Hatsuyuki class destroyers - The First of the Japanese General Purpose destroyers

de_Radio_Demon · April 20, 2024, 9:23pm

Hatsuyuki class destroyers - The First of the Japanese General-Purpose destroyers

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Background and History
The Hatsuyuki class destroyers were a class of 12 destroyers built for the Japanese maritime self-defense force between 1979 and 1986 as the first of their new general-purpose destroyers. The class itself was a result of the change in doctrine as prior to their introduction Japanese destroyers were split into two lines of destroyers, the anti-air/gun-oriented destroyers and the anti-submarine-oriented destroyers.

By the 1970’s it was however concluded the need to change the existing fleet formations given the Soviet submarine threat, in this the Japanese moved to a new eight-eight concept. In terms of what this eight-eight concept entailed each that formations be made up of eight ships and in total also have a total of 8 helicopters at their disposal. In terms of these formations, they were intended to consist of a single helicopter destroyer which would have 3 helicopters followed by 5 of the new general-purpose destroyers which would carry a single helicopter each, with the last two ships being guided missile destroyers which would not have helicopters.

In particular with the general-purpose destroyers, compared to the ASW oriented destroyers they were replacing they introduced two major improvements, that being the aforementioned helicopter which previous destroyers do not have, and the other was the inclusion of surface to air missiles which improved their defense against aircraft, not to mention being equipped with Harpoon anti-ship missiles. It should be noted that while these ships received surface to air missiles, they would be equipped with less capable missiles compared to the guided missile destroyers which were still the primary means of fleet defense.

In terms of the armament of they had, their gun armament consisted of a single Oto Melara 76mm/62 gun, an anti-air armament of 1 octuple Mark 29 surface to air missiles with RIM-7 Sea sparrow missiles, an anti-ship armament of up to 8 RGM-84 Harpoon anti-ship missiles in two Mark 141 launchers placed on the sides of the ship, an octuple Type 74 ASROC launcher, and final a torpedo armament of 6 12.75 inch (324mm) Mark 32 (HOS-301) torpedo tubes in two triple mounts. It should also be mentioned that during the construction of the class they were modified with 2 20mm Mark 15 Phalanx CIWS on the sides of the ship with incomplete ships being completed with them equipped and existing ships refitted with them.

For the Hatsuyuki the first ship would enter service starting in 1980 with the rest of the class gradually entering service over the 1980’s up until 1987. Despite being new ships the design of the Hatsuyuki class had shortcomings in its design as budget restrictions resulted in them being less durable and having worse equipment than was originally desired, as such even before the final ship of the Hatsuyuki class had been laid down, work on their successors, the Asagiri class had begun in 1986 which would consist of 8 ships and would not have the limitations the Hatsuyuki class would face. In regard to the Hatsuyuki they would remain in service for the most part up until the 2010’s when most of the class would be decommissioned with some being taken out of active service and being reclassified into training vessels, these latter vessels would remain in service for longer with the last of the training vessels being decommissioned at the end of 2021.

Specifications
Displacement
2,950 tons standard
4,000 tons full load

Length
130 m (430 ft)

Beam
13.6 m (44 ft 7 in)

Draft
4.2 m (13 ft 9 in)
4.4 m (14 ft 5 in) (DD 129 to DD 132)

Propulsion
2 × KHI-RR TM3B gas turbines, 45,000 shp (34 MW) (Used for high speed)
2 × KHI-RR RM1C gas turbines, 9,900 shp (7.4 MW) (Used during cruising)
2 shafts, cp props

Speed
30 knots (35 mph; 56 km/h)

Complement
200

Sensors and systems
DD-122 & 123 As built
1 x OPS-18-1 radar
1 x OPS-14B radar
1 x FCS-2-21A radar
1 x FCS-2-12 radar
1x OQS-4A sonar

DD-124 to DD-128 As built
1 x OPS-18-1 radar
1 x OPS-14B radar
1 x FCS-2-21A radar
1 x FCS-2-12A radar
2 x Mk 90 radars
1 x OQS-4A sonar

DD-129 & DD-130 As built
1 x OPS-18-1 radar
1 x OPS-14B radar
1 x FCS-2-21A radar
1 x FCS-2-12A radar
2 x Mk 90 radars
1 x OQS-4A sonar

DD-131 & DD-132 As built
1 x OPS-18-1 radar
1 x OPS-14B radar
1 x FCS-2-21A radar
1 x FCS-2-12C radar
2 x Mk 90 radars
1 x OQS-4A sonar

1990’s Refit (All)
1 x OPS-18-1 radar
1 x OPS-14B radar
1 x OPS-20 radar
1 x FCS-2-21A radar
1 x FCS-2-12/12A/12C radar
2 x Mk 90 radars
1 x OQS-4A sonar
1 x OQR-1 sonar

Electronic warfare & decoys
As built (All)
NOLQ-6C ESM system
OLT-3 ECM system
2 x Mk 36 SRBOC
Type 3 torpedo decoy system
OYQ-5 CCS

Armament
DD-122 and DD-123 As built
Primary Armament
1 × OTO Melara 76 mm/62 gun
Anit-ship missile launchers
2 × Mk 141 missile launchers (2 x 4) (up to 8 x RGM-84 Harpoon anti-ship missiles)
Anti-air armament
1 × Mark 29 Sea Sparrow SAM launcher (8 cell)
ASW armament
1 × Type 74 (Mk 16) ASROC octuple launcher
Torpedo tubes
6 × Mark 32 (HOS-301) 12.75 inch (324 mm) torpedo tubes (2 x 3)

DD-124 to 133 As built and DD-122 and DD-123 1990’s refit
Primary Armament
1 × OTO Melara 76 mm/62 gun
Anti-ship missile launchers
2 × Mk 141 missile launchers (2 x 4) (up to 8 x RGM-84 Harpoon anti-ship missiles)
Anti-air armament
1 × Mark 29 Sea Sparrow SAM launcher (8 cell)
2 × Mk 15 20 mm Phalanx CIWS
ASW armament
1 × Type 74 (Mk 16) ASROC launcher (8 cell)
Torpedo tubes
6 × Mark 32 (HOS-301) 12.75 inch (324 mm) torpedo tubes (2 x 3)
Additional armament
2 x 12.7mm machine guns