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Type 051 Luda - Design

The combat potential provided by the high speed and long range of this design was compromised by the lack of an air defense ability. In common with the Soviet Kotlin class, the Luda class ships originally had no ship-to-air missiles for self-protection, a deficiency which the Soviet Navy eventually remedied with the SAM Kotlin class. The Luda-class destroyers may be the first Chinese warships to incorporate a combat direction system.

Destroyer research began in the late-fifties at the Seventh Academy. By the mid-sixties, the No. 701 Institute, which was under the auspices of the Seventh Academy, began developing a first-generation guided missile destroyer. The destroyer's standards were to have 3,000 tons of displacement or more and to be powered by steam power. The destroyer would be armed with both 130mm and 57mm guns, depth charges, sonar, and radar.

The design of the destroyer was approved by the National Planning Commission, the Office of Industry of National Defence, and the Commission of Science and Technology for National Defence in June 1967. Construction began in 1968 in the Dalian shipyard.

For the most part, the Chinese lacked any expertise in developing a guided missile destroyer. The technology of producing a guided missile system on a destroyer was primarily developed by the No. 701, No. 713 Institute and the Third Academy of the Seventh MMB. Eventually, the Chinese developed an effective scheme to equip its destroyers with guided missiles.

By December 1971, the first destroyer constructed was delivered to the PLAN. By September 1973, a destroyer conducted a successful single shot and salvo missile tests. Both the PLAN and the Sixth MMB appraised a design scheme for a destroyer. It had a maximum length of 132 meters, a maximum width of 12.8 meters, a main mast height of 29 meters, a maximum displacement of 3833 tons, a maximum speed of 38 knots, a combat radius of 1400 nautical miles, and a wind resistance of 12 levels. The main weapons are equipped with two triple-ship missile launchers, two twin 130mm caliber guns, three twin 37mm caliber guns, two twin 25mm caliber guns, and two 12500 guns. 2 anti-submarine rocket launch tubes.

Three major variants have been produced, with at least 16 and as many as 17 units built between 1972 and 1991.

• Luda I initial basic configuratuion, though with considerable variations in armament and electronics among units. While most sources report that units 160-166 were built at Guangzhou Shipyard, some sources suggest these units were built at Dalian Shipyard. The PLAN continued to improve the launching system and the destroyer's capabilities at sea. In one instance, the main boiler intake and exhaust pipe of the destroyer was significantly improved. The first destroyers had two high-power steam turbines, four boilers and 18 steam auxiliaries complemented by 27 electric ones for the ship's propulsion system. The performance of the boiler initially was inhibited by a lack of wind supply to cause the complete combustion of the ships 20 injectors. As a result, the ship couldn't reach its full potential speed. As a solution, the conduit cap and the scheme of the blowers was redesigned. As a result, the wind path was improved, promoting the combustion of the engines injectors, and thus improving the speed.
• Luda II added the 8-cell HQ-7 SAM system along with a helicopter deck and hangar replacing the aft gun armament. All sources agree that two Luda II' Class units were so modified, and that the pennant numbers are 105 and 109, but sources diverge as to whether 109 is the Kaifeng or the Dalian.
• Luda III features improved sonars, SSMs, and electronics on a single ship, DD166 Zhuhai. Some sources report this as a 'Luda-II' class, and identify helicopter-capable 'Luda-IIs' as 'Luda-I' class. The original Luda I design has been extensively modernized, primarily for ASW missions, in the Luda-III class (type 051G, 3,730t full loaded). The new destroyer of the Chinese navy was equipped with the Type SJD-II sonar system and the SJD-4 sonar. Developed by the No. 706 Institute and the No. 726 and 461 plant, both sonar systems was capable of detecting a submarine through poor conditions at 18 knots. The system also supplemented the destroyer's anti-submarine warfare capabilities, guiding the deployment of the ship's depth charges. Initially only one vessel was identified (hull number 166, possibly changed to 168 for overseas deployment), but more Luda-Is are expected to be upgraded to the Luda-III standard in the future. Some sources suggest that the Luda-II class DDG-109 Kaifeng was been upgraded by 2000 with 16 C-801 SSMs and an octuple Crotale SAM system and fire control radar, as well as possible sonar modifications, bringing it up to Luda III class.

In regards to its anti-air capabilities, the first-generation destroyer were later equipped with a phase-scan, three-coordinate surveillance radar that had anti-jamming capabilities. The radar was developed by the No. 724 Institute after ten years of research.

The PLA Navy's missile-equipped warships -- the Jiangwei-class frigates, the later versions of the Luda-class destroyers, and the Luhu-class destroyers -- were probably the first Chinese warships to have combat direction systems that provide tactical integration of shipboard sensors and weapons.

In 1987, the Jinan was heavily modified, and the main gun and anti-aircraft gun on the rear deck were dismantled, and the helicopter landing platform and hangar were installed. In December 1988, the Chinese navy conducted the first helicopter landing test and succeeded. A modified Z-9 helicopter landed firmly on the landing deck of the Jinan ship, marking the re-entry of the People’s Navy’s equipment.

As the first self-designed guided missile destroyer in China, the Jinan was highly cared for by the party and state leaders. Zhu De, Ye Jianying, Deng Xiaoping, Xiao Jinguang, Liu Huaqing and other older generation leaders visited the ship several times. On August 2, 1979, Deng Xiaoping reviewed the naval forces on the Jinan and wrote a glorious inscription for the Navy to "build a strong navy with modern combat capabilities", which pointed out a new direction for the navy's modernization.

The equipment test was a pioneer, and the ship had been rated as an advanced unit of national law and law for three times. It has been rated as an advanced unit for the disabled and disabled in the country twice. It has been rated as an advanced unit of the military and civilians in the whole army and an advanced collective of Xuefeng. It has won many military and civilian personnel in Qingdao. Co-constructed the Innovation Award and the advanced unit of Qingdao Respecting Teachers.

The State Council and CMC modernized its fleet of first generation destroyers by retrofitting them with new technology to improve their combat systems. Emphasis was placed on the electronics and the development of a combat-intelligence-command system. Improvements to the ships were made in the Dalian shipyard in 1987, which resulted in improved weapon systems, living conditions, and most significantly in electronic counter measures. The newly improved destroyers were made available to the PLAN in 1989. The 051-type destroyer was the most compact and mature destroyer in the Chinese navy, inheriting the design of the Soviet "Kotlin" class destroyer. A small number of improvements and changes to the "Kotlin" class enabled the design of the "Luda" class to be completed in just a few years and put into service. In the 1970s, Soviet and U.S. Navy destroyers often operated outside the territorial waters of mainland China. "Luda" class destroyers, with their large-range missile weapons, could track and monitor them from a distance. Destroyers operating offshore at a distance of 600 kilometers from the mainland coastline, supported by shore-based aviation, do not emphasize the shipborne air defense weapon system, so the Type 051 destroyer was not equipped with a powerful ship-to-air defense system in the early stage.

The division of watertight compartments in the "Luda" class was unreasonable, and the design did not pay attention to the handling of the compartment pipes and cable vias. Cracks in these parts of the cabin, the fire will make the cable vias into leaks. It can be seen that the early "Luda" class design has poor damage resistance and sink resistance, which is caused by the lack of experience of the Chinese design team. In addition, the arduous living environment of the "Brigade" class has also been criticized, and the habitability design of the ship has been simplified, which is not conducive to the sailors maintaining a good physiological state to carry out long-term maritime duty in various climate conditions. However, these were not noticed by the design department at that time.

The 051 destroyer is equipped with two high-power steam turbines, and four boilers, The steam auxiliary machine and 27 electric auxiliary machines form the propulsion system of the warship. It is not easy to arrange these mechanical equipments compactly and reasonably and coordinate their work in a narrow cabin space. The wind resistance at the beginning of the design is too large, and the two turbine blowers are installed too close, resulting in insufficient air supply to the boiler and the 20 oil heads cannot be fully burned. Therefore, during the trial of the first ship, the maximum speed of the main engine did not reach the rated value, which affected the speed. In order to solve this problem, in cooperation with China Shipyard and Hangzhou Steam Turbine Factory, 701, several different types of air duct models were made. From the test, resistance analysis was carried out, and the shape of the guide cap and the distance between the fans were changed. Measures such as reducing eddy current losses have been adopted to solve the wind rush phenomenon of the two fans, so that all oil heads of the boiler can be completely burned, and the ship's speed has also reached the design index.