Type 062 (Shanghai-I Class) Gunboat: The First Proper PLAN Gunboat

JamesPond1200 · July 28, 2023, 3:20am

Would you like the Type 062-class Gunboat to be added to the game?

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How should it be added?

Tech Tree
Premium
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Battlepass
Squadron
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What BR should it have?

3.0
3.3
3.7
4.0
Other (comment)
I said no

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Type 062 (Shanghai-I Class) Gunboat: The First Proper PLAN Gunboat

History:

When the People's Republic of China first began to establish itself as a nation, its naval forces were quite weak. The fledgling People's Liberation Army Navy had to rely on captured and donated equipment, along with the occasional limited-production craft-built gunboat made in one of the various provincial shipyards. By the 1950s it was realized that these gunboats simply wouldn't do the job any longer, and so a call was put forth to create the first unified class of large gunboats. These would also be replacing the previous Type 55A "Shantou"-class light gunboats, as they were determined to be too slow and too lightly armed. Multiple shipyards put forth designs, each of which was tested and evaluated. Luda proposed the Type 0105, Qingdao offered the Type 0108, Shanghai the Type 0109, and the Type 0110 came from Guangzhou. Each prototype offered a unique approach, and in the end it was decided that the best elements from each would be combined into a fifth design: the Type 0111. This final prototype was laid down at the Luda shipyard and had a displacement of 125 tons. Powered by four Chinese copies of the Soviet M50F 1200HP diesel engine, the 0111 could reach a speed of 28.5 knots. It was armed with a pair of 57mm guns and two twin 25mm gun turrets. This was a good start, but there were issues. it was too heavy, and the 57mm guns were prone to failure, so it was returned to the drawing board once more. This new version had a reduced displacement of 115 tons (though it is still commonly known as "the 125-ton gunboat" in the PLAN) and a top speed of 30.2 knots and replaced the 57mm guns with two twin 37mm mountings. Finally with a few more tweaks, in October 1962 the 0111 was put into service as the Type 062 gunboat.

Known as the Shanghai-class in the West, the Type 062 spawned a number of variants, including models with more reliable engines, a subchaser, a minesweeper, and even a prototype gas turbine model. This gunboat and its various offshoots would see service until the 1990s with the Chinese, and even longer in the navies of other nations. The Type 062 family has been exported to Albania, Bangladesh, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Egypt, North Korea, Pakistan, Sierra Leone, Sri Lanka, Tunisia and East Timor, with many still in service in those nations. Upwards of 390 are said to have been built, with around 93 of those having been exported.

The Type 062 gunboat took part in a number of conflicts between China and Taiwan, the first occurring during Project Guoguang in 1965. Two battles in particular: the Battle of Dongshan and Battle of Chongwu involved, among others, Type 062 gunboats repelling Taiwanese ships.

Description:

The Type 062 gunboat described here is the most common production version, also known as the 0111A, or the Shanghai-I class by NATO. It is a steel patrol boat/gunboat with a single deck and four propeller shafts. It is driven by four L-12V-180 diesel engines based on the M50F-3 engine from the USSR. Each engine produced 1200HP, giving the ship a top speed of 30.2 knots. It is armed with eight guns in four turrets. The main guns are a pair of Type 61 twin 37mm turrets placed fore and aft. These are based on the Soviet V-11 twin 37mm mount, and are effectively identical. Similarly, the two secondary turrets are a pair of Type 61 twin 25mm guns, which are based on the Soviet 2M-3 turret and effectively identical. These make for an incredibly powerful array of weapons which are capable of knocking out any light coastal boat with ease. It also has the ability to carry EITHER 6 mines OR 8 depth charges on rails at the rear of the boat. It has a complement of 36 men. Its dimensions are 38.7 x 5.3 x 1.5 meters, and it has a displacement of 115 tons. An interesting side note is that these boats are often retrofitted in the field with 75mm or 82mm recoilless rifles to enhance their firepower; something which could be an interesting modification option in the game!