Type 051B destroyers

Shenzhen was laid down at the Dalian shipyard in May 1996. It was an experimental ship based on Luhu- type destroyers and was built using modular technology using stealth elements. The propulsion system consists of two steam turbines. The decision to use steam turbines was due to the vast experience of the Dalian shipyard in the production of this equipment and the small experience of the Chinese industry in the field of ship gas turbines has not yet matured. Displacement compared to destroyers such as Luhu increased by 2000 tons. Shenzhen was launched in 1997, although there was no official declaration of the existence of the ship until its commissioning. The main designer of this project is Academician Pan Jingfu (潘 镜 芙), who is also the developer of the previous and subsequent projects of the Chinese destroyers.

The main objective of project 051B was to gain experience in the design and construction of a modern destroyer, as well as to improve the knowledge and skills accumulated earlier in the development of type 052 destroyers, such as the integration of various foreign subsystems. The ship is driven by steam turbines as a result of the 1989 Western embargo on the supply of weapons and the unavailability of gas turbines of its own production. When developing type 051B, stealth technologies were used, which allowed to reduce the EPR compared to its predecessor. Analysts suggested that the ship in the bow will be equipped with air -defense systems for anti-aircraft missiles. However, when the ship finally went into operation, it turned out that it was armed with an air defense system with an 8-container HQ-7 launcher. These air defense systems were low effective against low-flying cruise missiles attacking from various azimuths. The Navy of China was not satisfied with the project, and only one ship was built. At that time, air defense was the weak point of the Chinese fleet, and the old old systems could not sufficiently change the situation. As a result, it was decided to purchase in Russia two pairs of Project 956 destroyers , which served as the flagships of the fleets. ^[one]

The only ship of type 051B 167 " Shenzhen" participated in the first friendly visit of PLA ships to Africa in 2000, the first visit to Europe in 2001 and the first visit to Japan in 2007. In 2004, the ship underwent repair and modernization in the middle of its service life, during which the 100-mm gun and HQ-7 air defense systems were replaced with improved models.

In August 2009, the destroyer made a four-day visit to Kochi , India after being advanced to the Gulf of Aden to combat piracy.

At the beginning of 2015, the destroyer was put up for repair at the Zhanjiang naval base. Initially, it was not clear whether ordinary repairs or preparations for the withdrawal from the fleet were supposed ^[2] , but photographs in January 2016 showed that the ship was converted with new systems. Four old 37-mm anti-aircraft guns of type 76A were replaced by two 11-barrel 30-mm ZAK H / PJ-11 (export designation Type 1130) with a rate of 10,000 rounds per minute. The HQ-7 air defense missile system with a range of 10-15 km was replaced by an HQ-16s air defense system with a range of 50-60 km, an air -launched missile system with 32 cells (in the bow of the ship in front of the superstructure), and four 345 type target radars. The helicopter hangar was modified to fit a helicopter Ka-28 , two additional mast structures were installed with type 382 radar on the fore mast and type 364 target designation radar under the dome on the main mast. Modernization provided the ship with weapons and detection equipment comparable to frigates of type 054A. ^{[3] [4]} Type 382 radar replaced the type 381 radar with a single phased array antenna and was moved from the main mast to the focus mast to remove the pre-existing blind spot. The Kvaterdek was completely closed, new ports appeared under the towed GAS and anti-torpedo trap in the transom; however, a variable-depth GAS has not been established. The ship completed the modernization of weapons systems in August 2016. ^{[5] [6]}

• List of ship classes in service

•   There are media files on the Wikimedia Commons on the subject of destroyer type 051B

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