Type 091 submarine

The 4,500/5,500-ton Type 091 (US Department of Defense designation Han-class, Chinese designation 09-I) was the first nuclear-powered submarine (SSN) class deployed by the People's Liberation Army Navy. The general designer of the submarine was Mr. Huang Xuhua (黄旭华), and first submarine in the class was commissioned in 1974The Federation of American Scientists & The Natural Resources Defense Council Chinese Nuclear Forces and U.S. Nuclear War Planning p.86 [http://www.fas.org/nuke/guide/china/Book2006.pdf] ] and the fifth and final boat of the class was commissioned in 1990. The Han-Class is the among the first generation of nuclear-powered submarine in the People's Liberation Army Navy.

The Han-Class were developed with a backdrop of factional violence and witch hunts for enemy agents. With all the distractions, the Han-Class design became the victim. The Han-Class is well known for having a noisy reactor and poor radiation shielding. This causes health hazards for her crew as radiation levels are higher than they should be aboard the submarine. The submarine is also inhibited by the fact that it cannot launch missiles while submerged. This is a huge tactical drawback and makes a missile launch suicidal against most enemies. [ [http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/china/type-91.htm Type 09-1 Han Class ] ]

The Han-class have gone through major upgrades and numerous refits since their commissionings. Their initial design and weapons appear to be inadequate for confronting modern warships.It is believed that long refits have often meant that these submarines have spent more time in port than out at sea, greatly affecting their operational capacity. The boats have six 533 mm torpedo tubes and carry 20 torpedoes. Alternatively, they can carry 36 mines in their tubes. The Han class is capable of firing sub-launched variants of the C-801 anti-ship missile as well as a range of indigenous and Russian torpedoes or mines.

Hull 401 (and possibly 402 as well in the near future) had been retired from active service by 2005. All remaining hulls however have been refitted with new sonars, with Type H/SQ2-262B sonar manufactured by No. 613 Factory replacing the original Type 603 sonar on board. Anechoic tiles were added later reduce noise levels. India's short term lease of a Charlie 1 Class SSGN in 1988 resulted in negotiations with Pakistan for a lease of a Han. Pakistan's request for one was withdrawn when India returned the Charlie 1 in 1991. The Han has mostly operated in local waters. Since the 1990s, Hans have been used more aggressively. A Han shadowed a U.S. carrier battle group in the mid 1990s, and more recently, a Han was operating around Japanese waters, prompting a Japanese task group to pursue the submarine out of its territory.

All 5 boats (Changzheng 1 to 5; # 401 to 405) of this class were deployed with the North Sea Fleet and are homeported at Qingdao.

Notes

External links

* [http://www.sinodefence.com/navy/sub/091.asp Chinese Defence Today: Type 091 (Han Class)]
* [http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/china/type-91.htm Type 09-1 Han Class]

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