In 1954, People's Republic of China (PRC) and former Soviet Union (USSR) reached agreement to allow PRC to license produce Soviet P-6 torpedo boats under the supervision of Soviet technical advisors, with components and blue prints supplied by USSR.[1] In the February 1955, construction of the first boat in China begun at Wuhu Shipyard (芜湖造船厂), the predecessor of the Wuhu Xinlian Shipbuilding Co., Ltd. (芜湖新联造船有限公司), where a total of 51 boats were eventually built. Half a year later in August of that same year, construction of the first boat of the second production line begun at Guangzhou Shipyard, where 12 boats were eventually completed.[1]
After completion of 12 boats at Guangzhou shipyard and 12 boats at Wuhu shipyard, USSR encountered difficulty to supply the specialized wood needed, so effort was spent to find domestic Chinese wood as a necessary replacement. From the 25th unit that begun construction in 1957, domestic Chinese wood had been used to successfully replace the imported wood.[1] A total of 63 boats were completed, with 51 by Wuhu Shipyard, 12 by Guangzhou Shipyard.[1] Originally equipped with Type 512 radar, most of boats were eventually had it replaced by Type 351.[1]
Several variants of Type 02 series torpedo boats have produced, including the following: