- Yes
- No
TL;DR
Coastal vessel, heavily armed Albanian gunboat with added torpedoes
Overview:
In the 1960s, Albania and the Soviet Union dramatically split after ideological differences, with Albania cutting ties and leaving the Warsaw Pact, seizing 2 Soviet submarines based there in the process. Now without Soviet assistance, Albania sought support from its ideological ally China, which it supported during its own Sino-Soviet Split. In 1965, China began transferring vessels to the Albanian navy, mainly consisting of fast attack craft and patrol boats, which allowed Albania to have control over the Strait of Otranto. As relations between Albania and China too began to decline, the lack of new spare parts led to many ships being decommissioned or cannibalized for parts.
6 Chinese Type 062C gunboats were transferred in the 1970s without ASW weaponry, being assigned the numbers 101-106, changed multiple times with their numbers in the 1990s being P121-123 and P421-423. As some of their Type 025 and 026 torpedo boats were being decommissioned in the 1990s, they would have their weaponry reused, with their 533mm torpedo tubes installed on some of the Type 062s, essentially transforming them into torpedo boats. By the end of the 1990s, almost all of the ex-Soviet and Chinese vessels were in non-operational condition, and almost all of them would be discarded. The Type 062s would see service in the 1997 Civil War being used by factions of all types, with one vessel, P123, escaping to Italy, though it was later returned to Albania. By 2000, all Type 062s had been decommissioned except for P123, renamed P115, and P421. P421 would be decommissioned around 2002, and P115 sometime during the 2010s.
Specifications: (1994)
Armament:
2x2 37mm Type 61
2x2 25mm Type 61
2x1 533mm Torpedo TubesDisplacement:
~123t standard
~136t fullLength: 38.8m
Beam: 5.4m
Draft: 1.7m
Propulsion: 2 L-12V-180A and 2 L-12V-180Z diesel engines, 4400 hp, driving 4 shafts
Speed: 28.5 knots (52.8 km/h)
Range: 750 nmi (at 16.5 knots)
Crew: 25
Systems:
Type 753 navigational radar
Images:
Sources:
Gardiner, R., Chumbley, S., & Budzbon, P. (1995). Albania. In Conway’s All the World’s Fighting Ships 1947-1995 (p. 1-2). Naval Institute Press.
Myszor, O. (2011). Eksportowy szlagier Mao Zedonga Chińskie patrolowce typu 062 (Shanghai I-III, Haizhui). In Okręty Wojenne Vol. XVIII, Nr 1/2011 (pp. 87-96).
https://www.navypedia.org/ships/albania/al_cf_12174.htm
Type 062 (Shanghai-I Class) Gunboat: The First Proper PLAN Gunboat - suggestion post with main information of the ship, including better pictures and drawings