The Type 053 is a family of Chinese frigates that served with the People's Liberation Army Navy Surface Force, and a small number of foreign navies.
Nomenclature for Chinese warships was temporarily changed during the Cultural Revolution, and some subclasses gained different NATO reporting names.
Nomenclature
The naming of the Type 053/Type 6601/Type 065 frigates reflected contemporary Chinese political turmoil. The PLAN originally named major surface combatants after geographical areas in China, but this practice was abolished during the Cultural Revolution. During that period, most of the third batch of Type 065s were either not named or had their names stripped; ships were referred to only by their hull numbers.
The naming of ships resumed in the latter half of the 1980s. However, by that time the Type 065s were nearing retirement, and the traditional geographic names were given to newer ships. For example, Jinan was allocated to a Type 051 destroyer. When the older Type 053/Type 6601/Type 065 were renamed, none received the same one they had held before.
History
Replicating the Riga and the Type 065
In the 1950s, the Soviets provided China with four kits for Riga-class frigates and four completed Gnevny-class destroyers. These entered PLAN service as the Type 01 Chengdu class and the Type 07 Anshan class, respectively. The Riga kits were assembled by the Huangpu Shipyard in Guangzhou, and the Hudong Shipyard in Shanghai, from 1955 to 1958. These ships formed the PLAN's backbone in the 1950s and 1960s.
Following the Sino-Soviet split and the withdrawal of Soviet aid, the Wuhan-based No. 701 Institute began reverse-engineering the Type 01 in 1962. The result was the Type 065. It was based on the Riga class hull, with the flush deck replaced by a long forecastle. This modification was needed to accommodate a large medium-speed diesel powerplant; the civilian diesel was a substitute for the Riga class' compact high-pressure steam turbine powerplant that the Chinese were unable to replicate. The first Type 065, Haikou (529), was laid down at Huangpu in August 1964 and commissioned by August 1966.
Type 053K air-defence frigate
From 1965 to 1967, the No. 701 Institute designed the Type 053K (Kong for air-defence), an air-defence variant of the Type 065. This met a PLAN requirement for air-defence ships to accompany the surface-warfare Type 051 destroyers. The Type 053K was originally intended to have three screws powered by a combined gas-turbine and diesel engine, with a speed of 38 knots. However, technical constraints forced the Chinese to settle for a diesel engine, powering two screws for a maximum speed of 30 knots.
The Type 053Ks were armed with HQ-61 surface-to-air missiles, launched from two twin-armed launchers; these did not enter service until the mid-1980s. The 100 mm. gun armament was also delayed. This class received NATO reporting name as Jiangdong class.
Only two Type 053Ks were completed, possibly due to unsatisfactory performance and the long development time for their intended armament. Yingtan (531) was laid down in 1970 and commissioned in 1977, and followed by Zhongdong (532). Both ships were withdrawn from service in 1992, with one scrapped in 1994 and the other preserved as a museum ship.
Type 053H surface-warfare frigate
The PLAN retired many older frigates in the 1970s, and the No. 701 Institute developed the Type 053H (Hai for anti-ship) as a replacement. The initial design was armed with four SY-1 anti-ship missiles in two twin-missile box launchers, two single 100 mm. guns, six twin 37mm guns, depth charges and short-range ASW rockets. The Type 053H received the NATO codename Jianghu-I. The first was constructed by the Hudong Shipyard and entered service in the mid-1970s. At least a dozen were built and entered service with the PLAN East Sea Fleet.
The Type 053H was improved in four successive subclasses, receiving NATO codenames Jianghu-II through Jianghu-V. The Type 053Hs were succeeded by the PLAN's first multirole frigates, the Type 053H2G and Type 053H3 frigates.
Type 053H2 surface-warfare frigate
The Type 053H2, NATO codename Jianghu-III, is an improved version of Type 053H1 frigates. Hudong Shipyard built seven hulls for the People's Liberation Army Navy (three ships) and Royal Thai Navy (four ships) between 1985 and 1992. In 2013,two of PLAN Type 053H2 frigates were transferred to Bangladesh Navy. Basically, Type 053H2 is an anti-surface warfare (ASuW) frigate for the littoral environment featuring a sophisticated combat management system and enhanced electronic warfare and countermeasures capabilities.