The Haruna-class destroyer was a destroyer class built for the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) in the early 1970s. These helicopter carrying destroyers (DDH) were built around a large central hangar which housed up to three helicopters.
Hiei (DDH-142) at Pearl Harbor in 2006
US Navy 070318-N-5961C-262 Japan Maritime Self Defense Force (JMSDF) ship JS Haruna (DDH-141), USS Lake Champlain (CG-57) and USS Russell (DDG-59) steam in formation during a photo exercise
JMSDF ship Haruna (DDH-141)
Hiei underway in the Pacific with Ashigara and USS Curtis Wilbur, November 2009
5-inch/54-caliber Mark 42 gun
The Mark 42 5"/54 caliber gun (127mm) is a naval gun mount used by the United States Navy and other countries. It consisted of the Mark 18 gun and Mark 42 gun mount. United States naval gun terminology indicates the gun fires a projectile 5 inches (127.0 mm) in diameter, and the barrel is 54 calibers long In the 1950s a gun with more range and a faster rate of fire than the 5"/38 caliber gun used in World War II was needed, therefore, the gun was created concurrently with the 3"/70 Mark 26 gun for different usages. The 5"/54 Mk 42 is an automatic, dual-purpose gun mount. It is usually controlled remotely from the Mk 68 Gun Fire Control System, or locally from the mount at the One Man Control (OMC) station.
5 inch/54 Mark 42 on USS Turner Joy
Two of the eight turrets of the carrier USS Ranger firing, in 1961.
Side profile of the 5-inch gun from HMAS Brisbane