''Dalian'' (110) is a former

Type 051 destroyer The Type 051 destroyer (NATO/ OSD Luda-class destroyer) was a class of guided missile destroyers based on the hull of the Soviet deployed by China. It was the first guided missile destroyer fielded by the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN), ...

of the

People's Liberation Army Navy The People's Liberation Army Navy, also known as the People's Navy, PLA Navy or simply Chinese Navy, is the naval warfare military branch, branch of the People's Liberation Army, the national military of the People's Republic of China. It i ...

, since 2020 used as a

museum ship A museum ship, also called a memorial ship, is a ship that has been preserved and converted into a museum open to the public for educational or memorial purposes. Some are also used for training and recruitment purposes, mostly for the small numb ...

Development and design

The PLAN began designing a warship armed with guided missiles in 1960 based on the Soviet ''Neustrashimy'', with features from the , but the

Sino-Soviet split The Sino-Soviet split was the gradual worsening of relations between the People's Republic of China (PRC) and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) during the Cold War. This was primarily caused by divergences that arose from their ...

stopped work. Work resumed in 1965Forecast International: page 4 with nine ships being ordered.Jane's Fighting Ships 2004-2005: p. 127 Construction started in 1968, with trials beginning in 1971. The ships nominally entered service in the early 1970s, but few were fully operational before 1985; workmanship was poor due to the

Cultural Revolution The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a Social movement, sociopolitical movement in the China, People's Republic of China (PRC). It was launched by Mao Zedong in 1966 and lasted until his de ...

. Construction of the second batch began in 1977,Jane's Fighting Ships 2009-2010: p. 139 with the last commissioning in 1991.Jane's Fighting Ships 2009-2010: p. 140 The second batch may have been ordered due to the Cultural Revolution disrupting development of a successor class. These ships may be designated Type 051D. The PLAN initiated an abortive modernization program for the first batch in 1982. The ships would be reconstructed with British weapons and sensors acquired from

British Aerospace British Aerospace plc (BAe) was a British aircraft manufacturer, aircraft, munitions and defence-systems manufacturer that was formed in 1977. Its head office was at Warwick House in the Farnborough Aerospace Centre in Farnborough, Hampshire. ...

. The

Falklands War The Falklands War () was a ten-week undeclared war between Argentina and the United Kingdom in 1982 over two British Overseas Territories, British dependent territories in the South Atlantic: the Falkland Islands and Falkland Islands Dependenci ...

made the prospective upgrades less impressive and cost effective, and the project was cancelled in 1984. A 1986 upgrade project using American power plants, weapons, sensors, and computers was cancelled because of the

1989 Tiananmen Square protests The Tiananmen Square protests, known within China as the June Fourth Incident, were student-led Demonstration (people), demonstrations held in Tiananmen Square in Beijing, China, lasting from 15 April to 4 June 1989. After weeks of unsucces ...

Construction and career

''Dalian'' was launched on 20 August 1981 at the Huangpu Shipyard in

Shanghai Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...

. Commissioned on 26 December 1984 into the

North Sea Fleet The North Sea Fleet (NSF; ), concurrently the Northern Theater Command Navy (), is one of the three fleets of China's People's Liberation Army Navy. Headquartered in Qingdao, Shandong, the fleet provides naval forces to the Northern Theater Comma ...

. ''Dalian'' initially received the

Thomson-CSF Thomson-CSF was a French company that specialized in the development and manufacture of electronics with a heavy focus upon the aerospace and defence sectors of the market. Thomson-CSF was formed in 1968 following the merger of Thomson-Hous ...

Tavitac combat data system, the Type 393 surface search radar, and

HQ-7 The HQ-7 (; NATO reporting name: CH-SA-4) is a short-range surface-to-air missile (SAM) from the People's Republic of China. It was reverse-engineered by the Changfeng Electromechanical Technology Design Institute from the French R-440 Crotale ...

( Crotale derivative)

surface-to-air missile A surface-to-air missile (SAM), also known as a ground-to-air missile (GTAM) or surface-to-air guided weapon (SAGW), is a missile designed to be launched from the ground or the sea to destroy aircraft or other missiles. It is one type of anti-ai ...

s (SAM); the missiles replaced "X" turret. In 1999,

YJ-8 The YJ-8 (; NATO reporting name: CSS-N-4 Sardine) is a Chinese air and surface-launched subsonic anti-ship cruise missile. It is manufactured by the China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation (CASIC) Third Academy.Gromley et al.: page 101 ...

missiles replaced the HY-series, and electronic warfare systems were upgraded. She was later equipped with

YJ-83 The YJ-83 (; NATO reporting name: CSS-N-8 Saccade) is a Chinese subsonic anti-ship cruise missile. It is manufactured by the China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation Third Academy. Development The YJ-83 uses microprocessors and a st ...

anti-ship missiles. She was equipped with ZKJ-1 combat data system. On 11 July 2017, ''Dalian'' conducted a live firing exercise in the

Yellow Sea The Yellow Sea, also known as the North Sea, is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean located between mainland China and the Korean Peninsula, and can be considered the northwestern part of the East China Sea. Names It is one of four ...

. She was decommissioned on 16 May 2019. On 1 September 2020, ''Dalian'' arrived at the

Liugong Island Liugong Island ( zh, s=, t=, p=Liúgōng Dǎo, w=Liu-kung Tao) is a small island located on the northeastern edge of Shandong Peninsula, China, at the mouth of Weihai Bay. It is known as the "birthplace of China's first modern navy" and is also ...

Ferry Terminal in

Weihai Weihai ( zh, t=, p=Wēihǎi), formerly Weihaiwei ( zh, s=, p=Wēihǎiwèi, l=Mighty Sea Fort, first=t), is a prefecture-level city and major seaport city in the easternmost Shandong province of China. It borders Yantai to the west and the Yellow ...

, to be permanently anchored and converted into a

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dalian 1981 ships Ships built in China Museum ships in China Type 051 destroyers Cold War destroyers of the People's Republic of China