Atada-class minesweeper

The Atada class is a class of coastal minesweepers of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force.

JDS Atada
Class overview
NameAtada
Builders
Preceded byUjishima class
Succeeded byYashiro class
Built1955–1956
In commission1956–1980
Planned2
Completed2
Retired2
General characteristics
TypeMinesweeper
Displacement
Length37.5 m (123 ftin)
Beam6.8 m (22 ft 4 in)
Draft2.1 m (6 ft 11 in)
Depth3.7 m (12 ft 2 in)
Propulsion
Speed14 knots (26 km/h; 16 mph)
Complement33
Sensors and
processing systems
Armament1 × single Oerlikon 20 mm gun

Development

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During the Pacific War, a large number of mines were laid in the waters near Japan by both Japan and the United States, which greatly hindered shipping including coastal areas at the end of the war, so the need to deal with this was urgent. For this reason, the minesweeping force was maintained even while the Imperial Japanese Navy was dismantled after the surrender of Japan, and was taken over by the 2nd Ministry of Demobilization on 1 December 1945. After that, minesweepers were absorbed by the Japan Coast Guard, which was established on 1 August 1952, and transferred to the Coastal Security Force.[1]

Immediately after its inauguration, the guards have been aiming for domestic production of minesweepers, and in 1953, the first year after their inauguration, the construction of three medium-sized minesweepers (MSCs) was included. These three vessels have the characteristics of actual ship experiments, and two systems will be adopted for both the ship type and the main engine. Of these, two vessels adopted the round hull type. On the other hand, it was JDS Yashiro that adopted the square hull form.[2]

Ships in the class

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Pennant no. Name Builders Laid down Launched Commissioned Decommissioned Home port
MSC-601 Atada Hitachi Zosen Corporation, Kanagawa 20 June 1955 12 March 1956 30 April 1956 17 March 1950 Kure
MSC-602 Itsuki Nippon Kokan, Keihin 22 June 1955 30 June 1956 20 March 1978 Kure

Citations

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  1. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 June 2021. Retrieved 4 June 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  2. ^ Hirogun, Yosuke (June 2010). History of Construction of Wooden Minesweepers by the Maritime Self-Defense Force, Ships of the World. Vol. 725. Japan: Gaijinsha. pp. 155–161.