Miura-class tank landing ship
Introduction The '''''Miura''-class landing ship tank''' is a class of three tank landing ships (LSTs) that served with the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) from 1975 to 2002.They were primarily deployed for logistic support but were also used to carry heavy construction equipment such as trenchers.
Description The three ''Miura''-class tank landing ships (LSTs) had a standard displacement of  and  at full load. They were  long between perpendiculars and  overall with a beam of  and a draft of . Ships in the class were powered by two Kawasaki-MAN V8V 22/30 AMTL diesel engines turning two shafts rated at . This gave them a maximum speed of  and they carried enough diesel fuel for a range of  at . Vessels of the class carried two Landing Craft Vehicle Personnel (LCVPs) and two Landing Craft Mechanized (LCMs). The LCVPs were slung under davits and a traveling gantry crane with folding rails that could be extended over the side handled the two LCMs positioned on the foredeck. The LSTs could carry up to 200 troops or  of cargo, or ten Type 74 main battle tanks. The ''Miura'' class were armed with twin-mounted US Mark 33 /50 caliber guns situated forward in a single turret and a twin-mounted  guns in a single turret placed aft. The LSTs were equipped with OPS-14 air search and OPS-16 surface search radar. For fire control, ''Miura'' mounted a 72-1B for the 76 mm guns and US Mk 51 fire control for the 40 mm guns. The other two vessels were equipped with US Mk 63 fire control for the 76 mm guns and US Mk 51 for the 40 mm guns. They had a complement of 118 officers and crew.
Ships in the class + ''Miura'' class  Name Builder Laid down Launched Commissioned Decommissioned LST 4151   Ishikawajima-Harima Heavy Industries, Tokyo, Japan 26 November 1973  13 August 1974   29 January 1975  7 April 2000 LST 4152    10 June 1974  2 September 1975  22 March 1976  10 August 2001 LST 4153  26 May 1975  12 May 1976  17 February 1977  28 June 2002
Service history Three tank landing ships were ordered from Ishikawajima-Harima Heavy Industries and constructed in Tokyo, Japan. The first of the class, ''Miura'' entered service in 1975 with the Japanese Maritime Self Defense Force (JMSDF), with ''Ojika'' following in 1976 and ''Satsuma'' in 1977.Primarily used for logistic support, the ''Miura'' class has also been used to trial new guns for the JMSDF, which ''Satsuma'' did with the OTO Melara 76 mm Compact gun.
Citations
References * * *
External links *  ''Miura'' class at Globalsecurity.org