JS ' (DDH-143) was the

lead ship The lead ship, name ship, or class leader is the first of a series or class of ships that are all constructed according to the same general design. The term is applicable to naval ships and large civilian vessels. Large ships are very comple ...

of her class of destroyers in 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

The vessel was

laid down Laying the keel or laying down is the formal recognition of the start of a ship's construction. It is often marked with a ceremony attended by dignitaries from the shipbuilding company and the ultimate owners of the ship. Keel laying is one ...

by Ishikawajima-Harima in

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

on February 25, 1977; launched on September 18, 1978; and commissioned on March 17, 1980. In 2011, after the

2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami On 11 March 2011, at 14:46:24 Japan Standard Time, JST (05:46:24 UTC), a 9.0–9.1 Submarine earthquake, undersea megathrust earthquake occurred in the Pacific Ocean, east of the Oshika Peninsula of the Tōhoku region. It lasted approx ...

, she was used as a relief ship. In 2012, along with attending RIMPAC, she also attended

Fleet Week Fleet Week is a United States Navy, United States Marine Corps, and United States Coast Guard tradition in which active military ships recently deployed in overseas operations dock in a variety of major cities for one week. Once the ships dock, ...

, a United States naval tradition in which naval ships are showcased. On December 15, 2007, a fire broke out on board ''Shirane'' near the rudder house as she was anchored at

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 ...

. It took seven hours to extinguish and injured four crew members. ''Shirane'' visited

Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...

on her way to

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

as part of

2012. She was open to visitors for a few days. she passed by the Freedom Tower as part of the ship parade in

New York Harbor New York Harbor is a bay that covers all of the Upper Bay. It is at the mouth of the Hudson River near the East River tidal estuary on the East Coast of the United States. New York Harbor is generally synonymous with Upper New York Bay, ...

and the

Hudson River The Hudson River, historically the North River, is a river that flows from north to south largely through eastern New York (state), New York state. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains at Henderson Lake (New York), Henderson Lake in the ...

on May 23, 2012. ''Shirane'' was one of three ships sent by the

to attend

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 ...

, along with and the destroyer . She was decommissioned on March 25, 2015, as the ''Shirane'' class was slowly being phased out by the newer s.

Post-decommissioning

In November 2015, the

Japanese Ministry of Defense The is an executive department of the Government of Japan responsible for preserving the peace and independence of Japan, and maintaining the country's national security and the Japan Self-Defense Forces. The ministry is headed by the Minist ...

announced that ''Shirane'' would be in a live-fire test against the

XASM-3 The ASM-3 is a supersonic anti-ship missile being developed by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries to replace the ASM-1 and ASM-2 missiles. The major launch platform is the Mitsubishi F-2. Planned Initial Operational Capability was 2016. The missile wil ...

supersonic anti-ship missile in 2016.Japan to Test its New XASM-3 Supersonic Anti-Ship Missile Against Shirane-class Destroyer
- Navyrecognition.com, 16 November 2015 After undergoing several tests in Wakasa Bay as a target for XASM-3 she was sold for scrapping on October 31 and dismantling began on the same day.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shirane (DDG-143) Shirane-class destroyers Ships built by IHI Corporation 1978 ships