JS ''Ishikari'' (DE-226) was the first

destroyer escort Destroyer escort (DE) was the United States Navy mid-20th-century classification for a warship designed with the endurance necessary to escort mid-ocean convoys of merchant marine ships. Development of the destroyer escort was promoted by th ...

with a

gas turbine A gas turbine, also called a combustion turbine, is a type of continuous flow internal combustion engine. The main parts common to all gas turbine engines form the power-producing part (known as the gas generator or core) and are, in the directi ...

engine and

surface-to-surface missile A surface-to-surface missile (SSM) or ground-to-ground missile (GGM) is a missile designed to be launched from the ground or the sea and strike targets on land or at sea. They may be fired from hand-held or vehicle mounted devices, from fixed ins ...

s of the

Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force , abbreviated , also simply known as the Japanese Navy, is the maritime warfare branch of the Japan Self-Defense Forces, tasked with the naval defense of Japan. The JMSDF was formed following the dissolution of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) ...

. She is the successor of the earlier . Entering service in 1981, she remained active until 2007 when she was decommissioned.

Design

At first, this ship was planned to belong to the new ship classification, PCE (Patrol Coastal ships, Escort) to replace small

submarine chaser A submarine chaser or subchaser is a small naval vessel that is specifically intended for anti-submarine warfare. Many of the American submarine chasers used in World War I found their way to Allied nations by way of Lend-Lease in World War II. ...

s and old destroyer escorts with limited

anti-submarine warfare Anti-submarine warfare (ASW, or in older form A/S) is a branch of underwater warfare that uses surface warships, aircraft, submarines, or other platforms, to find, track, and deter, damage, or destroy enemy submarines. Such operations are t ...

(ASW) capability against new

nuclear-powered submarine A nuclear submarine is a submarine powered by a nuclear reactor, but not necessarily nuclear-armed. Nuclear submarines have considerable performance advantages over "conventional" (typically diesel-electric) submarines. Nuclear propulsion, ...

s. But finally, it was decided to change her classification to the ordinary destroyer escort. This class is quite epoch-making for the destroyer escorts of the JMSDF as follows: The

CODOG Combined diesel or gas (CODOG) is a type of propulsion system for ships that need a maximum speed that is considerably faster than their cruise speed, particularly warships like modern frigates or corvettes. For every propeller shaft there is o ...

propulsion system. This was the first ship with the gas turbine engine in the JMSDF. The

Rolls-Royce Olympus The Rolls-Royce Olympus (originally the Bristol B.E.10 Olympus) was the world's second two- spool axial-flow turbojet aircraft engine design, first run in May 1950 and preceded only by the Pratt & Whitney J57, first-run in January 1950. It is ...

TM-3B manufactured by the

Kawasaki Heavy Industries (or simply Kawasaki) is a Japanese Public company, public multinational corporation manufacturer of motorcycles, engines, Heavy equipment (construction), heavy equipment, aerospace and Military, defense equipment, rolling stock and ships, headq ...

under license was used for boosting. The cruising engine is the Kawaksaki 6DRV 35/44 diesel engine developed by the

Technical Research and Development Institute Technical may refer to: * Technical (vehicle), an improvised fighting vehicle * Technical analysis, a discipline for forecasting the future direction of prices through the study of past market data * Technical drawing, showing how something is co ...

(TRDI). The centre-superstructure style. Whereas the JMSDF was inclined to adopt the flush decker style, in this ship, the superstructure is at the center of the ship to save space. This was a very controversial decision, and because of this decision, there has been criticisms about the oceangoing capability of this ship. The simplified but sufficient C4ISR system was installed aboard the ship. The design was not equipped with air-search radar unlike her predecessors. Alternatively she had the OPS-28 surface search and target acquisition radar which could deal with low-altitude aircraft and missiles. The FCS-2 gun fire-control system also had air-searching capability. As the tactical data processing system, she had the OYQ-5 being capable of receiving data automatically from other ships via Link-14 (STANAG 5514; the

data link A data link is the means of connecting one location to another for the purpose of transmitting and receiving digital information (data communication). It can also refer to a set of electronics assemblies, consisting of a transmitter and a recei ...

with the

Radioteletype Radioteletype (RTTY) is a telecommunications system consisting originally of two or more electromechanical teleprinters in different locations connected by radio rather than a wired link. Radioteletype evolved from earlier landline teleprinter o ...

). The design also had a brand-new weapon systems. The ''Ishikari'' design was equipped with eight

Boeing Harpoon The Harpoon is an all-weather, over-the-horizon, anti-ship missile manufactured by McDonnell Douglas (now Boeing Defense, Space & Security). The AGM-84E Standoff Land Attack Missile (SLAM) and later AGM-84H/K SLAM-ER (Standoff Land Attack Mi ...

s as the key weapon system whereas traditional Japanese frigates were specialized in

. According to this mission concept, its predecessor's Mark 16 GMLS for the

ASROC The RUR-5 ASROC (for "Anti-Submarine Rocket") is an all-weather, all sea-conditions anti-submarine missile system. Developed by the United States Navy in the 1950s, it was deployed in the 1960s, updated in the 1990s, and eventually installed ...

system was removed. A modern

Otobreda 76 mm The OTO Melara 76 mm gun is a naval gun built and designed by the Italian defence company OTO Melara. It is based on the OTO Melara 76/62C and evolved toward 76/62 SR and 76/62 Strales. The system is compact enough to be installed on re ...

gun replaced its predecessor's older 3-inch gun and automation greatly reduced the number of crew needed.

Construction and history

The ship was built at the Mitsui Shipbuilding & Engineering Tamano office at

Tamano, Okayama is a city located in southern Okayama Prefecture, Japan. The city was officially founded on August 3, 1940. As of October 1, 2016, the city has an estimated population of 60,101 and a population density of 580 persons per km². The total area i ...

. She was commissioned on 28 March 1981, and was deployed at the Ominato District Force (home-ported at

Mutsu, Aomori is a city located in Aomori Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 56,244, and a population density of 65 persons per km2, in 28,778 households. The total area of the city is , making it the largest municipality in Aomori P ...

). The Ominato District is the northernmost district of the JMSDF and forefront against the Russian Pacific Fleet. It was decided that ''Ishikari'' was too small to continue production, so the vessel was succeeded by the two years later.

Gallery

File:"BUNGO" type"URAGA".JPG, JS ''Ishikari'' alongside on 24 September 2007. File:JS Ishikari (DE-226).jpg, JS ''Ishikari'' underway on 27 April 2014. File:Anchor of JS Ishikari.jpg, JS ''Ishikari''s anchor on display on 1 October 2017.

References

* * ''Jane's Fighting Ships 2005-2006'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Ishikari (DE-226) Frigates of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force Ships built by Mitsui Engineering and Shipbuilding 1980 ships