Type 074 medium landing ship The Type 074 landing ship medium ( NATO codename : Yuhai class ) is a class of medium landing ship ( LSM ) , of the People ' s Liberation Army Navy ( PLAN ) known by two different names , one of them is Yuhai class and the other is Wuhu - A class . They were built at Wuhu Shipyard of Wuhu , Anhui from 1995 to 2000 . Although entering service in the mid - 1990s , the origin of Type 074 actually dating almost three decade earlier in the mid - 1960s , and Type 074 is the result of experience learned from around half a dozen models earlier . Type 271I landing craft utility . The origin of Type 074 medium landing ship dates back in 1966 , when PLAN proposed to develop a landing craft utility ( LCU ) based on the experienced gained from Type 067 utility landing craft and Type 068 / 069 mechanized landing craft ( LCM ) . In addition to wartime mission , this class is tasked to supply islands without port facilities with up to 100 tons of equipment , cargo and freshwater in peacetime . The LCU is designated Type 271 , and received NATO reporting name Yupen class , a name used for the rest members of Type 271 LCU series . Construction of Type 271 LCU begun in Aug 1968 at Qingdao Shipyard in Qingdao , and the boat was completed in June 1970 . Sea trials begun in September 1970 in Qingdao , but the result was rather unsatisfactory . Based on these result , redesign work begun immediately with designation as Type 271II , and the unit already built was consequently named as Type 271I , and later converted to later standard , The primary reason for such disappointing result was because the political turmoil in China at the time , namely , the Cultural Revolution . Type 271II landing craft utility . Type 271II landing craft utility is the direct result of the disappointing performance of the original Type 271 LCU . Redesign work of Type 271II LCU was completed in 1971 , and construction begun in December 1972 at Qingdao Shipyard . In September 1975 , the ship was launched and on November 30 , 1975 , this first unit of Type 271III LCU was handed to PLAN and begun trials . As with Type 271I LCU , the program was delayed due to the Cultural Revolution . The pace of trials and testing really picked up in 1976 when the Cultural Revolution ended , and this class finally received certification in 1978 and series production soon started after . Specification : Type 271II LCU can carry three medium tanks such as Type 59 , or seven 5 - ton capacity trucks , or eight 85 mm cannons when used to carry heavy equipment . Type 271IID landing craft utility . As the first member of Type 271 series LCU , Type 271II LCU was not produced in large numbers because in 1979 , PLAN requested minor modification of Type 271II LCU based on experience gained from deployment . The result was Type 271IID LCU , with D stands for Dingxing ( 定型 in Chinese ) , meaning finalized design . The first unit of Type 271IID LCU was completed by Changsha Shipyard , and all earlier units were subsequently converted to this standard as Type 271IID went into series production . The modification included the pressure wave plate , anchor and propulsion systems . The displacement is slightly increased to 507 t from the original 500 t of Type 217II LCU . Type 271III landing craft utility . In November 1984 , requirement of Type 271III LCU was issued , but once again , the program was delayed , but this time was not due to political turmoil in China , but instead , the policy change : the economic reform in China had put military program in the backseat . As a result , construction of the first unit did not begun until March 1987 at Changsha Shipyard , and two years later in December 1989 , the unit went into service . The primary improvement of Type 271III LCU over Type 271IID is that its propulsion system was German origin ( MAN SE ) , and China license produced it to greatly increase the reliability and service life of engine . The armament and ability to operate in harsh sea state is also improved , while the bow door is changed to V - shaped double door from the original single piece flat piece . Specifications : Type 271IIIA landing craft utility . Type 271IIIA landing craft utility is the latest member of Type 271 series LCU . The main difference between Type 271IIIA and Type 271III from which Type 271IIIA is developed from is that the displacement of Type 271IIIA when fully loaded has increased by a third to 800 tons , while the length is slightly reduced to 56 . 5 meters . Armament was greatly reduced to two Type 69 twin 14 . 5 mm MG , while speed is also reduced to 1 kn to 15 kn . The number of crew is more than doubled to 56 due to the need to handle more complex machinery . To accommodate the larger size , a pair of more powerful version of Chinese license produced MAN SE 8L20 / 27 diesel engine have been installed , each with 1142 hp . Typical cargo carrying capacity of Type 271IIIA is either 3 medium tanks plus an infantry platoon of 70 troops , or 7 light amphibious tanks ( over load , usually 6 for normal payload ) , or 200 fully equipped troops . Type 271 II & III series LCU received NATO reporting name Yulü class . Type 79I landing ship medium . Besides Type 271 LCU , the other origin of the Type 74 LSM is Type 79 series LSM . The origin of Type 79 series LSM dates back in the 1970s , when North Vietnam asked China to produce a landing ship capable of carrying around 200 tons of cargo with maximum speed of 12 kts , but more importantly , the manufacturing technique had to be simply so that it must be able to be built quickly in large numbers . Design of Type 079 LSM took more than two year , lasting from 1971 to 1973 , and construction begun in May 1974 at Guangzhou Shipyard International , and lunched on July 22 , 1976 . Due to the changes of Sino - Vietnamese relations , the end customer became PLAN instead , and the ship entered PLAN service in October , 1976 . This class received NATO reporting name Yulian class . Trials between December 1972 to January 1977 revealed the performance was somewhat satisfactory , but the speed was slow and the ability to operate in bad weather condition is poor . Work immediately begun on redesign named as Type 79II LSM , while the first unit is subsequently named as Type 79I LSM . Specifications : Type 79II landing ship medium . Shortcomings of Type 79I LSM revealed in trials lead to immediate redesign named as Type 79II LSM , which was completed in October 1977 , and a total of 31 was built , including the conversion of the sole Type 79I LSM to Type 79II standard . 26 were completed by Guangzhou Shipyard International , and 4 were completed by Xiamen Shipyard . Like its predecessor Type 79I LSM , Type 79II LSM was also designed by 708th Research Institute . The main difference between 79I & 79II is that the latter is larger , with dimensions increased to 72 m x 13 . 8 m x 2 . 6 m respectively , and the displacement is increased to 1100 tons . More complex machinery was added , lead to the increase of crew member to 109 , more than 3 times of that of the original Type 79I LSM . The speed is also slightly increased to 13 kn . Armament is strengthened by the addition of two BM21 122 mm rocket launchers . Nearly three decades after production ended in 1983 , all 30 Type 79II LSM still remain in Chinese service today , mostly in Chinese navy South Sea Fleet ( PLAN SSF ) , though most of them are delegated to transport duties . Type 074 landing ship medium . Type 79 series LSM suffers from inherit design flaw in that in order to achieve easy of production so that it could be mass - produced , the hull shape was a very simply flat bottom design , and this is not good for sailing in poor weathers . As a result , PLAN issued a request of upgrade of Type 79 series LSM in the 1990s . However , as study progressed , it was discovered that in order to reach the requirement , major redesign is needed , and the cost would be prohibitive . The alternative is to enlarge the successful Type 271 series LCU to the requirement , and adding the equipment of Type 79 series LSM , and this alternative was accepted , hence Type 74 LSM was borne as a cross between Type 79 series LSM and Type 271 LCU , with the upgraded equipment of the former installed on an enlarged hull of the latter . This class of landing crafts are capable of making oceanic voyages in moderate sea states . They are used for tactical beach lodgement , and can carry up to 100 tonnes of cargo . Indicative maximum loads include either 2 main battle tanks , or 6 light amphibious tanks , or 350 fully equipped troops . The ships of this class are fitted with three Type 61 dual - 25mm antiaircraft artillery guns . Some units are also fitted with Type 81H 122mm multiple rocket launchers . Although on board equipment of Type 74 LSM is derived from that of Type 79 , advancement in Chinese technological and industrial capability enabled the adaptation of automation , which significantly reduced the number of crew needed almost by a half , down to 56 from the original 109 of Type 79II LSM . Specification :