''Etorofu'' was the
lead ship of
her class of fourteen ships built for the
Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II.
Background and description
The ''Etorofu'' class was an improved version of the preceding with a greater emphasis on
anti-submarine warfare. The ships measured
overall, with a
beam
Beam may refer to:
Streams of particles or energy
*Light beam, or beam of light, a directional projection of light energy
**Laser beam
*Particle beam, a stream of charged or neutral particles
**Charged particle beam, a spatially localized grou ...
of and a
draft of .
[Chesneau, p. 205] They displaced at
standard load and at deep load. The ships had two
diesel engines, each driving one
propeller shaft, which were rated at a total of for a speed of . The ships had a range of at a speed of .
[Jentschura, Jung & Mickel, p. 187]
The main armament of the ''Etorofu'' class consisted of three
Type 3 guns in single mounts, one
superfiring
Superfiring armament is a naval military building technique in which two (or more) turrets are located in a line, one behind the other, with the second turret located above ("super") the one in front so that the second turret can fire over the ...
pair aft and one mount forward of the
superstructure
A superstructure is an upward extension of an existing structure above a baseline. This term is applied to various kinds of physical structures such as buildings, bridges, or ships.
Aboard ships and large boats
On water craft, the superstruct ...
. They were built with four
Type 96 anti-aircraft guns in two twin-gun mounts, but the total was increased to 15 guns by August 1943. 36
depth charge
A depth charge is an anti-submarine warfare (ASW) weapon. It is intended to destroy a submarine by being dropped into the water nearby and detonating, subjecting the target to a powerful and destructive Shock factor, hydraulic shock. Most depth ...
s were stowed aboard initially, but this later increased by August 1943 to 60 depth charges with a
Type 97 trench mortar[ and six depth charge throwers. They received Type 22 and Type 13 radars and Type 93 sonar in 1943–44.
]
Construction and career
''Etorofu'' was launched by Hitachi, Sakurajima, on 29 January 1943 and completed on 25 March. She served on repatriation duties until 1947 when she was turned over to the United States Navy on 5 August and broken up at Kure beginning on 13 October.[
]
Notes
References
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Etorofu
World War II naval ships of Japan
Etorofu-class escort ships
1943 ships
Ships built by Hitachi Zosen Corporation