Type 917 torpedo retriever/target ship


Type 917 torpedo retriever / range support vessel / target ship is a type of little known auxiliary ship built in the People's Republic of China for the People's Liberation Army Navy. As a successor of earlier Type 803 torpedo retriever, Type 917 TR/'TWR/AGT has received NATO reporting name Damen class, or 大门 in Chinese, meaning "big gate". As with its predecessors, once these have retired from their original torpedo retrieving duties, they are converted to range support vessels/target ships, until finally sunk as targets. Specification:
  • Length: : 63.68
  • Beam : 9
  • Draft : 2.8
  • Standard displacement : 720
  • Full displacement : 742.5
  • Speed : 13
  • Propulsion: 8300CZ marine diesels @ 1100 hp x 2
Type 917 AGT/TWR/TR' in PLAN service is designated by a combination of two Chinese characters followed by a three-digit number. The second Chinese character is Yun, meaning "transport" in Chinese, indicating that in addition to range support and targeting missions, this class is also used as transports, though some modification work is required to remove onboard range support and targeting equipment before it can be used to transport cargoes. The first Chinese character denotes which fleet the ship is service with, with East for East Sea Fleet, North for North Sea Fleet, and South for South Sea Fleet. However, the pennant numbers are subject to change due to changes of Chinese naval ships naming convention, or when units are transferred to different fleets. As of 2022, a total of nine ships have been identified:
TypeNATO designationPennant No.Name
Name
CommissionedDisplacementFleetStatus
Type 917 torpedo retriever / range support / target ship Damen classBei-Yun 455North Transport 455北运 4551990s-2007720 tNorth Sea FleetActive
Type 917 torpedo retriever / range support / target ship Damen classBei-Yun 484North Transport 484北运 4841990s-2007720 tNorth Sea FleetActive
Type 917 torpedo retriever / range support / target ship Damen classBei-Yun 485North Transport 485北运 4851990s-2007720 tNorth Sea FleetActive
Type 917 torpedo retriever / range support / target ship Damen classBei-Yun 529North Transport 529北运 5291990s-2007720 tNorth Sea FleetActive
Type 917 torpedo retriever / range support / target ship Damen classDong-Yun 758East Transport 758东运 7581990s-2007720 tEast Sea FleetActive
Type 917 torpedo retriever / range support / target ship Damen classDong-Yun 803East Transport 803东运 8031990s-2007720 tEast Sea FleetActive
Type 917 torpedo retriever / range support / target ship Damen classNan-Yun 841South Transport 841南运 8411990s-2007720 tSouth Sea FleetActive
Type 917 torpedo retriever / range support / target ship Damen classNan-Yun 844South Transport 844南运 8441990s-2007720 tSouth Sea FleetActive
Type 917 torpedo retriever / range support / target ship Damen classNan-Yun 854South Transport 854南运 8541990s-2007720 tSouth Sea FleetActive