JS ''Kurama'' (DDH-144) was the second ship of the in service with the

Japan 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 ( ...

(JMSDF).

Construction and career

''Kurama'' was laid down on 17 February 1978 and launched on 20 September 1979 by IHI Corporation Tokyo Shipyard. She was commissioned on 27 March 1981, into the 2nd Escort Corps (

Sasebo is a core city located in Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan. It is the second-largest city in Nagasaki Prefecture, after its capital, Nagasaki. , the city had an estimated population of 230,873 in 102,670 households, and a population density of 540 per ...

) together with . She was the first Maritime Self-Defense Force ship to be equipped with

Phalanx CIWS The Phalanx CIWS () is an automated gun-based close-in weapon system to defend military watercraft automatically against incoming threats such as aircraft, missiles, and small boats. It was designed and manufactured by the General Dynamics Co ...

. She was also equipped for the first time with a

sonar Sonar (sound navigation and ranging or sonic navigation and ranging) is a technique that uses sound propagation (usually underwater, as in submarine navigation) to navigate, measure distances ( ranging), communicate with or detect objects o ...

that can detect submarines over long distances, and in cooperation with the onboard helicopter, it was possible to detect and destroy enemy submarines before they approach. Based on the track record of this ship, CIWS and tactical towed sonar were adopted as general-purpose escort vessels of the Maritime Self-Defense Force built after that, in which became standard equipment. On October 13, 1982, a boiler explosion accident occurred at Sasebo. On March 30, 1983, the 52nd Escort Corps was abolished and became a ship under the direct control of the 2nd Escort Corps. From June 28 to August 16 of the same year, she participated in the

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...

dispatch training with the escort vessels and JDS ''Tachikaze''. On March 30, 1984, she became the

flagship A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of navy, naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically ...

of the 2nd Escort Group. She later participated in the Exercise RIMPAC 1984, and again in

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. ** Spain and Portugal en ...

. From July 1 to 31, 1990, she participated in the maritime training (open sea practice voyage) toward

Guam Guam ( ; ) is an island that is an Territories of the United States, organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. Guam's capital is Hagåtña, Guam, Hagåtña, and the most ...

with the escort vessels JDS ''Asagiri'', and JDS ''Tachikaze''. From June 27 to August 28, 1991, she participated in the US dispatch training with the escort vessels JDS ''Asakaze'' and JDS ''Setogiri''. ''Kurama'' participated in

Exercise RIMPAC The Rim of the Pacific Exercise (RIMPAC) is the world's largest international maritime warfare exercise. RIMPAC is held biennially during June and July of even-numbered years from Honolulu, Hawaii, with the exception of 2020 where it was held ...

events in 1992 and 1994. From July 26 to 30, 1996, she visited

Vladivostok Vladivostok ( ; , ) is the largest city and the administrative center of Primorsky Krai and the capital of the Far Eastern Federal District of Russia. It is located around the Zolotoy Rog, Golden Horn Bay on the Sea of Japan, covering an area o ...

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

, for the first time as a self-defense ship to participate in the 300th anniversary ceremony of the

Russian Navy The Russian Navy is the Navy, naval arm of the Russian Armed Forces. It has existed in various forms since 1696. Its present iteration was formed in January 1992 when it succeeded the Navy of the Commonwealth of Independent States (which had i ...

. From July 24 to 29, 1998, she visited Vladivostok again with the escort ship JDS Yamagiri and JDS ''Hamana'', and participated in the

Russian Pacific Fleet The Pacific Fleet () is the Russian Navy fleet in the Pacific Ocean. Established in 1731 as part of the Imperial Russian Navy, the fleet was known as the Okhotsk Military Flotilla (1731–1856) and Siberian Military Flotilla (1856–1918), for ...

Fleet Review Ceremony held on July 26. In addition, the first Japan-Russia joint training was held in the

Sea of Japan The Sea of Japan is the marginal sea between the Japanese archipelago, Sakhalin, the Korean Peninsula, and the mainland of the Russian Far East. The Japanese archipelago separates the sea from the Pacific Ocean. Like the Mediterranean Sea, it ...

east of Vladivostok on July 29 and 30, and participated in it. From February 25 to March 31, 2000, she participated in the open sea practice voyage with JDS Yamagiri and JDS Asakaze. Later that year, she participated in Exercise RIMPAC 2000. On November 9, 2001, she was dispatched to the

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or approximately 20% of the water area of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia (continent), ...

along with the escort ship JDS ''Kirisame'' and JDS ''Hamana'' for an information gathering mission based on the Act on Special Measures Against Terrorism. They returned to Japan on the 16th. From May 16 to August 3, 2003, she participated in the US dispatch training with the escort vessels JDS ''Shimakaze'' and JDS ''Setogiri''. After returning to Japan, remodeling work was carried out at Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Nagasaki Shipyard & Machinery Works, and the shooting command device for short SAM control changed from WM-25 to the domestically produced Type 81 shooting command device type 2-12 (FCS-2-12). It was replaced with the domestic GMLS-3, and the onboard missile was the RIM-7M. All of these are reprinted from those equipped on the escort ship JDS Takatsuki, which was removed from the register in August 2002. The construction was completed in April 2004. From November 10 to 12, 2004, she dealt with the Han-class

submarine A submarine (often shortened to sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. (It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability.) The term "submarine" is also sometimes used historically or infor ...

in Japan's territorial sea with the escort ship JDS ''Yudachi''. On January 14, 2005, an integrated unit of land, sea, and air self-defense forces was formed based on the Japan Disaster Relief Team Dispatch Law to rescue the Sumatra Island Earthquake, and departed from Sasebo. Relief activities such as transportation of relief supplies were carried out together with the transport ship and JDS ''Tokiwa''. From May 16 to August 1, 2007, she participated in the US dispatch training with the escort vessels JS ''Chokai'' and JS ''Inazuma''. On March 26, 2008, she was transferred to the 2nd Escort Group 2 Escort Corps due to the reorganization of the Escort Corps. She was transferred to

Yokosuka is a city in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. , the city has a population of 373,797, and a population density of . The total area is . Yokosuka is the 11th-most populous city in the Greater Tokyo Area, and the 12th in the Kantō region. The city i ...

. She was dispatched to the

Great East Japan Earthquake Great may refer to: Descriptions or measurements * Great, a relative measurement in physical space, see Size * Greatness, being divine, majestic, superior, majestic, or transcendent People * List of people known as "the Great" * Artel Great (bo ...

caused by the 2011 off the Pacific coast of Tohoku Earthquake on March 11, 2011. On October 19, the same year, she departed

for training in the United States, stayed at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii from October 31 to November 21, and trained with US Navy vessels to improve their practical skills. She returned to Sasebo on December 5. On 27 October 2009, JS ''Kurama'' collided with a

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

n container ship under the

Kanmonkyo Bridge The ( Asian Highway Network ) is a suspension bridge crossing the Kanmon Straits, a stretch of water separating two of Japan's four main islands. On the Honshū side of the bridge is Shimonoseki (, which contributed ''Kan'' to the name of t ...

in the

Kanmon Straits The or the Straits of Shimonoseki is the stretch of water separating Honshu and Kyushu, two of Japan's four main islands. On the Honshu side of the strait is Shimonoseki (, which contributed "Kan" () to the name of the strait) and on the Kyushu ...

off the coast of Japan. While neither ship sunk, the bow of ''Kurama'' was badly damaged and burned for hours. Three ''Kurama'' crew members were reported injured. On March 22, 2017, she was decommissioned due to the commissioning of the second ''Izumo''-class helicopter destroyer . Her final affiliation is the 2nd Escort Group, 2nd Escort Corps. The home port has been Sasebo consistently for about 36 years since commissioning. In the SDF observing ceremony for 36 years, she served as a observing ship four times, with a total voyage time of 78,772 hours, a total number of landings of 51,300 times, and sailed 942,760.2 nautical miles (1,745,991.9 km), which is equivalent to about 43.6 laps of the earth. After retirement, a press release was released to make the new torpedo for submarines a real ship. On June 12, 2018, the ship departed while being towed from Sasebo, and then disposed of by a new torpedo from a submarine of the Maritime Self-Defense Force off the coast of

Wakasa Bay is a bay located in the Chūbu region of Japan, and spans the coasts of Kyoto Prefecture, and Fukui Prefecture. Geography Wakasa Bay is the area south of the straight line from Cape Kyoga on the west of Tango Peninsula to Cape Echizen on the e ...

. Floating debris such as the inner fireboat and the outer shell of the turret have been recovered by the test ship in the sea area.

Gallery

File:Shirane class destroyer - Kurama (cropped).jpg, JDS ''Kurama'' at

San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

on 1 June 1992 File:Shirane class destroyer - Kurama.jpg File:JS Kurama in San Diego Harbor, -1 Jul. 1994 a.jpg, JDS ''Kurama'' in

on 1 July 1994 File:JS Kurama in the Pacific, -10 Jan. 2011 a.jpg, JS ''Kurama'' underway on 10 January 2011 File:JS Kurama in the Pacific Ocean 02.jpg File:JS Kurama and JS Chōkai at Mitsubishi Nagasaki Shipyard, -2 Sep. 2011 a.jpg, JS ''Kurama'' and JS Chōkai at

Mitsubishi The is a group of autonomous Japanese multinational companies in a variety of industries. Founded by Yatarō Iwasaki in 1870, the Mitsubishi Group traces its origins to the Mitsubishi zaibatsu, a unified company that existed from 1870 to 194 ...

Shipyard on 2 September 2011 File:JS Kurama performs maneuvers off the coast of Hawaii, -14 Nov. 2011 a.jpg, JS ''Kurama'' off

on 14 November 2011 File:JS Kurama (DDH-144) op zee tijdens de oefening Koa Kai, -12 november 2011 a.jpg, JS ''Kurama'' underway on 12 November 2011 File:JapanNavyShipDDH144"Kurama"inOcean.jpg, JS ''Kurama'' underway on 21 August 2013 File:JS Kurama（DDH-144） in Kobe 20131027.JPG, JS ''Kurama'' in

Kobe Kobe ( ; , ), officially , is the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. With a population of around 1.5 million, Kobe is Japan's List of Japanese cities by population, seventh-largest city and the third-largest port city after Port of Toky ...

on 27 October 2013

Citations

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kurama (DDH-144) 1979 ships Ships built by IHI Corporation Shirane-class destroyers Ships sunk as targets