Type 271 landing craft

History
China
Builder	Qingdao Shipyard
Fate	Converted to Type 271II
Class overview
Name	Type 271I landing craft utility
Operators	People's Liberation Army Navy
Preceded by	LCU 1600 series
Succeeded by	Type 271II
General characteristics
Class & type	Yupen class
Type	Landing Craft Utility
Armament	Machine guns

The origin of Type 271 series landing craft dates back in 1966, when World War II era LCU 1600 series PLAN captured from ROCN at the end of Chinese Civil War began to be retired from service. PLAN proposed to develop a landing craft utility (LCU) based on the experienced gained from Type 067 utility landing craft and Type 068/069 mechanized landing craft (LCM). In addition to wartime mission, this class is tasked to supply islands without port facilities with up to 100 tons of equipment, cargo and freshwater in peacetime. The LCU is designated Type 271, and received NATO reporting name Yupen class, a name used for the rest members of Type 271 LCU series.

Design of Type 271 was completed in December 1967,^[1] after which the construction of Type 271 LCU begun in August 1968 at Qingdao Shipyard in Qingdao,^[1] and the boat was completed in June 1970.^[1] Sea trials begun in September 1970 in Qingdao, but the results were rather unsatisfactory. The primary reason for such disappointing result was because the political turmoil in China at the time, namely, the Cultural Revolution. Rework immediately began and the modified model was designated as Type 271II, with the original Type 271 redesignated as Type 271I for clear distinction. Type 271 is mainly intended for delivery of troops and vehicles in places along the rivers and coasts without harbor facilities.^[1]

History
China
Builder	Qingdao Shipyard
Fate	Converted to Type 271IID
Class overview
Name	Type 271II landing craft utility
Operators	People's Liberation Army Navy
Preceded by	Type 271I
Succeeded by	Type 271IID
General characteristics
Class & type	Yupen class
Type	Landing Craft Utility
Displacement	400t normal, 500t max
Length	54m
Beam	9.2m
Draft	1.7m
Propulsion	two 6300ZC diesel @ 600 hp each
Speed	13 kn
Range	1000 nmi @ 10 kn
Endurance	20 days
Capacity	100 t normal, 150 max
Complement	300 fully armed troops
Crew	36
Armament	4 Type 69 14.5 mm machine guns

Type 271II landing craft utility is the direct result of the disappointing performance of the original Type 271 LCU. Redesign work of Type 271II LCU was completed in 1971, and construction begun in December 1972 at Qingdao Shipyard.^[1] In September 1975, the ship was launched and on November 30, 1975, this first unit of Type 271II LCU was handed to PLAN and began trials.^[1] As with Type 271I LCU, the program was delayed due to the Cultural Revolution. The pace of trials and testing really picked up in 1976 when the Cultural Revolution ended, and this class finally received certification in 1978 and series production started soon after. The cargo capacity of Type 271II is either 3 Type 59 tanks or 7 5-ton trucks.^[1]

History
China
Builder	Changsha Shipyard
Class overview
Name	Type 271IID landing craft utility
Operators	People's Liberation Army Navy
Preceded by	Type 271II
Succeeded by	Type 271III
General characteristics
Class & type	Yupen class
Type	Landing Craft Utility
Displacement	507t
Propulsion	two 6300ZC diesel @ 600 hp each
Armament	4 Type 69 14.5 mm machine guns.

As with the first member of Type 271 series LCU, Type 271II LCU was not produced in large numbers either, because in 1979, PLAN requested minor modification of Type 271II LCU based on experience gained from deployment. The result was Type 271IID LCU, with D stands for Dingxing (定型 in Chinese), meaning finalized design.^[1] The displacement is slightly increased to 507 t from the original 500 t of Type 217II LCU. The first unit of Type 271IID LCU was completed by Changsha Shipyard, and all earlier units were subsequently converted to this standard as Type 271IID went into series production at both Changsha and Qingdao. The modification included the pressure wave plate, anchor and propulsion systems.^[1]