The Type 068 and Type 069 (

NATO reporting name NATO uses a system of code names, called reporting names, to denote military aircraft and other equipment used by post-Soviet states, former Warsaw Pact countries, China, and other countries. The system assists military communications by providi ...

: Yuch'in or Yuqin) are classes of landing craft mechanized (LCM) of the

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

People's Liberation Army Navy The People's Liberation Army Navy, also known as the People's Navy, PLA Navy or simply Chinese Navy, is the naval warfare military branch, branch of the People's Liberation Army, the national military of the People's Republic of China. It i ...

(PLAN). They may be based on the

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

T-4 landing craft, or smaller versions of the Type 067 landing craft with shorter tank and longer poop decks. The Type 068 and Type 069 were mainly designed to transport cargo and personnel respectively. The landing craft were built at

Shanghai Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...

from 1962 to 1972. A few modified Type 069s were built at

Zhoushan Zhoushan is an urbanized archipelago with the administrative status of a prefecture-level city in the eastern Chinese province of Zhejiang. It consists of an archipelago of islands at the southern mouth of Hangzhou Bay off the mainland c ...

for

Tanzania Tanzania, officially the United Republic of Tanzania, is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It is bordered by Uganda to the northwest; Kenya to the northeast; the Indian Ocean to the east; Mozambique and Malawi to t ...

in the 1990s.

Operators

; Bangladesh bought six of the landing craft from China. Two Type 069s were fitted as inshore survey craft and entered service in 1983. Four Type 068s were delivered in 1986. The

1991 Bangladesh cyclone The 1991 Bangladesh Cyclone has been noted as one of the deadliest tropical cyclones in recorded history. It was also one of the most powerful cyclones in the Indian Ocean. Forming out of a large area of convection over the Bay of Bengal on Apr ...

severely damaged two Type 068s, one of which was scrapped. ; ; Tanzania bought two modified Type 069s for logistics support. They were launched from the Kailing Shipyard and delivered in 1995. They have greater molded depth for increased cargo capacity, air conditioning and improved steering.

References

Sources

* * {{Ship classes of the Chinese Navy Amphibious warfare vessel classes Amphibious warfare vessels of the People's Liberation Army Navy