JS ''Ishikari'' (DE-226) was the first

destroyer escort Destroyer escort (DE) was the United States Navy mid-20th-century classification for a warship designed with the endurance necessary to escort mid-ocean convoys of merchant marine ships. Development of the destroyer escort was promoted by th ...

with a

gas turbine A gas turbine or gas turbine engine is a type of Internal combustion engine#Continuous combustion, continuous flow internal combustion engine. The main parts common to all gas turbine engines form the power-producing part (known as the gas gene ...

engine and

surface-to-surface missile A surface-to-surface missile (SSM) is a missile designed to be launched from the ground or the sea and strike targets on land or at sea. They may be fired from hand-held or vehicle mounted devices, from fixed installations, or from a ship. They ar ...

s of the

Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force The , abbreviated , 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 ( ...

. She is the successor of the earlier . Entering service in 1981, she remained active until 2007 when she was decommissioned.

Design

At first, this ship was planned to belong to the new ship classification, PCE (Patrol Coastal ships, Escort) to replace small

submarine chaser A submarine chaser or subchaser is a type of small naval vessel that is specifically intended for anti-submarine warfare. They encompass designs that are now largely obsolete, but which played an important role in the wars of the first half of th ...

s and old destroyer escorts with limited

anti-submarine warfare Anti-submarine warfare (ASW, or in the older form A/S) is a branch of underwater warfare that uses surface warships, aircraft, submarines, or other platforms, to find, track, and deter, damage, or destroy enemy submarines. Such operations ar ...

(ASW) capability against new

nuclear-powered submarine A nuclear submarine is a submarine powered by a nuclear reactor, but not necessarily nuclear-armed. Nuclear submarines have considerable performance advantages over "conventional" (typically diesel-electric) submarines. Nuclear propulsion, ...

s. But finally, it was decided to change her classification to the ordinary destroyer escort. This class is quite epoch-making for the destroyer escorts of the JMSDF as follows: The CODOG propulsion system. This was the first ship with the gas turbine engine in the JMSDF. The

Rolls-Royce Olympus The Rolls-Royce Olympus (originally the Bristol B.E.10 Olympus) was the world's second two- spool axial-flow turbojet aircraft engine design, first run in May 1950 and preceded only by the Pratt & Whitney J57, first-run in January 1950. It i ...

TM-3B manufactured by the

Kawasaki Heavy Industries is a Japanese Public company, public multinational corporation manufacturer of motorcycles, engines, Heavy equipment (construction), heavy equipment, aerospace and Military, defense equipment, rolling stock and ships, headquartered in Minato, To ...

under license was used for boosting. The cruising engine is the Kawaksaki 6DRV 35/44 diesel engine developed by the Technical Research and Development Institute (TRDI). The centre-superstructure style. Whereas the JMSDF was inclined to adopt the flush decker style, in this ship, the superstructure is at the center of the ship to save space. This was a very controversial decision, and because of this decision, there has been criticisms about the oceangoing capability of this ship. The simplified but sufficient C4ISR system was installed aboard the ship. The design was not equipped with air-search radar unlike her predecessors. Alternatively she had the OPS-28 surface search and target acquisition radar which could deal with low-altitude aircraft and missiles. The FCS-2 gun fire-control system also had air-searching capability. As the tactical data processing system, she had the OYQ-5 being capable of receiving data automatically from other ships via Link-14 (STANAG 5514; the

data link A data link is a means of telecommunications link, connecting one location to another for the purpose of transmitting and receiving digital information (data communication). It can also refer to a set of electronics assemblies, consisting of a t ...

with the

Radioteletype Radioteletype (RTTY) is a telecommunications system consisting originally of two or more electromechanical teleprinters in different locations connected by radio rather than a wired link. Radioteletype evolved from earlier landline teleprinter ...

). The design also had a brand-new weapon systems. The ''Ishikari'' design was equipped with eight

Boeing Harpoon The Harpoon is an all-weather, over-the-horizon, anti-ship missile manufactured by McDonnell Douglas (now Boeing Defense, Space & Security). The AGM-84E Standoff Land Attack Missile (SLAM) and later AGM-84H/K SLAM-ER (Standoff Land Attack M ...

s as the key weapon system whereas traditional Japanese frigates were specialized in

. According to this mission concept, its predecessor's Mark 16 GMLS for the

ASROC The RUR-5 ASROC (for "Anti-Submarine Rocket") is an all-weather, all sea-conditions anti-submarine missile system. Developed by the United States Navy in the 1950s, it was deployed in the 1960s, updated in the 1990s, and eventually installed ...

system was removed. A modern

Otobreda 76 mm The OTO Melara 76 mm gun, marketed as the OTO 76/62 Gun Mount, is a naval autocannon built and designed by the Italian defence company OTO Melara. It is based on the OTO Melara 76/62C and evolved toward 76/62 SR and 76/62 Strales. The s ...

gun replaced its predecessor's older 3-inch gun and automation greatly reduced the number of crew needed.

Construction and history

The ship was built at the Mitsui Shipbuilding & Engineering Tamano office at

Tamano, Okayama Tamano City Hall Aerial view of Tamano city center Shibukawa beach in Tamano is a city located in southern Okayama Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 55,889 in 27087 households, and a population density of 540 person ...

. She was commissioned on 28 March 1981, and was deployed at the Ominato District Force (home-ported at

Mutsu, Aomori is a Cities of Japan, city located in Aomori Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 53,804 in 28,553 households, and a population density of 62 persons per km2. The total area of the city is , making it the largest municipa ...

). The Ominato District is the northernmost district of the JMSDF and forefront against the Russian Pacific Fleet. It was decided that ''Ishikari'' was too small to continue production, so the vessel was succeeded by the two years later.

Gallery

File:"BUNGO" type"URAGA".JPG, JS ''Ishikari'' alongside on 24 September 2007. File:JS Ishikari (DE-226).jpg, JS ''Ishikari'' underway on 27 April 2014. File:Anchor of JS Ishikari.jpg, JS ''Ishikari''s anchor on display on 1 October 2017.

References

* * ''Jane's Fighting Ships 2005-2006'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Ishikari (DE-226) Frigates of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force Ships built by Mitsui Engineering and Shipbuilding 1980 ships Frigates of the Cold War