Name Natsushio In commission 1963–1980 | Built 1961–1963 | |
Builders New Mitsubishi Heavy Industries,
Kawasaki Shipbuilding Corporation Operators Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force Preceded by Hayashio-class submarine | ||
The Natsushio-class submarines were significantly smaller than the next generation Japanese submarines, the Ōshio, and the Natsushio-class submarines were the development of the Hayashio-class submarines. Also, Natsushio-class is one of the (coast-defence) hunter-killer submarine (SSK) of JMSDF. Construction of the two subs in the class was approved under the First Defense Buildup Program 1958-1960. However, the MSDF brass did not welcome the small submarines. Ongoing maneuvering regarding defense spending by the Ministry of Finance did not help matters. At the time, the Maritime Staff Office was trying to move the MSDF away from being a predominantly Green-water navy (due to politics and budgetary issues this would not begin to happen until the 1980s). Small coastal SSKs like the Natsushio did not fit into such plans for the future. Therefore, neither further examples nor a successor class were built.