Type 312 minesweeper

The Chinese Type 312 class minesweeper was also known as Futi class. It was the first remote minesweeping drone, and was successfully used in the Vietnam War.

Class overview
Name: Type 312 class minesweeper
Builders: Hudong-Zhonghua Shipyard
Operators:  People's Liberation Army Navy
General characteristics
Type: Drone minesweeper
Displacement: 47 t (46 long tons; 52 short tons)
Length: 20.9 m (68 ft 7 in)
Beam: 3.9 m (12 ft 10 in)
Draught: 2.1 m (6 ft 11 in)
Propulsion:
  • 1 × Type 12V150C diesel engine
  • 300 hp (224 kW)
  • 1 shafts
Speed: 25 knots (46 km/h; 29 mph)
Range: 144 nmi (267 km; 166 mi) at 12 kn (22 km/h; 14 mph)
Complement: 3 (when manned)
Armament: Machine gun mount available for manned operation

Although originally designed as a minesweeping drone, the Type 312 can also be manned by a 3-man crew as a regular minesweeper. The chief designer was Mr. Diao Haiguang (刁海光) of the 710th Institute, and from the start of the project to the completion of the first two units (two units are being built simultaneously), it only took less than two years when the first two units entered the service for the People's Liberation Army Navy. Due to its small size, this class is maintained on land and thus is in better conditions than most of other larger boats and ships in the reserve fleet. The drone can be remotely operated from more than 5 km (3.1 mi) away.

References


    This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.