Asashio class
 The Asashio
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The Asashio class ( Japanese朝 潮 型 駆 逐 艦, Asashio-gata kuchikukan ) was a class of ten destroyers of the Imperial Japanese Navy , which were used in World War II .
Development history and construction
The 1930 London Fleet Treaty limited the standard displacement of destroyers, except for flotilla leaders , to 1,500 ts. This made it the Imperial Japanese Navy no longer possible destroyer of special type ( Fubuki - and Akatsuki class ) to build and so they developed the contractually agreed Hatsuharu - or Shiratsuyu class . But the admiral staff was not completely satisfied with the specifications of these destroyers, as they had come at the expense of speed and firepower compared to the special type . Due to the limitations of the fleet contract, however, it was considered impossible to improve these specifications without increasing displacement. But since the government had decided not to extend the contract, which would expire on December 31, 1936, the planning of a new class of destroyers could begin, which would only be put into service after the contract expired.
Ten units were ordered from two state and three private shipyards as part of the 2nd construction program ( Maru 2 Keikaku ) from 1934. These were laid down between September 1935 and March 1937 and put into service until the end of June 1939.
List of ships
| Surname | Shipyard | Keel laying | Launch | Commissioning | Whereabouts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Asashio ( 朝 潮 ) |
Sasebo Naval Shipyard, Sasebo | September 7, 1935 | December 16, 1936 | August 31, 1937 | sunk on March 4, 1943, by air raid |
|
Ōshio ( 大潮 ) |
Maizuru Naval Shipyard, Maizuru | August 5, 1935 | April 19, 1937 | October 31, 1937 | sunk on February 20, 1943, by the American submarine USS Albacore, northwest of the island of Manus |
|
Michishio ( 満 潮 ) |
Fujinagata Shipyard, Osaka | November 5, 1935 | March 15, 1937 | October 31, 1937 | Sunk on October 25, 1944, by the USS Hutchins in the sea and air battle in the Leyte Gulf |
|
Arashio ( 荒 潮 ) |
Kawasaki , Kobe | October 1, 1935 | May 26, 1937 | December 20, 1937 | sunk on March 4, 1943, by air raid |
|
Natsugumo ( 夏雲 ) |
Sasebo Naval Shipyard, Sasebo | July 1, 1936 | May 26, 1937 | February 10, 1938 | Sunk on October 12, 1942, by air raid northwest of Savo Island during the Battle of Guadalcanal |
|
Yamagumo ( 山 雲 ) |
Fujinagata Shipyard, Osaka | November 4, 1936 | July 24, 1937 | January 15, 1938 | sunk on October 25, 1944, by torpedo hits during the sea and air battle in the Gulf of Leyte |
|
Minegumo ( 峯 雲 ) |
Fujinagata Shipyard, Osaka | March 22, 1936 | November 4, 1937 | April 30, 1938 | Sunk on March 6, 1943, by air raid in the Kula Gulf |
|
Asagumo ( 朝雲 ) |
Kawasaki, Kobe | December 23, 1936 | November 5, 1937 | March 31, 1938 | Sunk on October 25, 1944, by the USS Denver in the sea and air battle in the Leyte Gulf |
|
Arare ( 霰 ) |
Maizuru Naval Shipyard, Maizuru | March 5, 1937 | November 16, 1937 | April 15, 1939 | Sunk on July 5, 1942, by the American submarine USS Growler off Kiska Island |
|
Kasumi (霞 ) |
Uraga shipyard, Yokosuka | December 1, 1936 | November 18, 1937 | June 28, 1939 | sunk on April 7, 1945, by air raid during Operation Ten-gō |
technology
hull
The hull of an Asahio- class destroyer was 118.26 meters long, 10.35 meters wide and had a draft of 3.69 meters with an operational displacement of 2,408 tons . The crew consisted of 200 officers, NCOs and men.
drive
It was driven by two turbine sets with simple toothed gears with three oil-fired steam generators - Kampon-type boilers , each housed in a separate room - 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 35 knots (65 km / h ). 508 tons of fuel could be bunkered, resulting in a maximum travel distance of 5,700 nautical miles (10,556 km) at 15 knots.
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 C model. Which 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, so-called elevated end position. For air defense were four 2.5-cm guns in double carriage is available, which were placed on both sides on a platform at the rear chimney. Furthermore, were the two torpedo armament Vierffachtorpedorohrsätze caliber 61 cm for torpedoes of the type 93 with eight spare torpedoes and two drain racks for eighteen depth charges on board.
Due to the strong Allied air forces during the Pacific War , there was a continuous reinforcement of the 2.5 cm guns. It started with setting up an additional double carriage on a platform in front of the bridge, then putting 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. From 1944 another fourteen single mounts were added, which increased the total to twenty-eight guns.
radar
Japanese destroyers were not equipped with radio measurement technology from 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. Due to the fact that early Japanese radar devices were unreliable and their operating personnel were poorly trained, commanders tended not to take any information from them seriously and to rely on classic reconnaissance methods such as lookouts with optical devices. This trust became more and more problematic as the Americans introduced better and better radar systems and used them primarily 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 .
- Mark Stille: Imperial Japanese Navy Destroyers 1919–45 . tape 1 . Osprey Publishing , Oxford 2013, ISBN 978-1-84908-984-5 , pp. 7-8 .
- Mark Stille: Imperial Japanese Navy Destroyers 1919–45 . tape 2 . Osprey Publishing , Oxford 2013, ISBN 978-1-84908-987-6 , pp. 5-99 .
- Mike J. Whitley: Destroyer in World War II . Motorbuch Verlag, Stuttgart 1997, ISBN 3-613-01426-2 , p. 193-194 .
