Chinese submarine tender Mount Tai

PLANS Mount Tai was the first submarine tender of the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN),[1][2]and during most of its service life, it was the largest ship in PLAN.[1]

Class overview
Builders	Hudong Shipyard
Operators	People's Liberation Army Navy
In commission	1964
Planned	1
Building	1
Completed	1
Active	0
Retired	1
Scrapped	1
General characteristics
Type	Submarine tender
Displacement	3,800 long tons (3,900 t)
Length	100 m (330 ft)
Beam	14.5 m (48 ft)
Draught	4.5 m (15 ft)
Propulsion	2,000 hp (1,500 kW)
Speed	13.2 knots (15.2 mph; 24.4 km/h)
Complement	148 + 430+
Sensors and processing systems	navigational radar and sonar
Armament	2 Type 61 twin 37 mm guns (II x 2) 2 Type 61 25 mm guns (II x 2)

The origin of PLAN Mt Tai was the cargo ship Peace No. 69 (和平69号) built by Hudong Shipyard in ther era of Great Leap Forward, with PLAN tasked the same shipyard to convert it to submarine tender, which started its maiden voage on August 1, 1964 after completing the conversion.[1][2]The ship formally entered PLAN service at the end of the year after completing five months trials, and the original crew were mostly consisted of sailors from retired PLANS Yan'an,[1]the ex-ROCS Yong Ji (永绩), a Yongfeng-class gunboat (PLANS Yan’an itself was sunk on June 19, 1965 as a target during AShM test).[3][4]

Powered by the domestically built 2000 horsepower 42/80 diesel engine with 500 rpm of the original cargo ship design, the ship could reach a top speed of 13 kt, while the cruise speed was 8 kt.[1]To provide electricity power to submarines, there were a total of 5 generators, 2 of which were West German built capable of generating 500 kW each, while the remaining 3 were domestic Chinese generators capable of generating 100 kW each.[1]Armament included two pairs of Type 61 twin 37 mm naval guns and two pairs of Type 61 twin 25 mm guns.[1]The onboard torpedo maintenance/repair facility could store 24 torpedoes.[1]Onboard electronic gear included navigational radar, sonar, depth sounder, range finder, Type 105 underwater communication system, electronic and magnetic compasses. The ship was also equipped with more than a dozen wireless phones and various communication radio systems, which enable it to act as a command ship in addition to the assigned submarine support role.[1]Furthermore, this ship also acted a target ship for submarines and water tanker.[1]In addition to the 148 crew, PLANS Mt Tai also had more than 430 additional beds/bunks, capable of housing two submarine crews simultaneously onboard.[1]The ship is equipped with onboard hospital, with surgery room and X-ray rooms, in order to carry out rotation of submarine crew at sea.[1]

The ship remained in the 22nd submarine squadron for its entire service life, and the pennant number of PLANS Mt Tai originally was 329, but after October 1974, it was changed to 920.[1][2]After nearly a quarter of century service, the ship was eventually succeeded by Type 925 submarine support ship and finally retired from PLAN in April 1988. After retiring from military, the ship was converted back to its original cargo ship version, subsequently went to civilian shipping service, a task it performed for more than a decade, finally scrapped in late 1990s.[1]