Songoryu-class submarine

Songŏryu-class

File:Songoryu-class.png Songŏryu I-class above, Songŏryu II-class below
Class overview
Builders:	KSME
Operators:	Anikatian People's Navy Anikatian Navy
Preceded by:	Tarango-class
Succeeded by:	Chongori-class
Built:	1966–1994
In service:	1968-Present
Completed:	53
Active:	12
Lost:	1
Retired:	39
Preserved:	0
General characteristics
Type:	Submarine
Displacement:	surface – 4,380 / 5,410 / 6,850 t; submerged – 6,080 / 7,120 / 7,350 t (Songoryu I / Songoryu II / Songoryu III)
Length:	103.5 m / 107.5 m (Songoryu I / Songoryu II, Songoryu III)
Beam:	10.8 m
Draft:	7.4 / 7.8 m (Songoryu I / Songoryu II, Songoryu III)
Propulsion:	2 × Bulgakko BNR-75 nuclear reactors producing 75 MW (100,577 hp) each 2 × Bulgakko P-SM1-400A steam turbines 2 × Bulgakko E-TM1A-3B Electric cruise motors 1,480 shp (1,081 kW) 2 × Daesungkhu & Namkoong DNE TG-2B turbogenerators 2,682 shp (2,000 kW) 1 × Kyoungcho DPE F6M 617 shp (460 kW) emergency diesel engine set 1 shafts, each with 7-bladed propellers / two 5-bladed propellers (Songoryu I, Songoryu II / Songoryu III)
Speed:	12 knots (22 km/h) surfaced 30-33 knots (55-61 km/h) submerged
Range:	Unlimited, except by food supplies
Endurance:	70 / 80 / 90 days endurance (Songoryu I / Songoryu II / Songoryu III)
Test depth:	320–600 m (1,049–1,968 ft)
Complement:	Songoryu I: 79 crew (28 officers, 25 warrant officers, 26 enlisted) Songoryu II: 86 crew (30 officers, 27 warrant officers, 29 enlisted) Songoryu III: 94 crew (32 officers, 28 warrant officers, 34 enlisted)
Armament:	6 × bow torpedo tubes 24 torpedoes, mines or other tube-launched weapons like cruise missiles.

The Songŏryu-class submarine is the first Anikatian class of nuclear-powered submarines that were built by the DSRA. The official desgination by the Anikatian People's Navy was the Songŏryu-class, but the manufacturer designation of this class was Project 334; Songŏryu (송어류) means trout in the Anikatian language.

The Songŏryu-class was a double-hulled submarine and represented a significant advancement in hull streamling which allowed the design excellent high-speed performance compared to most contemporary designs. Although, this high-speed performance results in a noisier design than its contemporaries. Nonetheless, the design was quieter than previous Anikatian submarines and the later Songŏryu III class would be continuously improved during construction, as a result the final production models superior acoustic performance and remain in service with the Anikatian Navy.

History and development

Even before the first Tarango-class submarines had to be completed work on an all new larger nuclear-powered vessel as research and develop along with assistance from Estovnia sped up the nuclear program. The new class of submarine was to have a displacement of greater than 4,000 tonnes and diving depth of at least 300 m. Skills and knowledge learnt from the Tarango program fed into the new nuclear submarine development and designs were set for a shift to a single highly efficiency propeller setup over the older three shaft design to help reduce noise and improve hull streamlining. Further development was achieved in the shaping of the hull with a far more teardrop shaped hull as a result of improved metal production and welding techniques. The overall design was far larger to accommodate a newly developed steam turbine nuclear propulsion system.

The early Songŏryu-class submarines were considerably noisier than contemporary diesel or nuclear-powered submarines, despite the advanced streamlined hull, special low-noise variable-pitch propeller, and vibration dampening of main equipment. This was because the initial Anikatian reactors produced loud vibrations in exchange for higher performance. As a result of the early adoption of advanced nuclear technology the boat were hurriedly built by the DSRAs, who were anxious to catch up with Free World which had a clear lead in nuclear submarines. As a result, the reliability of the first Anikatian nuclear-powered submarines was relatively low and early Songŏryu-class submarines were often plagued with teething problems and accidents which threaten crew safety. The relatively short service life of the early steam generators in the main propulsion machinery caused an increase in the radioactivity levels in the second loop of the reactor after several hundred hours of reactor operation. The reliability of the steam generators greatly improved over the course of construction development, handling technical problems and training of crews, so by the Songŏryu III all issues had to be worked out.

Variants

• Songŏryu I (Project 334): The baseline configuration, these were nuclear-powered submarines that first saw service in 1968; 6 were built. They had 6 torpedo tubes and carried 24 torpedoes, mines or other tube-launched weapons like cruise missiles.
• Songŏryu II (Project 334A): Improved design, with increased length by 4 metres and higher displacement allowing greater diving depths, other improvements were new electronic equipment, improved sonar and a major step up in the reliability of the nuclear-power systems, they first saw service in 1970s ;15 were built. They had 6 torpedo tubes and carried 24 torpedoes, mines or other tube-launched weapons like cruise missiles.

File:Songŏryu III-class.png

Songŏryu III

• Songŏryu III (Project 334D): Deep modernisation of the design, new electronic equipment, new twin-screw propeller setup for greater noise reduction, Minor hull redesigns to accommodate new equipment and weapons. The Songŏryu III saw the first implementation of the distinctive hydrodynamic housing pod for the towed sonar array housed on the rudder. Which would later appear on the newer Myongtae and Kalmaegi-class submarines. The type entered service in late 1970s; 32 were produced until 1994, 10 vessels remain in service and are being updated while a further 6 remain in reserve storage.
• Chongori (Project 335): A highly advanced experimental single-ship class, this was essentially an all new submarine based on a modified Songŏryu III hull but produced using titanium on the inner hull. It was developed as an experiential single vessel to trial new technology for future nuclear submarines. Despite its prototype and experimental status, it was fully combat-capable. It was the first use of titanium on an Anikatian submarine which significantly reduced the weight of the vessel. As a result, the lightweight teardrop shaped hull was lined with rubber coating that enhanced the stealthy characteristics of the craft. The experience gained in the creation of this submarine, would later be put to use in creating the series production of the deep diving titanium-hulled Kalmaegi-class submarine. It also saw the pioneering use of an escape capsule in an Anikatian submarine. Which was fitted in the sail above these compartments to enable the crew to abandon ship in the event of an underwater emergency.

Units

Following is a list of the 53 submarines built for the DSRA.

Songŏryu-class

Number	Shipyard	Project	Laid down	Launched	Decommissioned	Status
S-46	Kyoungcho Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Eunchuol Shipyard	334	1966	1968	1994	Decommissioned for scrapping
S-47	Kyoungcho Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Eunchuol Shipyard	334	1967	1969	1994	Decommissioned for scrapping
S-48	Kyoungcho Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Namsong Shipyard	334	1968	1969	1994	Decommissioned for scrapping
S-49	Kyoungcho Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Eunchuol Shipyard	334	1968	1969	1980	Sank after fire due to wiring short circuit
S-50	Kyoungcho Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Namsong Shipyard	334	1969	1970	1996	Decommissioned for scrapping
S-51	Kyoungcho Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Eunchuol Shipyard	334	1969	1971	1998	Decommissioned for scrapping
S-52	Kyoungcho Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Eunchuol Shipyard	334A	1970	1972	1999	Decommissioned for scrapping
S-53	Kyoungcho Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Eunchuol Shipyard	334A	1971	1973	2001	Decommissioned for scrapping
S-54	Sunwoo Heavy Industries Hamgae Shipyard	334A	1972	1973	2001	Decommissioned for scrapping
S-55	Kyoungcho Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Eunchuol Shipyard	334A	1972	1974	2001	Decommissioned for scrapping
S-56	Kyoungcho Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Namsong Shipyard	334A	1973	1974	2001	Decommissioned for scrapping
S-57	Kyoungcho Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Namsong Shipyard	334A	1974	1975	2001	Decommissioned for scrapping
S-58	Sunwoo Heavy Industries Hamgae Shipyard	334A	1974	1976	2001	Decommissioned for scrapping
S-59	Kyoungcho Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Eunchuol Shipyard	334A	1975	1976	2001	Decommissioned for scrapping
S-60	Kyoungcho Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Namsong Shipyard	334A	1975	1977	2001	Decommissioned for scrapping
S-61	Kyoungcho Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Eunchuol Shipyard	334A	1975	1977	2001	Decommissioned for scrapping
S-62	Kyoungcho Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Eunchuol Shipyard	334A	1976	1977	2001	Decommissioned for scrapping
S-63	Kyoungcho Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Namsong Shipyard	334A	1976	1978	2001	Decommissioned for scrapping
S-64	Kyoungcho Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Eunchuol Shipyard	334A	1976	1978	2001	Decommissioned for scrapping
S-65	Kyoungcho Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Eunchuol Shipyard	334A	1977	1979	2001	Decommissioned for scrapping
S-68	Kyoungcho Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Eunchuol Shipyard	334A	1978	1980	2001	Decommissioned for scrapping
S-69	Kyoungcho Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Eunchuol Shipyard	243D	1980	1981	2002	Decommissioned for scrapping
S-72	Sunwoo Heavy Industries Hamgae Shipyard	334D	1980	1981	2002	Decommissioned for scrapping
S-73	Kyoungcho Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Eunchuol Shipyard	334D	1980	1982	2002	Decommissioned for scrapping
S-74	Sunwoo Heavy Industries Hamgae Shipyard	334D	1981	1982	2002	Decommissioned for scrapping
S-76	Sunwoo Heavy Industries Chongnam Shipyard	334D	1981	1982	2003	Decommissioned for scrapping
S-78	Kyoungcho Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Eunchuol Shipyard	334D	1981	1982	2003	Decommissioned for scrapping
S-79	Sunwoo Heavy Industries Chongnam Shipyard	334D	1981	1983	2003	Decommissioned for scrapping
S-80	DN Manufacturing Industries Daegok Shipyard	334D	1982	1983	2004	Decommissioned for scrapping
S-82	Sunwoo Heavy Industries Chongnam Shipyard	334D	1982	1983	2004	Decommissioned for scrapping
S-83	Sunwoo Heavy Industries Hamgae Shipyard	334D	1982	1983	2004	Decommissioned for scrapping
S-84	Kyoungcho Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Eunchuol Shipyard	334D	1982	1984	2004	Decommissioned for scrapping
S-86	Sunwoo Heavy Industries Hamgae Shipyard	334D	1983	1984	2004	Decommissioned for scrapping
S-88	Sunwoo Heavy Industries Chongnam Shipyard	334D	1983	1985	2005	Decommissioned for scrapping
S-89	Kyoungcho Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Eunchuol Shipyard	334D	1983	1985	2005	Decommissioned for scrapping
S-92	Sunwoo Heavy Industries Chongnam Shipyard	334D	1983	1985	2005	Decommissioned for scrapping
S-93	Sunwoo Heavy Industries Chongnam Shipyard	334D	1984	1986	2005	Decommissioned for scrapping
S-94	Kyoungcho Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Eunchuol Shipyard	334D	1984	1986	-	Laid up, awaiting scrapping
S-96	Kyoungcho Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Namsong Shipyard	334D	1984	1986	-	Laid up, awaiting scrapping
S-97	Sunwoo Heavy Industries Chongnam Shipyard	334D	1985	1987	-	Laid up, awaiting scrapping
S-98	Sunwoo Heavy Industries Hamgae Shipyard	334D	1985	1987	-	Laid up, plans to reactivate by 2017
S-120	Kyoungcho Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Eunchuol Shipyard	334D	1985	1987	-	Laid up, plans to reactivate by 2017
S-121	Kyoungcho Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Eunchuol Shipyard	334D	1985	1987	-	Laid up, plans to reactivate by 2017
S-122	Kyoungcho Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Eunchuol Shipyard	334D	1986	1987	-	Active service, to undergo overhaul and modernisation
S-130	Kyoungcho Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Eunchuol Shipyard	334D	1986	1988	-	Active service
S-131	Sunwoo Heavy Industries Chongnam Shipyard	334D	1987	1988	-	Active service
S-132	Kyoungcho Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Eunchuol Shipyard	334D	1987	1989	-	Active service, to undergo overhaul and modernisation
S-133	Sunwoo Heavy Industries Hamgae Shipyard	334D	1987	1989	-	Active service
S-134	Kyoungcho Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Namsong Shipyard	334D	1987	1989	-	Active service
S-135	Kyoungcho Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Eunchuol Shipyard	334D	1988	1990	-	Active service, to undergo overhaul and modernisation
S-136	Sunwoo Heavy Industries Hamgae Shipyard	334D	1989	1991	-	Active service
S-137	Kyoungcho Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Namsong Shipyard	334D	1990	1992	-	Active service
S-138	Sunwoo Heavy Industries Hamgae Shipyard	334D	1991	1994	-	Active service

Operators

Most saw service in the Anikatian People's Navy.

Anikatia

• Anikatian Navy 10 Songŏryu III in active servie with a further 6 in reserve storage.

DSRA

• Anikatian People's Navy (passed on to successor states)

In popular culture

• In the 1997 techno-thriller novel Deep Blue Ascension a fictional S-124 Songŏryu III-class is faces off against a Commonwealth Navy Triumphant-class in the North East Sear and its 2016 movie adaptation of the same name, starring Lee Seo-jun as the fictional Captain of the S-124 Chung Yong-gi, while Donal Marino plays the fictional Arthuristan Captain Aaron Taylor.

External links

• Songŏryu Class Submarines - Complete Ship List (English)