Saijing-class submarine

The Saijing-class submarine was intended to be the first Kodeshi class of s  built using a conventional diesel-electric propulsion systems. The official designation by the Imperial Kodeshi Navy was the Saijing-class, which in Saijing (塞鯨) means ''. It is one of the largest conventional powered submarines ever built.

History and development
While Kodeshia had began using submarines in the nuclear deterrent role, when it began using diesel-electric boats, able to carry short ranged cruise missiles, during the final stages of the Great Kesh War. Their use was extremely limited but the concept was explored in the post war environment.

The first generation of Kodeshi submarines were designed with a conventional diesel-electric propulsion system. The first of these was the Saijing-class submarine. The Saijing-class was the first of a planned series of ballistic missile submarines. The first of the class was laid down in 1972 and commissioned in 1977. The class completed Kodeshia's, with the Saijing-class serving as a viable second strike strategic deterrent, while the land based missiles and air force launched nuclear weapons provided a first strike capability.

The Saijing-class was designed with the ability to sixteen SLBM missiles, each able to mount three nuclear warheads. The type was designed by the Imperial Naval Armaments Bureau and built by the Shanhejian Iron Factory. The design was influenced by the new developments of foreign ballistic missile submarine designs. The Saijing-class was the first Kodeshi submarine to be built with an all welded hull, which allowed for greater stealth and the ability to launch more missiles.

Design and construction
six boats were ordered in February 1972 from Shanhejian Iron Factory in Fuyang. The option of buying two more was included in the contract. But these were not taken up as the navy moved forward with plans for a nuclear powered option. The design was relatively straightforward following the existing diesel-electric submarines built by Kodeshia but was modified to incorporate the latest technology and to be able to fire a greater number of missiles.

But the design was quite innovative with one aspect. As the missiles had to be directly adjacent to the control room. In previous diesel submarines, intake and exhaust pipes were led up through the superstructure to the sail; if the hot exhaust would have run right between the missile tubes, a totally unacceptable arrangement. The solution was to reverse the conventical SSBN configuration and place the missiles forward of the sail.

This required the designers to come up with a new layout for the control room, which was placed in the bow of the boat. The new control room was also larger than the previous ones, which was necessary to accommodate the extra crew needed to operate the additional systems. The control room was also connected to the missile compartment via a sealed hatch. The control room was pressurized to reduce the risk of the crew being exposed to the high pressure in the missile compartment.

Boats in class
A total of 6 boats in class were built. The first four ships were built by the Jiaxing Shipyard in Chenghai.