Akizuki-class destroyer (1959)
.jpg) JDS Akizuki
| |
| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Name | Akizuki class |
| Builders | Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Shipbuilding, Kobe |
| Operators |  Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force |
| Preceded by | Murasame class |
| Succeeded by | Yamagumo class |
| In service | 1960–1993 |
| Completed | 2 |
| Retired | 2 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Destroyer |
| Displacement |
|
| Length | 118 m (387 ft 2 in) |
| Beam | 12 m (39 ft 4 in) |
| Draft | 4 m (13 ft 1 in) |
| Propulsion | 2 steam turbines, 4 boilers 45,000 shp (34,000 kW) / 2 shafts, 2 propellers |
| Speed | 32 knots (59 km/h; 37 mph) max. |
| Complement | 330 |
| Sensors and processing systems |
|
| Electronic warfare & decoys | NOLR-1 ESM |
| Armament |
|
The Akizuki-class destroyer was a destroyer class built for the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) in the late 1950s. This class was planned to be a flotilla leader with the enhanced command and control capability, so sometimes this class was classified as the "DDC" (commanding destroyer) unofficially.
Design
[edit]Initially, the American Military Assistance Advisory Group-Japan (MAAG-J) recommended a modified version of the American Fletcher class, but Japan had already constructed surface combatants of their own at that time. As a result, the project of this class was financed by the Off Shore Procurement (OSP) of the United States, but design and construction were completely indigenous.[1]
Like its predecessors, the Murasame and Ayanami classes, this class adopted a "long forecastle" design with inclined afterdeck called "Holland Slope", named after the scenic sloping street in Nagasaki City.[2] With the enlargement of the hull, the steam turbine propulsion system was uprated with higher-pressure boilers (570 psi).[3]
This class was equipped with both the gunnery weapons of the Murasame class[4] and the torpedo/mine weapons of the Ayanami class. Alongside these anti-submarine weapons, and similar to those of the Ayanami class, the Akizuki class were the first vessels equipped with a Mk.108 Weapon Alpha. While the JMSDF desired this American ASW rocket launcher originally, it became clear that its performance wasn't as good as was believed. It was later replaced by a Type 71 375 mm (15 in) quadruple ASW rocket launcher (the Japanese version of the Swedish M/50) in 1976.[5]
| Pennant no. | Name | Laid down | Launched | Commissioned | Decommissioned |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DD-161 ASU-7010 |
Akizuki | 31 July 1958 | 26 June 1959 | 13 February 1960 | 7 December 1993 |
| DD-162 ASU-7012 TV-3504 |
Teruzuki | 15 August 1958 | 24 June 1959 | 29 February 1960 | 27 September 1993 |
References
[edit]- ^ "History of Japanese destroyers since 1952". Ships of the World (in Japanese) (742). Kaijin-sha: 91–97. June 2011.
- ^ "1. Hull (Hardware of JMSDF destroyers)". Ships of the World (in Japanese) (742). Kaijin-sha: 100–105. June 2011.
- ^ Yasuo Abe (June 2011). "2. Propulsion system (Hardware of JMSDF destroyers)". Ships of the World (in Japanese) (742). Kaijin-sha: 106–111.
- ^ "2. Guns (Shipboard weapons of JMSDF 1952-2010)". Ships of the World (in Japanese) (721). Kaijin-sha: 88–93. March 2010.
- ^ "3. Underwater weapons (Shipboard weapons of JMSDF 1952-2010)". Ships of the World (in Japanese) (721). Kaijin-sha: 94–99. March 2010.