In Japan before World War II, the Imperial Japanese Navy Hydrographic Department was engaged in marine surveying and observation missions, but after the war, after the Ministry of Transport, it became a subordinate with the establishment of the Japan Coast Guard. Due to the transition (currently the Marine Information Department), the Maritime Self-Defense Force, which was established after that, did not have a ship specializing in marine surveying and observation missions. However, with the passive warfare of anti-submarine warfare, the collection of marine environmental data is required for efficient execution of maritime operations, and seafloor topography / sediment, tidal currents / geomagnetism, and water temperature / salt content and marine weather, etc. were interrelated and needed to be measured precisely.[2]
As for the ocean observation of the Maritime Self-Defense Force, the scheduled BT observation during the voyage was first started in 1961 by the ship equipped with the self-recorded seawater temperature recorder (BT), and the BT report based on the observation data was started from the following year. After that, BT observations for anti-submarine warfare were carried out by escort vessels and submarine chasers, and marine surveys for installing underwater fixed equipment and minesweeper surveys for anti-submarine warfare were carried out by minesweepers. However, as research progressed and the required observation elements and observation depths increased, it became difficult to equip escort vessels with equipment for that purpose. The national government also established the Maritime Science and Technology Council in 1961 to strengthen the ocean observation system of each government agency and institution, and in 1969, a joint Kuroshio survey of nine-country cooperation is planned. As a result, expectations for the construction of an observation ship have come to the Maritime Self-Defense Force from related parties.[3]
For this reason, the JMSDF was planned as the first ship dedicated to ocean observation. The former Navy had Tsukushi as the first and last dedicated surveying ship.[1]
Design
At the beginning of the formulation of the Third Defense Build-up Plan, the smallest scale of 700 tons, speed of 12 knots, and about 58 crew members were considered. However, this scale was inadequate for winter operations in the North Pacific, eventually resulting in a 1,420-ton ship.
The hull type is a long poop deck with bulwark from the bow to the center of the hull, and the hull design is a commercial ship structure. The waterline has an ice-resistant structure. Since the starboard side is the observation side, the bow tower on this side is shortened, and the work deck flush with the stern deck continues to just below the chimney like a walking deck. Observation equipment was installed in the center of the starboard side, while internal fire boats and work boats were installed on the port side.[1] It was equipped with various dabits and winches, including two cranes on the stern work deck (capacity 5 tons and 1 ton) for the introduction and collection of observation equipment.[1][2]
The main engine was a V6 V22 / 30ATL diesel engine (single machine output 1,600 horsepower), which is a V6 engine of Kawasaki Heavy Industries MAN. This belongs to the genealogy of the VV22 / 30 series developed by MAN, but the series aircraft became a common model for auxiliary ships built after the same year's plan. Also, due to the nature of the mission, it cruised at 14 knots and had a cruising range of 16,500 nautical miles (about 30,000 km), which is the longest cruising range of conventional Maritime Self-Defense Force vessels.[2]
On March 17, 1980, the Oceanographic Command was reorganized into the Oceanographic Command.
She was decommissioned on March 24, 1999. Her total distance traveled was about 680,000 nautical miles, and her marine observation missions were 194 times, spanning 3,011 days.
Citations
1 2 3 4 History of All Maritime Self-Defense Force Ships, Ships of the World. 630. Japan: Gaijinsha. August 2004. pp.1–261.
1 2 3 Ishibashi, Takao (2002). All Maritime Self-Defense Force Ships 1952-2002. Japan: Namiki Shobo.
↑ Chapter 6 Third Defense Era, 25 Years of the Maritime Self-Defense Force. Maritime Staff Office. 1980.
Related Research Articles
The Kongō class of guided missile destroyers in the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force are equipped with the Aegis Combat System, and is the first of few ship classes outside the United States to have that capability. Following a decision made in December 2003, Japan is upgrading their Kongo-class destroyers with Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense System. The upgrade involves a series of installations and flight tests to take place from 2007 to 2010. JS Kongo was the first ship to have the BMD upgrade installed.
The Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force, 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) after World War II. The JMSDF has a fleet of 154 ships and 346 aircraft and consists of approximately 45,800 personnel. Its main tasks are to maintain control of the nation's sea lanes and to patrol territorial waters. It also participates in UN-led peacekeeping operations (PKOs) and Maritime Interdiction Operations (MIOs).
JDS Mirai (DDH-182) is a fictional helicopter defense destroyer of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF), created for the Japanese manga and anime series Zipang. The central point of the plot of the anime is that the modern warship Mirai is transported back sixty years through time to 1942 on the eve of the Battle of Midway. The ship's weapons alone are enough to change the course of World War II, but equally potent are the advanced technology and knowledge of future events on board. The name of the ship is a homophone for the Japanese word meaning "future" and is often the basis of double entendres in the anime. The phrase "Mirai no nipponjin" (みらいの日本人), often repeated in the anime, for example, can mean "Japanese people of the ship Mirai" or "Japanese people of the future."
JS Hyūga (DDH-181) is the lead ship of the Hyūga-class helicopter destroyer of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF).
JS Ise (DDH-182) is a Hyūga-class helicopter destroyer of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF). It is the second ship to be named Ise, the first being the Imperial Japanese Navy World War II-era battleship Ise.
JS Chihaya (ASR-403) is a submarine rescue ship of Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force.
JDS Isuzu (DE-211) is the lead ship of the Isuzu-class destroyer escorts of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF).
JDS Mogami (DE-212) is the second ship of Ikazuchi-class destroyer escort of Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF).
JS Kurihama (ASE-6101) was an experimental ship of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force.
The Ariake-class destroyer is a class of destroyers of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force. Two ships of the Fletcher class were lent by the United States Navy and were in commission from 1959 until 1974.
JS Muroto (ARC-482) was a cable laying ship of the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force.
JDS Tsugaru (ARC-481) was a cable laying ship of the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force.
JS Shimayuki (DD-133) was a Hatsuyuki-class destroyer of the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force.
JS Yūbari (DE-227) was a Yūbari-class destroyer escort of the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force.
JDS Hayase (MST-462) was a minesweeper for the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force.
The Futami class was a class of oceanographic research ship of Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) in the late 1970s.
JS Nichinan (AGS-5105) is the only ship of her type of oceanographic research ship for the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force.
JS Shōnan (AGS-5106) is the only ship of her type of oceanographic research ship for the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force.
JDSSōya(MMC-951) was an minelayer of Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) in the early 1970s.
JDSErimo(AMC-491) was a minelayer of Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) in the mid-1950s.
References
Chapter 6 Third Defense Era, 25 Years of the Maritime Self-Defense Force, Maritime Staff Office, 1980.
Hiroshi Nagata, What is required of future self-defense ships (new type of Maritime Self-Defense Force), Ships of the World, No. 550, Gaijinsha, April 1999, pp. 69-73
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
Japan
