056 class FFL/corvette
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steve_rolfe
Junior Member
This may seem a trivial point, but i beleive someone else has noticed this............but the paintwork on the 056's is appaling compared to how other naval ships in the PLAN have been finished.
Is it because of the rushed production?...............or do the ships get a final paint job before being commissioned into the fleet?
Is it because of the rushed production?...............or do the ships get a final paint job before being commissioned into the fleet?
MwRYum
Major
You haven't see them painted with pennant number, right? So they still haven't been delivered. That will change before they are officially delivered.
joshuatree
Captain
I'm glad they did this, those large openings in the back made the ship look "dated" at the stern as it resembles the older Jiangweis. Still not sure why they need so many openings when many other ships don't have them. They could have made the redesigned windows even smaller and have panels that could close up when not needed for pier side duties.
Overall, four major mods already made to the 056 before even one has been commissioned.
1) Changing the shape of the bow. Not sure if it helps with cross-signatures but it does look better.
2) Adding more signature reducing panels to the exhaust stack. Good move.
3) Modifying front mast and adding access door at the top for servicing. Makes it more user friendly.
4) Now reducing the size of the stern openings and what appears to be a new small stern opening. I also wonder, TAS?
Feels like they really wanted to crank out these vessels and had to make adjustments on the fly as a tradeoff. Could be why it's taken so long to commission the first one but I bet once they do, the rest will commission even faster. Will probably see a huge rate of 037 decommissions correspondingly as seasoned crews would be badly needed to make the most of these new ships right away.
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plawolf
Lieutenant General
Interesting new mods. I have suspected from the first pictures that the 056 should have enough room astern for a TAS, especially when you consider just how disproportionately high the helipad is. They could easily have taken am entire deck off the back and had enough clearance for a proper hanger, so the design choice to forgo that must mean they get something more important in return.
As for the large openings in the back, there are three possibilities that I can think off attomh.
1) It is to provide the crew with some open air recreational space without having to compromise any capabilities to do so. The 056 is after all, a small and compact ship. Where can crew members get some fresh air if the rear was fully enclose? Using the helipad would mean no helos can be parked there, or use the pad at the same time; the walkways amidships should be kept clear so the AShMs and gun turrets could be used at all times; the bow section should also be kept clear so the main gun could be used, and the top of the after superstructure needs to be kept clear so the FL3000 is always available.
2) Since the 056 is designed as a littoral combatant, it is expected to be operating close by disputed islands and shores where there is a high risk of attack from enemy using mall boats of waiting in ambush on islands.
When larger warships operate in such environments, they typically mount additional HMGs throughout the ship to give 360 visual and weapons coverage.
The integrated twin auto cannons amidships were obviously place with just such a situation in mind, and should provide overkill against such targets in the front and side facing vectors, but they do have some blind spots, partically in the rear quadrant of the ship.
You can station guys on the helipad like most USN ships do, but that makes the helipad unavalable for use, and you really don't want anyone on top of the rear superstructure as there is a high likelihood you would need to use the FL3000 missiles.
The openings are in the perfect place to position 2-4 HMGs or just armsmen with rifles to cover those blind spots the auto cannons cannot easily reach.
3) That the openings are required for ventilation. This is really the least likely scenario IMHO, as there shouldn't be anything back there that needs special ventilation, and even if it did, air conditioners should be able to handle it with no problems and there is just no need to design openings.
Personally, I think that a combination of 1) and 2) is the most likely explanation for why the designers went with the openings, and they likely reduced the size of those openings because as they were, they were a big of a hazzard, especially in rough conditions where you can easily see guys at risk of falling off. The large openings probably also didn't do the ship's RCS any favours as radar can quite easily reflect off of the internals and get a big return from all the machinery and complex angling inside.
As for the large openings in the back, there are three possibilities that I can think off attomh.
1) It is to provide the crew with some open air recreational space without having to compromise any capabilities to do so. The 056 is after all, a small and compact ship. Where can crew members get some fresh air if the rear was fully enclose? Using the helipad would mean no helos can be parked there, or use the pad at the same time; the walkways amidships should be kept clear so the AShMs and gun turrets could be used at all times; the bow section should also be kept clear so the main gun could be used, and the top of the after superstructure needs to be kept clear so the FL3000 is always available.
2) Since the 056 is designed as a littoral combatant, it is expected to be operating close by disputed islands and shores where there is a high risk of attack from enemy using mall boats of waiting in ambush on islands.
When larger warships operate in such environments, they typically mount additional HMGs throughout the ship to give 360 visual and weapons coverage.
The integrated twin auto cannons amidships were obviously place with just such a situation in mind, and should provide overkill against such targets in the front and side facing vectors, but they do have some blind spots, partically in the rear quadrant of the ship.
You can station guys on the helipad like most USN ships do, but that makes the helipad unavalable for use, and you really don't want anyone on top of the rear superstructure as there is a high likelihood you would need to use the FL3000 missiles.
The openings are in the perfect place to position 2-4 HMGs or just armsmen with rifles to cover those blind spots the auto cannons cannot easily reach.
3) That the openings are required for ventilation. This is really the least likely scenario IMHO, as there shouldn't be anything back there that needs special ventilation, and even if it did, air conditioners should be able to handle it with no problems and there is just no need to design openings.
Personally, I think that a combination of 1) and 2) is the most likely explanation for why the designers went with the openings, and they likely reduced the size of those openings because as they were, they were a big of a hazzard, especially in rough conditions where you can easily see guys at risk of falling off. The large openings probably also didn't do the ship's RCS any favours as radar can quite easily reflect off of the internals and get a big return from all the machinery and complex angling inside.
I think you mean the 056 demonstration module, it's been there since 2011.
joshuatree
Captain
Some interesting thoughts but
1) Don't think this would be a priority. We don't see such "fresh air" allowances with the larger ships such as 054As and 052Cs and those ships would spend much longer periods at sea. I'm guessing 056s would have maybe 7 days of endurance without tender if comparable to other OPVs/corvettes. If we're just talking about stepping out for some air, I don't see why the two rear garage doors or even the side door for RHIB launch can't provide that during non high alert times. There's also air vents with panels to help reduce cross-signatures so those vents should be able to provide fresh air.
2) This is a possibility though I still don't see why smaller windows with close-able panels won't suffice. Furthermore, the current smaller windows still seem to counter any gains from the stealthy covered air vents. We see one of those immediately to the left of the port stern openings. I really hope after the mods, there will be some close-able panels for a final flush look when sailing.
3) Agreed.
plawolf
Lieutenant General
Actually, scratch what I said in my last post.
Having had a longer look at the 056 and 054A designs, something struck me - the 054A has small openings in it's aft at around proportionally similar positions as the 056, and those are used for mooring cables and lines to tie the ship securely to the peer.
What is interesting about those openings on the 054A is just how small they are. There is no way anyone can throw a line out and get any sort of range. If we rule out impractical solutions such as using a harpoon gun to fire a line to shore, the only way to get a line out of those small openings is to pass them out. If you do that, the only way anyone on shore can get the lines without getting their feet wet is if the ship was already docked at the peer.
I believe that is where the significance of those openings lie.
For ships like the 054A with small openings, they need the help of tug boats to nudge them into position in order to dock at port. Not really a problem for major combatants like the 054A, which would need a large port's infrastructure to properly re-arm and resupply anyways.
However, for ships like the 056, being able to dock at small harbours and peers without dedicated tugs would be a major advantage, if not an outright requirement. Thus, having large openings would allow the crew to be able to get a good swing with weighted lines and they should be able to get a reasonable distance with throws. Once there is a line secured, it would be relatively easily to use the machinery on the ship to pull the warship the last few metres/scores of metres to shore.
Being able to use small harbours would greatly increase the flexibility of the 056, as well as their endurance, as there would be far more places they could easily be based, or dock to resupply or weather out storms than bigger ships that needs dedicated tugs.
Well that's the best explanation I can come up with thus far.
Having had a longer look at the 056 and 054A designs, something struck me - the 054A has small openings in it's aft at around proportionally similar positions as the 056, and those are used for mooring cables and lines to tie the ship securely to the peer.
What is interesting about those openings on the 054A is just how small they are. There is no way anyone can throw a line out and get any sort of range. If we rule out impractical solutions such as using a harpoon gun to fire a line to shore, the only way to get a line out of those small openings is to pass them out. If you do that, the only way anyone on shore can get the lines without getting their feet wet is if the ship was already docked at the peer.
I believe that is where the significance of those openings lie.
For ships like the 054A with small openings, they need the help of tug boats to nudge them into position in order to dock at port. Not really a problem for major combatants like the 054A, which would need a large port's infrastructure to properly re-arm and resupply anyways.
However, for ships like the 056, being able to dock at small harbours and peers without dedicated tugs would be a major advantage, if not an outright requirement. Thus, having large openings would allow the crew to be able to get a good swing with weighted lines and they should be able to get a reasonable distance with throws. Once there is a line secured, it would be relatively easily to use the machinery on the ship to pull the warship the last few metres/scores of metres to shore.
Being able to use small harbours would greatly increase the flexibility of the 056, as well as their endurance, as there would be far more places they could easily be based, or dock to resupply or weather out storms than bigger ships that needs dedicated tugs.
Well that's the best explanation I can come up with thus far.
I'm glad to see the modifications that have been made to the 056s so far, besides from any functional difference they also make the design look sleeker and more modern. That's gotta count for something!
I just really want to see some of these on patrol, flying UAVs off their landing pads, and participating in anti-submarine warfare exercises.
I just really want to see some of these on patrol, flying UAVs off their landing pads, and participating in anti-submarine warfare exercises.
Mysterre
Banned Idiot
I think their only conceivable contribution to ASW in their current configuration is as "drivers", actively pinging their sonars to drive a suspected sub into a trap, or possibly as a waypoint for ASW helos from larger ships. Their torpedoes are self-defense weapons and their sonars may not be able to get past a single convergence zone, if that. What they need to become semi-useful ASW platforms: TAS +/- ASROC-type weapons (in lieu of their ASCM's).
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