Re: PLAN submarines Thread II
Dear Sirs:
So is this vessel the first of a series of new model, mass-produced Yuans?
Does this mean that this is the end of production for the Song class?
Your comments and explanations are very welcome.
I believe this is the first of the so called 039B class. I believe that we saw around 5 039A (aka Yuan) produced in the past few years. They have the ability to produce more, but for whatever reason, they did not choose to do so. Instead, they seem to have decided that they want their latest evolution of 039 series to look like a kilo, lol. Still waiting for pictures that look less like a model.
btw, last picture looks like someone PS'd CSIS sign + banner and the bottom part onto a Yuan photo. If you look at the limber holes and the size of the sail and the diving plane, all look to be from 039A.
Actually, this photo is definitely the best looking one so far.
using my very amateurish analysis.
compare this one to a kilo, the sail looks slightly shorter, slightly wider and definitely more hydrodynamically shaped. Although compared to something like U-214, it still looks completely outclassed. The hump looks exactly like that of a kilo. The limber hole arrangement is different.
It's tail still looks pretty high, although seems to be shorter than that of 039A. It looks like the tail is also changed and the stern plane is still cross shaped, but has moved forward a little bit onto the hull itself. So, I guess the propeller is by itself at the end, which seems to follow designs like U-212 and Amur.
