Type H/PJ38 130 mm naval gun

The H/PJ38 is a new single barrel 130 mm gun of the Chinese Navy introduced on the Type 052D destroyer.

Design

Designed by the Zhengzhou Mechanical-Electrical Engineering Research Institute (郑州机电工程研究所, also known as the 713th Research Institute of the 7th Academy) and manufactured by Inner Mongolia 2nd Machinery Manufacturing Factory (内蒙第二机械制造厂), the H/PJ-38 130 mm naval gun was developed from reverse engineering of Soviet AK-130 twin 130 mm naval gun, which was carried out by the same two establishments.^[1] The general designer of the H/PJ-38, Chen Dingfeng (陈汀峰), was also the general designer of all models of Type 79 100 mm naval gun, all models of Type 210 100 mm naval gun, and the H/PJ26 76 mm naval gun. Chen was recalled from retirement to complete the H/PJ38 single barrel 130 mm naval gun. When the Soviet AK-130 was first successfully copied by Chinese developers, the Chinese navy was unsatisfied and decided not to let the AK-130 into production, despite all performance parameters being met.^[2] Because the AK-130 was judged out-of-date by the Chinese Navy, the H/PJ38 program was created in 2005.^[3] The H/PJ38 130 mm single barrel naval gun is considered more powerful and more reliable than other smaller caliber naval guns currently in Chinese service,^[4] and as with naval guns on most warships, it is installed in front of the VLS.^[5]

Munitions

The general designer of munitions for the H/PJ38, Zhou Bingwu (周炳武), entered the business in 1997 and almost lost the index finger of his right hand in November 2007 during an important trial. As early as 1987, Zhou had proposed multiple kinds of precision-guided munitions (PGMs) to be fired by a single caliber gun mount, but due to the limitations of the Chinese technological base and industrial capability, it was not until two decades later when it finally became a reality. Research led to the development of a single barreled 70 caliber, 130 mm system which took more than four years to complete, and the H/PJ38 went to series production soon after completion.^[6] The primary improvement of the H/PJ38 over the AK-130 is its adaptability: H/PJ38 can fire both separate loading rounds and semi-fixed rounds, which is crucial in firing gun-launched missiles and PGMs. The H/PJ38 can also fire a variety of sub-caliber rounds,^[7] but more importantly, a variety of PGMs were developed for H/PJ38 to increase its effectiveness.^[8]

References