Haruna-class destroyer

From Wikizilla, the kaiju encyclopedia
Jump to navigationJump to search
Haruna-class destroyer
DDH-142 Hiei (left), a Haruna-class destroyer, in 2009
Length 153.1 meters[1]
Beam 17.5 meters[1]
Draft 5.2 meters[1]
Displacement 4,950 long tons (standard),[1][2][note 1]
6,900 long tons (full load)[1]
Targets Godzilla, Mothra
First appearance Latest appearance
Godzilla vs. Biollante Gamera: Guardian
of the Universe

The Haruna-class destroyer (はるな型護衛艦,   Harunagata Goeikan) was a destroyer class built for the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force in the early 1970s. Two Haruna-class destroyers were deployed in total, the second of which, the DDH-142 Hiei (DDH (ディーディーエイチ)142 ひえい,   Dīdīeichi Ichiyonni Hiei), appears in the 1989, 1991 and 1992 Godzilla films, Godzilla vs. Biollante, Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah and Godzilla vs. Mothra.

History

Heisei era

Godzilla vs. Biollante

Alongside several Hatsuyuki-class destroyers, including the DD-122 Hatsuyuki, and UH-1B Hueys, the Haruna-class destroyer DDH-142 Hiei confronted Godzilla in the Uraga Channel after he had been freed from Mount Mihara by Bio-Major. The craft's efforts to halt the monster were unsuccessful, however, and the Hiei was destroyed by a blast of Godzilla's atomic breath.

Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah

Three years later in 1992, the Hiei, apparently rebuilt after its destruction by Godzilla, served as an escort for Miki Saegusa and Professor Mazaki across the Sea of Okhotsk.

Godzilla vs. Mothra

The Hiei again reappeared alongside a fleet of Hatsuyuki destroyers to confront the larval Mothra as she approached Japan. The ships opened fire on Mothra, aided by more attack helicopters, eventually setting the waters around her ablaze. Mothra pressed on however, destroying one of the Hatsuyukis (marked DD-134) and seemingly driving away the remainder of the fleet.

Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla

The Hiei fought its final battle in 1995, when Godzilla appeared near the coast of Kagoshima as he traveled across Japan to face SpaceGodzilla and free his son LittleGodzilla from his crystal prison. As with its first deployment, the ship's weapons proved ineffective, and Godzilla destroyed it with a blast of atomic breath, this time for good.

Filmography

Trivia

  • Due to there being only a single real-world craft, the Hiei presents a kind of continuity error in the Heisei films, as it reappears in Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah after having been destroyed in the previous film. Whether this was intended to be a rebuilt version of the previous craft or a different ship altogether is unclear, though the publication Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah Super Complete Works lists the ship which transports Miki Saegusa and Professor Mazaki as indeed being the DDH-142 Hiei.[3]

Notes

  1. While Godzilla vs. G-Force Superweapon Manual (p. 62) lists the DDH-142 Hiei's standard displacement as 4,950 tons, it should be noted that this refers to metric tons, and is equivalent to approximately 5,456 U.S. tons or 4,872 long tons.

References

This is a list of references for Haruna-class destroyer. These citations are used to identify the reliable sources on which this article is based. These references appear inside articles in the form of superscript numbers, which look like this: [1]

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 "Haruna-class destroyer". Wikipedia. Retrieved 25 February 2020.
  2. Godzilla vs. G-Force Superweapon Manual. MediaWorks, Inc. 10 April, 1995. p. 62. ISBN 4073026984. Check date values in: |date= (help)
  3. Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah Super Complete Works. Shogakukan. 20 June 1992. p. 23. ISBN 978-4-09-101428-3.

Comments

Showing 2 comments. When commenting, please remain respectful of other users, stay on topic, and avoid role-playing and excessive punctuation. Comments which violate these guidelines may be removed by administrators.

Loading comments...
Era Icon - Toho.png
Era Icon - Heisei.png
Real World
Vehicle