Sugashima-class minesweeper
_left_front_view_at_Maizuru_Naval_Base_July_29,_2017_01.jpg){kind=spacer} JS Sugashima | |
| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Name | Sugashima |
| Builders | |
| Preceded by | Uwajima class |
| Succeeded by | Harishima class |
| Built | 1996-2005 |
| In commission | 2001-present |
| Planned | 12 |
| Completed | 12 |
| Active | 11 |
| Retired | 1 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Minesweeper |
| Displacement | |
| Length | 57 m (187 ft 0 in) |
| Beam | 9.8 m (32 ft 2 in) |
| Depth | 4.4 m (14 ft 5 in) |
| Propulsion |
|
| Speed | 14 kn (26 km/h; 16 mph) |
| Complement | 48 |
| Sensors and processing systems | |
| Armament | 1 × single JM61R-MS 20mm guns |
The Sugashima class is a class of coastal minesweepers of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force.[1][2]
Development[edit]
From the lessons learned from the 1991 dispatch of the Self-Defense Forces to the Persian Gulf, the Maritime Self-Defense Force took the example of the Royal Navy's Sandown class minehunter, built after the 1994 plan, especially in order to improve its capabilities regarding mine clearance. However, while the Sandown class is basically a minesweeper that does not have minesweeping ability. The waters around Japan have many muddy seabeds that are not suitable for minesweeping, and abandonment of minesweeping ability is unacceptable. For this reason, the class is also given the ability to sweep with Australian-made DYAD-sensitive minesweepers, but due to magnetic management issues, it was decided that it would not be installed all the time, but would be received from the mother ship at sea as needed. Operational restrictions were large, and mobility was also restricted.[3][4]
For this reason, it was built as a new type of minesweeper equipped with a domestic system that has the same performance as the overseas-made minesweeping system equipped in the Sugashima class, as well as realizing the installation of minesweepers on its own boat.[3]
Ships in the class[edit]
| Pennant no. | Name | Builders | Laid down | Launched | Commissioned | Decommissioned | Home port |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MSC-681 | Sugashima | Universal Shipbuilding Corporation, Keihin | 8 May 1996 | 25 August 1997 | 16 March 1999 | Maizuru | |
| MSC-682 | Notojima | Hitachi Zosen Corporation, Kanagawa | 3 September 1997 | 12 June 2020 | Maizuru | ||
| MSC-683 | Tsunoshima | 7 August 1997 | 22 October 1998 | 13 March 2000 | Kure | ||
| MSC-684 | Naoshima | Nippon Kokan, Keihin | 17 April 1998 | 7 October 1999 | 16 March 2001 | Kure | |
| MSC-685 | Toyoshima | Hitachi Zosen Corporation, Kanagawa | 26 April 1999 | 13 September 2000 | 14 March 2002 | Sasebo | |
| MSC-686 | Ukushima | Nippon Kokan, Keihin | 17 May 2000 | 17 September 2001 | 18 March 2003 | Sasebo | |
| MSC-687 | Izushima | Hitachi Zosen Corporation, Kanagawa | 27 April 2000 | 31 October 2001 | Ominato | ||
| MSC-688 | Aishima | Nippon Kokan, Keihin | 17 April 2001 | 8 October 2002 | 26 February 2004 | Maizuru | |
| MSC-689 | Aoshima | Hitachi Zosen Corporation, Kanagawa | 15 April 2002 | 16 September 2003 | 9 February 2005 | Ominato | |
| MSC-690 | Miyajima | 28 May 2002 | 10 October 2003 | Kure | |||
| MSC-691 | Shishijima | Universal Shipbuilding Corporation, Keihin | 23 May 2003 | 29 September 2004 | 8 February 2006 | Sasebo | |
| MSC-692 | Kuroshima | 12 May 2004 | 31 August 2005 | 23 February 2007 | Sasebo |
Citations[edit]
- ^ Self-Defense Forces Equipment Yearbook 2006-2007. Asagumo Shimbun. 15 July 2006. pp. 250–251. ISBN 4-7509-1027-9.
- ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 December 2020. Retrieved 1 June 2021.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ a b Details of the new minesweeper Hirashima, Ships of the World. Vol. 694. Japan: Gaijinsha. August 2008. pp. 154–159.
- ^ Takahashi, Yoichi (May 2013). Mine Warships (Special Feature: Maritime Self-Defense Force's New Weapons)-(Notable New Weapons), Ships of the World. Vol. 778. Japan: Gaijinsha. pp. 92–97.