the 100mm turret present on other ships of the Taech’ŏng-I class, as seen below. Confusion online regarding the armament of the Taech’ŏng still persists though, with many incorrectly claiming the rounded turret to house the 100mm.
- 100mm turret of another Taech’ŏng-I
Just in front of the bridge are two 14.5mm rotary cannons. On earlier ships, these were dual 14.5mm cannons, but were modernised on what is likely all the ships to rotary cannons at some unknown point. These cannons are an indigenous development and have become fairly common with the KPANF (and have also been exported to Myanmar). Specifications are relatively unknown, but they have 6 barrels each, and are said to have an ‘impressive’ fire rate.
- Both 14.5mm gatling gun mounts are clearly visible. Below the emblem is the name of the ship (소년호, So-nyeon-Ho)
- Older dual 14.5mm set-up on an unknown Taech’ŏng-I
Behind the bridge, located on the small aft deckhouse, is a mount for the Soviet 2M-3 turret. This has two 25mm auto-cannons, which fire AP-T and FI-T rounds at 300 shots/minute.
Behind this on the main deck is a dual 57mm ZiF-31 mount. 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.
- Rear of Taech’ŏng-I no. 623
Located at the very end of the ship are two racks for depth charges. These racks were mounted on all KPANF ships above a certain size built during the Cold War. Each rack carries 6 depth charges, for a total of 12.
Supplementing this ASW weaponry are two RBU-1200 rocket launchers mounted just behind the 85mm turret mount, one on either side. These have five launcher pipes, and each fire 213mm rockets equipped with depth charges.
- RBU-1200s located behind the main gun
Conclusion
Taech’ŏng-I no. 623 represents one of the KPANF’s most successful classes of gunboat, and deserves a place in either a future North Korean coastal fleet sub-tree for China, or a United Korean coastal fleet tree. This ship is armed with a variety of strong weapons that would place it solidly around a BR of 3.7-4.0, and simultaneously is one of the weakest of the Taech’ŏng-I or -II classes, with at least 2 more distinct variants able to be added alongside it.
Specifications
-
General
Displacement: 385-410t
Length: ~60m
Engine: 4x 2200 bhp, 8800 bhp total
Top Speed: ~30.5 knots (56.5km/h)
Crew: ~70-80 -
Armament:
Main Armament
1x 85mm
1x dual 57mm ZiF-31AA Armament
1x 25mm 2M-3
2x 14.5mm gatling gunsASW Armament
2x RBU-1200
12x depth charges -
Sensors and Systems:
“Pot Head” (Reya) Search Radar
Images
Spoiler
No more definitive images of no. 623 exist (numbers have changed many times throughout their history, so some of the unidentified images below could be the same ship)
- Taech’ŏng-I no. 624. Has identical weaponry to no. 623
- Unknown Taech’ŏng-I, with the same weaponry
- Taech’ŏng-I no. 518. Appears to have identical weaponry to no. 623
- Unknown Taech’ŏng-I, with a 100mm cannon at the front, but otherwise identical weaponry
Sources
