 Hiei (DDH-142) at Pearl Harbor in 2006 | |
| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Name | Haruna class |
| Builders |
|
| Operators |  Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force |
| Succeeded by | Shirane class |
| Built | 1970–1973 |
| In commission | 1973–2011 |
| Completed | 2 |
| Retired | 2 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Destroyer |
| Displacement |
|
| Length | 153.1 m (502 ft) |
| Beam | 17.5 m (57 ft 5 in) |
| Draft | 5.2 m (17 ft 1 in) |
| Propulsion | |
| Speed | 31knots (36 mph; 57 km/h) |
| Complement |
|
| Armament |
|
| Aircraft carried | 3 ×SH-60J(K) anti-submarine helicopters |
TheHaruna-class destroyer was adestroyer class built for theJapan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) in the early 1970s. These helicopter-carrying destroyers (DDH) were built around a large central hangar which housed up to three helicopters.
Originally, theCoastal Safety Force and its successor, the JMSDF, had intended to enable its fleet aviation operating capability. In 1960, the Defense Agency planned to construct one helicopter carrier (CVH) with the Second Defense Build-up Plan, but this project was shelved and finally cancelled because the JMSDF changed their plan to dispersing its fleet aviation assets among destroyers, not concentrating in a few helicopter carriers.[1] The Japanese DDH was planned to be a hub with this dispersing fleet aviation concept with their logistics service capability for aircraft.[2]
At the beginning, equipment of this class were similar to those of theTakatsuki-class DDA. All weapons, two5-inch/54 caliber Mark 42 (Type 73) guns and one Type 74 octuple missile launcher (Japanese version of the American Mark 16 GMLS), were settled on the forecastle deck. But with theFleet Rehabilitation and Modernization (FRAM) program in 1983 and 1984,Sea Sparrow launchers,Phalanx CIWS systems and chaff launchers were added on thesuperstructure.[3][4] The upgrade program also added theNaval Tactical Data System (NTDS) with the OYQ-6/7 combat direction system.[5]
The rear half of the superstructure was helicopterhangar, and the afterdeck was thehelicopter deck with abeartrap system. To operate largeHSS-2 ASW helicopters safely, the full length of the helicopter deck reached 50 meters.[6]
| Pennant no. | Name | Laid down | Launched | Commissioned | Decommissioned | Home port |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DDH-141 | Haruna | 19 March 1970 | 1 February 1972 | 22 February 1973 | 18 March 2009 | Maizuru |
| DDH-142 | Hiei | 8 March 1972 | 13 August 1973 | 27 November 1974 | 16 March 2011 | Kure |
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