The Hatsuyuki class destroyer

Destroyer

In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast and maneuverable yet long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against smaller, powerful, short-range attackers. Destroyers, originally called torpedo-boat destroyers in 1892, evolved from...

 is a class of Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

ese destroyer, serving with the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force

Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force

The , or JMSDF, is the naval branch of the Japan Self-Defense Forces, tasked with the naval defense of Japan. It was formed following the dissolution of the Imperial Japanese Navy after World War II....

 (JMSDF). It was the third generation of general purpose destroyers, though like its predecessor, the , the main task is anti-submarine warfare

Anti-submarine warfare

Anti-submarine warfare is a branch of naval warfare that uses surface warships, aircraft, or other submarines to find, track and deter, damage or destroy enemy submarines....

. The class was completed between 1982 and 1987. Due to its size it would be more appropriately classed as a frigate

Frigate

A frigate is any of several types of warship, the term having been used for ships of various sizes and roles over the last few centuries.In the 17th century, the term was used for any warship built for speed and maneuverability, the description often used being "frigate-built"...

.

Design and development

This class is made a number of firsts among general purpose destroyers of the JMSDF.

It was the first class to use Combined gas or gas

Combined gas or gas

Combined gas or gas is a propulsion system for ships using gas turbine engines. A high efficiency, low output turbine is used for cruising speeds with a high output turbine being used for high-speed operations. A clutch allows either turbine to be selected, but there is no gearbox to allow...

 (COGOG) propulsion system. The all-gas-turbine propulsion system is composed of two Kawasaki-Rolls-Royce Tyne

Rolls-Royce Tyne

|-See also:...

 RM1C gas turbine

Gas turbine

A gas turbine, also called a combustion turbine, is a type of internal combustion engine. It has an upstream rotating compressor coupled to a downstream turbine, and a combustion chamber in-between....

s for crusing and two Kawasaki-Rolls-Royce Olympus

Rolls-Royce Olympus

The Rolls-Royce Olympus was one of the world's first two-spool axial-flow turbojet aircraft engines, originally developed and produced by Bristol Aero Engines. First running in 1950, its initial use was as the powerplant of the Avro Vulcan V Bomber...

 TM3B gas turbines for high speed operation.
It introduced the concept of total ship systems engineering with an integrated combat system. The core of the combat system is the OYQ-5 Tactical Data Processing System (TDPS). The OYQ-5 TDPS is composed of one AN/UYK-20

AN/UYK-20

The AN/UYK-20 "Data Processing Set" was a ruggedized small computer manufactured by Univac and used by the United States Navy for small and medium-sized shipboard and shore systems built in the 1970s...

 computer and five OJ-194B workstation

Workstation

A workstation is a high-end microcomputer designed for technical or scientific applications. Intended primarily to be used by one person at a time, they are commonly connected to a local area network and run multi-user operating systems...

s, and capable of receiving data automatically from other ships via Link-14 (STANAG

STANAG

STANAG is the NATO abbreviation for Standardization Agreement, which sets up processes, procedures, terms, and conditions for common military or technical procedures or equipment between the member countries of the alliance. Each NATO state ratifies a STANAG and implements it within their own...

 5514).

This is the first destroyer class in the JMSDF equipped with the Sea Sparrow Improved basic point defense missile system and Boeing Harpoon

Boeing Harpoon

The Harpoon is an all-weather, over-the-horizon, anti-ship missile system, developed and manufactured by McDonnell Douglas . In 2004, Boeing delivered the 7,000th Harpoon unit since the weapon's introduction in 1977...

 surface-to-surface missile

Surface-to-surface missile

A surface-to-surface missile is a guided projectile launched from a hand-held, vehicle mounted, trailer mounted or fixed installation or from a ship. They are often powered by a rocket motor or sometimes fired by an explosive charge, since the launching platform is typically stationary or moving...

 system for AAW

Anti-aircraft warfare

NATO defines air defence as "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action." They include ground and air based weapon systems, associated sensor systems, command and control arrangements and passive measures. It may be to protect naval, ground and air forces...

 and ASuW

Anti-Surface Warfare

Anti-surface warfare is a type of naval warfare directed against surface combatants. More generally, it is any weapons, sensors, or operations intended to attack or limit the effectiveness of an adversary's surface ships....

 respectively. The IBPDMS of this class uses FCS-2 fire-control system

Fire-control system

A fire-control system is a number of components working together, usually a gun data computer, a director, and radar, which is designed to assist a weapon system in hitting its target. It performs the same task as a human gunner firing a weapon, but attempts to do so faster and more...

s of Japanese make and one Mk.29 octuple launcher at the afterdeck.

The class introduced the capability to operate an ASW Helicopter. While the JMSDF already had the Haruna class

Haruna class destroyer

The Haruna class destroyers are a class of Japanese destroyer originally built during the early 1970s. These helicopter carrying destroyers are built around a large central hangar which houses up to three helicopters. The ships were upgraded with Sea Sparrow launchers, Phalanx CIWS systems and...

 of "helicopter destroyer", the Hatsuyuki class were the first air-capable general purpose destroyer class. Although it has a small aviation deck, through a beartrap

Beartrap (helicopter device)

The beartrap is the Canadian name of a device invented for smaller warships, like frigates and destroyers, that carry helicopters. While not essential to enable embarked helicopters to operate from small escort vessels, it enables them to operate in a wider range of weather conditions.In the...

 system, the class can operate the Sikorsky HSS-2B Sea King anti-submarine helicopter safely in a wider range of weather conditions.

The Shirayuki (DD-123) was retrofitted with the Phalanx CIWS

Phalanx CIWS

The Phalanx CIWS is an anti-ship missile defense system. It is a close-in weapon system and was designed and manufactured by the General Dynamics Corporation, Pomona Division...

 system in early 1982, the modification was then applied to the rest of the class gradually - being completed by 1996. The Matsuyuki (DD-130) was fitted with a towed sonar array in 1990, followed by the Hatsuyuki (DD-122) in 1994, work ongoing to apply the fit to the rest of the class. From DD-129 onwards, steel replaced aluminium for key elements of the superstructure, including the bridge, this increased the overall displacement.

Hatsuyuki and Shirayuki are named after World War II destroyers.

Shimayuki (DD-133) was re-classed training vessel in 18 March 1999.

Ships in the class

Pennant no.	Name	Laid down	Launched	Commissioned	Decommissioned	Shipyard	Home port	Note
DD-122		14 March 1979	7 November 1980	23 March 1982	25 June 2010	Sumitomo Heavy Industries Sumitomo Heavy Industries Sumitomo Heavy Industries, Ltd. is an integrated manufacturer of industrial machinery, automatic weaponry, ships, bridges and steel structure, equipment for environmental protection, including recycling, power transmission equipment, plastic molding machines, laser processing systems, particle... , Uraga	Yokosuka
DD-123 TV-3517		3 December 1979	4 August 1981	8 February 1982		Hitachi, Mauzuru	Yokosuka	Converted to training vessel (TV-3517) on 16 March 2011
DD-124		7 May 1981	19 October 1982	26 January 1984		Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Mitsubishi Heavy Industries , or MHI, is a Japanese company. It is one of the core companies of Mitsubishi Group.-History:In 1870 Yataro Iwasaki, the founder of Mitsubishi took a lease of Government-owned Nagasaki Shipyard. He named it Nagasaki Shipyard & Machinery Works, and started the shipbuilding business on a full scale...	Maizuru
DD-125		22 April 1981	21 June 1982	15 February 1984		IHI Corporation	Yokosuka
DD-126		4 February 1981	27 May 1982	18 November 1983		Mitsui Engineering & Shipbuilding Mitsui Engineering & Shipbuilding is a Japanese company. It is listed on the Nikkei 225.Established in 1917 as the Shipbuilding Division of Mitsui & Co. with the first shipyard at Tamano City... , Tamano	Maizuru
DD-127		20 April 1982	19 September 1983	23 January 1985		IHI Corporation	Sasebo Sasebo, Nagasaki is a city located in Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan. As of 2011, the city has an estimated population of 259,800 and the density of 609 persons per km². The total area is 426.47 km². The locality is famed for its scenic beauty. The city includes a part of Saikai National Park...
DD-128		11 March 1982	6 September 1983	14 March 1985		Sumitomo Heavy Industries Sumitomo Heavy Industries Sumitomo Heavy Industries, Ltd. is an integrated manufacturer of industrial machinery, automatic weaponry, ships, bridges and steel structure, equipment for environmental protection, including recycling, power transmission equipment, plastic molding machines, laser processing systems, particle... , Uraga	Sasebo
DD-129		25 February 1983	10 July 1984	3 December 1985		Hitachi, Mauzuru	Kure Kure, Hiroshima is a city in Hiroshima prefecture, Japan.As of October 1, 2010, the city has an estimated population of 240,820 and a population density of 681 persons per km². The total area is 353.74 km².- History :...
DD-130		7 April 1983	25 October 1984	19 March 1986		IHI Corporation	Kure
DD-131		26 January 1984	3 July 1985	11 December 1986		Mitsui Engineering & Shipbuilding Mitsui Engineering & Shipbuilding is a Japanese company. It is listed on the Nikkei 225.Established in 1917 as the Shipbuilding Division of Mitsui & Co. with the first shipyard at Tamano City... , Tamano	Kure
DD-132		22 December 1983	16 October 1985	20 February 1987		Sumitomo Heavy Industries Sumitomo Heavy Industries Sumitomo Heavy Industries, Ltd. is an integrated manufacturer of industrial machinery, automatic weaponry, ships, bridges and steel structure, equipment for environmental protection, including recycling, power transmission equipment, plastic molding machines, laser processing systems, particle... , Uraga	Sasebo
DD-133 TV-3513		8 May 1984	29 January 1986	17 February 1987		Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Mitsubishi Heavy Industries , or MHI, is a Japanese company. It is one of the core companies of Mitsubishi Group.-History:In 1870 Yataro Iwasaki, the founder of Mitsubishi took a lease of Government-owned Nagasaki Shipyard. He named it Nagasaki Shipyard & Machinery Works, and started the shipbuilding business on a full scale...	Kure	Converted to training vessel (TV-3513) on 18 March 1999

External links

• JMSDF DD Hatsuyuki Class