The Type 035 submarine (
NATO reporting name: Ming class) is a class of
diesel-electric submarines of the
People's Liberation Army Navy. The Type 035 is a heavily improved redesign of the older
Type 033 submarines (Romeo class), which were built in China from 1962 to 1984.
Background
In 1963, under the 1950
, the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
passed to China the necessary design details in order to produce s.
[Korabli VMF SSSR, Vol. 1, Part 2, Yu. Apalkov, Sankt Peterburg, 2003, ] The Chinese variant became known as the Type 033, of which China built a total of 84 between 1962 and 1984.
During the 1970s, China's ambition to create an indigenous submarine industry lead to the commissioning of Wuhan Ship Development and Design Institute (701 Institute) to design and build an improved submarine based on the Type 033 hull, named the Type 035 (Ming class).
[Type 035 submarine (in Chinese)](_blank)
, haijun360.com, Retrieved 1 May 2015 Two Type 035 boats were completed by 1974.
Further improvements were deemed necessary and by the early 1980s a new and improved design, named the Type 035A were produced.
The first of these improved "A" models entered service in 1982, with three more under construction.
The latter three boats were completed and
commissioned by 1990.
The Type 035G is the most numerous variant. A total of 12 were built and commissioned between 1990 and 1999.
They were built with further improvements, especially in terms of noise reduction, weapons, sensors and crew living standards. The PLAN refer to this sub-class as, "new wine in an old bottle". Two boats of the Type 035A were upgraded to same standard as the Type 035G.
The most modern design variant is the Type 035B, which features a redesigned
conning tower and portions of the hull, giving it a very similar appearance to the newer
Type 039 submarines. Type 035B are capable of launching land attack
cruise missile
A cruise missile is a guided missile used against terrestrial or naval targets that remains in the atmosphere and flies the major portion of its flight path at approximately constant speed. Cruise missiles are designed to deliver a large warhea ...
s from their
torpedo tube
A torpedo tube is a cylindrical device for launching torpedoes.
There are two main types of torpedo tube: underwater tubes fitted to submarines and some surface ships, and deck-mounted units (also referred to as torpedo launchers) installed abo ...
s. A total of four boats were commissioned between 2000 and 2003.
Variants
*Type 035: First unit of the Ming-class submarine, with construction of two units begun simultaneously in October 1969 in
Wuchang
Wuchang forms part of the urban core of and is one of 13 urban districts of the prefecture-level city of Wuhan, the capital of Hubei Province, China. It is the oldest of the three cities that merged into modern-day Wuhan, and stood on the ...
Shipyard and
Jiangnan Shipyard
Jiangnan Shipyard () is a historic shipyard in Shanghai, China. The shipyard has been state-owned since its founding in 1865 and is now operated as Jiangnan Shipyard (Group) Co. Ltd.
Before 2009, the company was south of central Shanghai at ...
. The general designer was Wei Xumin (魏绪民). The most significant difference between Type 035 Ming class and Type 033 Wuhan class is that the former is driven by a single shaft instead of twin shafts of the latter.
Trials
In law, a trial is a coming together of parties to a dispute, to present information (in the form of evidence) in a tribunal, a formal setting with the authority to adjudicate claims or disputes. One form of tribunal is a court. The tribun ...
completed in October 1974 and this first unit (original
pennant number
In the Royal Navy and other navies of Europe and the Commonwealth of Nations, ships are identified by pennant number (an internationalisation of ''pendant number'', which it was called before 1948). Historically, naval ships flew a flag that iden ...
162, but later changed to 232) built at Jiangnan Shipyard entered Chinese service in the following month.
*Type 035A: The second unit of the Ming-class submarine with pennant number 342 was built at Wuchang Shipyard, and many problems were discovered during its trials. As a result, the Chinese navy ordered 701st Institute to perform a major redesign, which not only solved the problem, but also increased the top speed by 40% to . The redesigned boat was completed in June 1980, and finally entered Chinese service on December 24, 1982, with a new designation of Type 035A. In December 1983, the decision was made to stop the production of a new Type 033-class boat and replace it with a Type 035A. After the completion of the first Type 035A in 1982, the production of Type 035 briefly halted, until 1987, when the production restarted again and 3 more units were completed before the production ended in 1990.
*ES5C: Export version of Type 035/035A, with updated fire control system to launch acoustic homing torpedoes. There is no known export, but the design was used to upgrade Type 035/035A fleet.
*ES5D: further development of ES5C for export, with capability to launch
anti-ship missile
An anti-ship missile (AShM) is a guided missile that is designed for use against ships and large boats. Most anti-ship missiles are of the sea skimming variety, and many use a combination of inertial guidance and active radar homing. A good ...
s while submerged added. As with its predecessor ES5C, there is no known export but the design was used to upgrade Type 035/035A fleet.
*Type 035G: Program begun in 1985, and the first unit with pennant number 356 was
launched in 1989, entering service in December 1990, and state certification received in 1993. This is the first Type 035 series to have
anti-submarine
An anti-submarine weapon (ASW) is any one of a number of devices that are intended to act against a submarine and its crew, to destroy (sink) the vessel or reduce its capability as a weapon of war. In its simplest sense, an anti-submarine weapo ...
(ASW) capability. The primary weaponry for Type 035G is
Yu-3 torpedo The Yu-3 (鱼-3) is a Chinese acoustic homing torpedo designed to be fired from submarines against surface targets. It entered service with the Chinese Navy in 1984. Several sources state that it may be a copy of the Soviet SET-65E, although this ...
, and French
sonar
Sonar (sound navigation and ranging or sonic navigation and ranging) is a technique that uses sound propagation (usually underwater, as in submarine navigation) to navigate, measure distances ( ranging), communicate with or detect objects on ...
DUUX-5 and its Chinese-built version were used on later units, 12 of which were completed between 1990 and 1999. The last unit with pennant number 308 was lengthened by to add a section for
AIP
AIP may refer to:
Arts, entertainment and media
* Action International Pictures
* Afghan Islamic Press
* AIP Records, a record label
* American International Pictures, an independent film production/distribution company, now a subsidiary of MGM ...
tests.
*ES5E: Export version developed from Type 035G, with ability to launch wire-guided torpedoes added, but there is no known export.
*Type 035ET: French sonar system and its equivalent Chinese version on ES5E export version of Ming was expensive, so a cheaper alternative was developed, using Italian sonar systems, the JP-64 active sonar and Velox passive sonar of the . However, this failed to attract any buyers and the unit went into Chinese service instead.
*ES5F: Export version with integrated sonar system that integrates previously separated active, passive ranging, flank (and towed upon customer's request) sonar into one.
*Type 035B: Latest version of the Type 035 submarine. First batch of four completed between 2000 through 2003, and additional order followed sometimes later. Conning tower and certain portion of hull was redesigned, with new structure similar to that of
Type 039 submarine. This type was capable of launching land attack cruise missiles from torpedo tubes.
Boats of the class
The following are the pennant numbers of each boat, according to their type:
*Type 035 (ES5C): 232 and 233
*Type 035A: 352, 353 and 354
*ES5D: 342
*Type 035G (ES5E): 356, 357, 358, 359, 360,
361
__NOTOC__
Year 361 ( CCCLXI) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Taurus and Florentius (or, less frequently, year 1114 ' ...
, 362, 363, 305, 306, 307 and 308
*Type 035B (ES5F): 309, 310, 311, 312 and 313
Exports
The
Bangladesh Navy
The Bangladesh Navy ( bn, বাংলাদেশ নৌবাহিনী, Bangladesh Nou Bahini) is the naval warfare branch of the Bangladesh Armed Forces, responsible for Bangladesh's of maritime territorial area, and the defence of impo ...
ordered two off the shelf Type 035G submarines from China in 2013 worth $203 million. The boats underwent refit in China and delivery was made on 14 November 2016. They are the Bangladesh Navy's first submarines. The names and pennant numbers of the submarines are (S 161) and (S 162) respectively. They were commissioned on 12 March 2017.
Accident
In April 2003, the Ming-class submarine suffered a mechanical failure that killed all 70 crew members on board during an exercise in the
Yellow Sea
The Yellow 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. It is one of four seas named after common colour term ...
between
North Korea
North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu (Amnok) and ...
and China's
Shandong Province.
It was one of China's worst peacetime military disasters. The PLA Navy's Commander
Shi Yunsheng and Political Commissar
Yang Huaiqing were both dismissed as a result of the accident.
Surviving boats
* , in
Tianjin Binhai Theme Park
Tianjin (; ; Mandarin: ), alternately romanized as Tientsin (), is a municipality and a coastal metropolis in Northern China on the shore of the Bohai Sea. It is one of the nine national central cities in Mainland China, with a total po ...
,
Tianjin
Tianjin (; ; Mandarin: ), alternately romanized as Tientsin (), is a municipality and a coastal metropolis in Northern China on the shore of the Bohai Sea. It is one of the nine national central cities in Mainland China, with a total popu ...
See also
*
People's Liberation Army Navy Submarine Force
References
{{Ship classes of the Chinese Navy
Submarine classes