JS ''Hiei'' (DDH-142) was the second ship of the ''Haruna''-class

helicopter destroyer A helicopter carrier is a type of aircraft carrier whose primary purpose is to operate helicopters, and has a large flight deck that occupies a substantial part of the deck, which can extend the full length of the ship like of the Royal Navy ( ...

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) ...

Overview

These ships were Japan's first helicopter-equipped destroyer (DDH), and their greatest feature was that it can carry and operate three helicopters in spite of its 5000t class. Such ships, including the development-improved ''Shirane''-class destroyer, can be said to be the only one in the world to this day, and strongly reflect Japan's special military ideology. In terms of equipment, it was the first self-defense ship to be equipped with a fin stabilizer to stabilize its attitude during helicopter operation, and a landing restraint device (bear trap) was installed to improve the safety and efficiency of flight work on a swaying ship. Until the introduction of the ''Kongō''-class destroyer ( Aegis ship), this class (including the ''Shirane''-class destroyer) were the largest escort ship of the JMSDF.

Construction and career

''Hiei'' was

laid down Laying the keel or laying down is the formal recognition of the start of a ship's construction. It is often marked with a ceremony attended by dignitaries from the shipbuilding company and the ultimate owners of the ship. Keel laying is one o ...

on 8 March 1972 and launched on 13 August 1973 by

IHI Corporation , formerly known as , is a Japanese engineering corporation headquartered in Tokyo, Japan that produces and offers ships, space launch vehicles, aircraft engines, marine diesel engines, gas turbines, gas engines, railway systems, turbochargers ...

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

Shipyard. She was commissioned on 27 December 1974, into the 1st Escort Corps and deployed in

Yokosuka is a city in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. , the city has a population of 409,478, and a population density of . The total area is . Yokosuka is the 11th most populous city in the Greater Tokyo Area, and the 12th in the Kantō region. The city ...

. From July 3 to August 17, 1978, she participated in

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dispatch training with her sister ship

JDS Haruna JS ''Haruna'' (DDH-141) was the lead ship of the ''Haruna''-class helicopter destroyer of the Japanese Maritime Self Defense Force. Overview These ships were Japan's first helicopter-equipped destroyer (DDH), and their greatest feature was ...

, JDS Kuroshio and eight P-2J aircraft. JDS ''Hiei'', JDS Amatsukaze and eight P-2Js were dispatched to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

from January 25, 1980, and participated in the Exercise RIMPAC 1980 exercise between February 26 and March 18. They were the first ships to participate from

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. Returned to Japan on April 2. On March 30, 1983, the 51st Escort Corps was abolished and became a ship under the direct control of the 1st Escort Corps. On March 30, 1984, she was incorporated into the 4th Escort Corps as a

flagship A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically the fi ...

. The FRAM refurbishment carried out from August 31, 1987 to March 13, 1989 improved anti-submarine search capability, individual ship air defense capability, combat command / information processing capability, and electronic warfare capability. However, the cost-effectiveness of FRAM refurbishment was not efficient, and similar large-scale refurbishment was only carried out on two ''Haruna''-class vessels. On March 2, 1995, due to the relocation of the 4th Escort Group Command to

Kure is a port and major shipbuilding city situated on the Seto Inland Sea in Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan. With a strong industrial and naval heritage, Kure hosts the second-oldest naval dockyard in Japan and remains an important base for the Japan M ...

, the homeport was transferred to Kure. In 1996, she participated in the Exercise RIMPAC 1996. From May 11 to August 12, 1999, she participated in the US dispatch training with JDS Myōkō and JDS Amagiri. Participated in the Japan-Russia search and rescue joint training conducted off the coast of

Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky ( rus, Петропавловск-Камчатский, a=Петропавловск-Камчатский.ogg, p=pʲɪtrɐˈpavləfsk kɐmˈtɕatskʲɪj) is a city and the administrative, industrial, scientific, and cultur ...

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from September 1 to 11, 2000 with JDS Hamagiri. From May 16 to August 3, 2001, participated in the US dispatch training with the JDS Chōkai and JDS Samidare. On September 17, 2002, based on the Act on Special Measures Against Terrorism, dispatched to the

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with JDS Samidare. Engaged in missions until December of the same year, and returned to Japan on January 26, 2003. On October 28, 2003, she was dispatched to the Indian Ocean along with JDS Akebono and JDS Tokiwa. Engaged in missions until January 2004 and returned to Japan on March 3. From June 6 to 10, 2005, she visited

Vladivostok Vladivostok ( rus, Владивосто́к, a=Владивосток.ogg, p=vɫədʲɪvɐˈstok) is the largest city and the administrative center of Primorsky Krai, Russia. The city is located around the Zolotoy Rog, Golden Horn Bay on the Sea ...

, Russia, and participated in the Japan-Russia search and rescue joint training off the coast of Vladivostok on the 10th. In 2006, she participated in the Exercise RIMPAC 2006. On March 26, 2008, the escort corps was reorganized and transferred to the 4th Escort Corps. From July 23 to 27, 2010, participated in the Japan-Russia search and rescue joint training SAREX off the coast of Vladivostok, Russia, with JS Jintsū. On March 16, 2011, she was decommissioned. Her final affiliation was the 4th Escort Corps and the homeport was Kure. The commissioning period was 36 years and 3 months, which is the longest among the ships of the Maritime Self-Defense Force in history, with a cruising distance of about 44 laps around the earth and a voyage time of about 79,000 hours.

Gallery

File:JS Hiei underway, -3 Feb. 1985 a.jpg, JDS ''Hiei'' underway on 3 February 1985 File:Hiei and Asagumo in Subic Bay, -1 Aug. 1988 a.jpg, JDS ''Hiei'' and JDS Asagumo at

Subic Bay Subic Bay is a bay on the west coast of the island of Luzon in the Philippines, about northwest of Manila Bay. An extension of the South China Sea, its shores were formerly the site of a major United States Navy facility, U.S. Naval Base Subi ...

on 1 August 1988 File:JS Hiei departs from Pearl Harbor, -5 Jul. 2006 a.jpg, JS ''Hiei'' departs

Pearl Harbor Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the Naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the Re ...

on 5 July July 2006 File:JS Hiei in the Pacific, -16 Nov. 2007 a.jpg, JS ''Hiei'' underway on 16 November 2007 File:DDH142Hiei.jpg, JS ''Hiei'' on 25 July 2009 File:US Navy 091117-N-3830J-643 Helicopters fly above the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force destroyers JDS Hiei (DDH 142) and JDS Kongo (DDG 173) as they maneuver into formation during Annual Exercise (ANNUALEX 21G).jpg, JS ''Hiei'' and JS Kongō underway on 17 November 2009 File:US Navy 091117-N-7280V-245 Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force destroyers JDS Hiei (DDH 142) and JDS Kongo (DDG 173) maneuver into formation during Annual Exercise (ANNUALEX 21G).jpg File:US Navy 091117-N-4010S-236 Aircraft from CVW-5 (ANNUALEX 21G).jpg File:JMSDF Hiei underway with JMSDF Ashigara and USS Curtis Wilbur.jpg, JS ''Hiei'', JS Ashigara and

USS Curtis Wilbur USS ''Curtis Wilbur'' (DDG-54) is the fourth guided missile destroyer. ''Curtis Wilbur'' was named for Curtis D. Wilbur, forty-third Secretary of the Navy, who served under President Calvin Coolidge. In 2016, she was based at Yokosuka, Japan, ...

underway on 17 November 2009 File:JS Hiei sails alongside USS Mustin in the Pacific, -10 Jun. 2010 a.jpg, JS ''Hiei'' alongside USS Mustin on 10 June 1010 File:Kure Naval Base, -29 Oct. 2011 a.jpg, JS ''Hiei'' and JS Ise at

on 29 October 2011 File:Main Anchor of JS Hiei(DDH-142) at JMSDF 1st Service School May 6, 2019.jpg, JS ''Hiei'''s anchor on display on 6 May 2019

Citations

References

hazegray.org: ''Hiei'' DDH 142

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hiei Haruna-class destroyers Ships built by IHI Corporation 1973 ships