HARUNA class

Due to the “self-defensive” character of the Japanese Armed Forces, the ships built in the decades following the end of WWII had very limited anti-ship armament, so it was decided to build ships with powerful antiaircraft and antisubmarine capabilities. At the beginning of 1973 the Haruna ship along with its twin ship Hiei, came into service. They had a great ASW capacity thanks to their three on board HSS-2B helicopters, a Sea King version built under license in Japan. These ships had a flight deck that occupied the rear third of the ship and a hangar, (that formed part of the superstructure), with capacity for the 3 on board helicopters. Originally, the armament was completed with two 127mm Mk.42 guns in simple mounts, one octuple ASROC ASW launcher and two triple 324mm Mk.32 torpedo launchers. The Haruna was decommissioned in March 2009 and Hiei in March 2011.

HARUNA class gallery and more info