The Chinese-made torpedo weapon began its history with a product under the designation "Fish-1", which was a copy of the Soviet torpedo 53-38.
Development work (R&D) began in February 1962, but the lack of necessary specialists led to a delay in the development of the torpedo. On the one hand, the rupture of military-technical contacts with the USSR led to a serious backlog of the PRC defense industry in the development of torpedo weapons, and on the other hand, it became the reason for the formation of its own design and engineering school.
Torpedo weapons of China. Product "Fish-1"
During the tests, which began in March 1970, about 104 torpedo prototypes were used. In September 1971, the product was assigned the designation "Fish-1". The new torpedo weapon had a length of 7.8 m, a caliber of 533 mm, and a mass of 2000 kg. The mass of the warhead was 400 kg. The maximum launch range was 9 km, while the maximum speed reached 50 knots. This torpedo made it possible to hit targets with minimal deviation from the course.
Aviation torpedo "Fish-2"
The second example of a Chinese–made torpedo weapon is the medium-caliber aviation torpedo "Fish-2", which is a copy of the Soviet RAT-52. This torpedo is designed for use with Hong-5 bombers and Qiang-5 attack aircraft in the torpedo bomber modification.
Chinese aviation torpedo "Fish-2"
The Chinese-made ammunition has a length of 3.89 m, a caliber of 450 mm, a weight of 627 kg, of which 243 kg are accounted for by the warhead. The development of this torpedo began in 1958, and the first tests were carried out in the area of the Liushun Naval Base in 1960. At the same time, during the subsequent series of tests, Chinese specialists were forced to solve many technical problems. In total, about 70 prototypes were used to test the design of the Fish-2 torpedo. The designation of ammunition was assigned only in 1971 .
According to the calculations of Chinese gunsmiths, in order to justify the costs of OCD, it was required to release at least 2,000 torpedoes, but in reality only 200 units of this torpedo weapon were assembled and transferred to aviation units. The production of the Fish-2 torpedo ceased in 1986.
Torpedo weapons. The product "Fish-3"
As part of the first attempt to independently develop a heavy electric torpedo for nuclear submarines (submarines) of the first and second generation, Chinese designers created a munition under the designation "Fish-3". With a length of 6.6 m and a caliber of 533 mm, the torpedo had a mass of 1,340 kg, of which 190 kg were allocated to the warhead. The maximum launch range is 13 km, and the depth varies from 6 to 350 m.
Torpedo "Fish-3" of the Chinese Navy
In the future, Chinese designers modified the acoustic guidance system, which provided the possibility of re-targeting. In fact, Chinese engineers have managed to create a universal model of torpedo weapons, allowing them to fight both surface ships and submarines of a likely enemy.
The updated version of the torpedo received the designation "Fish-3II" (also known as "Chinese sturgeon"). The tests took place in the period from 1988 to 1997 in the waters of the South China Sea. At the final stage, the crew of the Han project submarine sank a target vessel with a displacement of 1,750 tons.
Torpedo weapons. Fish-4 and Fish-5 torpedoes
The heavy electric torpedo "Fish 4" was developed by Chinese designers on the basis of the Soviet SAET-60 (a self-guided acoustic electric torpedo of the 1960 model), thanks to design documentation and several samples obtained from the USSR. Development work began in 1973.
Marine torpedo "Fish-4"
The solution of technical issues took almost 10 years, as a result, serial production of the torpedo started only in 1984. Two modifications were developed, namely "Fish-4A" with passive acoustic guidance and "Fish-4B" with active-passive guidance.
The Fish-4 A and B torpedoes are included in the range of weapons of diesel-electric submarines (DPL) of projects 033, 035, 039, 040, as well as in the delivery package of export DPL projects S20, S26 and MS.
With regard to the heavy thermal torpedo under the designation "Fish-5", it is known that it is intended for arming the Project 093E submarines, the Project 039 submarines and subsequent boats.
Thermal torpedo "Fish-5"
This ammunition is equipped with a more effective active-passive acoustic guidance system. Basically, these torpedoes were exported to the Navies of foreign states, which were armed with Chinese-made boats.
Tactical and technical characteristics of torpedo weapons of the Chinese Navy. Samples "Fish-4" and "Fish-5"
Characteristic/Model Fish-4 Fish-5 Production designation H/YZQ-004 H/YZQ-005 Export designation ET-31 ET-34 and ET-36 The beginning of OCD 1966 1980 The beginning of pr-va 1982 Arming 1984 2000 Media Type pl pl Destiny Anti - ship Anti - submarine Caliber (mm) 533 533 Length (m) 7,74 7,8 Torpedo weight (kg) 1755 Warhead weight (kg) 309 400 Speed (uz) 30-40 Up to 50 Optimal launch range (km) 6 Maximum launch range (km) 15 25 Average launch depth (m) 5-45 10-50 Maximum launch depth (m) 150 200 Maximum target depth (m) 300 500 Engine type electric thermal Guidance Active/Passive acoustic + Wired Active/Passive acoustic + Wired Target detection range of the GOS torpedo (m) 1200-1500 1300-1700
Read the sequel:
Torpedo weapons of the Chinese Navy
Based on the materials of the Chinese specialized military-technical publication "Ship knowledge"
