Kagerō-class destroyer

Yukikaze in December 1939.
Class overview
Name: Kagerō class
Operators:
Preceded by: Asashio class
Succeeded by:
In commission:
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:
  • 2,000 long tons (2,032 t) standard
  • 2,500 long tons (2,540 t) battle condition
Length:
  • 118.50 m (388 ft 9 in) full,
  • 116.20 m (381 ft 3 in) waterline
Beam: 10.80 m (35 ft 5 in)
Draught: 3.76 m (12 ft 4 in)
Propulsion:
  • 3 × Kampon water tube boilers,
  • 2 × Kanpon impulse turbines,
  • 2 × shafts, 52,000 shp
Speed: 35.5 knots (40.9 mph; 65.7 km/h)
Complement: 239 (Kagerō, 1939)
Armament:

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 Tang Yan (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

  1. ↑ Chesneau, p. 194
  2. 1 2 Whitley, pp. 200–01
  3. 1 2 Jentschura, Jung & Mickel, p. 148

References

Further reading

External links

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