Kamikaze class (1922)
Asanagi in December 1924
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The Kamikaze class ( Japanese 神 風 型 駆 逐 艦 , Kamikaze-gata kuchikukan ) was a class of nine destroyers of the Imperial Japanese Navy , which were built after the First World War and were still used in the Second World War . It was the second class of that name, after the destroyer class of 1905 .
Development history and construction
The Kamikaze class was the second construction lot of the Minikaze class and due to some changes they are listed as a separate class, although these were practically identical to the last three ships of this class. These changes were a slightly increased ship's breadth and thus displacement and draft to improve stability. This was done to compensate for the additional weight of the now closed bridge. Due to the increase in weight with the same drive power, the speed was reduced by 2 knots to only 37.3.
Eleven units were ordered from four private and two state shipyards as part of the second eight-eight fleet program ( Hachihachi Kantai ) in 1921 and 1922, respectively , but two of these were annulled as early as 1922 as a result of the Washington fleet agreement. The Navy originally planned that the ships should be named, but upon completion they would be given numbers based on the projected large number of warships that the naval program was expected to build. However, this proved extremely unpopular with the crews and was a constant source of confusion in communication. That is why names were given on August 1, 1928, but not the ones originally planned.
List of ships
Surname | Shipyard | Keel laying | Launch | Commissioning | Whereabouts |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
kamikaze | Mitsubishi , Nagasaki | December 15, 1921 | September 25, 1922 | December 28, 1925 | scrapped from October 1947 |
Asakaze | February 16, 1922 | December 8, 1922 | June 16, 1923 | sunk on August 23, 1944 by americans Submarine, USS Haddo | |
Harukaze | Maizuru naval shipyard | May 16, 1922 | December 18, 1922 | May 31, 1923 | after mines and bombs no longer operational, from 1947 scrapped |
Matsukaze | December 2, 1922 | October 30, 1923 | April 5, 1924 | sunk on June 9, 1944 by americans Submarine, USS Swordfish | |
Hatakaze | July 3, 1923 | March 15, 1924 | August 30, 1924 | sunk on January 15, 1945 after an air raid | |
Oite | Uraga shipyard, Yokosuka | March 16, 1923 | November 27, 1924 | October 30, 1925 | sunk on February 17, 1944 after an air raid |
Hayate | Ishikawajima Zosen , Tokyo | November 11, 1922 | March 23, 1925 | December 21, 1925 | sunk on December 11, 1941 by coastal artillery fire |
Asanagi | Fujinagata Shipyard, Osaka | March 5, 1923 | April 21, 1924 | December 29, 1924 | sunk on May 22, 1944 by americans Submarine, USS Pollack |
Yūnagi | Sasebo naval shipyard | September 17, 1923 | April 23, 1924 | April 24, 1925 | sunk on August 25, 1944 by americans Submarine, USS Picuda |
Ōkaze Tsumikaze |
Orders canceled |
Name history
When planning | At launch | From April 24, 1924 | From August 1, 1928 |
Kiyokaze ( 清風 ) or Soyokaze ( 微風 ) |
Dai-1 kuchikukan ( 第一 駆 逐 艦 ), 1st destroyer |
Dai-1-Gō kuchikukan ( 第一 号 駆 逐 艦 ), No.1 destroyer |
Kamikaze ( 神 風 ) |
Karukaze ( 軽 風 ) |
Dai-3 kuchikukan ( 第三 駆 逐 艦 ), 3rd destroyer |
Dai-3-Gō kuchikukan ( 第三 号 駆 逐 艦 ), number 3 destroyer |
Asakaze ( 朝 風 ) |
Makaze ( 真 風 ) |
Dai-5 kuchikukan ( 第五 駆 逐 艦 ), 5th destroyer |
Dai-5-Gō kuchikukan ( 第五 号 駆 逐 艦 ), No.5 destroyer |
Harukaze ( 春風 ) |
Dai-7 kuchikukan ( 第七 駆 逐 艦 ), 7th destroyer |
Dai-7-Gō kuchikukan ( 第七 号 駆 逐 艦 ), number 7 destroyer |
Matsukaze ( 松風 ) | |
Dai-9 kuchikukan ( 第九 駆 逐 艦 ), 9th destroyer |
Dai-9-Gō kuchikukan ( 第九 号 駆 逐 艦 ), number 9 destroyer |
Hatakaze ( 旗 風 ) | |
Dai-11-Gō kuchikukan ( 第十一 号 駆 逐 艦 ), number 11 destroyer |
Oite ( 追風 ) | ||
Dai-13-Gō kuchikukan ( 第十三 号 駆 逐 艦 ), number 13 destroyer |
Hayate ( 疾風 ) | ||
Dai-15-Gō kuchikukan ( 第十五 号 駆 逐 艦 ), number 15 destroyer |
Asanagi ( 朝 凪 ) | ||
Dai-17-Gō kuchikukan ( 第十七 号 駆 逐 艦 ), number 17 destroyer |
Yūnagi ( 夕 凪 ) | ||
Ōkaze ( 大風 ) | |||
Tsumikaze ( 旋風 ) |
technology
hull
The hull of a Kamikaze- class destroyer was 102.5 meters long, 9.1 meters wide and had a draft of 2.9 meters with an operational displacement of 1,747 tons .
drive
The drive was carried out by two turbine sets of Parson with four oil-fired steam generators - boilers of Kampon type - with which a total output of 38,500 horsepower (28,317 kW has been achieved). The power was delivered to two shafts with one screw each . The top speed was 37.3 knots (69 km / h ). 426 tons of fuel could be bunkered, resulting in a maximum driving distance of 3,400 nautical miles (6,297 km) at 14 knots.
Armament
When commissioned, the armament consisted of four 12-cm guns with a caliber length of 45 Type 3 in three individual mounts with simple shields, which were set up in the boat center line. For anti-aircraft were two 7.7-mm machine guns Type 92 in individual carriage is available, which were placed on both sides on the bridge. Furthermore, three twin torpedo tube sets with a caliber of 53.3 cm and eighteen depth charges were on board as torpedo armament , which were deployed through two drainage rails and two type 81 launchers .
Changes to the armament on a larger scale were carried out from 1941 and 42. In which the aft 12 cm gun was brought ashore together with the aft torpedo tube set and the anti-aircraft armament was reinforced on ten 2.5 cm automatic cannons type 96 in two single and four double mounts. Due to the strong Allied air forces during the Pacific War , there was a continuous reinforcement of the 2.5 cm guns. From 1944 between thirteen and twenty 2.5 cm guns were on board.
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 radar. In the case of the destroyers of the Kamikaze class, this was one for air surveillance of type 13 , which had a long conductor antenna installed in the main mast. Due to the fact that early Japanese radar devices were unreliable and their operating personnel were 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 trust became more and more problematic as the Americans introduced better and better radar systems and used them primarily for fire control.
literature
- Mike J. Whitley: Destroyer in World War II . Motorbuch Verlag, Stuttgart 1997, ISBN 3-613-01426-2 , p. 183-184 .
- 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. 142-143 (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 12–16 (English).