The ''Miura''-class landing ship tank is a

class Class or The Class may refer to: Common uses not otherwise categorized * Class (biology), a taxonomic rank * Class (knowledge representation), a collection of individuals or objects * Class (philosophy), an analytical concept used differentl ...

of three tank landing ships (LSTs) that served with 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) ...

(JMSDF) from 1975 to 2002. They were primarily deployed for logistic support but were also be used to carry heavy construction equipment such as trenchers.

Description

The three ''Miura''-class tank landing ships (LSTs) had a standard displacement of and at full load. They were

long between perpendiculars Length between perpendiculars (often abbreviated as p/p, p.p., pp, LPP, LBP or Length BPP) is the length of a ship along the summer load line from the forward surface of the stem, or main bow perpendicular member, to the after surface of the ster ...

and overall with a

beam Beam may refer to: Streams of particles or energy *Light beam, or beam of light, a directional projection of light energy **Laser beam *Particle beam, a stream of charged or neutral particles **Charged particle beam, a spatially localized grou ...

of and a draft of . Ships in the class were powered by two Kawasaki- MAN V8V 22/30 AMTL

diesel engine The diesel engine, named after Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which ignition of the fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to mechanical compression; thus, the diesel engine is a so-call ...

s turning two shafts rated at . This gave them a maximum speed of and they carried enough

diesel fuel Diesel fuel , also called diesel oil, is any liquid fuel specifically designed for use in a diesel engine, a type of internal combustion engine in which fuel ignition takes place without a spark as a result of compression of the inlet air and t ...

for a range of at . Vessels of the class carried two Landing Craft Vehicle Personnel (LCVPs) and two

Landing Craft Mechanized The landing craft mechanized (LCM) is a landing craft designed for carrying vehicles. They came to prominence during the Second World War when they were used to land troops or tanks during Allied amphibious assaults. Variants There was no ...

(LCMs). The LCVPs were slung under

davit Boat suspended from radial davits; the boat is mechanically lowered Gravity multi-pivot on Scandinavia'' file:Bossoir a gravité.jpg, Gravity Roller Davit file:Davits-starbrd.png, Gravity multi-pivot davit holding rescue vessel on North Sea ferr ...

s and a traveling gantry crane with folding rails that could be extended over the side handled the two LCMs positioned on the foredeck. The LSTs could carry up to 200 troops or of cargo, or ten Type 74 main battle tanks. The ''Miura'' class were armed with twin-mounted US Mark 33 /50 caliber guns situated forward in a single

turret Turret may refer to: * Turret (architecture), a small tower that projects above the wall of a building * Gun turret, a mechanism of a projectile-firing weapon * Objective turret, an indexable holder of multiple lenses in an optical microscope * Mi ...

and a twin-mounted guns in a single turret placed aft. The LSTs were equipped with OPS-14 air search and OPS-16 surface search

radar Radar is a detection system that uses radio waves to determine the distance (''ranging''), angle, and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, w ...

. For

fire control Fire control is the practice of reducing the heat output of a fire, reducing the area over which the fire exists, or suppressing or extinguishing the fire by depriving it of fuel, oxygen, or heat (see fire triangle). Fire prevention and control ...

, ''Miura'' mounted a 72-1B for the 76 mm guns and US Mk 51 fire control for the 40 mm guns. The other two vessels were equipped with US Mk 63 fire control for the 76 mm guns and US Mk 51 for the 40 mm guns. They had a complement of 118 officers and crew.

Ships in the class

Service history

Three tank landing ships were ordered from

Ishikawajima-Harima Heavy Industries , 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 f ...

and constructed 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 ...

, Japan. The first of the class, ''Miura'' entered service in 1975 with the Japanese Maritime Self Defense Force (JMSDF), with ''Ojika'' following in 1976 and ''Satsuma'' in 1977. Primarily used for logistic support, the ''Miura'' class has also been used to trial new guns for the JMSDF, which ''Satsuma'' did with the

OTO Melara OTO Melara was a subsidiary of the Italian company Finmeccanica, today Leonardo, active in the defence sector, with factories in Brescia and La Spezia. The Mod 56 pack howitzer, in service throughout the world, and the 76mm naval gun, ado ...

76 mm Compact gun.

Citations

References

* * *

External links

''Miura'' class at Globalsecurity.org
{{DEFAULTSORT:Miura Amphibious warfare vessels of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force Tank landing ships Amphibious warfare vessel classes