Ayanami-class destroyer

Ayanami class member Ayanami (DD-103)
Class overview
Preceded by: Harukaze-class destroyer
Succeeded by: Murasame-class destroyer
Built: 1956–1960
In commission: 1958–1990
Completed: 7
Retired: 7
General characteristics
Type:Destroyer
Displacement:1,720 t (1,690 long tons) standard
2,500 t (2,500 long tons) full load
Length:109 m (358 ft)
Beam:10.7 m (35 ft)
Depth:8.1m
Complement:220
Armament:6 × 3"/50 caliber Mk.22 guns
4 × 533 mm (21 in) torpedo tubes
2 × ASW torpedo racks
2 × Hedgehog anti-submarine mortars
2 × DCT (K-guns)

The Ayanami class was a destroyer class built for the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) in the late 1950s.The primary purpose was anti-submarine warfare, so this class was classified as "DDK" (hunter-killer anti-submarine destroyer) unofficially.[1]

This class adopted a "long forecastle" design with inclined afterdeck called "Holland Slope", named after the scenic sloping street in Nagasaki City.[2] Steam turbine propulsion systems were similar to the one of the Harukaze class, but they varied little in each ships because the JMSDF tried to find the best way in the propulsion systems of future surface combatants.[3]

This class is the first JMSDF vessels equipped with Six 3"/50 caliber Mark 22 guns with Mark 33 dual mounts and Mark 32 lightweight torpedoes with two Mark 2 over-the-side launchers.[4] 3-inch guns were controlled by two Mark 63 GFCSs.[5]

All 7 vessels were named after Fubuki-class destroyers and Yūgumo-class destroyers, Ayanami being named after a Fubuki-class destroyer of the same name, which was lost in action at Guadalcanal. The remaining six were also named after WWII Imperial Japanese Navy destroyers, all being lost during the war.

Ships in the class

Pennant no. Name Builder[6] Laid down[6] Launched[6] Commissioned [6] Decommissioned[6]
DD-103/ASU-7004 Ayanami Mitsubishi Zosen, Nagasaki 20 November 1956 1 June 1957 12 February 1958 25 December 1986
DD-104/TV-3502 Isonami Shin-Mitsubishi, Kobe 14 December 1956 30 September 1957 14 March 1958 1 July 1987
DD-105/ASU-7005 Uranami Kawasaki, Tokyo 1 February 1957 29 August 1957 27 February 1958 25 December 1986
DD-106/TV-3503 Shikinami Mitsui Zosen, Tamano 14 December 1956 25 September 1957 15 March 1958 1 July 1987
DD-110/ASU-7009 Takanami Mitsui Zosen, Tamano 8 November 1958 8 August 1959 30 January 1960 1 March 1989
DD-111/ASU-7013 Ōnami or Oonami[7] Ishikawajima HI, Kobe 20 March 1959 13 February 1960 29 August 1960 1 March 1990
DD-112/ASU-7014 Makinami Iono HI, Maizuru 20 March 1959 25 April 1960 28 October 1960 1 March 1990

Notes

  1. ↑ "History of Japanese destroyers since 1952". Ships of the World (in Japanese) (Kaijin-sha) (742): 91–97. June 2011.
  2. ↑ "1. Hull (Hardware of JMSDF destroyers)". Ships of the World (in Japanese) (Kaijin-sha) (742): 100–105. June 2011.
  3. ↑ Yasuo Abe (June 2011). "2. Propulsion system (Hardware of JMSDF destroyers)". Ships of the World (in Japanese) (Kaijin-sha) (742): 106–111.
  4. ↑ "3. Underwater weapons (Shipboard weapons of JMSDF 1952-2010)". Ships of the World (Kaijin-sha) (721): 94–99. March 2010.
  5. ↑ "2. Guns (Shipboard weapons of JMSDF 1952-2010)". Ships of the World (Kaijin-sha) (721): 88–93. March 2010.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 Gardiner and Chumbley 1995, p. 223.
  7. ↑ Sometimes Oonami depending on romanization