Akatsuki class
 The Ikazuchi
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The Akatsuki- class ( Japanese 暁 型 駆 逐 艦 , Akatsuki-gata kuchikukan ) was a class of four destroyers of the Imperial Japanese Navy , which were used in World War II . The Japanese Navy also referred to the ships as special-type destroyers.
Development history and construction
The Akatsuki class includes the last four (3rd group) of a total of twenty-four special type destroyers , groups 1st to 2nd are referred to as the Fubuki class . These had enough visual and structural differences to be seen as a class of their own. The biggest structural difference to the previous ships was that the propulsion system now had three instead of four steam boilers . This new built-in boiler type was larger and worked with more pressure, which is why it was possible to achieve as much output with three boilers as was previously achieved with four boilers. Optical distinguishing features were a narrower front chimney caused by the new boiler type and a larger bridge structure. Another level was added to this to improve fire control.
In addition, there were weight-saving measures, which is why the displacement was lower than in the Fubuki class. For example, the Hibiki was the first fully welded ship in the Japanese Navy. However, the Akatsuki- class ships still had the same stability problems that characterized the special type and so these had to be remedied accordingly.
The four destroyers were ordered as part of the 1927 construction program and built between 1930 and 1932 at four different shipyards. Due to the London fleet agreement , no further units were built, as this set the standard displacement for destroyers at 1500 ts and only allowed exceptions for flotilla leaders who were allowed to displace 1850 ts.
List of ships
| Name (when planning) |
Name (on commissioning) |
Shipyard | Keel laying | Launch | Commissioning | Whereabouts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Dai-55-Gō Kuchikukan No 55 destroyer |
Akatsuki ( 暁 ) | Sasebo naval shipyard | 17th February 1930 | May 7, 1932 | November 30, 1932 | sunk by naval artillery on November 13, 1942, during the naval battle of Guadalcanal |
|
Dai-56-Gō Kuchikukan number 56 destroyer |
Hibiki ( 響 ) | Maizuru naval shipyard | February 21, 1930 | June 16, 1932 | March 31, 1933 | out of service, April 5, 1947 spoils of war USSR |
|
Dai-57-Gō Kuchikukan number 57 destroyer |
Ikazuchi ( 雷 ) | Uraga shipyard, Yokosuka |
March 7, 1930 | October 22, 1931 | August 15, 1932 | sunk on April 14, 1944 by americans U-boat USS Harder southeast. from Guam |
|
Dai-58-Gō Kuchikukan number 58 destroyer |
Inazuma ( 電 ) | Fujinagata Shipyard, Osaka |
March 7, 1930 | March 25, 1932 | November 15, 1932 | sunk on May 14, 1944 by americans USS Bonefish submarine east of Borneo |
technical description
hull
The hull of an Akatsuki- class destroyer was 118.4 meters long, 10.36 meters wide and had a draft of 3.2 meters with a displacement of 1,706 tons .
drive
It was driven by three oil-fired steam generators - Kampon boilers of the Yarrow type , each housed in a separate room - and two geared turbine sets with a total output of 50,000 hp (36,775 kW ). The power was delivered to two shafts with one screw each . The top speed was 38 knots (70 km / h ). 482 tons of fuel could be bunkered, resulting in a maximum travel distance of 5,000 nautical miles (9,260 km) at 14 knots.
crew
The crew had a strength of 197 men.
Armament
When commissioned, the armament consisted of six 12.7 cm Type 3 guns with a caliber length of 50 in three twin turrets of the B model. These were set up in the boat center line, one in front of the bridge structure and two behind or on the aft deckhouse. The inner tower (tower B) was arranged in such a way that it could overshoot the outer one (so-called excessive elevation). Theoretically, the tower model B was capable of air defense, but the low elevation speed and lack of training prevented it from being used effectively in this role.
For air defense two 13.2-mm machine guns were of the type 93 are available, which were placed on both sides on a platform at the rear chimney. In addition, there were three triple torpedo tube sets in caliber 61 cm for torpedoes of type 8 with nine reserve torpedoes and two drainage racks for eighteen depth charges.
During the conversion phase in 1937/38, the Type 8 torpedoes were replaced by those of the Type 93 , and the number of reserve torpedoes was reduced to only three (one per torpedo tube set). The anti-aircraft equipment was strengthened by replacing the two 13.2 mm type 93 machine guns with four 2.5 cm type 96 machine guns in double mounts.
Due to the strong Allied air forces during the war, the 2.5 cm guns were continuously strengthened. It began with setting up an additional double carriage on a platform in front of the bridge, then placing tower B on land and replacing it with two triple carriage. With the twin mounts on both sides of the aft funnel replaced by triplet mounts, there were now fourteen 2.5 cm guns on board. With the Hibiki , as the last surviving ship, another fourteen individual mounts were added in 1944, which increased the total to twenty-eight guns.
radar
Japanese destroyers were not equipped with radio measurement technology at the beginning of the Pacific War . It was not until the middle of 1943 that the first selected units received the Type 22 radar . This system, which is capable of surveillance of the sea and fire control , which consisted of a double horn - one for sending and one for receiving - was installed in the main mast behind the bridge. Because early Japanese radars were unreliable and their operating personnel poorly trained, commanders tended not to take information from them seriously and to rely on classic reconnaissance methods , such as lookouts with optical devices. This behavior became more and more problematic as the Americans continued to introduce better radar systems and mainly used them for fire control.
In 1944, the surviving destroyers received type 13 devices for air surveillance , which had a long ladder antenna that was usually mounted on the aft mast.
literature
- Harald Fock: Fleet Chronicle - The active warships involved in the two world wars and their whereabouts . Koehlers Verlagsgesellschaft, Hamburg 2000, ISBN 3-7822-0788-2 , p. 173-200 .
- Mike J. Whitley: Destroyer in World War II . Motorbuch Verlag, Stuttgart 1997, ISBN 3-613-01426-2 , p. 189 .
- Hansgeorg Jentschura, Dieter Jung, Peter Mickel: Warships of the Imperial Japanese Navy 1869-1945 . US Naval Institute Press, Annapolis 1977, ISBN 0-87021-893-X , pp. 145 (English).
- Mark Stille: Imperial Japanese Navy Destroyers 1919–45 . tape 1 . Osprey Publishing , Oxford 2013, ISBN 978-1-84908-984-5 , pp. 7–8 and 32–35 (English).
