''Xiamen'' (515) was a Type 053

frigate A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied somewhat. The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and ...

of the

People's Liberation Army Navy The People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN; ), also known as the People's Navy, Chinese Navy, or PLA Navy, is the maritime service branch of the People's Liberation Army. The PLAN traces its lineage to naval units fighting during the Chinese ...

Development and design

The PLAN retired many older frigates in the 1970s, and the No. 701 Institute developed the Type 053H (''Hai'' for anti-ship) as a replacement. The initial design was armed with four SY-1 anti-ship missiles in two twin-missile box launchers, two single 100 mm. guns, six twin 37mm guns, depth charges and short-range ASW rockets. The Type 053H received the NATO codename ''Jianghu-I''. The first was constructed by the Hudong Shipyard and entered service in the mid-1970s. At least a dozen were built and entered service with the PLAN

East Sea Fleet The Eastern Theater Command Navy (), or East Sea Fleet (ESF; ), is one of the three fleets of the People's Liberation Army Navy, operating in the East China Sea under the Eastern Theater Command. It was the first naval force formed by the Peopl ...

. The Type 053H was improved in four successive subclasses, receiving NATO codenames ''Jianghu-II'' through ''Jianghu-V''. The Type 053Hs were succeeded by the PLAN's first multirole frigates, the Type 053H2G and Type 053H3 frigates.

Construction and career

She was launched on 27 October 1975 at Hudong-Zhonghua Shipyard in

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flow ...

and commissioned on 31 December 1975. She was decommissioned in August 2013 and currently she lies at Taizhou Naval Museum, Taizhou 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 ...

near the

Taizhou Yangtze River Bridge The Taizhou Yangtze River Bridge is a bridge complex over the Lower Yangtze River in Jiangsu Province in eastern China. The bridge connects Taizhou on the north bank, Yangzhong on an island in the river, and Yaoqiao Village of Zhenjiang Munici ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Xiamen 1975 ships Type 053 frigates Ships built in China Museum ships in China