Type 07 Destroyer 'Anshan'
The Chinese destroyer Anshan (101) is a Chinese national first-class cultural relic. She is also the first destroyer of the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN). The ship was originally a part of the Project 7 class destroyer of the Soviet Pacific Fleet and was initially armed with four single 130mm/50 Patter 1936 guns, two single 76mm 34K Anti-Aircraft, two single 45mm 21K Anti-Aircraft Guns, and two single 12.7mm DShK machine guns. She was also armed with two triple 533mm torpedo tubes as well as 60-95 mines and 25 depth charges. She was initially laid down in 1939, launched in 1940, and commissioned in 1941 as the Soviet Destroyer Rekordny (Рекордный). Upon commissioning she had a full load displacement of 2581 tons, a maximum speed of 34 knots, and an endurance of 2,300 nautical miles. Her Second World War service is mostly a mystery, but it has been claimed that she was responsible for shooting down a German aircraft and was commended for this action by the Soviet Military. In 1952 the PLAN expressed interest in purchasing several Destroyers from the Soviet Union as part of this Xiao Jingguang and a delegation arrived in Moscow and attempted to negotiate a deal. This deal would be completed In October 1954 after two years of negotiation when Rekordny was formally sold to the Peoples Republic of China at a ceremony in Qingdao. During the ceremony, she was commissioned as a Type 07 destroyer, with the number 101, and was named after the heavy industry city Anshan (after much debate). She served as a normal destroyer until the early 1970s when the torpedo launchers were dismantled, and Anshan was converted into a Guided Missile Destroyer. In the 38 years of service, she saw in the PLAN, Anshan would repeatedly distinguish herself and Impress many of the PLAs commanders. She became very well-known and in her life, she even received visits from 9 heads of state, heads of government, and military delegations.
Among the people who visited the ship were people such as Zhou Enlai, Liu Shaoqi, Deng Xiaoping, Peng Dehuai, and Liu Bocheng, He Long, Chen Yi, Luo Ronghuan, Ye Jianying, Nie Rongzhen, Xu Xiangqian, and other state and military leaders. On August 4, 1957, for example, on the waters of Jiaozhou Bay in Qingdao, Premier Zhou Enlai, on behalf of the Party Central Committee and Chairman Mao, inspected the naval vessels and aviation units with specific attention paid to Anshan. On June 4, 1962, Zhou Enlai again inspected Anshan, during this visit, however, he would write that "All the comrades on the Anshan hold the red flag of victory for Chairman Mao's thoughts and march forward bravely". In the 1980s under the escort of 4 submarine-hunting boats, the Anshan was selected to be the ship that held the ashes and would perform the laying ceremony of the late Liu Shaoqi in the waters of Qingdao, Dagong Island. On April 24, 1992, the venerable destroyer would be decommissioned but was subsequently chosen for preservation and display as an important historical relic at the Chinese Navy Museum in Qingdao. Today she is one of three Anshan Class destroyers on display in China and by extension, one of three surviving Project 7 Class destroyers that are afloat.
