H/PJ-38 130mm naval gun

The H/PJ-38 is a single-barreled 130mm naval gun employed by the People's Liberation Army Navy. This naval gun, which was designed in 2005, was first installed on the Type 052D destroyer. The H/PJ-38 is the name given to this firearm in English and Japanese literature. This weapon's official designation, according to Taiwanese military journalist Lu Yi, is H/PJ-45.

Design
The H/PJ-38 was designed by the Norinco, through reverse engineering of the Soviet AK-130 twin 130mm naval gun. The H/PJ-38 was manufactured by the Inner Mongolia Second Machinery Manufacturing Factory.

Chen Dingfeng was the general designer of the H/PJ-38. Dingfeng was also the general designer for the Type 79 100 mm naval gun, the Type 210 100 mm naval gun, and the H/PJ26 76mm naval gun. The Chinese navy was unsatisfied and did not let the AK-130 counterpart go into production, despite all performance parameters being met. The Chinese Navy determined the AK-130 to be out-of-date, which led to the creation of the H/PJ38 program in 2005.

Weapons of comparable role, performance and era

 * 4.5 inch Mark 8 naval gun
 * 5"/54 caliber Mark 45 gun
 * French 100 mm naval gun
 * Otobreda 127/54 Compact
 * Otobreda 127/64
 * AK-130