The statements in this article are based on reliable sources and are repeated at the end of this article
Japan's 88th Fleet was once a formidable enemy in East Asia. Eight Japanese Murayu-class destroyers sail side by side, each carrying an anti-submarine helicopter, and such a luxurious configuration was the envy of East Asian countries more than 20 years ago.
However, after decades of development of the Chinese Navy, does the Japanese 88th Fleet still have the ability to compete with the mainland navy?
01
The Japanese Navy, which was supposed to be history
The Japanese Navy was supposed to be completely finished after the defeat in World War II, when American five-star Admiral MacArthur tried to nullify Japan's war potential.
As soon as he set foot on Japanese soil, he immediately ordered the Japanese soldiers to disarm and go home to farm. The Army Headquarters, Navy Headquarters, and General Staff of the Little Day were all replaced by MacArthur.
In addition, he changed Japan's conscription system so that even the Japanese countryside could not exist as a kind of military organization. Japan's heavy industrial equipment was dismantled, and any research related to armed equipment was abolished.
However, the United States later changed its mind, and when MacArthur was cleaning up the Japanese navy, he found that the sea area was full of mines left over from before the war.
Some of these mines were laid by the Japanese themselves, and some were thrown by the United States to blockade Japan. Clearing coastal mines is a manual task and the risk factor is high, and the US military does not want to use its own people to clear mines.
So the Japanese Navy was left to do the dirty work, and the Japanese government took the opportunity to leave behind a group of naval intellectual backbones. This evil Japanese minesweeping force laid the foundation for the subsequent revival of the Japanese Navy.
After the outbreak of the Korean War in 1950, the Japanese Navy ushered in a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. In order to contain the Soviet Union, the United States chose to allow Japan to restore its military strength, and the US troops stationed in Japan also participated in the Inchon landing.
Japan's defenses were empty, and MacArthur ordered Shigeru Yoshida to organize another 75,000-strong police force. The Japan Coast Guard added 8,000 people, ostensibly police officers who maintain law and order in Japan.
In fact, with a slight reorganization, Japan will have four more army divisions and regiments. In terms of navy, Japan has also used a large number of retired naval officers, and the Maritime Guard is now the Japanese Self-Defense Force.
MacArthur was not at all afraid of Japanese rearmament, probably because of his psychological superiority, which made him feel that the American Navy would prevail over the Japanese Navy. After the Japanese navy was rebuilt, it was ordered to clear mines on the Korean Peninsula.
East Asian countries generally have a bad impression of Japan, and the United States does not want to publicize this to the outside world. The Japanese Navy went to work quietly, and did not want the salary given by the United States.
MacArthur was quite satisfied with Japan, and in 1951 the United States once again loosened its grip on Japan, and at the San Francisco Conference, the United States recognized Japan's territorial waters and territorial sovereignty.
The Soviet Union, the Czech Republic, Poland and other countries unanimously opposed it, and Japan regained its sovereignty, which meant that it could rebuild its army. Ignoring the opposition of these countries, the United States forcibly pulled 48 countries to vote in favor of the San Francisco meeting.
02
The United States loosened the reins of control over Japan
The San Francisco Peace Treaty came into effect, and the Japanese Navy began its own path of expansion. In July 1954, Japan's Maritime Self-Defense Force had only 16,000 personnel, 157 warships, and 48 combat aircraft.
The United States was very tolerant towards Japan, giving not only ships, but also technology. Seeing this, the Japanese government has become even more ambitious and has accelerated the expansion of the Self-Defense Forces.
From 1955 to 1977, Japan expanded the size of the Maritime Self-Defense Force four times in a row, increasing the number of personnel to 46,600 and the number of combat aircraft to 340.
In addition, the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force has a wide range of naval weapons, and it can no longer be called a self-defense force, but more like a modern navy. Japan's Self-Defense Forces have an anti-submarine escort fleet, an air defense fleet, and an inshore defense force.
Although the strength is much inferior to that of the past, the skeleton of the Japanese Navy has been built. In the 80s, Japan's right-wing Prime Minister Yasuhiro Sone repeatedly crossed the red line.
He announced that he would keep the Soviet Navy out of the country, and the Japanese Navy broke through the constitutional limits and openly increased its military strength. When the Gulf War broke out, Japan sent troops to assist the U.S. military in expanding its forces from scratch.
In addition, Japan sent several minesweepers to fight with the US military, which clearly violated the Japanese constitution at the beginning. Japan's Self-Defense Forces can only be used to protect their own country, and they are not allowed to use troops abroad.
The Japanese Government, on the other hand, has tried to take advantage of the loopholes in the constitution and replace its overseas military dispatch with overseas defense. The United States turned a blind eye to the Japanese government's petty actions, and the Japanese navy participated in many wars that followed.
However, the aircraft carrier that the Japanese once owned has never been realized again. Sending troops overseas to expand the Self-Defense Forces can fool the past, but the construction of aircraft carriers cannot be used for self-defense, no matter how much they say.
The attack capability of aircraft carriers is obvious to all, and the US military dominates the world by virtue of its powerful and large number of aircraft carrier formations. In 1980, the Japanese government finally agreed to allow the Japanese Self-Defense Forces to have two helicopter carriers.
The Japanese Navy has left behind at every turn, ostensibly using the helicopter carrier for anti-submarine purposes, but it can take off and land fighter jets as long as it returns to the dock and is slightly modified.
These are the strength of the Japanese Navy on paper, and Japan's war potential was well preserved after World War II. The connivance of the United States against Japan has allowed it to retain a strong military production capacity.
Japan's military factories have ostensibly disappeared, but in fact they have been resurrected since the Korean War. The former military giants have all disguised themselves as civilian enterprises.
In the event of a war, Japanese private enterprises can directly produce tanks and aircraft by changing the assembly line. In addition, Japan's heavy industry also supported them to build aircraft carriers, warships and naval equipment that could be self-sufficient.
Japan is now superficially submissive to the United States, but once the United States declines, the sheep will not be so harmless to humans and animals.
03
The tortuous development of the Chinese Navy
Due to its late start, the Chinese Navy had to install army artillery on fishing boats more than 20 years ago in order to improve its naval strength. The technology is inferior to others, and we can only defend our sovereignty in this way.
Therefore, after 2000, China began to vigorously develop its navy. During the Taiwan Strait crisis in 1996, the U.S. Nimitz aircraft carrier passed through the Taiwan Strait.
At that time, we dispatched the navy, army, and air force for the exercise, and the navy and air force all dispatched them. The U.S. aircraft carriers confronted our exercise forces, and at that time the equipment was backward, and the U.S. aircraft carrier battle group was very suppressive.
In 1996, the PLA Air Force had 4,400 fighter planes, and although they had a numerical advantage, the proportion of first-generation and second-generation aircraft was too high. At this time, the US military had already entered the era of over-the-horizon strikes, and it was difficult for first- and second-generation aircraft to be useful.
The performance of the remaining J-7 and J-8 fighters lagged behind, and only a few Su-27 fighters imported from the Soviet Union could act as the main force. The carrier-based aircraft of the US Nimitz aircraft carrier and the French third-generation aircraft imported from Wanwan are all capable of over-the-horizon strikes.
The huge gap in scientific and technological strength has made the PLA come up with a strategy of 8 for one. However, even such a tragic strategy may not be effective.
At that time, the US military made a deduction for the crisis in the Taiwan Strait, and they came up with an astonishing result. In 1996, the United States dispatched two aircraft carrier battle groups, and the victory was almost achieved with zero damage.
Japan, which is close to the United States, also boasted the largest naval strength in Asia. When the Japanese Kongo-class Aegis destroyer was launched in 1993, the first 052 destroyer of the Chinese Navy was in seaworthiness.
The Japanese Kongo-class has a displacement of 9500 tons, which is almost twice as large as the 052 destroyer. And the main forces of our Navy still use Type 051 destroyers, and the generation difference is too great, and military fans also envy the configuration of the Japanese Self-Defense Forces.
Japan was forbidden to have nuclear submarines at the time, but they also had conventionally powered submarines. The performance of the Chunchao-class submarines was more than a generation ahead of us, and the Chinese Navy was developing hard at that time, and it was looking for parts everywhere to break through the technological blockade.
However, after all, Japan is subordinate to the United States, and its naval development must be stopped to a certain extent. Japan's 88th Fleet model has been gaining momentum for some time, and the Japanese Navy has paid more attention to anti-submarine warfare.
This was due to the strategic needs of his American masters, and in order to tightly seal off the Soviet submarines, the US imperialists allowed the Japanese Navy to have more advanced anti-submarine technology.
In the 90s of the last century, the Japanese Navy built four 88 fleets. Each of the 88th Fleet carried 8 anti-submarine destroyers, and its sophisticated equipment was once the envy of Asian countries.
The core member of the 88th Fleet is an air defense destroyer with the Aegis system. The Kongo-class destroyers are equipped with 96 vertical launch units, whether it is anti-ship missiles, torpedoes, or anti-aircraft missiles, Kongo-class destroyers can use them.
This kind of air defense destroyer with superior performance, Japan built 4 more after 1995, but after 2000 we have the money to develop the navy.
The Japanese Navy was left far behind, buying Kilo-class submarines and modern destroyers from Russia, and scientists began to develop them locally.
In 2012, the Chinese Navy ushered in its first aircraft carrier, the Liaoning, and the Japanese Navy gradually failed to catch up with the development speed of the Chinese Navy. After that, China's manufacturing industry played a major role, and in 2019, the domestic aircraft carrier was launched, and the following year, 0.55 million tons of destroyers were put into service.
In 2021, the 075 amphibious assault ship was launched, and the comprehensive strength of the Chinese Navy has since surpassed that of the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force. To date, the Japanese Navy has 4 helicopter carriers, 3 landing ships, and 36 destroyers.
Among them, there are 8 large destroyers with a displacement of close to 10,000 tons, and 10 frigates. Nuclear submarines are not allowed to have, so there are only 24 conventionally powered submarines.
Looking back on a hundred years of history, China has finally risen again, surpassing Japan. The anti-Japanese martyrs can turn a blind eye, and today's Japanese sovereignty is still in the hands of US imperialism, and its comprehensive national strength has also been surpassed by China. [White-eyed]
Resources:
People's Daily Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force flexes its muscles Experts say China's naval strength has surpassed Japan's
CCTV [China News] Equipped with the production of four "quasi-aircraft carriers", Japan's "88th Fleet" is aimed directly at China