100mm Compact
Type 210, H/PJ87
Overview
100mm Type 210
Side view of Chinese Type 210, which is a direct copy of the French 100mm Compact naval gun turret.
Source: www.haijun360.com -
© copyright lies with original owner
China
China
Saudi Arabia
Description
Introduction
The 100mm Compact is a dual purpose naval gun of French origin. It was developed as a private venture by Creusot-Loire as a more suitable gun for export than the existing Modèle 1968. Some test samples were exported to China in the late 1980's. Along with many other French naval technology these guns were reverse engineered and produced in China.
Design
The Compact is based on the ordnance and loading mechanism of the Modèle 1968. The gun turret and below deck magazine are substantially reduced in size. A major design compromise to allow for weight reduction in various internal components is firing in short bursts versus sustained fire. The turret is unmanned and receives fire control input from the ship's combat data management system.
Firepower
The Compact fires the whole range of French 100mm naval ammunition. This includes high explosive, anti-aircraft and illumination rounds. Instead of continuous fire the Compact fires in burst of 1, 2, 3 or 6 rounds. Rate of fire is 60 rpm for the Mk 1. The Mk 2 has a selectable rate of fire of 20, 45 or 90 rpm. Range against surface targets is 17 km, with a 12 km effective range. Anti-aircraft range and ceiling are 6 km. The Compact Mk 2 can quickly change between three ammunition types, with rounds in the feed tube being fed back into the magazine.
Users
The Compact wasn't the export succes Creusot-Loire hoped for. Only Malaysia and Saudi Arabia acquired this system. Both nations applied Mk 2 upgrades. China developed the Type 210, a near direct copy of the Compact, when embargos blocked acquisition from France. In Chinese service the Type 210 was troublesome. System integration issues and frequent jamming gave the Type 210 a poor reputation.
Variants
100mm H/PJ87
Side view of a 100mm H/PJ87 naval gun turret. Note the angular turret housing with reduced radar cross section.
Source: Chinese internet -
© copyright lies with original owner
List of variants
Details
Platforms
Kasturi class
Malaysian class of corvette built in Germany. Two ships in class. Armed with 100mm Compact until removed in 2014 refit program.
Type-052C class
Chinese Type-052C class destroyers feature a single 100mm H/PJ87 gun on the bow. Six of these ships were produced and remain in service.
Type-054 class
The early batch of two Chinese Type-054 class frigates are armed with the 100mm H/PJ87. The improved Type-054A features the 76mm H/PJ26 instead.
Related articles
100mm Creusot-Loire
The 100mm Compact features various design elements of the larger 100mm Creusot-Loire naval guns, and fire the same range of ammunition.
100mm Type 79
The Type 79 is a Chinese twin barrel naval gun that started development and service about a decade before the Type 210. Although a more reliable and more capable design, the Type 210 was chosen for newer classes due to requiring less than half the space.