The Type 052 (NATO/ OSD Luhu-class destroyer is a

class Class or The Class may refer to: Common uses not otherwise categorized * Class (biology), a taxonomic rank * Class (knowledge representation), a collection of individuals or objects * Class (philosophy), an analytical concept used differentl ...

destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, manoeuvrable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against powerful short range attackers. They were originally developed in ...

s developed in the

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

(PRC) for 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 ...

(PLAN). The Type 052 was an intermediate between the obsolescent Type 051Kirchberger (2015): page 186 and the modern

Type 052B destroyer The Type 052B (NATO/ OSD Luyang I-class destroyer is a class of guided-missile destroyers in the Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy Surface Force (PLAN). The Type 052B was China's first modern destroyer designKirchberger (2015): page 195McDevit ...

s.Kirchberger (2015): page 195McDevitt (2017): page 57 They were the first PLAN destroyers powered by

gas turbine A gas turbine, also called a combustion turbine, is a type of continuous flow internal combustion engine. The main parts common to all gas turbine engines form the power-producing part (known as the gas generator or core) and are, in the directi ...

s, and the first PLAN ships with modern combat direction systems (CDS). They were also part of the first generation of PLAN warships armed with

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 to destroy aircraft or other missiles. It is one type of anti-aircraft syst ...

s in the form of the short-range Crotale (called

HQ-7 The HQ-7 is a short-range surface-to-air missile (SAM) from the People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by populati ...

in Chinese service.)Kirchberger (2015): page 231 The Type 052 used subsystems imported from the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

and the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...

. The embargo after the

1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre The Tiananmen Square protests, known in Chinese as the June Fourth Incident (), were student-led demonstrations held in Tiananmen Square, Beijing during 1989. In what is known as the Tiananmen Square Massacre, or in Chinese the June Fourth ...

ended the supply of and support for those subsystems, limiting production to two ships and likely impacting their operating efficiency due to system integration issues. Afterward, China turned to

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

and

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

for technology.Kirchberger (2015): page 143

Programme

The Type 052 was the first PLAN warship where the CDS was designed before the ship. The CDS, possible the ZKJ-6 based on the

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

IPN-10 or IPN-20,Kirchberger (2015): page 188 began development in 1983 and underwent land-based testing in December 1986. Two ships were ordered in 1985, but delayed by export orders to

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...

. The first, ''

Harbin Harbin (; mnc, , v=Halbin; ) is a sub-provincial city and the provincial capital and the largest city of Heilongjiang province, People's Republic of China, as well as the second largest city by urban population after Shenyang and largest ...

'', was laid down in November 1990 and commissioned in July 1994. ''

Qingdao Qingdao (, also spelled Tsingtao; , Mandarin: ) is a major city in eastern Shandong Province. The city's name in Chinese characters literally means " azure island". Located on China's Yellow Sea coast, it is a major nodal city of the One Belt ...

'' was commissioned in March 1996. In 2003, ''Harbin'' was refitted with a low radar profile 100mm gun turret in 2003; ''Qingdao'' followed in 2005. 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.

Design

Machinery

The ships were completed with different gas turbines due to the embargo; ''Harbin'' with two

General Electric LM2500 The General Electric LM2500 is an industrial and marine gas turbine produced by GE Aviation. The LM2500 is a derivative of the General Electric CF6 aircraft engine. As of 2004, the U.S. Navy and at least 29 other navies had used a total of mor ...

s from the United States, and ''Qingdao'' with two Zorya-Mashproekt DA80s from

.Collins and Grubb (2008): page 36

Sensors

The original sensors included the Type 518 air search radar, the Type 362 search radar, and the FrenchCollins and Grubb (2008): page 32 DUBV-43 variable depth sonar. These were replaced during the 2010 refit with the

Type 517 radar Type 517 radar is believed to be an A-band/VHF air search radar widely deployed on PLAN surface vessels with 4 antenna Antenna ( antennas or antennae) may refer to: Science and engineering * Antenna (radio), also known as an aerial, a transdu ...

, the Type 362 radar, and a linear towed array sonar respectively.

Weapons

The ships are armed with an octuple HQ-7/Crotale launcher, and a total of 32 missiles. France agreed to sell the missile systems in 1986, and they were delivered after October 1990. 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 The Type 730 is a Chinese seven-barrelled 30 mm Gatling gun/Rotary cannon CIWS. It has a PLA Navy designation H/PJ12. It is mounted in an enclosed automatic turret and directed by radar, and electro-optical tracking systems. The maximum rat ...

Other

The CDS installed on the Type 052 is unclear.Kirchberger (2015): page 187 One ship may have 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-Houst ...

TAVITAC; the PRC bought two TAVITACs from France in the 1980s.Kirchberger (2015): page 185 The TAVITAC may be known as, or modified into, the ZKJ-5 CDS in PRC service. The other ship may have received the ZKJ-6. The quarterdecks were built open, and enclosed during the 2010 refit. 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.

Operational history

''Qingdao'' participated in the PLAN's first cruise to

circumnavigate Circumnavigation is the complete navigation around an entire island, continent, or astronomical body (e.g. a planet or moon). This article focuses on the circumnavigation of Earth. The first recorded circumnavigation of the Earth was the Magel ...

Earth in 2002. German technicians were flown in to repair its diesel engines during the cruise.

Ships of the class

Gallery

Defense.gov News Photo 970309-N-9815L-005.jpg, ''Harbin'' at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii in 1997 with the original main gun turret. People's Liberation Army Navy LUHU Destroyer, Harbin (DDG112).jpg, ''Harbin'' at Auckland, New Zealand in 2007 with the low radar profile turret. CNS_Qingdao_(DDG-113).jpg, ''Qingdao'' in 2013 after the major refit.

References

Bibliography

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Type 052 Destroyer Destroyer classes