Yūbari-class destroyer escort

The Yūbari-class destroyer escort (or frigate) of the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force is the successor of the Ishikari-class destroyer escort. Yubari was named after the experimental light cruiser of the 1920s–1930s, which served in (and was lost during) World War II.

JS Yūbetsu
Class overview
Operators	Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force
Preceded by	Ishikari class
Succeeded by	Abukuma class
Built	1981–1983
In commission	1983–2010
Completed	2
Retired	2
General characteristics
Type	Destroyer escort
Displacement	1,470 tons standard 1,690 tons full load
Length	91 m (298 ft 7 in)
Beam	10.8 m (35 ft 5 in)
Draft	3.6 m (11 ft 10 in)
Propulsion	CODOG, two shafts (controllable pitch propellers) 1 × Kawaksaki /RR Olympus TM3B gas turbine 24,700 hp (18,400 kW) ＋ 1 × Kawaksaki 6DRV diesel
Speed	25 knots (46 km/h; 29 mph)
Complement	95
Armament	1 × Otobreda 76 mm gun 8 × McDonnell Douglas Harpoon SSM 1 × Bofors 375 mm ASW rocket launcher 2 × HOS-301 triple 324 mm (12.8 in) torpedo tubes

Description

This class was the extended version of its predecessor, JS Ishikari. The displacement was slightly increased, and some improvements were introduced. But they were almost same and there were many points in common as follows:

The CODOG propulsion system.

The propulsion system of this class was identical with the one of its predecessor. The Rolls-Royce Olympus TM-3B manufactured by the Kawasaki Heavy Industries under license was used for boosting. The cruising engine is the Kawasaki 6DRV 35/44 diesel engine developed by the Technical Research and Development Institute (TRDI).

Centre-superstructure style.

Whereas the JMSDF incline to adopt the flush decker style, in this class, the superstructure is at the center of the ship to save the space of the ship. This was very controversial decision, and because of this decision, there has been the criticism about the oceangoing capability of this class.

Simplified but sufficient C4ISR system.

This class was not equipped with air-search radar whereas her predecessors almost had. Alternatively there were the OPS-28 surface search and target acquisition radar which can deal with low-altitude aircraft and missiles. And also the FCS-2 gun fire-control system has the air-searching capability. As the tactical data processing system, they had the OYQ-5 being capable of receiving data automatically from other ships via Link-14 (STANAG 5514; the data link with the Radioteletype).

Brand-new weapon systems.

This class was equipped with eight Boeing Harpoon Surface-to-surface missile as the key weapon system whereas traditional Japanese frigates weighed heavily on the Anti-submarine warfare. According to this mission concept, its predecessor's Mark 16 GMLS for the ASROC system was removed. And a modern Otobreda 76 mm gun replaced its predecessor's older 3-inch gun and automation greatly reduced the number of crew needed. Provision for a Phalanx CIWS was made in the stern area, although it was never installed.

Both ships of this class were deployed at the Ominato District Force (home-ported at Mutsu, Aomori). The Ominato District is the northernmost district of the JMSDF and forefront against the Russian Pacific Fleet. Originally it had been planned to build six of this class (1985 Mid-Term Defense Buildup Program). However it was decided that this class was too small to continue in production, so it was succeeded by the Abukuma-class with an entirely new design.

Ships in the class

Pennant no.	Name	Laid down	Launched	Commissioned	Decommissioned	Home port
DE-227	Yūbari	9 February 1981	22 February 1982	18 March 1983	25 June 2010	Ominato
DE-228	Yūbetsu	14 January 1982	25 January 1983	14 February 1984	25 June 2010	Ominato

See also

• List of frigates

References

• SOW editorial office (December 2007). "Adieu! Japan's first gas turbine DE "Ishikari"". Ships of the World (in Japanese) (683). Kaijinn-sha: 147–149.
• Jane's Fighting Ships 2005–2006