PLAN Oiler
by Chris King

1/700 PLAN Fleet Oiler (Scratchbuilt)

In my opinion naval support ships are the most difficult models to build from scratch. The hull for this ship was reshaped from an out-of-production resin kit by Regia Marina of an Italian Navy WWII oiler.

The Fuqing class are Chinese-designed fleet oilers. There are two ships of this class in service with the People’s Liberation Army-Navy (PLAN): No. 575 Taikang, and No. 615 Fencang. One sister was sold to Pakistan, and another sister was placed in merchant service. Displacement: 21,740 tons full load
Dimensions: 168.2 x 21.8 x 9.4 meters/551.8 x 71.5 x 30.8 feet
Propulsion: 1 Sulzer diesel, 1 shaft, 15,000 bhp, 18.6 knots
Crew: 146
Cargo: 12,450 tons fuels
Aviation: aft helicopter deck
Armament: 575 only: 4 dual 37 mm