Chinese submarine 361

History
China
Name: No. 361
General characteristics
Class and type: Ming-class submarine
Displacement:
  • 1,584 tonnes (1,559 long tons) surfaced
  • 2,113 tonnes (2,080 long tons) submerged
Length: 76 m (249 ft 4 in)
Beam: 7.6 m (24 ft 11 in)
Draft: 5.1 m (16 ft 9 in)
Propulsion:
  • 2 × Shaanxi 6E 390 ZC1 diesels rated at 5,200 hp (3.82 MW)
  • 2 × Xiangtan alternators
  • 2 shafts
Speed:
  • 15 knots (28 km/h) surfaced
  • 18 knots (33 km/h) submerged
Complement: 55 (9 officers)
Armament:
  • 6 × bow torpedo tubes
  • 2 × stern torpedo tubes

The submarine hull number No. 361 with name Great Wall #61 (长城61号) is a Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy Type-035AIP (ES5E variant) (NATO reporting name Ming III) conventional diesel/electric submarine. In 2003 while at the Bohai Sea between North Korea and China's Shandong Province, the vessel suffered a systems failure that killed all 70 crew members on board.[1]

No. 361 was part of the 12th Brigade of the North Sea Fleet of the PLAN based at Lüshunkou (formerly Port Arthur) in Liaoning Province.

Ming class

The Ming class of Chinese submarines are an adaptation of the diesel/electric Romeo class submarine built in the Soviet Union, which are based on the German Type XXI submarine of World War II.

The Central Military Commission ordered the building of the Ming class submarines in 1967 as Project 035. The construction of the first began during October, 1969 at Wuhan Shipyard. The last boat was built in 2002. A total of 20 boats were built, of which 17 are left, and most serve in the North Sea Fleet. No. 361 serving the East Sea Fleet was the thirteenth and was built in 1995 making it one of the newest in the fleet.

CNN reports that China is increasing training and exercises of its submarines in the east to carry out a policy of "sea denial" to try counter the powerful U.S. Pacific fleet.[2] The location of the incident (see below), the Bohai Sea is very strategic for China. It is the closest sea outlet to Beijing, and one of the busiest sea routes in the world.

Incident

According to the official Chinese news agency, Xinhua, the submarine was taking part in exercises east of Inner Changshan Islands in the Bohai Sea of Northeastern China.[3] The captain of the boat was Commodore Cheng Fuming (程福明). Among the 70-member crew, 13 of them were not part of the original crew, but instead, trainees and cadres from the naval academy.

On April 16, 2003, all 70 crew members of the submarine were killed when the diesel engine failed to shut down while the boat was submerged and used up all the oxygen on board.

According to Xinhua on May 2, 2003, the crippled boat was discovered by Chinese fishermen on April 25, 2003, when they noticed the periscope sticking out. The submarine was then towed initially to Yulin on Hainan Island, and later towed back to the northeast seaport of Dalian. The submarine was drifting for ten days because it was on a silent, no-contact drill.

Impact

CMC Vice-chairman Guo Boxiong led an enquiry into the incident, which resulted in the dismissal of four senior PLAN officers on June 13, 2003. Four other senior officers were also demoted. The official verdict was improper "command and control".

Quotes

References

  1. ↑ You Ji (2012). "Meeting the Challenge of the Upcoming PLAAF Leadership Reshuffle". The Chinese Air Force: Evolving Concepts, Roles, and Capabilities (PDF). National Defense University Press. p. 231. ISBN 978-0-16-091386-0.
  2. ↑ China says sub disaster killed 70
  3. ↑ Foreign Ministry Spokesperson's Press Conference on May 8, 2003

External links

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