Type 062 Class (Shanghai II Class) Chinese Gunboat

The Type 062 gunboat is a class of gunboat of the People's Liberation Army Navy first developed and constructed in the 1950s. This unsophisticated class is relatively well-armed for its size and is the most widely built and exported Chinese naval vessel in terms of numbers. A total of 30 were built, initial boats being known as the Shanghai I class and later slightly improved boats being known as the Shanghai II class. The Shanghai I class was slightly smaller than its successor, the Shanghai II class, displacing 125 tons instead of 135 tons, and had a twin Chinese Type 66 57 mm gun mount forward. All other specifications are identical to the Shanghai II class, which replaced the 57 mm with twin 37 mm gun mounts. Some boats remained in active service well into the early 1990s in the PLA navy and longer in the case of the Korean People's Navy. The Type 062 gunboat (NATO reporting name: Shanghai I & II class), is a family of gunboats built to replace the preceding Shantou and Huangpu-class gunboats. During the late 1950s, the PLAN found they needed a more powerful gunboat, as the 50-80-ton class Shantou and Huangpu-class gunboats were too small and lacked both firepower and endurance. Several prototypes are built by different shipyards. They were the Type 0105 from Luda, the Type 0108 from Qingdao, the Type 0109 from Shanghai, and the Type 0110 from Guangzhou. Displacement of the prototypes varied from 100-150 t, speed varied from 28–30 knots (52–56 km/h; 32–35 mph), with different weapon arrangements including 57IIx1, 37IIx1, 14.5IIx2 or 37IIx2,14.5IIx2. In 1960, a hybrid of all the prototypes, Type 0111 was laid down at Dalian shipyard, Luda. Full production variants became known as the Type 062-class. A total of 30 were built, initial boats being known as the Shanghai I class and later slightly improved boats being known as the Shanghai II class. Some boats even remained in active service well into the early 1990s. The Shanghai I class was slightly smaller than its successor, the Shanghai II class, displacing 125 tons instead of 135 tons, and had a twin Chinese Type 66 57 mm gun mount forward. All other specifications are identical to the Shanghai II class, which replaced the 57 mm with twin 37 mm gun mounts. The L-12V-180 diesel engines used on the Type 062 were prone to overheat, thirsty for fuel and had a poor working life. So the smaller L-12D-6 diesel engine was introduced. The new engine was more fuel efficient and had longer life, but rated only 910 horsepower (680 kW), resulting in a maximum speed of only 28.5 knots (52.8 km/h; 32.8 mph). The low speed disappointed PLAN and thus one of the reason construction ended at 30 boats.