Shiratsuyu class destroyer
Encyclopedia
The was a class
Ship class
A ship class is a group of ships of a similar design. This is distinct from a ship-type, which might reflect a similarity of tonnage or intended use. For example, the is a nuclear aircraft carrier of the Nimitz class....
of ten 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...
in service before and during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
Background
The initial six Shiratsuyu class destroyers were modified versions of the , and had been originally planned as the final six vessels of that class under the ”Circle-One” Naval Expansion Plan1st Naval Armaments Supplement Programme (Japan, 1931)
The , otherwise known as the "Circle One" plan was the first of four expansion plans of the Imperial Japanese Navy between 1930 and the start of World War II.-Background:...
.
However, design issues with the Hatsuharu class ships, notably their “top-heavy” design relative to their small displacement
Displacement (fluid)
In fluid mechanics, displacement occurs when an object is immersed in a fluid, pushing it out of the way and taking its place. The volume of the fluid displaced can then be measured, as in the illustration, and from this the volume of the immersed object can be deduced .An object that sinks...
, resulted in extensive modifications, to the point where the final six vessels on order were named as a separate class. An additional four vessels were ordered under the ”Circle-Two Naval Expansion Plan
2nd Naval Armaments Supplement Programme (Japan, 1934)
The otherwise known as the "Circle Two" Plan was the second of four expansion plans of the Imperial Japanese Navy between 1930 and the start of World War II.-Background:...
of fiscal 1934, and all vessels were completed by 1937.
As with the Hatsuharu-class, the Shiratsuyu-class destroyers were designed to accompany the Japanese main striking force and to conduct both day and night torpedo
Torpedo
The modern torpedo is a self-propelled missile weapon with an explosive warhead, launched above or below the water surface, propelled underwater towards a target, and designed to detonate either on contact with it or in proximity to it.The term torpedo was originally employed for...
attacks against the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
as it advanced across the Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
, according to Japanese naval strategic projections. Despite being one of the most powerful classes of destroyers in the world at the time of their completion, none survived 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...
.
Design
In general layout, the Shiratsuyu-class vessels closely resembled the Ariake-sub-class, or final version of the Hatsuharu-class, differing only in the more compact bridgeBridge (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...
design and the shape and inclination of the funnels. The hull retained the general configuration of the Hatsuharu class with a long 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 pronounced flare to improve sea-keeping at high speeds by adding buoyancy and reducing the spray and water coming over the deck.
The Shiratsuyu-class were the first Japanese warships to be completed with quadruple torpedo mounts and telephone
Telephone
The telephone , colloquially referred to as a phone, is a telecommunications device that transmits and receives sounds, usually the human voice. Telephones are a point-to-point communication system whose most basic function is to allow two people separated by large distances to talk to each other...
communications to the torpedo station. As with the Hatsuharu-class. the torpedo launchers were given a protective shield to allow for use in heavy weather and to protect against splinter damage.
Propulsion
The Shiratsuyu-class, as with the previous Hatsuharu-class, carried two sets of Kampon geared turbineSteam turbine
A steam turbine is a mechanical device that extracts thermal energy from pressurized steam, and converts it into rotary motion. Its modern manifestation was invented by Sir Charles Parsons in 1884....
s, one for each shaft. Each set consisted one low-pressure and one high-pressure turbine, plus a cruise turbine connected to the high-pressure turbine. The LP and HP turbines were connected to the propeller shaft by a two-pinion
Pinion
A pinion is a round gear used in several applications:*usually the smallest gear in a gear drive train, although in the case of John Blenkinsop's Salamanca, the pinion was rather large...
reduction gear. Each propeller had a diameter of 3.05 m (10 ft) and a pitch of 3.7 m (12.1 ft). The total horsepower of the Shiratsuyu-class was only 42000 hp compared to the 42000 hp of their Fubuki-class predecessors, but the machinery was significantly lighter and more powerful on a unit basis. The Shiratsuyu's machinery weighed only 106 tonne compared to the 144 tonne of the Fubuki-class, or 396 shaft horsepower per tonne versus 347 shaft horsepower per tonne for the older ships.
Similarly the three Kampon Type Ro-Gō boilers used in the Shiratsuyu-class ships weighed 50 tonne in comparison to the 51 tonne boilers used in the Fubuki-class, but produced 14000 hp each while the older boilers produced 12500 hp. This gave a ratio of 3.6 kg per shaft horsepower for the Shiratsuyu-class compared to the 4.1 kg per shaft horsepower of their predecessors. The newer design of boilers initially used steam pressurized to 20 bars (290.1 psi), just like the older models, but used superheating
Superheating
In physics, superheating is the phenomenon in which a liquid is heated to a temperature higher than its boiling point, without boiling...
to improve efficiency while the older boilers simply used saturated steam
Saturated steam
In thermodynamics, the state of saturation of a fluid indicates that the fluid is at its boiling point temperature. This term can be applied in several ways:*Saturated liquid: fully in the liquid state but is about to vaporize....
.
A single 100 kW turbo-generator was fitted behind the reduction gears in a separate compartment and two 40 kW diesel generator
Diesel generator
A diesel generator is the combination of a diesel engine with an electrical generator to generate electrical energy....
s were located between the propeller shafts. As initially completed the Shiratsuyu-class had a range of 4000 nautical miles (7,408 km) at a speed of 18 knots (35.3 km/h) with 460 tonne of fuel.
Armament
The Shiratsuyu-class destroyers used the same 50 caliber 12.7 cm/50 Type 3 naval gun12.7 cm/50 Type 3 naval gun
The 12.7 cm/50 Type 3 naval gun was a medium calibre naval gun of the Imperial Japanese Navy used during World War II. It was the standard weapon for Japanese destroyers between 1928 and 1940...
as the Fubuki-class, but all turrets could elevate to 75° to give the main guns a minimal ability to engage aircraft. During the war the single turret was removed on all surviving ships and replaced with from 13 to 21 (depending on the individual vessel) 25 mm (0.984251968503937 in) Type 96 anti-aircraft guns in double and triple mounts. Although these powered mounts were unsatisfactory because their traverse and elevation speeds were too slow to engage high-speed aircraft more single mounts were fitted to ships in the last year of the war.
For example. mounted ten single 25 guns when she was sunk in July 1945. Four license-built Hotchkiss 13.2 mm (0.519685039370079 in) Type 93 machine gun
Machine gun
A machine gun is a fully automatic mounted or portable firearm, usually designed to fire rounds in quick succession from an ammunition belt or large-capacity magazine, typically at a rate of several hundred rounds per minute....
s were also fitted to Hatsushimo, but these were also of limited utility against modern aircraft.
The 61 cm Type 90 torpedo
61 cm Type 90 torpedo
The 61 cm Type 90 torpedo was a surface-fired torpedo used by the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II. It was used in the s and in most cruisers, including the , , , and heavy cruisers after refits during the 1930s...
was mounted in quadruple tube Type 92 launchers, derived from the twin tube Type 89 launcher used in the heavy cruiser
Heavy cruiser
The heavy cruiser was a type of cruiser, a naval warship designed for long range, high speed and an armament of naval guns roughly 203mm calibre . The heavy cruiser can be seen as a lineage of ship design from 1915 until 1945, although the term 'heavy cruiser' only came into formal use in 1930...
s. Shields were fitted to both the torpedo mounts and lockers to protect them from the weather and from strafing aircraft. Initially the shields were made from Duralumin
Duralumin
Duralumin is the trade name of one of the earliest types of age-hardenable aluminium alloys. The main alloying constituents are copper, manganese, and magnesium. A commonly used modern equivalent of this alloy type is AA2024, which contains 4.4% copper, 1.5% magnesium, 0.6% manganese and 93.5%...
to save weight, but these quickly corroded and had to be replaced. "NiCrMo" steel, taken from the air chambers of obsolete torpedoes, 3 mm (0.118110236220472 in) in thickness, was chosen for the new shields to save weight. It was traversed by an electro-hydraulic system and could traverse 360° in twenty-five seconds. If the backup manual system was used the time required increased to two minutes. Each tube could be reloaded in twenty-three seconds using the endless wire and winch provided.
Only eighteen depth charge
Depth charge
A depth charge is an anti-submarine warfare weapon intended to destroy or cripple a target submarine by the shock of exploding near it. Most use explosives and a fuze set to go off at a preselected depth in the ocean. Depth charges can be dropped by either surface ships, patrol aircraft, or from...
s were initially carried in a rack at the stern, but this increased to thirty-six after the autumn of 1942. Apparently no sonar
Sonar
Sonar is a technique that uses sound propagation to navigate, communicate with or detect other vessels...
or hydrophone
Hydrophone
A hydrophone is a microphone designed to be used underwater for recording or listening to underwater sound. Most hydrophones are based on a piezoelectric transducer that generates electricity when subjected to a pressure change...
s were fitted until after the outbreak of the war when the Type 93 sonar and Type 93 hydrophones were mounted.
Radar
RadarRadar
Radar is an object-detection system which uses radio waves to determine the range, altitude, direction, or speed of objects. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, weather formations, and terrain. The radar dish or antenna transmits pulses of radio...
was not installed on the surviving ships of this class until late in the war, possibly as late as 1944. They were given a Type 22 radar on the foremast, a Type 13 on the mainmast and a Type E-27 radar countermeasures
Electronic countermeasures
An electronic countermeasure is an electrical or electronic device designed to trick or deceive radar, sonar or other detection systems, like infrared or lasers. It may be used both offensively and defensively to deny targeting information to an enemy...
device was carried high on the foremast.
Operational history
None of the Shiratsuyu-class ships survived the Pacific War. The lead shipLead ship
The lead ship or class leader is the first of a series or class of ships all constructed according to the same general design. The term is applicable military ships and larger civilian craft.-Overview:...
of the class, was sunk northeast of Mindanao
Mindanao
Mindanao is the second largest and easternmost island in the Philippines. It is also the name of one of the three island groups in the country, which consists of the island of Mindanao and smaller surrounding islands. The other two are Luzon and the Visayas. The island of Mindanao is called The...
in a collision with the oiler Seiyo Maru. Most of the class were lost by US submarines, and Kawakaze, Yudachi, and Murasame being lost in surface actions. Only Harusame fell victim to aircraft.
was employed in several campaigns, beginning with the invasion of the Philippines. In 1942 she participated in the Battle of the Java Sea
Battle of the Java Sea
The Battle of the Java Sea was a decisive naval battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II, that sealed the fate of the Netherlands East Indies....
and the Battle of Midway
Battle of Midway
The Battle of Midway is widely regarded as the most important naval battle of the Pacific Campaign of World War II. Between 4 and 7 June 1942, approximately one month after the Battle of the Coral Sea and six months after Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor, the United States Navy decisively defeated...
. During the Guadalcanal Campaign
Guadalcanal campaign
The Guadalcanal Campaign, also known as the Battle of Guadalcanal and codenamed Operation Watchtower by Allied forces, was a military campaign fought between August 7, 1942 and February 9, 1943 on and around the island of Guadalcanal in the Pacific theatre of World War II...
Murasame played a supporting role in the Battle of the Eastern Solomons
Battle of the Eastern Solomons
The naval Battle of the Eastern Solomons The naval Battle of the Eastern Solomons The naval Battle of the Eastern Solomons (also known as the Battle of the Stewart Islands and, in Japanese sources, as the , took place on 24–25 August 1942, and was the third carrier battle of the Pacific campaign...
and the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands
Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands
The Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands, 26 October 1942, sometimes referred to as the Battle of Santa Cruz or in Japanese sources as the , was the fourth carrier battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II and the fourth major naval engagement fought between the United States Navy and the Imperial...
and was sunk at the Battle of Kolombangara
Battle of Kolombangara
The Battle of Kolombangara was a naval battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II, fought on the night of 12/13 July 1943, off Kolombangara in the Solomon Islands.-Background:...
.
was squadron flagship
Flagship
A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, reflecting the custom of its commander, characteristically a flag officer, flying a distinguishing flag...
of Captain Tameichi Hara
Tameichi Hara
was an Imperial Japanese naval commander during the Pacific War and the author of the IJN manual on torpedo attack techniques, famous for his high skill .-Early life:...
through much of 1942-43, and became one of the most famous Japanese destroyers of the war. She survived numerous battles in the Solomons (including being the sole survivor of the Battle off of Kolombangara), until she was torpedoed and sunk off the Gulf of Siam by in early 1945.
List of ships
| Ship | Shipyard | Laid down | Launched | Completed | Fate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 白露 | Sasebo Naval Arsenal Sasebo Naval Arsenal was one of four principal naval shipyards owned and operated by the Imperial Japanese Navy. -History:The Sasebo Naval District was established at Sasebo, Nagasaki in 1886, as the third of the naval districts responsible for the defense of the Japanese home islands. After the establishment of the... |
14 November 1933 | 5 April 1935 | 20 August 1936 | Collision 15 June 1944 | |
| 時雨 | 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... |
9 December 1933 | 18 May 1935 | 7 September 1936 | Sunk in action 24 January 1945 | |
| 村雨 | 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... |
1 February 1934 | 20 June 1935 | 7 January 1937 | Sunk in action, 6 March 1943 | |
| 夕立 | Sasebo Naval Arsenal | 16 October 1934 | 21 June 1936 | 7 January 1937 | Sunk in action 13 November 1942 | |
| 五月雨 | Uraga Dock Company | 19 December 1934 | 6 July 1935 | 29 January 1937 | Sunk in action 26 August 1944 | |
| 春雨 | Uraga Dock Company | 3 February 1935 | 21 September 1935 | 26 August 1937 | Sunk in action 8 June 1944 | |
| 山風 | Uraga Dock Company | 25 May 1935 | 21 February 1936 | 30 June 1937 | Sunk in action 23 June 1942 | |
| 江風 | Fujinagata Shipyards | 25 April 1935 | 1 November 1936 | 30 April 1937 | Sunk in action 6 August 1943 | |
| 海風 | Maizuru Naval Arsenal Maizuru Naval Arsenal was one of four principal naval shipyards owned and operated by the Imperial Japanese Navy. -History:The Maizuru Naval District was established at Maizuru, Kyoto in 1889, as the fourth of the naval districts responsible for the defense of the Japanese home islands. After the establishment of the... |
4 May 1935 | 27 November 1936 | 31 May 1937 | Sunk in action 1 February 1944 | |
| 涼風 | Uraga Dock Company | 9 July 1935 | 11 March 1937 | 31 August 1937 | Sunk in action 25 January 1944 | |