Gangwŏn-class training ship
 | This article is incomplete because it is pending further input from participants, or it is a work-in-progress by one author. Please comment on this article's talk page to share your input, comments and questions. Note: To contribute to this article, you may need to seek help from the author(s) of this page. |
The Gangwŏn class was a type of large training ship used by the Menghean Navy from the 1980s through the 2010s. They were the first purpose-built training ships commissioned in Menghe after the end of the Pan-Septentrion War.
Between 1997 and 2001, Gangwŏn's sister ship Kangjin served as a state yacht for Choe Sŭng-min and other members of the Menghean Navy's high command. She was converted back into a training ship in 2002, and resumed training missions until her decommissioning.
As of 2022, both ships have been retired from active Navy service. Gangwŏn was sold for scrap, but Kangjin is moored in Anchŏn awaiting a final sale and her fate remains uncertain.
Design and description
As large training ships (Daehyŏng Yŏnsŭbham), the Gangwŏn-class training ships were designed to provide naval cadets with at-sea education and navigation experience. In addition to their regular crew, each ship could carry 82 officer cadets. In addition to cadet accommodations, the ships included classrooms, extra navigation rooms, extra communication rooms, and an auditorium for large lectures and entertainment.
Despite their official designation as auxiliaries, the two Gangwŏn-class training ships were relatively well-armed, with two twin 76mm gun turrets forward and two AK-630 30mm rotary turrets aft, both types equipped with anti-air and anti-surface fire control equipment. Between the A and B turrets forward, the ships also carried two HBDJ-21/16 anti-submarine rocket launchers, as well as their below-deck supporting equipment. A radar antenna on the main mast allowed 2D detection and tracking of surface ships and low-flying aircraft, and a sonar dome under the hull provided some anti-submarine detection capability. In addition to allowing cadets to familiarize themselves with common Menghean Navy sensors and weapon systems, this armament allowed the Gangwŏn-class ships to serve as escort or patrol ships in wartime, most likely in rear areas relatively far from enemy threats.
Similarly, a helicopter landing pad on the class's stern allowed helicopter pilots to practice takeoff and landing operations from a moving ship, and would allow a Gangwŏn-class training ship to temporarily embark an anti-submarine helicopter (most likely a Gyundoan-Han GH-28 Ppulsoeori) in wartime, but there was no hangar to support long-term helicopter operations at sea.