The Momi class destroyers was a class of twenty one 2nd class destroyer

Destroyer

In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast and maneuverable yet long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against smaller, powerful, short-range attackers. Destroyers, originally called torpedo-boat destroyers in 1892, evolved from...

s of the Imperial Japanese Navy

Imperial Japanese Navy

The Imperial Japanese Navy was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1869 until 1947, when it was dissolved following Japan's constitutional renunciation of the use of force as a means of settling international disputes...

. All were named for plants. Obsolete by the beginning of the Pacific War

Pacific War

The Pacific War, also sometimes called the Asia-Pacific War refers broadly to the parts of World War II that took place in the Pacific Ocean, its islands, and in East Asia, then called the Far East...

, the Momi were relegated to mostly secondary roles, with some vessels serving throughout the war as patrol vessels or high speed transports.

Background

Construction of the medium-sized Momi-class destroyers was authorized as part of the Imperial Japanese Navy's 8-4 Fleet Program

Eight-eight fleet

The was a Japanese naval strategy formulated for the development of the Imperial Japanese Navy in the first quarter of the 20th century, which laid down that the Japanese navy should include eight first-class battleships and eight armoured cruisers or battlecruisers.-History and development:The...

 from fiscal 1918-1920, as an accompaniment to the larger Minekaze-class

Minekaze class destroyer

The was a class of fifteen 1st-class destroyers of the Imperial Japanese Navy. Obsolete by the beginning of the Pacific War, the Minekaze class ships were relegated to mostly secondary roles, serving throughout the war as patrol vessels, high speed transports, target control vessels, and as kaiten...

 with which they shared many common design characteristics. These vessels were produced at a several shipyards around Japan, and when formed into attack squadrons of two to four vessels, made up the backbone of the inter-war Imperial Japanese Navy.

The final seven vessels planned for this series were cancelled, and re-ordered as the new Wakatake class destroyers

Wakatake class destroyer

The was a class of eight 2nd-class destroyers of the Imperial Japanese Navy.-Background:The medium-sized Wakatake-class destroyers were a follow-on to the Momi class destroyer as part of the Imperial Japanese Navy's 8-6 Fleet Program from fiscal 1921 as a lower cost accompaniment to the larger...

 in 1919.

Initial Design

The Momi-class was a development of the Enoki

Enoki class destroyer

The was a class of six destroyers of the Imperial Japanese Navy. As with the previous Momo-class, all were named after trees. As Enoki and Nara were both commissioned on the same day, the class is also referred to as the Nara-class.-Background:...

 second-class destroyers, relying on the same basic hull

Hull (watercraft)

A hull is the watertight body of a ship or boat. Above the hull is the superstructure and/or deckhouse, where present. The line where the hull meets the water surface is called the waterline.The structure of the hull varies depending on the vessel type...

. They were quite small, comparable to Royal Navy

Royal Navy

The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...

 corvette

Corvette

A corvette is a small, maneuverable, lightly armed warship, originally smaller than a frigate and larger than a coastal patrol craft or fast attack craft , although many recent designs resemble frigates in size and role...

s. The design incorporated features discovered on German destroyers captured during World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

, including a lengthened forecastle

Forecastle

Forecastle refers to the upper deck of a sailing ship forward of the foremast, or the forward part of a ship with the sailors' living quarters...

 with a break forming a well deck immediately forward of the bridge

Bridge (ship)

The bridge of a ship is the room or platform from which the ship can be commanded. When a ship is underway the bridge is manned by an OOW aided usually by an AB acting as lookout...

. This arrangement, apparently derived from contemporary torpedo boat

Torpedo boat

A torpedo boat is a relatively small and fast naval vessel designed to carry torpedoes into battle. The first designs rammed enemy ships with explosive spar torpedoes, and later designs launched self-propelled Whitehead torpedoes. They were created to counter battleships and other large, slow and...

 practice, offered the advantage of a low, semi protected area for the forward torpedo tubes albeit at the cost of becoming awash in heavy seas. Initial problems with stability during high speed turns were later corrected by widening the beam and bringing up the waterline.

When compared with the Minekaze-class, the smaller size necessitated a reduction from four boiler

Boiler

A boiler is a closed vessel in which water or other fluid is heated. The heated or vaporized fluid exits the boiler for use in various processes or heating applications.-Materials:...

s to three and the adoption of lighter-weight Parsons

Parsons Marine Steam Turbine Company

Parsons Marine Steam Turbine Company was a British engineering company based in Wallsend, North England, on the River Tyne.-History:The company was founded by Charles Algernon Parsons in 1897 with £500,000 of capital, and specialised in building the steam turbine engines that he had invented for...

 direct-drive turbine

Turbine

A turbine is a rotary engine that extracts energy from a fluid flow and converts it into useful work.The simplest turbines have one moving part, a rotor assembly, which is a shaft or drum with blades attached. Moving fluid acts on the blades, or the blades react to the flow, so that they move and...

s, resulting in a drop from 38500hp

Horsepower

Horsepower is the name of several units of measurement of power. The most common definitions equal between 735.5 and 750 watts.Horsepower was originally defined to compare the output of steam engines with the power of draft horses in continuous operation. The unit was widely adopted to measure the...

 in Minekaze-class to 21500 hp in Momi-class. In addition, bunkerage was lowered to 275 tons oil fuel.

As gear turbine technology was not yet perfected, the navy experimented with a variety of power plants on the Momi-class:

Turbines	Equipment for
Brown-Curtis John Brown & Company John Brown and Company of Clydebank was a pre-eminent Scottish marine engineering and shipbuilding firm, responsible for building many notable and world-famous ships, such as the , the , the , the , the , and the...  turbines	Kaya, Warabi and Tade
Parsons Parsons Marine Steam Turbine Company Parsons Marine Steam Turbine Company was a British engineering company based in Wallsend, North England, on the River Tyne.-History:The company was founded by Charles Algernon Parsons in 1897 with £500,000 of capital, and specialised in building the steam turbine engines that he had invented for...  impulse turbines	Hishi and Hasu
Escher Wyss & Cie Zoelly turbines	Sumire
Mitsubishi Shipbuilding Mitsubishi Heavy Industries , or MHI, is a Japanese company. It is one of the core companies of Mitsubishi Group.-History:In 1870 Yataro Iwasaki, the founder of Mitsubishi took a lease of Government-owned Nagasaki Shipyard. He named it Nagasaki Shipyard & Machinery Works, and started the shipbuilding business on a full scale...  High-pressure impulse turbine and low-pressure reaction turbine	Kaki
Kampon turbines	all others

As with the Minekaze-class, the Type 3 120 mm 45 caliber naval gun

Type 3 120 mm 45 caliber naval gun

The Type 3 120 mm 45 caliber naval gun was a Japanese naval artillery and coast defense gun used on destroyers and submarines of the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War I and World War II...

s were mounted high, with the Q gun removed, and as opposed to the Minekaze, only one set of double of torpedo tube

Torpedo tube

A torpedo tube is a device for launching torpedoes. There are two main types of torpedo tube: underwater tubes fitted to submarines and some surface ships, and deck-mounted units installed aboard surface vessels...

s fitted aft.

Early operational history

Due to their shallow draft, the Momi-class destroyers proved to be excellent for operation in coastal waters, and were used along the coast of China

China

Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

 to support amphibious landings during the Second Sino-Japanese War

Second Sino-Japanese War

The Second Sino-Japanese War was a military conflict fought primarily between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. From 1937 to 1941, China fought Japan with some economic help from Germany , the Soviet Union and the United States...

.

A number of the Momi-class vessels were lost or disposed during the interwar period. Momi herself was turned over to trials in 1932, while Warabi was run down by on August 27, 1927 off Maizuru, Kyoto

Maizuru, Kyoto

is a city located in Kyōto, Japan, on an inlet of the Sea of Japan.As of 2008, the city has an estimated population of 89,626 and the density of 264 persons per km². The total area is .The city was founded on May 27, 1943....

. Kaya and Nashi were scrapped in 1939.
Also in 1939, Aoi, Fuji, Hagi, Hishi, Kiku, Satsuki, Tade, Tsuta and Yomogi were removed from front line combat service and converted into patrol vessels.

In 1940, Ashi, Kaki, Nine, Sumire, and Take were disarmed, and re-rated as training ships.

The surviving Momi-class destroyers (Tsuga, Hasu and Kuri) had their amidships 4.7" (120 mm) gun replaced by two triple Type 96 25 mm AT/AA Guns from 1942 – 1943. Tsuga was sunk by air attack January 15, 1945. Hasu was surrendered and scrapped at the end of the war. Kuri was surrendered (but sank after striking a mine

Naval mine

A naval mine is a self-contained explosive device placed in water to destroy surface ships or submarines. Unlike depth charges, mines are deposited and left to wait until they are triggered by the approach of, or contact with, an enemy vessel...

 off Korea

Korea

Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...

 on October 8, 1945.

As patrol boats

Beginning in 1939, nine Momi-class vessels were re-classified as patrol boats and converted for escort duty, having one boiler removed (dropping their power to 12000 ihp and speed to just 18 kn (21.9 mph; 35.3 km/h). and their torpedo tubes, minesweeping gear, and one gun mount replaced by six Type 96 25 mm AT/AA Guns, 36 depth charges, and depth charge throwers. As well, their names were dropped and they were simply numbered.

During 1941-42, these vessels were modified again, to carry and launch a Toku Daihatsu class landing craft

Toku Daihatsu class landing craft

The Toku Daihatsu Class or 17m landing craft was a type of landing craft, used by the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II. It was a larger design of the Daihatsu Class landing craft, with a bow ramp that was lowered to disembark cargo upon riding up onto the beach...

, by having the aft smoke stack removed and the stern modified with a sloping deck to the waterline, as well as providing accommodation for 150 naval infantry troops

Imperial Japanese Navy Land Forces

Imperial Japanese Navy Land Forces of World War II originated with the Special Naval Landing Forces, and eventually consisted of the following:...

. All of these vessels except ex-Fuji (as Patrol Boat #36) were sunk during the course of the Pacific War

Pacific War

The Pacific War, also sometimes called the Asia-Pacific War refers broadly to the parts of World War II that took place in the Pacific Ocean, its islands, and in East Asia, then called the Far East...

.

List of Ships

Kanji	Name	Builder	Laid down	Launched	Completed	Fate
樅	Momi	Yokosuka Naval Arsenal Yokosuka Naval Arsenal was one of four principal naval shipyards owned and operated by the Imperial Japanese Navy, and was located at Yokosuka city, Kanagawa prefecture on Tokyo Bay, south of Yokohama... , Japan Japan Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...	23 January 1918	10 June 1919	27 December 1919	Decommissioned 1 April 1932; renamed ; used for trials to 1936.
榧	Kaya	Yokosuka Naval Arsenal Yokosuka Naval Arsenal was one of four principal naval shipyards owned and operated by the Imperial Japanese Navy, and was located at Yokosuka city, Kanagawa prefecture on Tokyo Bay, south of Yokohama... , Japan	23 December 1918	10 June 1919	28 March 1920	Decommissioned 1 February 1940 and scrapped.
梨	Nashi	Kawasaki Shipyards Kawasaki Shipbuilding Corporation -External links:*... , Kobe Kobe , pronounced , is the fifth-largest city in Japan and is the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture on the southern side of the main island of Honshū, approximately west of Osaka... , Japan	2 February 1918	26 August 1919	10 December 1919	Decommissioned 1 February 1940 and scrapped
竹	Take	Kawasaki Shipyards Kawasaki Shipbuilding Corporation -External links:*... , Kobe, Japan	2 December 1918	26 August 1919	25 December 1919	Decommissioned 1 February 1940; converted to training ship; scuttled as breakwater at Akita port in 1948.
柿	Kaki	Uraga Dock Company Uraga Dock Company was a major privately owned shipyard in Uraga, Japan, which built numerous warships for the Imperial Japanese Navy.-History:Uraga Dock Company was founded by Enomoto Takeaki in 1869. A shipyard had already existed in Uraga from the end of the Edo period... , Japan	27 February 1919	20 October 1919	2 August 1920	Decommissioned 1 April 1940; converted to training ship; re-converted to auxiliary ship Auxiliary ship An auxiliary ship is a naval ship which is designed to operate in any number of roles supporting combatant ships and other naval operations. Auxiliaries are not primary combatants, although they may have some limited combat capacity, usually of a self defensive nature.Auxiliaries are extremely...   23 February 1945; scrapped 1948.
栂	Tsuga	Ishikawajima Shipyards, Japan	5 March 1919	17 April 1920	20 June 1920	Sunk off Taiwan [23.33N, 119.33E] 15 January 1945 in air attack; struck 10 March 1945
楡	Nire	Kure Naval Arsenal Kure Naval Arsenal was one of four principal naval shipyards owned and operated by the Imperial Japanese Navy. -History:The Kure Naval District was established at Kure, Hiroshima in 1889, as the second of the naval districts responsible for the defense of the Japanese home islands along with the establishment of the... , Japan	5 September 1919	22 December 1919	31 March 1920	Decommissioned 1 February 1940; converted to training ship, re-converted to auxiliary ship Auxiliary ship An auxiliary ship is a naval ship which is designed to operate in any number of roles supporting combatant ships and other naval operations. Auxiliaries are not primary combatants, although they may have some limited combat capacity, usually of a self defensive nature.Auxiliaries are extremely...   15 December 1944; scrapped 1948.
栗	Kuri	Kure Naval Arsenal Kure Naval Arsenal was one of four principal naval shipyards owned and operated by the Imperial Japanese Navy. -History:The Kure Naval District was established at Kure, Hiroshima in 1889, as the second of the naval districts responsible for the defense of the Japanese home islands along with the establishment of the... , Japan	5 December 1919	19 March 1920	30 April 1920	mined off Pusan 8 October 1945; struck 25 October 1945
菊	Kiku	Kawasaki Shipyards Kawasaki Shipbuilding Corporation -External links:*... , Kobe, Japan	20 January 1920	13 October 1920	10 December 1920	Converted to 1 April 1940; sunk at Palau [07.30N, 134.30E] 30 March 1944 by air attack; struck 10 May 1944
葵	Aoi	Kawasaki Shipyards Kawasaki Shipbuilding Corporation -External links:*... , Kobe, Japan	1 April 1920	9 November 1920	10 December 1920	Converted to 1 April 1940; grounded 23 December 1941 at Wake Island [19.17N, 166.37E]; struck 15 January 1942
萩	Hagi	Uraga Dock Company Uraga Dock Company was a major privately owned shipyard in Uraga, Japan, which built numerous warships for the Imperial Japanese Navy.-History:Uraga Dock Company was founded by Enomoto Takeaki in 1869. A shipyard had already existed in Uraga from the end of the Edo period... , Japan	28 February 1920	29 October 1920	20 April 1921	Converted to 1 April 1940; grounded 23 December 1941 at Wake Island [19.17N, 166.37E]; struck 15 January 1942
藤	Fuji	Fujinagata Shipyards Fujinagata Shipyards was a shipyard and railroad car manufacturer in Osaka, Japan.-History:Fujinagata claimed to have been founded in 1689, making it one of the oldest shipbuilders in Japan. Originally called Hyōgo-ya, and located in central Osaka, it was contracted in 1854 by officials representing the Tokugawa... , Japan	6 December 1919	27 November 1920	31 May 1921	Converted to 1 April 1940; surrendered to Netherlands Netherlands The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...  on July 1946 at Surabaya Surabaya Surabaya is Indonesia's second-largest city with a population of over 2.7 million , and the capital of the province of East Java... ; scrapped 10-August 1946.
薄	Susuki	Ishikawajima Shipyards, Japan	3 May 1920	21 February 1921	25 May 1921	Converted to 1 April 1940; sunk 6 March 1943 in collision with Yakaze Japanese destroyer Yakaze was a destroyer, built for the Imperial Japanese Navy immediately following World War I. Advanced for their time, these ships served as first-line destroyers through the 1930s, but were considered obsolescent by the start of the Pacific War.-History:...  off Kavien; written off 10 January 1945
菱	Hishi	Uraga Dock Company Uraga Dock Company was a major privately owned shipyard in Uraga, Japan, which built numerous warships for the Imperial Japanese Navy.-History:Uraga Dock Company was founded by Enomoto Takeaki in 1869. A shipyard had already existed in Uraga from the end of the Edo period... , Japan	10 November 1920	9 May 1921	23 March 1922	Converted to 1 April 1940; sunk off Borneo [01.24S, 117.02E] by USS Pope 24 January 1942; struck 10 April 1942
蓮	Hasu	Uraga Dock Company Uraga Dock Company was a major privately owned shipyard in Uraga, Japan, which built numerous warships for the Imperial Japanese Navy.-History:Uraga Dock Company was founded by Enomoto Takeaki in 1869. A shipyard had already existed in Uraga from the end of the Edo period... , Japan	2 March 1921	8 December 1921	31 July 1922	retired 12 October 1945; scuttled as breakwater in Fukui, 1946
蕨	Warabi	Fujinagata Shipyards Fujinagata Shipyards was a shipyard and railroad car manufacturer in Osaka, Japan.-History:Fujinagata claimed to have been founded in 1689, making it one of the oldest shipbuilders in Japan. Originally called Hyōgo-ya, and located in central Osaka, it was contracted in 1854 by officials representing the Tokugawa... , Japan	12 October 1920	28 September 1921	19 December 1921	Sunk 24 August 1927 in collision with 　off Cape Miho; struck 15 September 1927
蓼	Tade	Fujinagata Shipyards Fujinagata Shipyards was a shipyard and railroad car manufacturer in Osaka, Japan.-History:Fujinagata claimed to have been founded in 1689, making it one of the oldest shipbuilders in Japan. Originally called Hyōgo-ya, and located in central Osaka, it was contracted in 1854 by officials representing the Tokugawa... , Japan	20 December 1920	15 March 1920	31 July 1922	Converted to 1 April 1940; torpedoed S of Yonaguni [23.45N, 122.45E] by 23 April 1943; struck 1 July 1943
菫	Sumire	Ishikawajima Shipyards, Japan	24 November 1920	14 December 1921	31 March 1923	Decommissioned 1 February 1940; converted to training ship, re-converted to auxiliary ship Auxiliary ship An auxiliary ship is a naval ship which is designed to operate in any number of roles supporting combatant ships and other naval operations. Auxiliaries are not primary combatants, although they may have some limited combat capacity, usually of a self defensive nature.Auxiliaries are extremely...   23 February 1945; scrapped 1948.
蔦	Tsuta	Kawasaki Shipyards Kawasaki Shipbuilding Corporation -External links:*... , Kobe, Japan	16 October 1920	9 May 1921	30 June 1921	Converted to 1 April 1940; sunk at Lae [06.45S, 147E] by air attack 2 September 1942; struck 10 February 1943
葦	Ashi	Kawasaki Shipyards Kawasaki Shipbuilding Corporation -External links:*... , Kobe, Japan	15 November 1920	3 September 1921	29 October 1921	Decommissioned 1 February 1940; converted to training ship, re-converted to auxiliary ship Auxiliary ship An auxiliary ship is a naval ship which is designed to operate in any number of roles supporting combatant ships and other naval operations. Auxiliaries are not primary combatants, although they may have some limited combat capacity, usually of a self defensive nature.Auxiliaries are extremely...   15 December 1944; modified to Shinyo (suicide boat) mother ship 1945, scrapped 1947.
蓬	Yomogi	Ishikawajima Shipyards, Japan	26 February 1921	14 March 1922	19 August 1922	Converted to 1 April 1940: torpedoed Bashi Strait [20.12N, 121.51E] by USS Atule 25 November 1944; struck 10 March 1945

Books

• Watts, A. J. Japanese Warships of World War II, Ian Allen, London, 1967.
• Fitzsimons, Bernard, editor. "Momi", Volume 18, Illustrated Encyclopedia of Twentieth Century Weapons and Warfare. London: Phoebus Publishing Company, 1978.

External links

• http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http://www.geocities.com/bullhead262/ijn/dd/momi.htm&date=2009-10-25+16:43:04
• http://www.combinedfleet.com/Kuchikukan.htm
• Model Art Extra No.340, Drawings of Imperial Japanese Naval Vessels Part-1, Model Art Co. Ltd. (Japan), October 1989, Book code 08734-10