During the 1970s, China's ambition to create an indigenous submarine industry led to the commissioning of Wuhan Ship Development and Design Institute (701 Institute) to design and build an improved submarine based on the Type 033 hull, named theType 035 .[1] Two Type 035 boats were completed by 1974.[1]
Further improvements were deemed necessary and by the early 1980s a new and improved design, named theType 035A were produced.[1] The first of these improved "A" models entered service in 1982, with three more under construction.[1] The latter three boats were completed andcommissioned by 1990.[1]
TheType 035G is the most numerous variant. A total of 12 were built and commissioned between 1990 and 1999.[1] They were built with further improvements, especially in terms of noise reduction, weapons, sensors and crew living standards. The PLAN refer to this sub-class as, "new wine in an old bottle". Two boats of the Type 035A were upgraded to same standard as the Type 035G.
The most modern design variant is theType 035B, which features a redesignedconning tower and portions of the hull, giving it a very similar appearance to the newerType 039 submarines. Type 035B are capable of launching land attackcruise missiles from theirtorpedo tubes. A total of four boats were commissioned between 2000 and 2003.[1]
Type 035: First unit of the Type 035 submarines, with construction of two units begun simultaneously in October 1969 inWuchang Shipyard andJiangnan Shipyard. The general designer was Wei Xumin (魏绪民). The most significant difference between Type 035 class and Type 033 class is that the former is driven by a single shaft instead of twin shafts of the latter.Trials completed in October 1974 and this first unit (originalpennant number 162, but later changed to 232) built at Jiangnan Shipyard entered Chinese service in the following month.[4][5]
Type 035A: The second unit of the Type 035 class submarine with pennant number 342 was built at Wuchang Shipyard, and many problems were discovered during its trials. As a result, the Chinese navy ordered 701st Institute to perform a major redesign, which not only solved the problem, but also increased the top speed by 40% to 18.3knots (33.9 km/h; 21.1 mph). The redesigned boat was completed in June 1980, and finally entered Chinese service on December 24, 1982, with a new designation of Type 035A. In December 1983, the decision was made to stop the production of a new Type 033-class boat and replace it with a Type 035A. After the completion of the first Type 035A in 1982, the production of Type 035 briefly halted, until 1987, when the production restarted again and 3 more units were completed before the production ended in 1990.[4][5]
ES5C: Export version of Type 035/035A, with updated fire control system to launch acoustic homing torpedoes. There is no known export, but the design was used to upgrade Type 035/035A fleet.[4][5]
ES5D: further development of ES5C for export, with capability to launchanti-ship missiles while submerged added. As with its predecessor ES5C, there is no known export but the design was used to upgrade Type 035/035A fleet.[4][5]
Type 035G: Program begun in 1985, and the first unit with pennant number 356 waslaunched in 1989, entering service in December 1990, and state certification received in 1993. This is the first Type 035 series to haveanti-submarine (ASW) capability. The primary weaponry for Type 035G isYu-3 torpedo, and Frenchsonar DUUX-5 and its Chinese-built version were used on later units, 12 of which were completed between 1990 and 1999. The last unit with pennant number 308 was lengthened by 2 meters (6 ft 7 in) to add a section forAIP tests.[4][5]
ES5E: Export version developed from Type 035G, with ability to launch wire-guided torpedoes added, but there is no known export.[4][5]
Type 035ET: French sonar system and its equivalent Chinese version on ES5E export version of Type 035 was expensive, so a cheaper alternative was developed, using Italian sonar systems, the JP-64 active sonar and Velox passive sonar of theToti-class submarine. However, this failed to attract any buyers and the unit went into Chinese service instead.[4][5]
ES5F: Export version with integrated sonar system that integrates previously separated active, passive ranging, flank (and towed upon customer's request) sonar into one.[4][5]
Type 035B: Latest version of the Type 035 submarine. First batch of four completed between 2000 through 2003, and additional order followed sometimes later. Conning tower and certain portion of hull was redesigned, with new structure similar to that ofType 039 submarine. This type was capable of launching land attack cruise missiles from torpedo tubes.[4][5]
TheBangladesh Navy ordered two off the shelf Type 035G submarines from China in 2013 worth $203 million. The boats underwent refit in China and delivery was made on 14 November 2016. They are the Bangladesh Navy's first submarines. The names and pennant numbers of the submarines areBNS Nabajatra (S 161) andBNS Joyjatra (S 162) respectively.[6] They were commissioned on 12 March 2017.[7]
In April 2003, the Type 035 class submarine361 suffered a mechanical failure that killed all 70 crew members on board during an exercise in theYellow Sea betweenNorth Korea and China'sShandong Province.[8][9] It was one of China's worst peacetime military disasters. The PLA Navy's CommanderShi Yunsheng and Political CommissarYang Huaiqing were both dismissed as a result of the accident.[8]
