The ''Shirane''-class destroyers were a pair of
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 ...
ese
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 ...
s originally built during the late 1970s. They are built around a large central hangar which houses up to three helicopters and they are the natural successor of the s.
Design
The ''Shirane'' class incorporates an improved design based on the ''Haruna''-class destroyers. The ships propulsion include two steam boilers with two shafts that produce 70.000 hp and gives a maximum speed of 32 knots.
Its armament includes two Mk.42 127mm guns, two 20-mm Phalanx close-in weapon systems, one Surface-to-air RIM-7 Sea Sparrow launcher, torpedoes and anti-submarine rockets.
The ships has been replaced by the new s.
Ships in the class
Operational use
On December 15, 2007, a fire broke out on board ''Shirane'' near the rudder house as it was anchored at
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 ...
. It took seven hours to extinguish the fire, which injured four crew members.
On 27 October 2009, JS ''Kurama'' collided with a South Korean container ship under the
Kanmonkyo Bridge
The (Asian Highway Network ) is a suspension bridge crossing the Kanmon Straits, a stretch of water separating two of Japan's four main islands. On the Honshū side of the bridge is Shimonoseki (, which contributed ''Kan'' to the name of the s ...
in the
Kanmon Straits
The or the Straits of Shimonoseki is the stretch of water separating Honshu and Kyushu, two of Japan's four main islands. On the Honshu side of the strait is Shimonoseki (, which contributed "Kan" () to the name of the strait) and on the Kyushu ...
off the coast of Japan. While neither ship sunk, the bow of ''Kurama'' was badly damaged and burned for hours. Three ''Kurama'' crew members were reported injured.
References
External links
GlobalSecurity.org; JMSDF DDH Shirane Class
Destroyer classes
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