JS ''Mineyuki'' (DD-124) was a ''Hatsuyuki''-class

destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, manoeuvrable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against powerful short range attackers. They were originally developed in ...

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) ...

Development and design

Adopting Japan's first all-gas turbine engine (

COGOG Combined gas or gas (COGOG) is a propulsion system for ships using gas turbine engines. A high efficiency, low output turbine is used for cruising speeds with a high output turbine being used for high-speed operations. A clutch allows either turb ...

), equipped with well-balanced weapons such as helicopters, C4I systems, and various missiles, it is inferior to Western frigate at that time. It has been evaluated as a non-escort ship. Twelve ships were built as first-generation general-purpose escort vessels in the era of eight ships and eight aircraft, they supported the escort fleet for a long time, but now they are gradually retiring due to aging. In addition, there are many changes to training ships, and up to three ships have been operated in the training fleet as Shimayuki-class training ships, but the decline has begun with the conversion of Hatakaze-class destroyers to training ships. The core of the combat system is the OYQ-5 Tactical Data Processing System (TDPS), composed of one

AN/UYK-20 The AN/UYK-20 "Data Processing Set" was a ruggedized small computer manufactured by Univac and used by the United States Navy for small and medium-sized shipboard and shore systems built in the 1970s. It featured non-volatile magnetic core memory ...

computer and five OJ-194B

workstation A workstation is a special computer designed for technical or scientific applications. Intended primarily to be used by a single user, they are commonly connected to a local area network and run multi-user operating systems. The term ''workstat ...

s and capable of receiving data automatically from other ships via Link-14 (

STANAG In NATO, a standardization agreement (STANAG, redundantly: STANAG agreement) defines processes, procedures, terms, and conditions for common military or technical procedures or equipment between the member countries of the alliance. Each NATO st ...

5514). This is the first destroyer class in the JMSDF equipped with the Sea Sparrow Improved basic point defense missile system. The IBPDMS of this class uses FCS-2

fire-control system A fire-control system (FCS) is a number of components working together, usually a gun data computer, a director, and radar, which is designed to assist a ranged weapon system to target, track, and hit a target. It performs the same task as a ...

s of Japanese make and one octuple launcher at the afterdeck. And in the JMSDF,

OTO Melara 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 rel ...

compact gun and

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 ...

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 ...

are adopted from the ship of FY1977 including this class. Also, ships built in FY1979 and beyond carried

Phalanx CIWS The Phalanx CIWS (often spoken as "sea-wiz") is a gun-based close-in weapon system to defend military watercraft automatically against incoming threats such as aircraft, missiles, and small boats. It was designed and manufactured by the Gene ...

and were retrofitted to previous ships.

Construction and career

She 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 7 May 1981 and launched on 19 October 1982 at Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Shipyard in

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 ...

. She commissioned on 26 January 1984. The 42nd escort corps, which was newly formed under the escort group, was incorporated with JS Hamayuki and deployed to

Sasebo is a core city located in Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan. It is also the second largest city in Nagasaki Prefecture, after its capital, Nagasaki. On 1 June 2019, the city had an estimated population of 247,739 and a population density of 581 persons p ...

. Since this ship, it has been equipped with a high-performance 20mm machine gun (

CIWS A close-in weapon system (CIWS ) is a point-defense weapon system for detecting and destroying short-range incoming missiles and enemy aircraft which have penetrated the outer defenses, typically mounted on a naval ship. Nearly all classes of la ...

) since it was commissioned. In 1986, participated in the

Exercise RIMPAC RIMPAC, the Rim of the Pacific Exercise, is the world's largest international maritime warfare exercise. RIMPAC is held biennially during June and July of even-numbered years from Honolulu, Hawaii, with the exception of 2020 where it was held i ...

(RIMPAC). On January 25, 1989, she was transferred to

Maizuru is a city in Kyoto Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 78,644 in 34817 households and a population density of 230 persons per km². The total area of the city is . Geography Maizuru is located in northern Kyoto Pref ...

as a ship under the direct control of the 3rd Escort Group. From June 16 to September 6 of the same year, she participated in the US dispatch training with the escort vessels

JS 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 t ...

and JS Shimakaze. On March 6, 1990, with the transfer of JS Hamayuki to Maizuru, the 42nd Escort Corps was reorganized and incorporated under the 3rd Escort Corps group. In 1990, participated in the Exercise RIMPAC (RIMPAC). Participated in the Indonesian 50th Anniversary International Fleet Review Ceremony held in

Jakarta Jakarta (; , bew, Jakarte), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta ( id, Daerah Khusus Ibukota Jakarta) is the capital and largest city of Indonesia. Lying on the northwest coast of Java, the world's most populous island, Jakarta ...

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

with JS Hamayuki from August 16 to 20, 1995. On March 24, 1997, the 42nd Escort Corps was renamed the 3rd Escort Corps due to the revision of the unit number. In the same year, a disaster was dispatched for the Nakhodka heavy oil spill accident. From March 15 to April 28, 2002, she was engaged in the escort mission of the

amphibious assault ship An amphibious assault ship is a type of amphibious warfare ship employed to land and support ground forces on enemy territory by an amphibious assault. The design evolved from aircraft carriers converted for use as helicopter carriers (and, as ...

JS Ōsumi equipped with the personnel and vehicles of the

Ground Self-Defense Force The Japan Ground Self-Defense Force ( ja, 陸上自衛隊, Rikujō Jieitai), , also referred to as the Japanese Army, is the land warfare branch of the Japan Self-Defense Forces. Created on July 1, 1954, it is the largest of the three service b ...

participating in the PKO of

East Timor East Timor (), also known as Timor-Leste (), officially the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, is an island country in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the exclave of Oecusse on the island's north-weste ...

. On August 16, the same year, he was transferred to the 24th

Maizuru District Force is a city in Kyoto Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 78,644 in 34817 households and a population density of 230 persons per km². The total area of the city is . Geography Maizuru is located in northern Kyoto Prefe ...

. Dispatched to the Niigata Chuetsu-oki Earthquake that occurred on July 16, 2007. On March 26, 2008, the 24th escort was renamed to the 14th escort due to a major reorganization of the Self-Defense Fleet, and was reorganized under the escort fleet. On March 12, 2012, a joint suspicious ship coping training was conducted with the

Japan Coast Guard The is the coast guard of Japan. The Japan Coast Guard consists of about 13,700 personnel and is responsible for the protection of the coastline of Japan under the oversight of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism. Th ...

Wakasa Bay is a bay located in the Chūbu region of Japan, and spans the coasts of Kyoto Prefecture, and Fukui Prefecture. Geography Wakasa Bay is the area south of the straight line from Cape Kyoga on the west of Tango Peninsula to Cape Echizen on the ...

. The breakdown of the participating units is the

missile boat A missile boat or missile cutter is a small, fast warship armed with anti-ship missiles. Being smaller than other warships such as destroyers and frigates, missile boats are popular with nations interested in forming a navy at lower cost. They a ...

JS Hayabusa and one SH-60J / K patrol helicopter from the Maritime Self-Defense Force, and the

patrol boat A patrol boat (also referred to as a patrol craft, patrol ship, or patrol vessel) is a relatively small naval vessel generally designed for coastal defence, border security, or law enforcement. There are many designs for patrol boats, and the ...

Hotaka and

Asa ASA as an abbreviation or initialism may refer to: Biology and medicine * Accessible surface area of a biomolecule, accessible to a solvent * Acetylsalicylic acid, aspirin * Advanced surface ablation, refractive eye surgery * Anterior spinal ar ...

from the Japan Coast Guard. Patrol boat Komayuki and one Agusta AW139 helicopter. In January 2013, she was inspected by a person in charge of the Japan Coast Guard. She was retired for three years until March 2016, when a new Kunigami-class patrol vessel was put into service in order to respond to Chinese vessels that repeatedly invaded the territorial waters of the

Senkaku Islands The are a group of uninhabited islands in the East China Sea, administered by Japan. They are located northeast of Taiwan, east of China, west of Okinawa Island, and north of the southwestern end of the Ryukyu Islands. They are known in main ...

after the nationalization of the Senkaku Islands. This is because a plan to divert the Hatsuyuki type as a patrol boat of the Japan Coast Guard came up. However, the plan has been returned to a blank slate. On March 7, 2013, she was removed from the register due to the commissioning of

JS Teruzuki JS ''Teruzuki'' (DD-116) is the second ship of Akizuki-class destroyers. She was commissioned on 7 March 2013. Construction and career ''Teruzuki'' was laid down on June 2, 2010 at Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Nagasaki Shipyard & Machinery Wor ...

. The total itinerary during commissioning was about 730,000 miles and the total voyage time was about 65,000 hours. The final placement belonged to the 14th escort fleet of the escort fleet, and the fixed port was Maizuru.

Gallery

File:JS Mineyuki (DD-124).jpg, Mineyuki underway, date unknown. File:JS Mineyuki under repair at Universal Maizuru Shipyard, -18 Jul. 2009 a.jpg, JS ''Mineyuki'' under repair at

on 18 July 2009. File:US Navy 110626-N-PB383-178 The Military Sealift Command fleet replenishment oiler USNS Yukon (T-AO 202) leads the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force.jpg, USNS Yukon leading JS ''Mineyuki'' and

JS Asagiri JS ''Asagiri'' (DD-151) is an of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force. Development and design The ''Asagiri'' class is equipped for combat and interception missions, and is primarily armed with anti-ship weapons. They carries two of the Mk-1 ...

on 26 June 2011. File:US Navy 111010-N-RI844-025 The Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force Hatsuyuki-class destroyer JS Mineyuki (DD 124) arrives at Joint Base Pearl Harbor.jpg, JS ''Mineyuki'' entering

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 10 October 2011. File:US Navy 111010-N-RI844-032 The Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force Hatsuyuki-class destroyer JS Mineyuki (DD 124) arrives at Joint Base Pearl Harbor.jpg, JS ''Mineyuki'' entering

on 10 October 2011. File:US Navy 111010-N-RI844-027 The Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force Hatsuyuki-class destroyer JS Mineyuki (DD 124) passes near the Missing Man Formati.jpg, JS ''Mineyuki'' entering

on 10 October 2011. File:JS Mineyuki DD-124 in maizuru 000.jpg, JS ''Mineyuki'' in

, 2012.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mineyuki 1982 ships Hatsuyuki-class destroyers Ships built by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries