Kagerō-class destroyer
Yukikaze in December 1939. | |
Class overview | |
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Name: | Kagerō class |
Operators: | |
Preceded by: | Asashio class |
Succeeded by: | |
In commission: |
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Planned: | 18 (1937) + 4 (1939) |
Completed: | 19 |
Cancelled: | 3 (The dummy for the naval budget of the Yamato-class battleships) |
Lost: | 18 |
Scrapped: | 1 |
General characteristics | |
Type: | Destroyer |
Displacement: |
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Length: |
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Beam: | 10.80 m (35 ft 5 in) |
Draught: | 3.76 m (12 ft 4 in) |
Propulsion: |
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Speed: | 35.5 knots (40.9 mph; 65.7 km/h) |
Complement: | 239 (Kagerō, 1939) |
Armament: |
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The Kagerō-class destroyers (陽炎型駆逐艦, Kagerō-gata Kuchikukan) were a group of 19 destroyers built for the Imperial Japanese Navy during the 1930s. The IJN called them Destroyer Type-A (甲型駆逐艦, Kō-gata Kuchikukan) from their plan name.
Design and description
The Kagerō class was an enlarged and improved version of the preceding Asashio class. Their crew numbered 240 officers and enlisted men. The ships measured 118.5 meters (388 ft 9 in) overall, with a beam of 10.8 meters (35 ft 5 in) and a draft of 3.76 meters (12 ft 4 in).[1] They displaced 2,065 metric tons (2,032 long tons) at standard load and 2,529 metric tons (2,489 long tons) at deep load.[2] The ships had two Kampon geared steam turbines, each driving one propeller shaft, using steam provided by three Kampon water-tube boilers. The turbines were rated at a total of 52,000 shaft horsepower (39,000 kW) for a designed speed of 35 knots (65 km/h; 40 mph). The ships had a range of 5,000 nautical miles (9,300 km; 5,800 mi) at a speed of 18 knots (33 km/h; 21 mph).[3]
The main armament of the Kagerō class consisted of six Type 3 127-millimeter (5.0 in) guns in three twin-gun turrets, one superfiring pair aft and one turret forward of the superstructure. They were built with four Type 96 25-millimeter (1.0 in) anti-aircraft guns in two twin-gun mounts, but more of these guns were added over the course of the war. The ships were also armed with eight 610-millimeter (24.0 in) torpedo tubes for the oxygen-fueled Type 93 "Long Lance" torpedo in two quadruple traversing mounts; one reload was carried for each tube.[2] Their anti-submarine weapons comprised 16 depth charges.[3]
At the time of introduction, these destroyers were among the most deadly destroyers afloat, primarily due to the excellent range and lethality of its "Long Lance" torpedo. Only the lack of radar hindered their otherwise superb design. As with most pre-World War II ships, Kagerōs were also deficient in anti-submarine and anti-aircraft weaponry as designed. Over the course of the war these deficiencies were remedied, with depth charge capacity increased to 36 and the addition of four depth charge launchers; anti-aircraft weaponry also increased steadily from four 25 mm guns at the start of the war to twenty-eight mounts by the war's end, which necessitated the removal of the upper rear turret.
Wartime attrition was hard on the Kagerōs, with 18 of 19 ships lost. In all, six were sunk by air attack, five by submarine attack, five in battle with other surface forces, one by a mine, and the remaining two sunk by a combination of mines and air attack. Yukikaze was the only Kagerō-class ship afloat at the end of the war.
Ships in class
Ship # | Ship | Laid down | Launched | Completed | Fate |
17 | Kagerō (陽炎) means: Heat Haze |
3 September 1937 at Maizuru Naval Arsenal |
27 September 1938 | 6 November 1939 | Sunk 8 May 1943 |
18 | Shiranui (不知火) means: Mirage |
30 August 1937 at Uraga Dock Company |
28 June 1938 | 20 December 1939 | Sunk 27 October 1944 |
19 | Kuroshio (黒潮) means: Black Tide (cf. Kuroshio Current) |
31 August 1937 at Fujinagata Shipbuilding Yard |
25 October 1938 | 27 January 1940 | Sunk 8 May 1943 |
20 | Oyashio (親潮) means: Parental Tide (cf. Oyashio Current) |
29 March 1938 at Maizuru Naval Arsenal |
29 November 1938 | 20 August 1940 | Sunk 8 May 1943 |
21 | Hayashio (早潮) means: Swift Tide |
30 June 1938 at Uraga Dock Company |
19 April 1939 | 31 August 1940 | Sunk 24 November 1942 |
22 | Natsushio (夏潮) means: Summer Tide |
9 December 1937 at Fujinagata Shipbuilding Yard |
23 February 1939 | 31 August 1940 | Sunk 9 February 1942 |
23 | Hatsukaze (初風) means: First Wind |
3 December 1937 at Kōbe-Kawasaki Shipbuilding Yard |
24 January 1939 | 15 February 1940 | Sunk 2 November 1943 |
24 | Yukikaze (雪風) means: Snowy Wind |
2 August 1938 at Sasebo Naval Arsenal |
24 March 1939 | 20 January 1940 | Surrendered to Republic of China on 6 July 1947 at Shanghai, renamed DD-12 Tan Yang (丹陽), scrapped 1970 |
25 | Amatsukaze (天津風) means: Heavenly Wind |
14 February 1939 at Maizuru Naval Arsenal |
19 October 1939 | 26 October 1940 | Sunk 6 April 1945 |
26 | Tokitsukaze (時津風) means: Season's Wind |
20 February 1939 at Uraga Dock Company |
10 November 1939 | 15 December 1940 | Sunk 3 March 1943 |
27 | Urakaze (浦風) means: Inlet Wind |
11 April 1939 at Fujinagata Shipbuilding Yard |
19 April 1940 | 15 December 1940 | Sunk 21 November 1944 |
28 | Isokaze (磯風) means: Seaside Wind |
25 November 1938 at Sasebo Naval Arsenal |
19 June 1939 | 30 November 1940 | Sunk 7 April 1945 |
29 | Hamakaze (浜風) means: Beach Wind |
20 November 1939 at Uraga Dock Company |
25 November 1940 | 30 June 1941 | Sunk 7 April 1945 |
30 | Tanikaze (谷風) means: Valley Wind |
18 October 1939 at Fujinagata Shipbuilding Yard |
1 November 1940 | 25 April 1941 | Sunk 9 June 1944 |
31 | Nowaki (野分) means: Pacific typhoon |
8 November 1939 at Maizuru Naval Arsenal |
17 September 1940 | 28 April 1941 | Sunk 25 October 1944 |
32 33 34 |
3 destroyers | The dummy for the naval budget of the Yamato-class battleships | |||
112 | Arashi (嵐) means: Storm |
4 May 1939 at Maizuru Naval Arsenal |
22 April 1940 | 27 January 1941 | Sunk 6 August 1943 |
113 | Hagikaze (萩風) means: Clover Wind |
23 May 1939 at Uraga Dock Company |
18 June 1940 | 31 March 1941 | Sunk 6 August 1943 |
114 | Maikaze (舞風) means: Whirlwind |
22 April 1940 at Fujinagata Shipbuilding Yard |
13 March 1941 | 15 July 1941 | Sunk 17 February 1944 |
115 | Akigumo (秋雲) means: Autumn Cloud |
2 July 1940 at Uraga Dock Company |
11 April 1941 | 27 September 1941 | Sunk 11 April 1944 |
Notes
References
- Chesneau, Roger, ed. (1980). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1922–1946. Greenwich, UK: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-146-7.
- Jentschura, Hansgeorg; Jung, Dieter & Mickel, Peter (1977). Warships of the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1869–1945. Annapolis, Maryland: United States Naval Institute. ISBN 0-87021-893-X.
- Whitley, M. J. (1988). Destroyers of World War 2. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-326-1.
Further reading
- "Rekishi Gunzō"., History of Pacific War Vol.64 Mutsuki class destroyer, Gakken (Japan), May 2008, ISBN 978-4-05-605091-2
- Collection of writings by Sizuo Fukui Vol.5, Stories of Japanese Destroyers, Kōjinsha (Japan) 1993, ISBN 4-7698-0611-6
- Model Art Extra No.340, Drawings of Imperial Japanese Naval Vessels Part-1, Model Art Co. Ltd. (Japan), October 1989, Book code 08734-10
- Daiji Katagiri, Ship Name Chronicles of the Imperial Japanese Navy Combined Fleet, Kōjinsha (Japan), June 1988, ISBN 4-7698-0386-9
- The Maru Special, Japanese Naval Vessels No.41 Japanese Destroyers I, Ushio Shobō (Japan), July 1980, Book code 68343-42
External links
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