{{Short description|Class of destroyers in the Japan military}} {{Infobox ship |infobox_caption=yes |section1={{Infobox ship/image |image = File:Japanese destroyer Hatakaze (DD-182), circa in the 1960s.jpg |image_caption = JDS ''Hatakaze'' in 1960s }}

|section2={{Infobox ship/class overview |name=''Asakaze''-class destroyer |builders= *Bath Iron Works, Maine *Federal Shipbuilding and Drydock Company, New Jersey |operators=*22px Coastal Safety Force *{{navy|Japan}} |class_before=''N/A'' |class_after={{sclass|Ariake|destroyer|4||}} |subclasses={{sclass|Gleaves|destroyer|4||}} |cost= |built_range=1940 |in_service_range= |in_commission_range=1954–1969 |total_ships_building= |total_ships_planned= |total_ships_completed=2 |total_ships_cancelled= |total_ships_active= |total_ships_laid_up= |total_ships_lost= |total_ships_retired=2 |total_ships_preserved= }}

|section3={{Infobox ship/characteristics |type=Destroyer |displacement =* 1,630 tons standard, * 2,395 tons full load |length = {{convert|348|ft|3|in|abbr=on}} |beam = &nbsp; {{convert|36|ft|1|in|abbr=on}} |draft = &nbsp; {{convert|13|ft|2|in|abbr=on}} |power =*4 Babcock & Wilcox boilers, 2 Westinghouse geared steam turbines; * {{cvt|50000|shp|lk=in}} |propulsion =2 shafts |speed = {{convert|37.4|kn|lk=in}} |range ={{convert|6500|nmi|abbr=on|lk=in}} at {{convert|12|kn}} |complement = 16 officers, 260 enlisted |sensors = |EW = |armament =*(Early service) **4 × 5 in (127 mm) DP guns **2 × 40 mm Bofors guns **2 × 20 mm Oerlikon guns **5 × {{convert|21|in|mm|abbr=on|0}} torpedo tubes **4 × K-gun depth charge throwers **6 × Depth charge tracks *(Late service) **3 × 5 in (127 mm) DP guns **2 × 40 mm Bofors guns **2 × 20 mm Oerlikon guns **5 × {{convert|21|in|mm|abbr=on|0}} torpedo tubes (1 × 5) **4 × K-gun depth charge throwers **6 × Depth charge tracks }} }} The '''''Asakaze''-class destroyer''' is a class of destroyers of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force. Two ships of the {{sclass|Gleaves|destroyer|4}} were lent by the United States Navy and were in commission from 1954 until 1969.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Abe|first=Yasuo|title=History of Maritime Self-Defense Force Escort Ships 1953-2000, Ships of the World|publisher=Gaijinsha|date=July 2000|volume=571}}</ref>

== Development == JDS ''Asakaze'' was commissioned as {{USS|Ellyson|DD-454|6}} on 28 November 1941 at Federal Shipbuilding and Drydock Company, and JDS ''Hatakaze'' was commissioned as {{USS|Macomb|DD-458|6}} on 26 January 1942 at the Bath Iron Works.

In 1951, General Matthew Ridgway, Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces, proposed to lend a patrol frigate (PF) and a landing support boat (LSSL) to Japan under Allied occupation. In response to this, on 26 April 1952, the Coastal Safety Force was established within the Japan Coast Guard to serve as a receiver for these warships and as the base of a future navy. Then, with the establishment of the National Safety Agency on 1 August, the same year, the Coast Guard was reorganized into a security force by absorbing the route enlightenment department of the Japan Coast Guard, and together with the National Police Reserve (later the National Safety Force), which is a land unit, it became a subordinate and was set up for a full-scale reorganization system.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Koda|first=Yaji|title=History of Domestic Escort Ship Construction, Ships of the World|publisher=Gaijinsha|date=December 2015|volume=827}}</ref>

Of the rented vessels, all 18 of the PFs were delivered during 1953 and commissioned as {{sclass|Kusu|frigate|1}}s, which later became the starting point for the development of the Maritime Self-Defense Force escort vessels. In the budget for 1952, which is the year when the guards were established, the construction of support vessels (water vessels, heavy oil vessels, etc.) to improve the operational base of these guard vessels was prioritized, and the construction of combat ships was not carried out. Although domestic construction of security vessels began in 1953, the construction in the same year was two 1,600-ton instep security vessels (DD; ''Harukaze'' class) and 1,000-ton B-type security vessels ({{ship|JDS|Akebono|DE-201|2}} and {{sclass|Ikazuchi|destroyer escort|4}}) It was fastened to 3 ships.

== Ships in the class == {| class="wikitable" |+''Asakaze'' class !{{nowrap|Hull no.}} !Name !Builder !Laid down !Launched !Commissioned !Decommissioned |- | DD-181 | ''Asakaze'' | align="center" |Federal Shipbuilding and Drydock Company, New Jersey |20 December 1940 |26 July 1941 | rowspan="2" |19 October 1954 | rowspan="2" |15 October 1969 |- | DD-182 | ''Hatakaze'' |Bath Iron Works, Maine |3 September 1940 |23 September 1941 |- |}

== Gallery == <gallery mode="nolines"> File:Japanese destroyer Asakaze (DD-181) underway in 1959.jpg|JDS ''Asakaze'' underway in 1959. </gallery>

== References == {{Reflist}}

{{Combatant ship classes of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Asakaze-class}} Category:Destroyer classes Category:Gleaves-class destroyers of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force