Type 052 destroyer

Qingdao at Haifa port, Israel in 2012
Class overview
Builders	Jiangnan Shipyard
Operators	People's Liberation Army Navy Surface Force
Preceded by	Type 051
Succeeded by	Type 051B
Built	1990 – 1996
In service	1994 – present
Completed	2
Active	2
General characteristics
Type	Guided-missile destroyer
Displacement	4,674 tons[1]
Length	144 m (472 ft 5 in)[1]
Beam	16 m (52 ft 6 in)[1]
Draught	5.1 m (16 ft 9 in)[1]
Propulsion	2 x General Electric LM2500 gas turbines (55,000 shp (41,000 kW)) (112)[1] 2 x Zorya-Mashproekt DA80 gas turbines (48,600 shp (36,200 kW)) (113)[2][1] 2 x MTU 12V 1163 TB83 diesels (8,840 shp (6,600 kW))[1]
Speed	31 kn (57 km/h; 36 mph)[1]
Range	5,000 nmi (9,300 km; 5,800 mi) at 15 kn[1]
Complement	266[1]
Sensors and processing systems	Type 517B air search radar[1] Type 363S air/surface search radar[1] Type 364 surface search radar[1] Type 344 fire control radar[1] Type 345 fire control radar[1] DUBV 23 hull mounted sonar[1] Linear towed array sonar[1]
Electronic warfare & decoys	Rapids (ESM)[1] Scimitar (ECM)[1]
Armament	4 × 4 YJ-83 anti-ship missiles[1] 1 × 8-cell HQ-7 SAM[1] 1 × twin 100 mm/56 gun[1] 2 x Type 730 CIWS[1] 2 x triple 324 mm Whitehead B515 torpedo tubes carrying Yu-7[1] 2 x 12-tube FQF 2500 ASW rocket launchers[1]
Aircraft carried	2 helicopters: Harbin Z-9C[1]
Aviation facilities	Landing platform[1] Hangar[1] DCN Samahe 110N helicopter landing system[1]

The Type 052 (NATO/OSD Luhu-class destroyer^[3] is a class of destroyers developed in the People's Republic of China (PRC) for the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN). The Type 052 was an intermediate between the obsolescent Type 051^[4] and the modern Type 052B destroyers.^[5][6] They were the first PLAN destroyers powered by gas turbines,^[6] and the first PLAN ships with modern combat direction systems (CDS).^[4] They were also part of the first generation of PLAN warships armed with surface-to-air missiles in the form of the short-range Crotale (called HQ-7 in Chinese service.)^[7]

The Type 052 used subsystems imported from the United States and the European Union. The embargo after the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre ended the supply of and support for those subsystems, limiting production to two ships^[4] and likely affecting their operating efficiency due to system integration issues.^[4] Afterward, China turned to Russia and Ukraine for technology.^[8][5]

Programme

The Type 052 was the first PLAN warship where the CDS was designed before the ship.^[4] The CDS, possible the ZKJ-6 based on the Italian IPN-10 or IPN-20,^[9] began development in 1983 and underwent land-based testing in December 1986.^[4] Two ships were ordered in 1985, but delayed by export orders to Thailand. The first, Harbin, was laid down in November 1990 and commissioned in July 1994. Qingdao was commissioned in March 1996.^[1]

In 2003, Harbin was refitted with a low radar profile 100mm gun turret in 2003; Qingdao followed in 2005.^[1]

A major refit began in 2010 for Harbin and Qingdao in 2011 which included changes to sensors and weapons, gas turbine replacement, and some hull work.^[1]

Design

Machinery

The ships were completed with different gas turbines due to the embargo; Harbin with two General Electric LM2500s from the United States, and Qingdao with two Zorya-Mashproekt DA80s from Ukraine.^[2]

Sensors

The original sensors included the Type 518 air search radar, the Type 362 search radar,^[10] and the French^[11] DUBV-43 variable depth sonar.^[10] These were replaced during the 2010 refit with the Type 517 radar, the Type 362 radar, and a linear towed array sonar respectively.^[1]

Weapons

The ships are armed with an octuple HQ-7/Crotale launcher, and a total of 32 missiles.^[1] France agreed to sell the missile systems in 1986, and they were delivered after October 1990.^[12]

Four Type 76A twin 37 mm guns were installed at construction. They were removed during 2010 refit, and the aft pair replaced by a pair of Type 730 CIWS.^[1]

Other

The CDS installed on the Type 052 is unclear.^[4][13] One ship may have received the Thomson-CSF TAVITAC; the PRC bought two TAVITACs from France in the 1980s.^[14] The TAVITAC may be known as, or modified into, the ZKJ-5 CDS in PRC service.^[9] The other ship may have received the ZKJ-6.^[13][9]

The quarterdecks were built open, and enclosed during the 2010 refit.^[1]

The ships may have had severe survivability issues like earlier PLAN warships. Observations by foreign visitors to Harbin in March 1997 suggested limited damage control capability and crew safety features.^[4]

Operational history

Qingdao participated in the PLAN's first cruise to circumnavigate Earth in 2002. German technicians were flown in to repair its diesel engines during the cruise.^[11]

Ships of the class

Gallery

• 
  Harbin at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, in 1997 with the original main gun turret.
• 
  Harbin at Auckland, New Zealand, in 2007 with the low radar profile turret.
• 
  Qingdao in 2013 after the major refit.

See also

• List of naval ship classes in service

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Type 052 destroyer.

1. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq ar as at au av} Saunders, Stephan, ed. (2015). Jane's Fighting Ships 2015-2016. Jane's Information Group. p. 141. ISBN 978-0710631435.
2. ^ ^{a b} Collins and Grubb (2008): page 36
3. ^ "China Equipment" (PDF). United States Navy Office of Naval Intelligence. February 2015. Retrieved 14 March 2022.
4. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h} Kirchberger (2015): page 186
5. ^ ^{a b} Kirchberger (2015): page 195
6. ^ ^{a b} McDevitt (2017): page 57
7. ^ Kirchberger (2015): page 231
8. ^ Kirchberger (2015): page 143
9. ^ ^{a b c} Kirchberger (2015): page 188
10. ^ ^{a b} Saunders, Stephan, ed. (2009). Jane's Fighting Ships 2009-2010. Jane's Information Group. p. 138. ISBN 978-0-7106-2888-6.
11. ^ ^{a b} Collins and Grubb (2008): page 32
12. ^ Gill, Bates; Taeho, Kim (1995). China's Arms Acquisitions from Abroad: A Quest for 'Superb and Secret Weapons'. SIPRI Research Repor. Vol. 11. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 79. ISBN 0-19-829195-7.
13. ^ ^{a b} Kirchberger (2015): page 187
14. ^ Kirchberger (2015): page 185