Naval Systems

100 mm Type 79 naval gun

Also known as
  • Type 79 100 mm naval gun
  • Type 79 twin 100 mm gun
  • 100mm Type 79
  • 100 mm Type 79
  • H/PJ33
  • H/PJ33A
  • H/PJ33B
  • Type 79A 100 mm naval gun
  • ENG-2

The 100 mm Type 79 is a Chinese twin 100 mm dual-purpose naval gun mount used on late Cold War People's Liberation Army Navy surface combatants and export frigates. Open naval references describe 713th Research Institute development, Soviet B-34 ammunition lineage, radar-directed shipboard fire-control integration, and later Type 79A / H/PJ33A and H/PJ33B variants with more automated loading arrangements on Chinese frigate and destroyer classes.

100 mm Type 79 naval gun, Twin 100 mm shipboard dual-purpose gun mount, Naval Systems
Image source: Wikimedia Commons: Chinese Type 79A turret image
Profile / Specs

Profile

Origin
People's Republic of China
Type
Twin 100 mm shipboard dual-purpose gun mount
Service note
Late Cold War and post-Cold War Chinese naval service
Designer
713th Research Institute
Designed
Late 1970s development period

Specifications

Caliber
100 mm
Barrels
2 x 100 mm L/56
Role
Dual-purpose naval gun for surface and air targets
Ammunition
Fixed 100 mm ammunition compatible with Soviet B-34-family ammunition
Mount weight
About 37 t including twin feed drums in WeaponSystems.net data
Loading
Original Type 79 with manual backup; Type 79A / H/PJ33A and later variants with automatic loading
Elevation
About -5 to +83 degrees
Traverse
About -225 to +225 degrees
Rate of fire
Variant-dependent open-source figures: about 50 rounds per minute combined for Type 79-family data, with lower platform-specific Type 79A figures and higher H/PJ33B claims reported in some secondary sources
Muzzle velocity
About 915-916 m/s
Range
About 22.5 km against surface targets and about 15 km against aircraft in open-reference data
Fire control
Type 341 / Type 343 family fire-control radar depending on source and platform
Variants

Open sources use Type 79 for the baseline twin 100 mm family, Type 79A or H/PJ33A for the lighter automated-loading improvement, and H/PJ33B for later low-observable housings and electronics updates.

VariantConfigurationDesignation notes
Type 79Baseline twin 100 mm mounting

NavWeaps and WeaponSystems.net describe the original Type 79 as a Chinese twin 100 mm mounting tied to Soviet B-34 ammunition lineage and a heavy shipboard mount.

Sources: NavWeaps: China 100 mm/56 Type 79, WeaponSystems.net: 100mm Type 79

Type 79A / H/PJ33A / ENG-2Automated loading variant

Open references distinguish the Type 79A, H/PJ33A, or ENG-2 as an improved version with a French-designed autoloader and lighter housing.

Sources: NavWeaps: China 100 mm/56 Type 79, NavWeaps: 100 mm/56 ENG-2 or Type 79A, WeaponSystems.net: 100mm Type 79

H/PJ33BLater improved-housing variant

WeaponSystems.net and naval-analysis coverage describe the H/PJ33B as a later Type 79-family mount with an angular low-observable housing and updated electronics.

Sources: WeaponSystems.net: 100mm Type 79, TopWar: Chinese naval anti-aircraft artillery

Carrier Warships

The Type 79 family is best documented in open sources through the frigate and destroyer classes that carried it, so this draft keeps the gun as a component entry rather than copying ship-level conflicts onto the mount.

CarrierCarrier typeCarriage evidence
Type 053H2G / Jiangwei I-class frigate, Guided-missile frigate and converted patrol vessel class, Naval SystemsType 053H2G / Jiangwei I-class frigateChinese guided-missile frigate class

Sea Forces labels the Type 79 100 mm twin gun on Type 053H2G / Jiangwei I-class imagery, while WeaponSystems.net identifies the Type 79 family as a Chinese twin 100 mm naval gun system.

Sources: Sea Forces: Type 053H2G Jiangwei I, WeaponSystems.net: 100mm Type 79

Type 053H3 / Jiangwei II-class frigate, Chinese guided-missile frigate class, Naval SystemsType 053H3 / Jiangwei II-class frigateChinese guided-missile frigate class

Sea Forces lists one H/PJ33A 100 mm twin gun on the Type 053H3 / Jiangwei II class, while WeaponSystems.net describes the same class with a Type 79A / H/PJ33A mount and later H/PJ33B housing.

Sources: Sea Forces: Type 053H3 Jiangwei II, WeaponSystems.net: Type-053H3 class

Type 051B / Luhai-class destroyer, Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy guided-missile destroyer class, Naval SystemsType 051B / Luhai-class destroyerChinese guided-missile destroyer

Sea Forces lists one Type 79 (H/PJ-33B) 100 mm twin naval gun on the Type 051B destroyer Shenzhen, while the Commons turret image identifies the photographed mount as a Type H/PJ33B / Type 79A turret on the same class.

Sources: Sea Forces: Type 051B Luhai, Wikimedia Commons: Chinese Type 79A turret image

Conflict-use boundary

The clearest direct firing evidence concerns the 1988 Chigua / Johnson South Reef action involving frigate 531 / Yingtan's 100 mm guns, before the catalog's normal post-1995 conflict-creation scope and before the current South China Sea Disputes metadata starts in 2012. Later ship deployments and general armament lists are carrier context rather than conflict-use rows for the gun.

Sources: Sina Military: Chigua Reef battle account, WeaponSystems.net: Type-053K class, WeaponSystems.net: 100mm Type 79, NavWeaps: China 100 mm/56 Type 79

Mounting And Loading Pattern

The Type 79 family is a twin-barrel 100 mm ship gun rather than a standalone platform. Open references separate the baseline mount from later automated Type 79A / H/PJ33A and H/PJ33B arrangements, which matters when comparing older frigates with later Chinese surface combatants. China Defence Today also identifies the Type 052 / Luhu destroyer as a Type 79A carrier.

Baseline mount

Twin 100 mm mounting with backup manual loading and mechanical-drive provisions reported for early Type 79 installations.

Automated variants

Type 79A / H/PJ33A and H/PJ33B references describe reduced crew demand, revised housings, and more automated loading arrangements.

Shipboard role

The mount provided a medium-caliber gun battery for surface targets, shore targets, and limited anti-aircraft use on frigates and destroyers.

Timeline

100 mm Type 79 naval gun Key Events

  1. Type 79 designation enters the gun family name

    WeaponSystems.net lists the 100 mm Type 79 as entering service in 1979 after late-1970s development work.

  2. Installed on Jianghu-family frigates

    WeaponSystems.net and NavWeaps connect the Type 79 family to Chinese Jianghu and Jiangwei frigate classes, including early mounts with manual loading and later automated variants.

  3. Type 053K gun use reported at Johnson South Reef

    Chinese retrospective accounts describe frigate 531 / Yingtan firing 100 mm guns during the Chigua / Johnson South Reef naval battle, while platform references identify the Type 053K 100 mm fit as twin Type 79 mounts.

  4. Automated variants appear on newer ships

    Open references describe Type 79A / H/PJ33A and H/PJ33B variants as later automated or improved members of the family used on Chinese frigates and destroyers.

Media

100 mm Type 79 naval gun Images

100 mm Type 79 naval gun, Twin 100 mm shipboard dual-purpose gun mount, Naval Systems - view 1
Source: Wikimedia Commons: HQ-7 and Type 79A turret image
100 mm Type 79 naval gun, Twin 100 mm shipboard dual-purpose gun mount, Naval Systems - view 2
Source: Wikimedia Commons: Qingdao weapons-system image
Related Weapon Systems
130 mm SM-2-1, 130 mm/58 twin dual-purpose naval gun mount, Naval SystemsNaval Systems130 mm SM-2-1130 mm/58 twin dual-purpose naval gun mountThe 130 mm SM-2-1 was a Soviet twin 130 mm/58 naval gun mount developed by TsKB-34 for postwar destroyers and treated in open references as a stabilized dual-purpose weapon for surface and air targets. Serial production centered on Bolshevik Plant No. 232, with additional Starokramatorsk-built mounts, and the system armed Project 41 Neustrashimy and Project 56 Kotlin destroyers before informing China's Type 76 twin 130 mm mount. Checked open sources support service, platform, and production context but not a direct combat-use claim for a specific conflict.
Type 054A / Jiangkai II-class frigate, Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy multi-role frigate class, Naval SystemsNaval SystemsType 054A / Jiangkai II-class frigateChinese People's Liberation Army Navy multi-role frigate classThe Type 054A / Jiangkai II-class frigate is a Chinese multi-role guided-missile frigate class that developed the two-ship Type 054 design into a serial PLAN escort with medium-range vertical-launch air defense, anti-ship missiles, anti-submarine weapons, and helicopter facilities. Later batches and export derivatives kept the same basic escort concept while changing sensors, close-in defenses, aviation support, and customer-specific weapons.
Type 054 / Jiangkai I-class frigate, Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy guided-missile frigate class, Naval SystemsNaval SystemsType 054 / Jiangkai I-class frigateChinese People's Liberation Army Navy guided-missile frigate classThe Type 054 / Jiangkai I-class frigate is the two-ship first generation of China's Jiangkai guided-missile frigate family, built at Shanghai and Guangzhou for the People's Liberation Army Navy before production shifted to the more capable Type 054A. Public sources identify Ma'anshan and Wenzhou as 2005-commissioned ships with YJ-83 anti-ship missiles, HQ-7 point air defense, AK-630 close-in guns, light torpedo tubes, and helicopter facilities; both hulls are documented in Chinese counter-piracy escort deployments in the Gulf of Aden and Somali waters.

Sources

NavWeaps: China 100 mm/56 Type 79Publisher: NavWeaps | Note: Supports PRC Type 79 designation, B-34 lineage, fixed ammunition, muzzle velocity, rate-of-fire data, and carrier-class context. | Accessed: 2026-07-13NavWeaps: 100 mm/56 ENG-2 or Type 79APublisher: NavWeaps | Note: Supports Type 79A / ENG-2 identity, improved Type 79 relationship, French-designed autoloader context, fixed 100 mm ammunition, and Jianghu carrier context. | Accessed: 2026-07-13WeaponSystems.net: 100mm Type 79Publisher: WeaponSystems.net | Note: Supports Type 79 identity, Chinese origin, 713th Research Institute development attribution, twin 100 mm shipboard role, variant distinctions, specifications, and platform context. | Accessed: 2026-07-13WeaponSystems.net: Type-053H3 classPublisher: WeaponSystems.net | Note: Supports the Type 053H3 / Jiangwei II carrier relationship, including a 1x2 100 mm Type 79A / H/PJ33A mount and later H/PJ33B housing. | Accessed: 2026-07-13WeaponSystems.net: Type-053K classPublisher: WeaponSystems.net | Note: Supports Type 053K / Yingtan platform context by identifying the class firepower as two twin 100 mm Type 79 56-caliber gun mounts. | Accessed: 2026-07-13Sea Forces: Type 053H2G Jiangwei IPublisher: Sea Forces | Note: Supports the Type 053H2G / Jiangwei I carrier relationship and labels the Type 79 100 mm twin gun on the class. | Accessed: 2026-07-13Sea Forces: Type 053H3 Jiangwei IIPublisher: Sea Forces | Note: Supports the Type 053H3 / Jiangwei II carrier relationship and lists one H/PJ33A 100 mm twin gun in the class armament. | Accessed: 2026-07-13Sea Forces: Type 051B LuhaiPublisher: Sea Forces | Note: Supports the Type 051B / Luhai carrier relationship, identifying the Shenzhen armament as one Type 79 (H/PJ-33B) 100 mm twin naval gun. | Accessed: 2026-07-13China Defence Today: Type 052 LuhuPublisher: China Defence Today | Note: Supports unlinked carrier context for the Type 052 / Luhu destroyer and describes the Type 79A / PJ-33 dual 100 mm gun installation and performance figures. | Accessed: 2026-07-13TopWar: Chinese naval anti-aircraft artilleryPublisher: TopWar | Note: Supports Type 79 family development context, H/PJ33 variant naming, automated-loading distinctions, export use, and shipboard installation background. | Accessed: 2026-07-13Sina Military: Chigua Reef battle accountPublisher: Sina Military / Global Times | Note: Supports the 1988 Chigua / Johnson South Reef service-history boundary by describing frigate 531's 100 mm gun fire and main-gun reliability problem during the battle. | Accessed: 2026-07-13Sina Military: 531 commissar interviewPublisher: Sina Military | Note: Supports the 1988 Chigua / Johnson South Reef service-history boundary through an interview account describing frigate 531 opening fire and using 100 mm guns against Vietnamese vessel HQ505. | Accessed: 2026-07-13Wikimedia Commons: Chinese Type 79A turret imagePublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Supports image provenance for the primary Type H/PJ33B / Type 79A turret photograph; the file page identifies public-domain release by the copyright holder. | Accessed: 2026-07-13Wikimedia Commons: HQ-7 and Type 79A turret imagePublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Supports gallery image provenance for a Type 79A-family turret and HQ-7 launcher aboard Shenzhen; the file page identifies public-domain release by the copyright holder. | Accessed: 2026-07-13Wikimedia Commons: Qingdao weapons-system imagePublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Supports U.S. Navy public-domain gallery image provenance for a Chinese destroyer weapons-system photograph categorized with the H/PJ-33B 100 mm naval gun. | Accessed: 2026-07-13