Chinese Song Project 039 & Kitty Hawk
Bob Melley
Posted 2008-01-24 7:17 AM (#11822)
Old Salt

Posts: 256

Subject: Chinese Song Project 039 & Kitty Hawk

Recently there's been more coverage in newspapers on the "incident" where a Song class sub followed the USS Kitty Hawk strike group in the Formosa Strait....The photo shows a Song sub with a stepped sail like the older USN Guppies.
The USN did away with tis feature for hydrodynamic reasons....(I think).....Wonder why those brilliant sub designers in Beijing used it so ecently?......The newest Song 039G doesn't have the stepped sail.....Anyone care to add to this?
Hell, I'm just a former DD driver.....
Tincanman
Bob Melley
Posted 2008-01-29 10:31 AM (#12022 - in reply to #11822)
Old Salt

Posts: 256

Subject: RE: Chinese Song Project 039 & Kitty Hawk

Rankoon: you are right, I finally dug out the second version photo of the Guppie I rode in 1962....
she had the North Atlantic sail.....i.e., a full sail. Rechecked the Chinese site and see the new SONGs
don't have the stepped sail.....The newest is the Project 039G.......Folks in the know see the Russian
influence in the PLAN's subs....their new "nuke" SSN the Project 093 (I'm told) looks Russkie in design.....
China's going thru "issues" with her new nukes.....she had real problems with the first SSNs....The Project 091
boats......Good....I hope they have problems from now until hell freezes over. Fortunately, when I write
about US vs China, sub to sub, I can always find something to screw up the PLAN's CO plans.
Not that I'm prejudiced or anything like that.


Tincanman
Bob Melley
Posted 2008-05-14 6:53 AM (#15917 - in reply to #11822)
Old Salt

Posts: 256

Subject: RE: Chinese Song Project 039 & Kitty Hawk

The Russian government is planning to sue China for making copies of the Kilos class subs she bought from Russia.....
China reverse engineered them, and is planning to sell "their" Kilos to other wantabes......Same thing happened to the Sukoi-27 fighter bombers the Russians sold to China.......Now, beijing calls them J-10s and will probably offer "their" new
aircraft to other nations......cheaper than the original Russian model.....The new Chinese Kilo copy is the Song Project 39
sub, variants are the Song 39A, B and C model.....the latest model has the Stirling AIP system for longer u/w range and quiet...
I don't what the Russians are mad about, at least China paid them something up front........The Chinese just steal our secrets
and smile as they walk away...... Soooooo sorry, Yanks.....