Shimushu class
 The Shimushu in 1940
|
||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||
The Shimushu class ( Japanese 占 守 型 海防 艦 , Shimushu-gata kaibōkan ) was a class of escort ships ( Kaibōkan ) of the Imperial Japanese Navy , which were used in World War II . The Japanese Navy also referred to the ships as type A class ( Japanese 甲型 海防 艦 , Kō-gata kaibōban ).
Development history and construction
The development of the Shimusha class and thus that of the Kaibōkan goes back to the London fleet agreement of 1930. This led to restrictions in the construction of destroyers (see Hatsuharu class ) and immediately made the Japanese Navy look for ways to bypass them. One possibility was to build ships with 600 or 2000 long tons , no more than four guns over 76 mm, no torpedoes and a maximum speed of 20 knots . The navy therefore decided to take advantage of this opportunity and obtain useful patrol vehicles , the main task of which was to carry out watchkeeping and fishery protection in the Kuril Islands . This would then have freed valuable destroyers for important missions. A use as a mine sweeper and as a security for convoys was planned as a secondary task . For the first time, the design was not developed by the Navy itself - as is usually the case with larger warships, which also involved the assignment of names instead of numbers - but was given to Mitsubishi . It was hoped to get a simple design, but Mitsubishi developed a relatively complex design, which was not suitable for the sectional construction and thus increased the construction times. However, since it was not an important project from the perspective of the Imperial Japanese Navy, it was approved. This became a problem when the Shimushu- class became the base design of the Navy's anti-submarine ships in the Pacific War, and a short construction period became essential.
For budgetary reasons and the low priority, it was not possible to approve the four units of the class prior to the 3rd district building program ( Maru 3 Keikaku ) of 1937. The construction work was awarded to two private and one naval shipyard, which completed the construction contracts by early 1941.
Etorofu sub-class
The fourteen units belonging to the Etorofu class ( Japanese 択 捉 型 海防 艦 , Etorofu-gata kaibōkan ), or modified type A- class, were built as part of the rapid construction program ( Maru Kyū Keikaku ) of 1941 together with sixteen units of the Mikura - Class ordered. This was done because the Navy paid more attention to securing supply convoys in the wake of the emerging war. The fact that the Japanese were of the opinion that providing an additional 30 security units would be enough to protect their maritime trade is surprising. Especially in view of the submarine war that was waged in the Atlantic between the German Navy and the British Royal Navy . Equally incomprehensible are the characteristics of the class, which is mainly intended for securing convoy. Since production should start as soon as possible, the Shimusha class was taken as the basis and built with simplifications. But the design remained too complex for mass production and the inherent weaknesses, such as insufficient speed and insufficient anti-submarine armament, were not remedied.
List of ships
| Construction no. | Surname | Shipyard | Keel laying | Launch | Commissioning | Whereabouts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shimushu class | ||||||
| 9 |
Shimushu ( 占 守 ) |
Mitsui Zosen , Tamano | November 29, 1938 | December 13, 1939 | June 30, 1940 | Spoils of war Soviet Union |
| 10 |
Kunashiri ( 国 後 ) |
NKK shipyard, Tsurumi | March 1, 1939 | May 6, 1940 | October 3, 1940 | Wrecked June 1946 |
| 11 |
Ishigaki ( 石 垣 ) |
Mitsui Zosen, Tamano | August 15, 1939 | April 10, 1940 | February 15, 1941 | sunk on May 31, 1944 by americans Submarine USS Herring (SS-233) , west of the Kuril Islands |
| 12 |
Hachijo ( 八丈 ) |
Sasebo naval shipyard | August 3, 1939 | April 10, 1940 | March 31, 1941 | Wrecked April 1948. |
| Etorofu sub-class | ||||||
| 310 |
Etorofu ( 択 捉 ) |
Hitachi , Sakurajima | February 23, 1942 | January 29, 1943 | May 15, 1943 | War booty USA, broken up in 1947 |
| 311 |
Matsuwa ( 松 輪 ) |
Mitsui Zosen, Tamano | April 20, 1942 | November 13, 1942 | March 23, 1943 | sunk on August 22, 1944 by americans Submarine USS Harder (SS-257), west of Manila |
| 312 |
Sado ( 佐渡 ) |
NKK shipyard, Tsurumi | February 21, 1942 | November 28, 1942 | March 27, 1943 | sunk on August 22, 1944 by americans Submarine USS Haddo (SS-255), west of Manila |
| 313 |
Oki ( 隠 岐 ) |
Uraga shipyard, Yokosuka | February 27, 1942 | October 20, 1942 | March 28, 1943 | War booty, Republic of China in Aug 1947, captured by PLAN , broken up in 1982 |
| 314 |
Mutsure ( 六連 ) |
Hitachi, Sakurajima | July 25, 1942 | April 10, 1943 | July 31, 1943 | sunk on September 2, 1943 by americans U-boat USS Snapper (SS-185), nörtl. from Truk |
| 315 |
Iki ( 壱 岐 ) |
Mitsui Zosen, Tamano | May 2, 1942 | February 5, 1943 | May 31, 1943 | sunk on May 24, 1944 by americans Submarine USS Raton (SS-270), east of Singapore |
| 316 |
Tsushima ( 対 馬 ) |
NKK shipyard, Tsurumi | June 20, 1942 | March 20, 1943 | July 28, 1943 | The spoils of war in the Republic of China in 1947, broken up in 1963 |
| 317 |
Wakamiya ( 若 宮 ) |
Mitsui Zosen, Tamano | July 16, 1942 | April 19, 1943 | August 10, 1943 | sunk on May 24, 1944 by americans USS Gato submarine (SS-212) |
| 318 |
Hirado ( 平 戸 ) |
Hitachi, Sakurajima | November 2, 1942 | June 30, 1943 | September 28, 1943 | sunk on September 12, 1944 by americans USS Growler submarine (SS-215), east of Hainan |
| 319 |
Fukue ( 福 江 ) |
Uraga shipyard, Yokosuka | October 30, 1942 | April 2, 1943 | June 28, 1943 | Spoils of war UK, scrapped |
| 321 |
Amakusa ( 天 草 ) |
Hitachi, Sakurajima | April 5, 1943 | September 30, 1943 | November 20, 1943 | sunk on August 9, 1945 by americans Airplanes, in Onagawa Harbor |
| 323 |
Manju ( 満 珠 ) |
Mitsui Zosen, Tamano | February 15, 1943 | July 31, 1943 | November 30, 1943 | broken up in 1946 |
| 325 |
Kanju ( 干 珠 ) |
Uraga shipyard, Yokosuka | April 8, 1943 | August 7, 1943 | October 30, 1943 | sunk after being hit by a mine on August 15, 1945, off Wonsan |
| 330 |
Kasado ( 笠 戸 ) |
Uraga shipyard, Yokosuka | August 10, 1943 | December 9, 1943 | February 27, 1944 | broken up in 1948 |
| 320 322 324 326 327 328 329 331 332 333 334 335 336 337 338 339 |
planned as Etorofu class, ordered as Mikura class | |||||
technical description
hull
The hull of a Shimushu- class boat was 77.7 meters long, 9.1 meters wide and had a draft of 3.05 meters with a standard displacement of 874 tons . In the case of the units of the Etorofu class, the displacement increased to 884 tons.
drive
It was powered by two diesel engines with a total output of 4,200 PS (3,089 kW ). This power was delivered to a shaft with a screw . The top speed was 19.7 knots (36.5 km / h ). 120 tons of diesel fuel could be bunkered, which led to a maximum travel distance of 8,000 nautical miles (14,816 km) at 16 knots.
crew
The crew had a strength of 150 men.
Armament
When commissioned, the main armament consisted of three 12 cm type 3 guns with a caliber length of 45 . These could shoot a 20.4 kilogram grenade up to 15 kilometers and were installed in three individual mounts. These center pivot mounts had simple shields, which were used for splinter protection, and weighed 8.9 tons. They were set up in the midship line, one on the foredeck and two aft - one on the upper deck and one raised on the deck structure - and came from older destroyers that were out of service or converted into patrol boats . For air defense were four 2.5-cm - machine guns of the type 96 in double carriage is available, which were placed on a platform on both sides of the bridge. Furthermore, a launcher for 18 depth charges on the aft deck .
Due to the strong Allied air forces during the Pacific War, there was an increase in anti-aircraft armament with 2.5 cm guns. For this purpose, an additional triplet mount was set up on a platform in front of the bridge and two platforms were installed between the chimney and the aft mast, which also carried triplet mounts. With the twin mounts on both sides of the bridge replaced by triple mounts, there were now fifteen 2.5 cm guns on board. Furthermore, the number of depth charges carried was increased to 36 in 1942 and to 60 in 1944. An 81 mm mortar was also installed on the bridge .
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 Antisubmarine Escorts 1941–45 . Osprey Publishing , Oxford 2017, ISBN 978-1-4728-1816-4 .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ London Naval Conference 1930. In: navweaps.com. Retrieved May 30, 2020 (English).
- ↑ Type 3 12 cm cannon. In: navweaps.com. Retrieved February 23, 2020 .