Yono-class submarine
{{Short description|North Korean Navy midget submarines}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2018}}
| {{Infobox ship begin
| sclass = 2 }} {{Infobox ship image | Ship image = | Ship caption = }} {{Infobox ship class overview |Name=Yono class |Builders= Yukdaeso-ri Naval Shipyards{{Cite web|url=https://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/dprk/industry.htm|title=North Korea – Military Industry|website=www.globalsecurity.org}} |Operators={{navy|North Korea}} |Class before={{sclass2|Yugo|submarine|4}} |Class after= |Subclasses= |Cost= |Built range= |In service range=1965–present |In commission range=10 |Total ships building=36 |Total ships planned= |Total ships completed=36 |Total ships cancelled= |Total ships active=<36 (most in reserve) |Total ships laid up= |Total ships lost= |Total ships retired= |Total ships preserved= }} {{Infobox ship characteristics | Hide header = | Header caption = | Ship type = Midget submarine | Ship displacement =
| Ship length = {{convert|20 |
| 22|m|ftin|abbr=on}}
| Ship beam = {{convert|2.75|m|ftin|abbr=on}} | Ship height = | Ship draught = {{convert|1.6|m|ftin|abbr=on}} | Ship draft = | Ship power = | Ship propulsion = Single-shaft MTU diesel engine with electric drive | Ship speed = *{{convert|10 |
11|kn|lk=in}} surfaced
|
| 8|kn}} submerged
| Ship range = * {{convert|550|nmi|lk=in|abbr=on}} surfaced
| Ship endurance = | Ship test depth = | Ship troops = | Ship complement = 2 + 6 or 7 special forces personnel | Ship sensors = | Ship EW = | Ship armament = *2 × {{convert|533|mm|in|abbr=on|0}} torpedo tubes | Ship notes = }} |
The Yono-class submarine (occasionally confused with Yugo-class) is a class of North Korean miniature submarines, produced for domestic use as well as for export. Also referred to as the Yeono class,{{Cite web|url=https://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/military/news/midget-sub-attacks|title=Is the U.S. Prepared to Face Midget Subs?|first=Joe|last=Pappalardo|date=24 May 2010|website=Popular Mechanics}} these submarines displace 130 tons, significantly less than North Korea's larger 1,800-ton {{sclass2|Romeo|submarine|2}}s.[http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Asia-Pacific/2010/0520/North-Korea-rebuffs-South-Korea-s-evidence-on-Cheonan-attack/(page)/2 North Korea rebuffs South Korea's evidence on Cheonan attack], Christian Science Monitor, 20 May 2010. As of May 2010, North Korea is reported to operate ten of these submarines. Iran is reported to have at least one Yono submarine and to have copied the design as the Ghadir-class.{{citation|title=Iranian Naval Forces: A Tale of Two Navies|url=https://www.oni.navy.mil/Portals/12/Intel%20agencies/iran/Iran%20022217SP.pdf|publisher=Office of Naval Intelligence|date=February 2017|isbn=978-0160939686|page=31}}
Design
The Yono-class submarine was first created in 1965.{{Cite web|url=https://cimsec.org/north-korea-and-asymmetric-naval-warfare/21761|title = North Korea and Asymmetric Naval Warfare|date = 15 February 2016}}
Combat involvement
{{main|ROKS Cheonan sinking}}
A Yono-class submarine is thought to have fired the torpedo attack which sank a South Korean {{sclass|Pohang|corvette|1}}, {{ship|ROKS|Cheonan|PCC-772|6}} on 26 March 2010 in South Korean waters.{{cite web|url=http://www.bernama.com/bernama/v5/newsworld.php?id=499970|title= S Korea Confirms North's Torpedo Sank Warship|publisher=Malaysian National News agency|date=21 May 2010|access-date=21 May 2010}} According to some investigators, the weapon used in the attack was a North Korean-manufactured CHT-02D torpedo, from which substantial propulsion parts were recovered. The device allegedly exploded not by contact, but by proximity {{convert|6|to|9|m}} below Cheonan, creating a powerful pillar of water, called the bubble jet effect.{{cite web|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/northkorea/7743830/North-Korea-condemned-by-world-powers-over-torpedo-attack.html|title=North Korea condemned by world powers over torpedo attack|publisher=The Telegraph|date=20 May 2010|access-date=20 May 2010}}
High ranking North Korean military officials denounced the international investigation and said the North does not have the type of submarines that supposedly carried out the attack. They also dismissed claims regarding writings on the torpedo and clarified that "when we put serial numbers on weapons, we engrave them with machines." South Korea's Yonhap News quoted South Korean officials as saying the North has about ten of the Yeono-class submarines.[https://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aXd_gvnsSEQo&pos=8 South Korea Faces Domestic Skeptics Over Evidence Against North], by Ben Richardson and Saeromi Shin, Bloomberg News, 30 May 2010
A member of the North Korean cabinet who defected to South Korea in 2011, said on 7 December 2012 that the crew of the North Korean submarine which sank Cheonan had been honored by the North Korean military and government. The defector, known by the alias "Ahn Cheol-nam", stated that the captain, co-captain, engineer, and boatswain of the mini-sub which sank Cheonan had been awarded "Hero of the DPRK" in October 2010.JoongAng Ilbo, "N. Korean Sailors Awarded Hero's Title For Attack On S. Korean Warship: Defector", 8 December 2012
{{Portal|North Korea}}