Yangyang-class minesweeper

Yangyang-class minesweeper (양양급 소해함, 襄陽級掃海艦) is a ship class of minesweepers currently in service on the Republic of Korea Navy.

The ship in front is the Yangyang-class minesweeper Ongjin
Class overview
Builders: Kangnam Corp.[1][2]
Operators:  Republic of Korea Navy
Built: 1999–2004
In commission: 1999–present
Completed: 3
Active: 3
General characteristics
Type: Minesweeper
Displacement:
  • 730 tonnes (718 long tons)
  • 880 tonnes (866 long tons) (Full load)[3]
Length: 60 m (196 ft 10 in)[3]
Beam: 10.5 m (34 ft 5 in)[3]
Propulsion: 2 × Voith Schneider Propeller[1]
Speed: 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph)[4]
Range: 2,970 nmi (5,500 km)[4]
Sensors and
processing systems:
  • Side scan sonar
  • Variable Depth Sonar[1]
Electronic warfare
& decoys:		 Mine Disposal Vehicle (MDV)[4]
Armament:
  • 1 × 20 mm cannon[4]
  • Multi-purpose machine gun[3]

Its main missions are gathering data of ports in the Korean region, and searching naval mine and minesweeping, in wartime.[3] They sometimes used at finding and recovering North Korean missiles, by using Variable Depth Sonar to detect missile fragments.[5][6]

Ongjin, second ship of the class, is famous for finding stern of ROKS Cheonan at ROKS Cheonan sinking.[7]

History

At the Korean War, Korea did not have proper minesweeping equipment, and it was all about pulling naval mines out of fishing nets or blowing up floating mines with light machine guns. Therefore, North Korea inflicted massive damage by the naval mine.[8] In the 1980s, Korea developed and used 6 Ganggyeong-class minehunters, which were the base of Yangyang-class ships.[1]

In the 1990s, the Navy made an upgraded minehunter design, based on the Ganggyeong-class. The first ship was launched and commissioned in 1999, which was named Yangyang. Two more, Ongjin and Haenam, were launched a few years later. Compared to Ganggyeong-class, Yangyang-class ships improved minesweeping ability, and increased hull size.[1]

Design

Yangyang-class ships are 60 metres (196 ft 10 in) long, 10.5 m (34 ft 5 in) wide. They are equipped with Multi-purpose machine gun,[3] a 20 mm (0.8 in) main gun, and Mine Disposal Vehicle (MDV). They use two Voith Schneider Propellers as propulsion, to control the ship more precisely. To perform minesweeping activities, mechanical/inductive minesweeping device and sonars are equipped.[1]

Officially about 50 crew are boarding the ship.[4]

Hull material

To protect the ship from magnetic mine, the ship's hull is made of fibre-reinforced plastic, which does not have a magnetic attraction, and lasts longer than commonly used material. It also minimized metallic equipment to tightly control the magnetic material inside the ship. Steel objects that are brought into the ship, like canned food, are heavily restricted and strictly controlled.[1]

Naming

The naming of minesweeper ships is taken from the names of counties and towns adjacent to a naval base.[4] For example, Yangyang is the name of Yangyang County, Gangwon Province.

List of ships
Hull no.NameCommissioned
MSH 571ROKS Yangyang1999
MSH 572ROKS Ongjin2003
MSH 573ROKS Haenam2004

See also

References
  1. 윤병노 (2019-06-17). "[군함이야기] 기뢰전함, 국내 기술로 9척 건조…기뢰대항 전력 업그레이드" [[Ship Story] Nine minehunters built with Domestic Technology… Naval mine ability upgraded]. Retrieved 2019-11-08.
  2. "Kangnam Corporation". Kangnamship.co.kr. Archived from the original on 2018-10-08. Retrieved 2019-05-20.
  3. "양양급 소해함" [Yangyang-class minesweeper]. 국방과학기술용어사전. Retrieved 2019-11-12.
  4. "함정" [Ships]. Republic of Korea Navy. Retrieved 2019-11-12.
  5. 박병진; 조병욱 (2012-03-28). "'457m 잠수 가능' 구조정 탑재, 청해진함은…" [ROKS Cheonghaejin, which carries rescue boat with can submerse to 457 m deep]. 세계일보. Retrieved 2019-11-13.
  6. 박병진 (2012-04-14). "軍 "잔해 수거하라" 총력전" [The army enters "total war state" to recover fragments]. 세계일보. Retrieved 2019-11-13.
  7. 오이석 (2010-03-30). "[천안함 침몰 이후] 소나, 음파로 영상 구성… 바닥 물체도 확인". Retrieved 2019-11-13.
  8. 윤병노 (2019-01-04). "[군함이야기] 한반도 해역 구석구석 '바다의 지뢰' 제거 전문가" [[Ship Story] Experts in Removing Sea Mines in Korean Peninsula]. 국방일보. Retrieved 2019-11-10.
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