Yangyang-class minesweeper

	The ship in front is the Yangyang-class minesweeper Ongjin
Class overview
Builders	Kangnam Corp.
Operators	Republic of Korea Navy
Built	1999–2021
In commission	1999–present
Completed	6
Active	5
General characteristics
Type	Minesweeper
Displacement	730 tonnes (718 long tons); 880 tonnes (866 long tons) (Full load);
Length	60 m (196 ft 10 in)
Beam	10.5 m (34 ft 5 in)
Propulsion	2 × Voith Schneider Propeller
Speed	15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph)
Range	2,970 nmi (5,500 km)
Complement	about 50–61
Sensors and ; processing systems	Side scan sonar; Variable Depth Sonar;
Electronic warfare ; & decoys	Mine Disposal Vehicle (MDV)
Armament	1 × 20 mm cannon; Multi-purpose machine gun;

Yangyang-class minesweeper (양양급 소해함, 襄陽級掃海艦) is a ship class of minesweepers currently in service on the Republic of Korea Navy.

Its main missions are gathering data of ports in the Korean region, and searching naval mine and minesweeping, in wartime.^[3] They sometimes used at finding and recovering North Korean missiles, by using Variable Depth Sonar to detect missile fragments.^[5]^[6]

Ongjin, second ship of the class, is famous for finding the stern of ROKS Cheonan at the site of the ROKS Cheonan sinking.^[7]

History

At the Korean War, Korea did not have proper minesweeping equipment, and it was all about pulling naval mines out of fishing nets or blowing up floating mines with light machine guns. Therefore, North Korea inflicted massive damage by the naval mine.^[8] In the 1980s, Korea developed and used 6 Ganggyeong-class minehunters, which were the base of Yangyang-class ships.^[1]

In the 1990s, the Navy made an upgraded minehunter design, based on the Ganggyeong-class. The first ship was launched and commissioned in 1999, which was named Yangyang. Two more, Ongjin and Haenam, were launched a few years later. Compared to Ganggyeong-class, Yangyang-class ships improved minesweeping ability, and increased hull size.^[1]

Design

Yangyang-class ships are 60 metres (196 ft 10 in) long, 10.5 m (34 ft 5 in) wide. They are equipped with Multi-purpose machine gun,^[3] a 20 mm (0.8 in) main gun, and Mine Disposal Vehicle (MDV). They use two Voith Schneider Propellers as propulsion, to control the ship more precisely. To perform minesweeping activities, mechanical/inductive minesweeping device and sonars are equipped.^[1]

Officially about 50 crew are boarding the ship.^[4]

Hull material

To protect the ship from magnetic mine, the ship's hull is made of fibre-reinforced plastic, which does not have a magnetic attraction, and lasts longer than commonly used material. It also minimized metallic equipment to tightly control the magnetic material inside the ship. Steel objects that are brought into the ship, like canned food, are heavily restricted and strictly controlled.^[1]

Naming

The naming of minesweeper ships is taken from the names of counties and towns adjacent to a naval base.^[4] For example, Yangyang is the name of Yangyang County, Gangwon Province.

List of ships

Hull no.	Name	Commissioned
MSH 571	ROKS Yangyang	1999
MSH 572	ROKS Ongjin	2003
MSH 573	ROKS Haenam	2004
MSH 575	ROKS Namhae	2021^[9]
MSH 576	ROKS Hongseong	2022
MSH 577	ROKS Goseong

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g 윤병노 (2019-06-17). "[군함이야기] 기뢰전함, 국내 기술로 9척 건조…기뢰대항 전력 업그레이드" [[Ship Story] Nine minehunters built with Domestic Technology… Naval mine ability upgraded]. Archived from the original on 2019-11-08. Retrieved 2019-11-08.
^ "Kangnam Corporation". Kangnamship.co.kr. Archived from the original on 2018-10-08. Retrieved 2019-05-20.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f "양양급 소해함" [Yangyang-class minesweeper]. 국방과학기술용어사전. Retrieved 2019-11-12.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g "함정" [Ships]. Republic of Korea Navy. Retrieved 2019-11-12.
^ 박병진; 조병욱 (2012-03-28). "'457m 잠수 가능' 구조정 탑재, 청해진함은…" [ROKS Cheonghaejin, which carries rescue boat with can submerse to 457 m deep]. 세계일보. Retrieved 2019-11-13.
^ 박병진 (2012-04-14). "軍 "잔해 수거하라" 총력전" [The army enters "total war state" to recover fragments]. 세계일보. Retrieved 2019-11-13.
^ 오이석 (2010-03-30). "[천안함 침몰 이후] 소나, 음파로 영상 구성… 바닥 물체도 확인". Retrieved 2019-11-13.
^ 윤병노 (2019-01-04). "[군함이야기] 한반도 해역 구석구석 '바다의 지뢰' 제거 전문가" [[Ship Story] Experts in Removing Sea Mines in Korean Peninsula]. 국방일보. Archived from the original on 2019-11-10. Retrieved 2019-11-10.
^ Vavasseur, Xavier (22 November 2021). "South Korea's 4th Yangyang-class minesweeper handed over to ROK Navy". Navalnews.com. Retrieved 27 May 2022.

[kookbang-1] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g 윤병노 (2019-06-17). "[군함이야기] 기뢰전함, 국내 기술로 9척 건조…기뢰대항 전력 업그레이드" [[Ship Story] Nine minehunters built with Domestic Technology… Naval mine ability upgraded]. Archived from the original on 2019-11-08. Retrieved 2019-11-08.

[2] "Kangnam Corporation". Kangnamship.co.kr. Archived from the original on 2018-10-08. Retrieved 2019-05-20.

[Dictionary-3] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f "양양급 소해함" [Yangyang-class minesweeper]. 국방과학기술용어사전. Retrieved 2019-11-12.

[ROKnavy-4] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g "함정" [Ships]. Republic of Korea Navy. Retrieved 2019-11-12.

[5] 박병진; 조병욱 (2012-03-28). "'457m 잠수 가능' 구조정 탑재, 청해진함은…" [ROKS Cheonghaejin, which carries rescue boat with can submerse to 457 m deep]. 세계일보. Retrieved 2019-11-13.

[6] 박병진 (2012-04-14). "軍 "잔해 수거하라" 총력전" [The army enters "total war state" to recover fragments]. 세계일보. Retrieved 2019-11-13.

[7] 오이석 (2010-03-30). "[천안함 침몰 이후] 소나, 음파로 영상 구성… 바닥 물체도 확인". Retrieved 2019-11-13.

[8] 윤병노 (2019-01-04). "[군함이야기] 한반도 해역 구석구석 '바다의 지뢰' 제거 전문가" [[Ship Story] Experts in Removing Sea Mines in Korean Peninsula]. 국방일보. Archived from the original on 2019-11-10. Retrieved 2019-11-10.

[9] Vavasseur, Xavier (22 November 2021). "South Korea's 4th Yangyang-class minesweeper handed over to ROK Navy". Navalnews.com. Retrieved 27 May 2022.

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