P 4 class torpedo boat
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 Basis of the P4, Soviet K-123 type formerly with the Egyptian navy; at display at the Ha'apala and Israeli Navy museum, Haifa, Israel |
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| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Operators: |  People's Liberation Army Navy |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | Torpedo boat |
| Displacement: | 19.5 tonnes (19.2 long tons; 21.5 short tons) |
| Length: | 19.3 m (63 ft 4 in)[1] |
| Beam: | 3.7 m (12 ft 2 in) |
| Draft: | 1 m (3 ft 3 in) |
| Propulsion: | 2 × Soviet M50 diesel engines, 2,400 hp (1,790 kW), 2 shafts |
| Speed: | 55 knots (102 km/h; 63 mph) |
| Range: | 500 mi (800 km) |
| Complement: | 12 |
| Sensors and processing systems: |
1 × Soviet I band Skin Head navigational radar |
| Armament: | • 2 × 450 mm (17.7 in) torpedoes • 2 × 12.7 mm (0.50 in) or 14.5 mm (0.57 in) heavy machine guns |
The P 4 class torpedo boat were aluminum-hulled torpedo boats of the People's Republic of China's People's Liberation Army Navy. Based on the Soviet K-123 hydroplane design, they were armed with twin 14.5-millimetre (0.57 in) machine guns,[2] and two 17-inch (43 cm) torpedoes. This class is currently considered obsolete, but was not completely retired from active service, being placed in reserve until the mid-1990s.
The P 4 torpedo boats consisted of two primary types; the K-123 type with radar, and B-123 type without. The Chinese-built units made the radar standard for all boats, and replaced the original 12.7-millimetre (0.50 in) heavy machine guns onboard those former Soviet boats delivered to China with 14.5-millimetre (0.57 in) heavy machine guns.
The PLAN transferred this class to the naval militia for training purposes, and because these boats are kept and maintained on land due to their small size, they are normally in better condition than larger units that are kept in the reserve and mothballed fleets.
In addition to naval militia training duties, some of the surviving units have been converted into target drones, and have thus been returned to active service, functioning as minor support auxiliaries. As with the Yulin-class gunboat, the drone is controlled by larger converted gunboats such as the Shantou, Huangpu, and Beihai classes. When in operation as drones, the boats are unmanned.
[edit] References
- Notes
- ^ Moïse 1996, p. 70
- ^ Moïse 1996, p. 71
- Bibliography
- Moïse, Edwin E. (1996). Tonkin Gulf and the Escalation of the Vietnam War. Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press. ISBN 0-8078-2300-7.
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