Posted on 08/06/2013 5:26:58 AM PDT by Freeport
YOKOHAMA, Japan (AP) -- Japan on Tuesday unveiled its biggest warship since World War II, a huge flat-top destroyer that has raised eyebrows in China and elsewhere because it bears a strong resemblance to a conventional aircraft carrier.
The ship, which has a flight deck that is nearly 250 meters (820 feet) long, is designed to carry up to 14 helicopters. Japanese officials say it will be used in national defense - particularly in anti-submarine warfare and border-area surveillance missions - and to bolster the nation's ability to transport personnel and supplies in response to large-scale natural disasters, like the devastating earthquake and tsunami in 2011.
Though the ship - dubbed "Izumo" - has been in the works since 2009, its unveiling comes as Japan and China are locked in a dispute over several small islands located between southern Japan and Taiwan. For months, ships from both countries have been conducting patrols around the isles, called the Senkaku in Japan and the Diaoyutai in China.
(Excerpt) Read more at hosted.ap.org ...
A fat man assembly can be built in a day. I love physics.
That's what the ski-jump flight decks are for. The U.S. has never gone that route.
F-35B
I have a picture somewhere in a old album.
(Naming her Akagi would open a can of maritime tradition worms for her sister. For starters, the historical Kaga was not a true sister to Akagi. Both ships were unique classes. Worse, Kaga is not a proper "cruiser" name. Cruisers are named after unincorporated places, mostly scenic islands (Akagi, "Red Castle", is a volcanic rock off the east coast of Japan). But Kaga is an ancient prefecture, and is thus a battleship name. Tradition is hard to buck, especially in Japan. Then again, they could name their next garbage scow "Musashi"...I'm just guessing here.)
Nope, COGAG.
Jap libs won’t mind unless they stick a bronze Chrysanthemum on the bow. Then the bricks will fly!
I don't know if it is true, but it would not surprise me a bit.
There’s definitely a subtle poke in this name. There was an Izumi Maru, ore war ocean liner that was subsidized with government money so long as she was designed to be converted to a carrier.
Which she was, becoming the Hiyo.
The Japanese have a pattern of this, naming the prior DDH’s after the Ise class battleship/carrier hybrids. There’s definitely a message being sent ...
live action movie was so-so.
needs a reboot.
The prior class shares their names with both the Ise hybrid carriers and the Ise cruisers of the 1890s. So if anyone becomes outraged at the choice of names, one can always point to the older vessels. There is a very subtle politics involved in naming these ships.
The Japanese are in a demographic death spiral. They have simply stopped having children, and, I believe, that they may not even be at replacement levels anymore. More seniors than young people, thus the stunning article a few months ago that the Japanese buy more adult diapers than childrens diapers. I don't think they will have the manpower to challenge anyone in any large way. But, with a ship like this they have a better chance of defending themselves if China decides to get aggressive.
As we approached the wreck, I caught a whiff of Number 6 fuel oil which has been bubbling up since the attack in ‘41. One of the US Navy guys (in a uniform I mistook for USMC) said there was debate about what to do about the wreck’s ultimate failure (coming apart.)
One proposal is to build a sarcophagus around the ship's remains to hold it in place while continuing to allow burials of Arizona veterans who survived. The Arizona has been down for a long time and the Navy wants to preserve it but there is great sensitivity since it is a grave site.
As long as the name isn’t one of these:Akagi, Kaga, Soryu, Hiryu, Shokaku and Zuikaku, things should be just fine.
Thanks LL - was not aware!
Yes. The rising sun flag is the ensign of the Maritime Self Defense Force.
Can you water ski behind it?
Water ski? Hell, you can probably SURF!.................
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