Plan 858 landing ship
 2-view image of a Plan 858 landing ship
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| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Name: | Plan 855 class |
| Builders: | Anchŏn Naval Yard |
| Operators: | Menghe |
| Preceded by: | Plan 832 landing ship |
| Succeeded by: | Plan 870 landing ship |
| In service: | 1998-present |
| Planned: | 8 |
| Completed: | 4 |
| Cancelled: | 4 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | Landing Ship, Heavy |
| Displacement: | 5,500 tons full load |
| Length: |
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| Beam: | 15.8 m |
| Draft: | 5.9 m |
| Propulsion: | 2-shaft marine diesel engine, 7000 kW each total |
| Speed: | 18 knots |
| Range: | 3500 nautical miles at 14 knots |
| Complement: |
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| Armament: |
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Plan 858 is the design designation for a type of amphibious landing ship developed in Menghe. It is the successor to the Plan 852 class, with a similar layout and cargo capacity but improved self-defense armament. Upwards of eight ships were initially planned, but only four were completed, with the remainder cancelled due to the resolution of the Renkaku Islands dispute in 2001. These ships are sometimes known as the RHD-860 class after the hull number of the first vessel in the series.
Design
Layout
The Plan 858 ships have a conventional tank landing ship configuration, with the superstructure aft and a raised foredeck. The quarterdeck can be used as a helicopter landing area, though the helicopter must be parked in the open, as there is no hangar facility. This helicopter would typically be a GH-28G or M, the troop-transport gunship variants, and would be used to deploy a reinforced Marine Infantry squad ahead of the landing area or provide fire support for ground troops.
The internal vehicle deck runs through the full length of the hull, allowing an efficient Ro-Ro loading process when docked in port. It is 5 meters wide, and only permits a single row of armored vehicles to be stored internally.
Additional vehicles can be stored on the upper deck, which is connected to the front loading doors via a movable ramp. A 20-ton-capacity crane forward of the bridge allows vehicles and supplies to be loaded directly if the local infrastructure does not permit bow/stern loading, and a large hatch on the deck allows the crane to lower vehicles directly into the cargo hold.
Capacity
Plan 858 ships have a loading capacity of 450 tons, and have berthing space for 200 passengers in addition to the crew. Typical transport loads consist of the following:
- 14 BSCh-6 tracked APCs and 165 troops
- 22 cargo trucks or trailers
- 10 JCh-7 amphibious light tanks
- 450 tons of cargo
These ships can also be converted into reserve minelayers by mounting mine rails inside the hull cargo compartment and opening the stern ramp. Depending on the type of mine used, this allows a total capacity of up to 500 sea mines.
Armament
Defensive armament on the Plan 858 design consists of two GBM-30/6 close-in weapon system mounts, both of them controlled by a single fire-control radome on top of the bridge. An HR-44G radome on top of the mast can detect incoming missiles and low-flying aircraft. The arrangement of the turrets leaves a 90-degree blind spot directly aft of the ship, and for long-range air defense the ships are entirely reliant on other escorts.
When transporting a Marine Infantry Assault Company, it is standard practice to park the APC of the Air Defense Squad on the upper deck and have its passengers take up firing positions on the deck, providing an additional degree of short-range missile cover.
On the raised forecastle, the Plan 858 landing ships carry two 40-tube 122mm rocket launchers. These can be automatically aimed and elevated from a fire-control center within the superstructure. They are used to provide coastal bombardment ahead of an attack, or to deploy a wide-area smokescreen over a landing zone. Additional reload missiles are carried in a forward storage compartment, and they are reloaded manually into the launchers with the help of a fold-down davit crane.
Propulsion
For propulsion, the Plan 858 class ships rely on two Samsan diesel engines, each producing 7000 kW of power. The ships use shrouded propellers to improve efficiency and reduce the risk of damage to the propeller blades when beaching. Range is relatively modest, with a reported figure of 5,000 nautical miles at 14 knots, as these ships were designed to carry out landings on the nearby Renkaku Islands.
Ships in the class
Like previous Menghean landing ships, the Plan 858 class only received hull numbers, not names.
| Name | Builder | Laid down | Launched | Commissioned | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RHD-860 | Anchŏn | 1995 Oct 19 | 1997 Mar 10 | 1998 Jul 12 | In service |
| RHD-861 | Anchŏn | 1997 Mar 13 | 1998 Oct 19 | 1999 Nov 18 | In service |
| RHD-862 | Anchŏn | 1998 Aug 23 | 1999 Dec 12 | 2001 Jun 19 | In service |
| RHD-863 | Anchŏn | 1999 Dec 10 | 2001 Jun 18 | 2002 Sept 02 | In service |