052C/052D Class Destroyers

Bhurki said:

Zibo has been known to be in service for quite a few months now, whats not known is the status for 121,122 and 132 which are quite close being in service.

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Zibo belongs to the Sixth, which is an ace formation. The fact that the squadron has extensive experience with this class, likely made adoption and commission of the ship much quicker and easier. Other ships of this squadron include 150, 151, 152, and 153 --- all four are 052C, followed by 154 and 155, which are 052D. The next ship afterwards is going to be 157 Nanning from Jiangnan.

121 Qiqihar is in Dalian and 122 Tangshan is in Jiangnan. I am not sure if 121 is still having problems or the 10th division is still dragging its feet. 122 will be its squadmate with the 10th. The 10th is transition from Ludas to 052D abruptly, but already has two 052Ds, 119 Guiyang and 120 Chengdu.

132 Suzhou will be the next ship to go for the 3rd. This squadron is transitioning from the four Sovremenny, 136, 137, 138 and 139. 136 and 137 has been refitted, but 138 and 139 has not. The last we saw of 136 is that refit was finished and it was on trials last year, the last we saw on 137 is that it is in the middle of its MLU. The squad's current lead ship is 131 Taiyuan which is leading the Gulf of Aden task force right now.

Another 052DL ship has begun trials recently and that would be 162. That would be destined to the 2nd in the South Fleet, along with 161 Hohhot. Other ships in this squadron is the 167 Shenzhen, 168 Guanzhou and 169 Wuhan, being 051B and 052B ships, these are old. 168 is currently down in refit but 169 is still operating. So 161 is the only truly modern ship for an important squadron --- this formation covers the 071s based in Zhanjiang --- and so it desperately needs upgrade.

There are currently four 052DLs in the water outside of the fitting pool in Jiangnan. 122 is the only one that has a pennant number, but one might guess, the other three unmarked ships should be 157, 132 and 162.

A pattern has risen and the 052DL is being used to fill squadrons with older ships. They begin by sending one or two ships of 052D as a seed ship for training and acclimation to the type, before sending more of the 052DL.

Tam said:

A pattern has risen and the 052DL is being used to fill squadrons with older ships. They begin by sending one or two ships of 052D as a seed ship for training and acclimation to the type, before sending more of the 052DL.

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Any idea, presuming 1-1 replacement and even augmenting the squadrons to full strength, how many destroyers (052d only) up and over the already launched ones are required to fully replace those older units from all of these squadrons? Since they are all being given a training with the type.

Bhurki said:

Any idea, presuming 1-1 replacement and even augmenting the squadrons to full strength, how many destroyers (052d only) up and over the already launched ones are required to fully replace those older units from all of these squadrons? Since they are all being given a training with the type.

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I don't know if they intended each destroyer squadron to completely fill the blank pennant spaces. Just a note. But if they want to do that, they need to go past the 25th 052D. They are going to have to build more. A lot more. Maybe they will save the extra spaces for 052E?

You can make your conclusion from the listings.

2nd Destroyer Squadron. Located in Zhanjiang, Guangzhou.
161 Hohhot. This is 2nd block 052D. Some refinements over 1st block 052D.
162 052DL Huainan in trials in Jiangnan
163 052DL Guilin currently fitting in Dalian
164 052DL currently fitting in Jiangnan
165 Recently Retired Luda named Zhanjiang
166 Recently Retired Luda named Zhuhai
167 051B Shenzhen, refit active
168 052B Guanzhou, 052B currently in MLU, inactive
169 052B Wuhan, active

Five here if you are assuming replacement of older ships, but IMO 167, 168 and 169 still have more years, and 168 and 169 will get MLU. That leaves this squadron with two spares, 165 and 166 after the retired Ludas. The names Zhanjiang and Zhuhai will be open for adoption by future destroyer.

9th Destroyer Squadron. Located Sansha, Hainan.
170 052C Lanzhou
171 052C Haikou
172 052D Kunming
173 052D Changsha
174 052D Hefei
175 052D Yinchuan
176 to 179 empty

This squadron is the first to get 052C, and the first to get 052D. The four 052D ever made went as an entire group to the 9th. Since then, they didn't get any new ship. None of the remaining 052DL currently being made is slated for this squadron. So what gives? I suspect this group is going to get 055 in the future instead.

3rd Destroyer Squadon, ESF.
131 052D Taiyuan. First 052D of this group, a second block construction.
132 052DL Suzhou. 052DL currently in trials in Jiangnan.
133 052DL currently being fitted in Jiangnan
134 052DL currently being fitted in Jiangnan
135 Empty
136 956E Hanzhou refitted
137 956E Fuzhou refitted
138 956EM Taizhou in service
139 956EM Ningbo in service

5 more destroyers needed here if you want to fill all the numbers and replace the Sovremenny. But I don't think the Sovremenny will disappear soon.


6th Destroyer Squadron ESF
150 052C Changchun
151 052C Zhengzhou
152 052C Jinan
153 052C Xian
154 052D Xiamen
155 052D Nanjing
156 052DL Ningbo
157 052DL Nanning, currently in trials in Jiangnan
158 empty
159 empty

1st Destroyer Squadron
101 055 Nanchang
102 to 110 went to Anshan and Luda class destroyers, retired. 102 to 108 reserved for 055?
111 not used
112 052 Harbin
113 052 Qingdao
114 not used
115 051C Shenyang
116 051C Shijizhuang
117 052D Xining
118 052D Urumqi

Question mark if they plan to refit the 051C.

10th Destroyer Squdron
119 052D Guiyang
120 052D Chengdu, 2nd block ship
121 052D Qiqihar, sitting in Dalian, 2nd block ship
122 052DL Taishan, sitting in Jiangnan
123 052DL being fitted in Dalian
124 052DL being fitted in Dalian
125 052DL Wuxi being fitted in Dalian
126 to 129 empty

Tam said:

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Pennant 160 is reserved? Or did you miss it? It should be in 2nd squadron..
1st squadron is significantly larger than others. Is its area of responsibility significantly larger or is it because it provides space to capital ships(cruisers etc)?

Tam said:

I don't know if they intended each destroyer squadron to completely fill the blank pennant spaces. Just a note. But if they want to do that, they need to go past the 25th 052D. They are going to have to build more. A lot more. Maybe they will save the extra spaces for 052E?

You can make your conclusion from the listings.

2nd Destroyer Squadron. Located in Zhanjiang, Guangzhou.
161 Hohhot. This is 2nd block 052D. Some refinements over 1st block 052D.
162 052DL Huainan in trials in Jiangnan
163 052DL Guilin currently fitting in Dalian
164 052DL currently fitting in Jiangnan
165 Recently Retired Luda named Zhanjiang
166 Recently Retired Luda named Zhuhai
167 051B Shenzhen, refit active
168 052B Guanzhou, 052B currently in MLU, inactive
169 052B Wuhan, active

Five here if you are assuming replacement of older ships, but IMO 167, 168 and 169 still have more years, and 168 and 169 will get MLU. That leaves this squadron with two spares, 165 and 166 after the retired Ludas. The names Zhanjiang and Zhuhai will be open for adoption by future destroyer.

9th Destroyer Squadron. Located Sansha, Hainan.
170 052C Lanzhou
171 052C Haikou
172 052D Kunming
173 052D Changsha
174 052D Hefei
175 052D Yinchuan
176 to 179 empty

This squadron is the first to get 052C, and the first to get 052D. The four 052D ever made went as an entire group to the 9th. Since then, they didn't get any new ship. None of the remaining 052DL currently being made is slated for this squadron. So what gives? I suspect this group is going to get 055 in the future instead.

3rd Destroyer Squadon, ESF.
131 052D Taiyuan. First 052D of this group, a second block construction.
132 052DL Suzhou. 052DL currently in trials in Jiangnan.
133 052DL currently being fitted in Jiangnan
134 052DL currently being fitted in Jiangnan
135 Empty
136 956E Hanzhou refitted
137 956E Fuzhou refitted
138 956EM Taizhou in service
139 956EM Ningbo in service

5 more destroyers needed here if you want to fill all the numbers and replace the Sovremenny. But I don't think the Sovremenny will disappear soon.


6th Destroyer Squadron ESF
150 052C Changchun
151 052C Zhengzhou
152 052C Jinan
153 052C Xian
154 052D Xiamen
155 052D Nanjing
156 052DL Ningbo
157 052DL Nanning, currently in trials in Jiangnan
158 empty
159 empty

1st Destroyer Squadron
101 055 Nanchang
102 to 110 went to Anshan and Luda class destroyers, retired. 102 to 108 reserved for 055?
111 not used
112 052 Harbin
113 052 Qingdao
114 not used
115 051C Shenyang
116 051C Shijizhuang
117 052D Xining
118 052D Urumqi

Question mark if they plan to refit the 051C.

10th Destroyer Squdron
119 052D Guiyang
120 052D Chengdu, 2nd block ship
121 052D Qiqihar, sitting in Dalian, 2nd block ship
122 052DL Taishan, sitting in Jiangnan
123 052DL being fitted in Dalian
124 052DL being fitted in Dalian
125 052DL Wuxi being fitted in Dalian
126 to 129 empty

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Great breakdown of ships in each squadron. But I feel like you treat 052DL as a completely different ship than reg 052D. I see all the 052D types as the same. Sure there might some radar and other system updates with each blocks but all the 25 hulls are the same ship.

Bhurki said:

Pennant 160 is reserved? Or did you miss it? It should be in 2nd squadron..
1st squadron is significantly larger than others. Is its area of responsibility significantly larger or is it because it provides space to capital ships(cruisers etc)?

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I am not sure why some numbers are reserved, like 130 and 160. 160 used to exist as a Luda class but sank from an explosion.

As for the 1st squadron, its the oldest squadron in the PLAN and ended up quite a mess. It started with the first four destroyers of the PLAN, which were WW2 vintage Gnevny class destroyers, formed into this squadron, starting with 101 Anshan. The next ships was 102 Fushun, 103 Changchun and 104 Taiyuan.

After that, you got Luda class. 105 Jinan, 106 Xian, 107 Yinchuan, 108 Xining, 109 Kaifeng, and 110 Dalian.

Notice the reuse of these names from retired destroyers.

111 was never used. Then it goes to 112 Harbin and 113 Qingdao. So it is interesting that Harbin did not take 101 instead, and its probably because the policy of wrapping the numbers back to 0 or 1 after they hit the 9 did not exist back then. So the numbers flowed sequentially to 110, then for some reason 111 was skipped to 112, which began the modern era of the PLAN with the Type 052 Harbin.

With the 2nd, the Luda numbers and names are: 160 unknown, 161 Changsha, 162 Nanning, 163 Nanchang, 164 Guilin, 165 Zhanjiang and 166 Zhuhai. Then you get to the modern era with 167 Shenzhen.

With the 3rd, 130 is skipped for some reason, you start with 131 Nanjing, 132 Heifei, 133 Chongging, and 134 Zunyi. 135 is missing, then you get to the modern era with 136 Hanzhou as the first Sovremenny.

So originally there was three squadrons. There was no Ludas or any preceding ship that used the 15X and 17X numbers until the 052C came, and the reason why the 6th and the 9th were established is for the purpose of this new class. The 9th got the first four 052D, 172 to 175 were all built sequentially, just as the 6th got the last four 052C, 150 to 153, all in a bunch. Note this pattern of four --- the Anshan class was four ships, assigned to the same group, and the Sovremenny was four ships, all four assigned to the same group.

There is a logic to all that, as grouping ships of the same class together means they can share the same logisitic support in one base, rather than to have one base to have a logistic structure meant to support only one ship class. I am certain the first four Type 055 will go to the same base, as it will be more efficient to set up a single logistic structure to support all four ships. But I have a question mark if the next four 055 will still be in the same base or transfer somewhere like Hainan, which will result in a different pennant number to reflect the South Sea Fleet usage.

The 10th is the funny one since this is the newest group but all the Ludas from the 1st were reassigned there to their lasting days. This is the base at Lushun. Instead of starting at 120, the unit started at 119.

101 Nanchang could be the seed ship for a new destroyer squadron, separate from the 1st but assigned at the same base. If so doing, this leaves the 1st with 112, 113, 115, 116, 117 and 118, with only 117 and 118 as the modern ships. But this can also open in the future starting at 110 to 116 with brand new destroyers, replacing the four older destroyers (112, 113, 115 and 116) in the process. 101 to 108 represents a new destroyer squadron exclusive with 055 only.

The heavy weight on the Qingdao ships is because of the Liaoning which requires her escort. You cannot seriously call 112 and 113, being only 052, as proper air defense escorts, so it falls on 115, 116, 117 and 118 to act as escorts, along with whatever 054A that was assigned to the 1st.

Likewise if a carrier is assigned to Hainan, which may well be the fate of the Shandong, I would expect a handful of 055 to go there. The question is whether they will still be part of the 9th, resuming the pennants 176 to 179, or they will be a brand new squadron, taking the numbers 180 to 183 or 181 to 184.

Bhurki said:

Pennant 160 is reserved? Or did you miss it? It should be in 2nd squadron..
1st squadron is significantly larger than others. Is its area of responsibility significantly larger or is it because it provides space to capital ships(cruisers etc)?

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This 1st Squadron is special in historical terms I think. It's also possible the 1st might be split with a new squadron starting from 110 or 111 to 118 pennant ships, while the 055s ships--which fills pennant 101-109 or 110--becomes the 1st Squadron.

Go to Page 394-395, @Tam and another user @feilinreg had a great discussion about the squadrons. In it they mentioned 1st Squadron being the 1st PLAN destroyer squadron so there's historical significant.

Kich said:

Great breakdown of ships in each squadron. But I feel like you treat 052DL as a completely different ship than reg 052D. I see all the 052D types as the same. Sure there might some radar and other system updates with each blocks but all the 25 hulls are the same ship.

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I would have preferred to separate the 052D into three blocks. That's why some of the 052D I wrote, I mentioned as being the second block. Between the first and the second block, there are a number of updates. There are also updates that were retrofitted on older 052D and 052C.

The one thing I noticed about the second block of 052D, is that they are being used currently as flagships: 161 for the 2nd, 131 for the 3rd, 155 fo the 6th and 120 for the 10th. But that's also because they are currently the most advanced ship in their respective squadrons.

Tam if you could somehow fix the Wikipedia page with this info would be great

asif iqbal said:

Tam if you could somehow fix the Wikipedia page with this info would be great

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zh.wikipedia.org is quite accurate.