The submarine hull number No. 361 named ''

Great Wall The Great Wall of China (, literally "ten thousand Li (unit), ''li'' wall") is a series of fortifications that were built across the historical northern borders of ancient Chinese states and Imperial China as protection against Eurasian noma ...

#61'' (长城61号) was a Chinese

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 ...

Type 035AIP (ES5E variant) (NATO reporting name Ming III) conventional diesel/electric

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 ...

. In April 2003, during a

military exercise A military exercise or war game is the employment of military resources in training for military operations, either exploring the effects of warfare or testing strategies without actual combat. This also serves the purpose of ensuring the com ...

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 terms ...

between North Korea and China's

Shandong Shandong ( , ; ; alternately romanized as Shantung) is a coastal province of the People's Republic of China and is part of the East China region. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history since the beginning of Chinese civilizati ...

Province, the vessel suffered a mechanical failure that killed all 70 crew members on board. It was one of China's worst peacetime military disasters. The PLA Navy's Commander

Shi Yunsheng Shi Yunsheng (; born 1940 in Fushun, Liaoning) is a retired naval aviator and admiral of the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) of China. He was the fifth commander of the PLAN (1996–2003). He was the commander of air force of South Sea Fle ...

and Political Commissar

Yang Huaiqing Yang Huaiqing (; February 1939 – 12 December 2012) was an admiral in the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLA Navy) of China. He was a member of the 15th and 16th Central Committees of the Chinese Communist Party. He was a delegate to the 8th ...

were both dismissed as a result of the accident.

Background

No. 361 was part of the 12th Submarine Brigade of the

North Sea Fleet The Northern Theater Command Navy (), or the North Sea Fleet (NSF; ) is one of the three fleets of the Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy, under the Northern Theater Command. In September 1950 the Qingdao Army Base was redesignated as a naval ...

of the PLA Navy based at Lüshunkou in

Liaoning Liaoning () is a coastal province in Northeast China that is the smallest, southernmost, and most populous province in the region. With its capital at Shenyang, it is located on the northern shore of the Yellow Sea, and is the northernmost ...

Province. It was a Type 035G (Ming III-class) submarine. These were clones of Soviet Project 633 a.k.a Romeo-class submarines, which themselves were clones of German World War II advanced

Type XXI Type XXI submarines were a class of German diesel–electric ''Elektroboot'' (German: "electric boat") submarines designed during the Second World War. One hundred and eighteen were completed, with four being combat-ready. During the war only two ...

diesel/electric

U-boats U-boats were naval submarines operated by Germany, particularly in the First and Second World Wars. Although at times they were efficient fleet weapons against enemy naval warships, they were most effectively used in an economic warfare rol ...

. According to

CNN CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by the M ...

, China was increasing training and

exercises Exercise is a body activity that enhances or maintains physical fitness and overall health and wellness. It is performed for various reasons, to aid growth and improve strength, develop muscles and the cardiovascular system, hone athletic s ...

of its submarines in the east to carry out a policy of "sea denial" to counter the

United States Pacific Fleet The United States Pacific Fleet (USPACFLT) is a theater-level component command of the United States Navy, located in the Pacific Ocean. It provides naval forces to the Indo-Pacific Command. Fleet headquarters is at Joint Base Pearl Harbor� ...

Fatal incident

According to the official Chinese news agency

Xinhua Xinhua News Agency (English pronunciation: )J. C. Wells: Longman Pronunciation Dictionary, 3rd ed., for both British and American English, or New China News Agency, is the official state news agency of the People's Republic of China. Xinhua ...

, all 70 crew members died when the submarine's diesel engine used up all available oxygen (because it had failed to shut down properly) while the boat was submerged on April 16, 2003. The submarine, which was commanded by

Commodore Commodore may refer to: Ranks * Commodore (rank), a naval rank ** Commodore (Royal Navy), in the United Kingdom ** Commodore (United States) ** Commodore (Canada) ** Commodore (Finland) ** Commodore (Germany) or ''Kommodore'' * Air commodore, a ...

Cheng Fuming (), had been taking part in naval exercises east of Inner

Changshan Islands (; ), also known as (), and (), is a form of , Chinese robe, which was derived from the Qing dynasty , the traditional dress of the Manchu people, which were worn by Manchu men. The was actually developed by the Han Chinese through the modi ...

in the Yellow Sea off the coast of Northeastern China. Along with its normal complement, the crew included 13 trainee cadets from the Chinese naval academy. After the disaster, the crippled submarine drifted for ten days because it was on a silent, no-contact exercise. The boat was discovered by Chinese fishermen who noticed its periscope protruding above the surface on April 25, 2003. The crew were slumped over at their stations, seemingly having died before becoming aware of any issue. At a press conference on May 8, 2003, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhang Qiyue stated that while on an exercise east of Changshan Islands, the No. 361 submarine was incapacitated by a mechanical problem and all 70 on board had perished. The submarine had been towed to a port as of the time of the press conference. The submarine was initially towed to Yulin Harbor near

Sanya Sanya (; also spelled Samah) is the southernmost city on Hainan Island, and one of the four prefecture-level cities of Hainan Province in South China. According to the 2020 census, the total population of Sanya was 1,031,396 inhabitants, li ...

Hainan Hainan (, ; ) is the smallest and southernmost province of the People's Republic of China (PRC), consisting of various islands in the South China Sea. , the largest and most populous island in China,The island of Taiwan, which is slightly l ...

Island before being taken back to the northeast seaport of

Dalian Dalian () is a major sub-provincial port city in Liaoning province, People's Republic of China, and is Liaoning's second largest city (after the provincial capital Shenyang) and the third-most populous city of Northeast China. Located on the ...

province.

Aftermath

On May 2, 2003, Central Military Commission (CMC) chairman

Jiang Zemin Jiang Zemin (17 August 1926 – 30 November 2022) was a Chinese politician who served as general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from 1989 to 2002, as chairman of the Central Military Commission from 1989 to 2004, and as pres ...

said in a condolence message to the families of the dead that "the officers and sailors of 361 remembered their sacred duty entrusted to them by the Party and the people. They died on duty, sacrificed themselves for the country, and they are great losses to the People’s Navy." CMC Vice-chairman

Guo Boxiong Guo Boxiong (born July 1942) is a former general of the People's Liberation Army of China. He served as the Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission, China's top military council, between 2002 and 2012. During the same period he also he ...

led an enquiry into the incident, which resulted in the dismissal or demotion of five senior

PLA 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 ...

officers in June 2003: Navy Commander

(replaced by

Zhang Dingfa Zhang Dingfa (; 8 December 1943 – 14 December 2006) was a submariner and admiral of China's People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN), who served as Commander of the PLAN from 2003 to 2006. Prior to that, he served as President of the PLA Academy ...

) and Political Commissar

; North Sea Fleet Commander

Ding Yiping Ding Yiping (; born February 1951) is a retired vice-admiral (''zhong jiang'') of the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) of China. He served as Deputy Commander and Chief of Staff of the PLAN, and Commander of the North Sea Fleet. He was groom ...

, Political Commissar Chen Xianfeng (), and Chief of Staff Xiao Xinnian. Ding Yiping had been groomed to be the candidate for Navy Commander, but was removed from contention after the accident. Admiral

Wu Shengli Wu Shengli (; born August 1945) is a retired Chinese admiral who served as commander of the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) from 2006 to 2017. Prior to that, he served as PLA's deputy chief of staff, commander of the South Sea Fleet and c ...

eventually succeeded Zhang Dingfa as Commander.

Background

Fatal incident

Aftermath

References

External links