DDH Haruna Class

The DDH 141 Haruna (Helicopter Destroyer) escort ship can load 3 helicopters. The helicopter arrival and departure deck and the hangar which are installed on the rear section are prominent design features. The ships of this type serve as the flagships of their respective Escort Flotilla.

For the mission of this type of helicopter escort ship ship, it was planned to use especially three helicopters for antisubmarine operations. What made this possible on a small-sized ship was a plan which made the elevator inside the of warship hangar like the aircraft carrier. As for the bridge and the hangar, the main point was focused on making a compact design, and about 30% of length of the warship has become a single structure. The uptake passes the hangar, but in order to use three helicopters, is not aligned along the ship's centerline, but it is off- center to the port.

Because the center of gravity can easily change in connection with the aviation operations, in order to use three helicopters, special effort was paid to measures to compensate for this. Especially when conducting helicopter landings, it is necessary to hold down the motion of the ship. Thus the use of two fin stabilizer sets is a necessity for helicopter use. An anti-rolling tank and the like was examined to these in addition as an anti-rolling device, but this way is not adopted due to problems of space.

To remedy various insufficiencies, and provide warship age extension for missile operations and electronic warfare, the FRAM (modernization) repair construction was executed. The upgrade [FRAM] program improved anti-aircraft ability, which reached the point where it functions as does the CIC of the new "systems" warship. The main upgrades included the CIWS to the left and right both gunwales and the installation of the chaff jammer, control radar and anti-surface radar. The OPS-28 air search radar conversion was done in the 11C, also the ESM was equipped. In addition, the on-board SH-60J helicopter data link was equipped.

Namesakes

Haruna, a 26,230 ton Kongo class battlecruiser, was built at Kobe, Japan. Completed in April 1915, she operated in the Pacific during the First World War. In 1927-28, she was modernized at Yokosuka Dockyard, emerging with only two smokestacks and a new forward superstructure, as well as with improved armament and protection. Reclassified thereafter as a battleship, Haruna was again modernized in 1933-34, this time at Kure Dockyard. During the Second World War, Haruna was extensively employed, often in company with aircraft carriers. In December 1941, she covered the invasion of Malaya. Haruna also participated in the Japanese Navy's final fleet action, the Battle of Leyte Gulf. Stationed in Japanese waters by the beginning of 1945, Haruna was damaged at Kure during the U.S. carrier plane raids on 19 March. Still moored near Kure four months later, she was sunk by Task Force 38 aircraft on 28 July 1945. Haruna's wreck was scrapped after the war.

Hiei, the second of four 26,230 ton Kongo class battlecruisers, was built at the Yokosuka Dockyard and completed in August 1914. Like her sisters, she gradually updated during the "Teens" and "Twenties". However, the London naval limitations treaty of 1930 caused her to be "demilitarized". Stripped of her side armor, many of her guns and some of her boilers, she was converted to a training ship. In 1936, after Japan had withdrawn from the naval limitations treaties, Hiei entered Kure Dockyard for an extensive modernization. This completely restored her combatant status and armament. Her high speed made her very useful as a companion to aircraft carriers, and she was part of the striking force that attacked Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941. When the fight over Guadalcanal began in August 1942, Hiei was sent south to operate with other units of the Combined Fleet. She was the first of ten Japanese battleships lost to enemy action in World War II.