HobbyBoss 1/350 PLA Navy Type 039 Song Class Plastic Model Kit [83518]

The Type 039 (NATO reporting name: Song class) is thediesel-electric submarine designed by Wuhan Ship Development and DesignInstitute (701 Institute) for the PLA Navy (PLAN). Construction of thesubmarine was carried out by Wuhan Shipbuilding Industry Company (also known asWuchang Shipyard or 438 Factory) in Wuhan, Hubei Province and Jiangnan ShipyardGroup Corporation in Shanghai. At least 16 hulls have been delivered to the PLANavy since 1994.

The first-of-class of theType 039 submarine No.320 was launched on 25 May 1994 at Wuchang Shipyard, andstarted sea trials in August 1995. However, the submarine was not fullyoperational until 1999 due to serious design flaws, including unsatisfactoryunderwater performance and noise level. After some major redesign work, amodified Type 039G variant (No.321) entered the service in April 2001, followedby the second (No.322) in December 2001 and the third (No.323) in November2003.

In 2004, Wuchang Shipyard began to constructa further improved variant known as Type 039G1. At the same time,Shanghai-based Jiangnan Shipyard also began to built the Type 039G1 submarine,indicating that the submarine design has been finalised and serial productionbegun. Since then, a total of 12 boats (No.324~No.326, No.313~No.318,No.327~No.329) have been built.