Ayanami-class Destroyer

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.

This class adopted a "long forecastle" design with inclined afterdeck called "Holland Slope", named after the scenic sloping street in Nagasaki City. 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.

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

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.

Specifications

 * Type: Destroyer (Hull designation symbol DD)
 * Service Period: 1958-1990
 * Characteristics:
 * Length: 358 feet (109.12 meters)
 * Beam: 35 feet (10.67 meters)
 * Depth: 26 feet 7 inches (8.1 meters)
 * Displacement: 1,893 tons (Standard); 2,800 tons (Full Load)
 * Crew: 220
 * Propulsion: 2 x boilers, 2 x steam turbines, 2 x shafts
 * Range:
 * Speed: 32 knots (59.26 km/h)
 * Sensor Suite:
 * AN/SPS-12 Air Search Radar
 * OPS-5 Surface Search Radar
 * Mk.63 Gun Fire Control System
 * OQY-1 Hull Sonar
 * OQA-1A Variable Depth Sonar
 * Countermeasures:
 * NOLR-1 ESM
 * Armament:
 * 6 x 3"/50-caliber Mk.22 guns
 * 4 x 533 mm (21 in) torpedo tubes
 * 2 x ASW torpedo racks
 * 2 x Hedgehog anti-submarine mortars
 * 2 x DCT (K-guns)

Unit Run

 * JDS Ayanami (DD-103)
 * JDS Isonami (DD-104)
 * JDS Uranami (DD-105)
 * JDS Shikinami (DD-106)
 * JDS Takanami (DD-110)
 * JDS Oonami (DD-111)
 * JDS Makinami (DD-112)