The Type 039 (NATO reporting name: Song class) is the diesel-electric submarine designed by Wuhan Ship Development and Design Institute (701 Institute) for the PLA Navy (PLAN). Construction of the submarine was carried out by Wuhan Shipbuilding Industry Company (also known as Wuchang Shipyard or 438 Factory) in Wuhan, Hubei Province and Jiangnan Shipyard Group Corporation in Shanghai. At least 16 hulls have been delivered to the PLA Navy since 1994.
The first-of-class of the Type 039 submarine No.320 was launched on 25 May 1994 at Wuchang Shipyard, and started sea trials in August 1995. However, the submarine was not fully operational until 1999 due to serious design flaws, including unsatisfactory underwater performance and noise level. After some major redesign work, a modified Type 039G variant (No.321) entered the service in April 2001, followed by the second (No.322) in December 2001 and the third (No.323) in November 2003.
In 2004, Wuchang Shipyard began to construct a further improved variant known as Type 039G1. At the same time, Shanghai-based Jiangnan Shipyard also began to built the Type 039G1 submarine, indicating that the submarine design has been finalised and serial production begun. Since then, a total of 12 boats (No.324~No.326, No.313~No.318, No.327~No.329) have been built.
