was one of fourteen s built for the

Imperial Japanese Navy The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN; Kyūjitai: Shinjitai: ' 'Navy of the Greater Japanese Empire', or ''Nippon Kaigun'', 'Japanese Navy') was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945, when it was dissolved following Japan's surrender ...

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 Anti-submarine warfare (ASW, or in older form A/S) is a branch of underwater warfare that uses surface warships, aircraft, submarines, or other platforms, to find, track, and deter, damage, or destroy enemy submarines. Such operations are t ...

. The ships measured

overall Overalls, also called bib-and-brace overalls or dungarees, are a type of garment usually used as protective clothing when working. The garments are commonly referred to as a "pair of overalls" by analogy with "pair of trousers". Overalls were ...

, 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 Draft, The Draft, or Draught may refer to: Watercraft dimensions * Draft (hull), the distance from waterline to keel of a vessel * Draft (sail), degree of curvature in a sail * Air draft, distance from waterline to the highest point on a vessel ...

of .Chesneau, p. 205 They displaced at

standard Standard may refer to: Symbols * Colours, standards and guidons, kinds of military signs * Standard (emblem), a type of a large symbol or emblem used for identification Norms, conventions or requirements * Standard (metrology), an object th ...

load and at deep load. The ships had two

diesel engine The diesel engine, named after Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which ignition of the fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to mechanical compression; thus, the diesel engine is a so-call ...

s, each driving one

propeller shaft A drive shaft, driveshaft, driving shaft, tailshaft (Australian English), propeller shaft (prop shaft), or Cardan shaft (after Girolamo Cardano) is a component for transmitting mechanical power and torque and rotation, usually used to connect ...

, 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

''Matsuwa'' was launched by Mitsui, Tumano, on 19 April 1942 and completed on 1 April 1943. On 2 August 1944, she was torpedoed and sunk by the submarine in Hidai Bay.

Notes

References

* *

External links

Matsuwa on combinedfleet.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Matsuwa World War II naval ships of Japan Ships sunk by American submarines Etorofu-class escort ships 1942 ships Maritime incidents in August 1944 Ships built by Mitsui Engineering and Shipbuilding Shipwrecks of the Philippines Shipwrecks in the South China Sea