Plan 859 landing ship

Plan 859 landing ship

2-view image of RHD-880 in 2014, during the Innominadan Crisis.
Class overview
Builders:	Samsan Maritime Engineering, Haeju
Operators:	Menghe
Preceded by:	Plan 870 landing ship
General characteristics
Type:	Landing Ship, Tank (LST)
Displacement:	4,500 t full load w/o cargo 5,300 t full load
Length:	123 m o/a 117 m w/l
Beam:	16.5 m
Draft:	4 m
Propulsion:	2 × Samsan S9000H diesel engine 2 shafts bow thruster
Speed:	19 knots
Range:	5,500 nautical miles (10,000 km) at 15 knots
Boats & landing craft carried:	Side davits 4 × Plan 8816 LCVP or 4 × RHIB or 4 × Plan 8735 fast boat Boat bay 1 × RHIB
Capacity:	300 troops 800 tons cargo
Complement:	18 officers 124 enlisted
Sensors and processing systems:	HR-44G short-range radar
Electronic warfare & decoys:	2 × JJ-6 ECM antenna 2 × Baram-2 chaff/flare launcher 2 × Manhwagyŏng torpedo countermeasure launcher
Armament:	2 × GBM-23/5 Bulkkot 2 × GCh-75 heavy machine gun
Aircraft carried:	1 × GH-28M
Aviation facilities:	Hangar Helipad aft

Plan 859 is the design designation for a type of tank landing ship developed for the Menghean Navy. The new class was ordered as a replacement for the Type 802 class landing ships, and built alongside the larger Plan 870 landing ships. The type has also been exported to several of Menghe's allies. A large number have been ordered, with construction taking place at the Samsan Maritime Engineering yard in the city of Haeju.

Design

Armament and countermeasures

Defensive armament consists of a single GBM-23/5 Bulkkot close-in weapon system mounted on the forecastle, similar to the forward CIWS mount on the Plan 870 landing ships. Against a sea-skimming target, this weapon can traverse 170 degrees to starboard or 155 degrees to port; the firing arc is asymmetrical because of the position of the 25-ton crane, and it leaves a 35-degree blind spot aft.

On the superstructure, the ships carry two Manhwagyŏng torpedo countermeasure launchers (12 jammers each), two Baram-2 chaff and flare launchers (18 projectiles each), and two JJ-6 ECM antennas, one on each side of the mast.

The Plan 859s are the first Menghean postwar tank landing ships which do not carry multiple rocket launchers for shore bomardment.

Boat facilities

The Plan 859 LST has four davit cranes arranged forward of the superstructure. Typically, each one is paired with a Plan 8816 LCVP, though they can also support Plan 8735 fast boats. It is also possible to suspend Mexeflote pontoons from the davit cranes, and this layout is used whenever carrying a tank company, as the MBTs are neither amphibious nor light enough to be carried by the Plan 8816s. A separate bay on the port side contains a single rigid inflatable boat, for inserting small reconnaissance teams ahead of the landing or maneuvering the mexeflotes into position.

There is no onboard well deck for transporting air cushion landing craft, but the bow and stern ramps can be used to offload vehicles onto landing craft brought from another ship, or onto the ship's own LCVPs.

Aircraft facilities

The Plan 859 class has a landing pad and hangar capable of supporting a single GH-28M troop transport helicopter. A hauldown device on the center of the helipad, not present on other Menghean amphibious warships, allows launch and recovery operations in heavy seas.

Capacity

The internal cargo hold of the Plan 859 class is 108 meters long and 6.5 meters wide. It can store one row of heavy armored vehicles or two rows of light utility vehicles or cargo trucks. The upper vehicle deck is 41 by 6.5 meters with tie-down points to support either configuration option. As on previous Menghean LST classes, a fold-down ramp connects the upper deck to the forward disembarking area when beached. A 25-ton-capacity elevator inside the superstructure provides an additional way of moving cargo between the internal vehicle deck, the upper vehicle deck, and the helicopter hangar, which is raised one deck higher. Normally this elevator is kept in the lowered position with a vehicle parked on top of it; it is mainly used to load the internal vehicle deck when the on-deck crane is the only available loading option.

The following configurations are commonly used when moving elements of a Marine Infantry Brigade:

• One Marine Mechanized Company (14 × BSCh-6 APC, 11 internally and 3 on the upper deck)
• One Main Battle Tank Company (10 × JCh-5 or JCh-5 MBT, all internal) and 10 supply trucks (all upper)
• One Battalion Logistics Element (38 × supply truck or utility vehicle)

As on other Menghean landing ships, it is common practice to bolster the mechanized landing element with a separate infantry detachment, which can be deployed aboard the landing craft or helicopters in the opening wave to seize key locations or establish control over the beachhead.