The Ayanami class was a destroyer class built for the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) in the late 1950s. The primary purpose was anti-submarine warfare, so this class was classified as "DDK" (hunter-killer anti-submarine destroyer) unofficially.^[1]

Quick Facts Class overview, General characteristics ...

Ayanami class member Ayanami
Class overview
Name	Ayanami class
Operators	Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force
Preceded by	Harukaze class
Succeeded by	Murasame class
Built	1956–1960
In commission	1958–1990
Completed	7
Retired	7
General characteristics
Type	Destroyer
Displacement	1,720 t (1,690 long tons) standard 2,500 t (2,500 long tons) full load
Length	109 m (358 ft)
Beam	10.7 m (35 ft)
Depth	8.1 m (26 ft 7 in)
Complement	220
Sensors and processing systems	AN/SPS-12 air-search radar OPS-5 surface-search radar AN/SPS-11A OQA-1 variable depth sonar Mark 63 fire-control system
Electronic warfare & decoys	NOLR-1
Armament	6 × 3"/50 caliber Mk.22 guns 4 × 533 mm (21 in) torpedo tubes 2 × ASW torpedo racks 2 × Hedgehog anti-submarine mortars 2 × DCT (K-guns)

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This class adopted a "long forecastle" design with inclined afterdeck called "Holland Slope", named after the scenic sloping street in Nagasaki City.^[2] Their steam turbine propulsion systems were similar to the ones of the Harukaze class, but they varied between each ship in the class as part of the JMSDF's attempt to find the best propulsion system for its future surface combatants.^[3]

The Ayanami class were the first JMSDF vessels equipped with six 3-inch/50 caliber Mark 22 guns with Mark 33 dual mounts and Mark 32 lightweight torpedoes with two Mark 2 over-the-side launchers.^[4] 3-inch guns were controlled by two Mark 63 GFCSs.^[5]

All seven vessels names had previously been borne by ships of the World War II-era Fubuki and Yūgumo-class destroyer classes.