''Ganggyeong''-class minehunter (, ) is a ship class of

minehunter A minehunter is a naval vessel that seeks, detects, and destroys individual naval mines. Minesweepers, on the other hand, clear mined areas as a whole, without prior detection of mines. A vessel that combines both of these roles is known as a ...

s currently in service on the Republic of Korea Navy. Because of the improvements in naval mine technology in the 1980s, and the lack of minesweeping ability, the Korean Navy designed their first minehunter ship in 1983 and launched the first minehunter, , in 1986. Currently, there are six ''Ganggyeong''-class minehunter operating in the Korean Navy.

History

At the Korean War, Korea did not have proper minesweeping equipment, and it was all about pulling naval mines out of fishing nets or blowing up floating mines with light machine guns. Therefore, North Korea inflicted massive damage by the naval mine. From the 1950s, Korea purchased and used American minehunting vehicles, called ''Geumhwa'', ''Geumsan'', ''Namyang'' classes. In the 1980s, according to the research report on the Navy, the Korean Navy's ability to minesweep was very weak compared to North Korea. There were very few short-range ships, and the ships in operation were seriously degraded due to deterioration. The Korean Navy felt an urgent need to modify existing coastal

submarine A submarine (or sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability. The term is also sometimes used historically or colloquially to refer to remotely op ...

s or to introduce new ships. The Korean Navy began ship design in 1983, and finished its first minehunter project in 1986, with the launch of the first ship . Later, five more ships were launched and commissioned. After the development of ''Ganggyeong'' class, the development of the was conducted based on the previous class. The ''Yangyang'' class has improved minesweeping ability compared to the ''Ganggyeong'' class.

Design

''Ganggyeong''-class ships are long, wide. They are equipped with a main gun, small

depth charge A depth charge is an anti-submarine warfare (ASW) weapon. It is intended to destroy a submarine by being dropped into the water nearby and detonating, subjecting the target to a powerful and destructive Shock factor, hydraulic shock. Most depth ...

s, about 300 naval mines, and Mine Disposal Vehicle (MDV). They use two

Voith Schneider Propeller The Voith Schneider Propeller (VSP) is a specialized marine propulsion system (MPS) manufactured by the Voith Group based on a cyclorotor design. It is highly maneuverable, being able to change the direction of its thrust almost instantaneously ...

s as propulsion, to control the ship more precisely. Officially about 50 crew are board the ship, but some source suggests that it is 40.

Hull material

To protect the ship from magnetic mine, the ship's hull is made of

fibre-reinforced plastic Fibre-reinforced plastic (FRP; also called fibre-reinforced polymer, or in American English ''fiber'') is a composite material made of a polymer matrix reinforced with fibres. The fibres are usually glass (in fibreglass), carbon (in carbon-fib ...

, which does not have a magnetic attraction. It also minimized metallic equipment to tightly control the magnetic material inside the ship. Steel objects that are brought into the ship, like canned food, are heavily restricted and strictly controlled.

Naming

The naming of minehunter ships is taken from the names of counties and towns adjacent to a naval base. For example, ''Ganggyeong'' is the name of Ganggyeong- Eup in

Nonsan Nonsan () is a city in South Chungcheong Province, South Korea. It is located at . The origin of Nonsan's geographical names is said to have come from the small garden " Nolmoe, " which rises in the middle of farming fields, where rice paddies ...

, South Chungcheong, and ''Gangjin'' is taken from Gangjin County, South Jeolla.

List of ships

References