The were a

class Class or The Class may refer to: Common uses not otherwise categorized * Class (biology), a taxonomic rank * Class (knowledge representation), a collection of individuals or objects * Class (philosophy), an analytical concept used differentl ...

of twelve

destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, manoeuvrable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against powerful short range attackers. They were originally developed in ...

s of 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 ...

. All were given traditional poetic names of the months of the year by the

Lunar calendar A lunar calendar is a calendar based on the monthly cycles of the Moon's phases (synodic months, lunations), in contrast to solar calendars, whose annual cycles are based only directly on the solar year. The most commonly used calendar, the Gre ...

or phases of the moon. Some authors consider the and ''Mutsuki''-class destroyers to be extensions of the earlier .

Background

With the imposition of the

Washington Naval Treaty The Washington Naval Treaty, also known as the Five-Power Treaty, was a treaty signed during 1922 among the major Allies of World War I, which agreed to prevent an arms race by limiting naval construction. It was negotiated at the Washington Nav ...

limiting the number and size of capital warships, increased emphasis was placed by the Imperial Japanese Navy on the quantity and firepower of its destroyer fleet to counter what was perceived to be the growing threat from the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

. The ''Mutsuki''-class destroyers were an improved version of the ''Kamikaze'' class destroyers and were ordered under the 1923 fiscal budget. Along with the ''Minekaze'' and ''Kamikaze'' classes, the ''Mutsuki''-class ships formed the backbone of Japanese destroyer formations throughout the twenties and thirties. The ''Minekaze'' and ''Kamikaze'' classes were withdrawn from front line service and reassigned to secondary duties towards the end of the 1930s, but the ''Mutsuki''s were retained as first line destroyers due to their range and their more powerful torpedo armament. All saw combat during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, and none survived the war. Initially, the ''Mutsuki''-class ships had only hull numbers due to the projected large number of warships the Japanese navy expected to build through the

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 stipulated that the navy should include eight first-class battleships and eight armoured cruisers or b ...

plan. This proved to be extremely unpopular with the crews and was a constant source of confusion in communications. In August 1928, names were assigned.

Design

The ''Mutsuki''-class destroyers were based on the same hull design as the previous ''Kamikaze'' class, except with a double curvature configuration of the bow, a feature to improve seaworthiness which became a standard in all later Japanese destroyers. The engines utilized four

Kampon The was the externally operating division of the Ministry of the Navy of Japan responsible for the administration of naval vessel construction. From 1923 onward, it took on the role of a research institution for the research and development of n ...

boilers running two-shaft geared

turbine A turbine ( or ) (from the Greek , ''tyrbē'', or Latin ''turbo'', meaning vortex) is a rotary mechanical device that extracts energy from a fluid flow and converts it into useful work. The work produced by a turbine can be used for generating e ...

s at 38,500 shp, yielding a rated speed of , although subsequently modifications increased displacement, and correspondingly reduced speed to 33 knots. After the Fourth Fleet Incident of September 1935, during which many ships in the Imperial Japanese Navy were damaged by a

typhoon A typhoon is a mature tropical cyclone that develops between 180° and 100°E in the Northern Hemisphere. This region is referred to as the Northwestern Pacific Basin, and is the most active tropical cyclone basin on Earth, accounting for a ...

while on training exercises, weaknesses in the ''Mutsuki''-class were addressed by retrofitting with a strengthened, more compact,

bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...

, with raked smokestacks, and with redesigned watertight shields on the torpedo mounts. With these new shields torpedoes could be worked in all weather conditions, thus extending the useful life of the class. In 1942, had a boiler removed and her aft stack was reduced in size – she was the only ship of the class so modified. had a similar reduction to her forward funnel; again, she was the only ship of the class so adapted. Between September 1942 and December 1943, had her stern modified to facilitate the launching and recovery of landing barges. She was the only ship of the class to be modified as a destroyer transport.

Armament

The ''Mutsuki''-class destroyers were built with the same

main battery A main battery is the primary weapon or group of weapons around which a warship is designed. As such, a main battery was historically a gun or group of guns, as in the broadsides of cannon on a ship of the line. Later, this came to be turreted ...

as the ''Kamikaze''-class, consisting of four

Type 3 120 mm 45 caliber naval gun 12 cm/45 3rd Year Type naval gun was a Japanese naval gun and coast defense gun used on destroyers, and torpedo boats of the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II. Design and development The 12 cm/45 gun designed in 1895 was an i ...

s in single open mounts, exposed to the weather except for a small shield. These were located one forward, one aft, and two amidships, and two Type 92 7.7 mm anti-aircraft machine guns, one on either side of the bridge. However, the main difference from the ''Kamikaze'' was the use of two triple

torpedo tube A torpedo tube is a cylindrical 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 (also referred to as torpedo launchers) installed aboa ...

s instead of the previous three double launchers. The newly developed

Type 8 torpedo Type may refer to: Science and technology Computing * Typing, producing text via a keyboard, typewriter, etc. * Data type, collection of values used for computations. * File type * TYPE (DOS command), a command to display contents of a file. * Ty ...

es had greater range and larger warhead than previous torpedoes in the Japanese inventory, but were soon superseded by the famous Type 93 "Long Lance" oxygen-propelled torpedoes during World War II. Also, for the first time on a Japanese destroyer, a reload was carried for each tube. The ''Mutsuki''-class was also equipped with two Type 81

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 ...

launchers in the stern, with a total of 18 depth charges. After the start of the

Pacific War The Pacific War, sometimes called the Asia–Pacific War, was the theater of World War II that was fought in Asia, the Pacific Ocean, the Indian Ocean, and Oceania. It was geographically the largest theater of the war, including the vast ...

, anti-aircraft capabilities were enhanced at the expense of surface warfare capabilities and speed. However, there was no standard modification for the class during the war. Some ships immediately received Type 93 13 mm AA Guns mounted in front of the bridge and abaft the aft stack. From 1941 to 1942, many ships lost one or two of their aft guns in favor of up to ten Type 96 25mm AA Guns. Of the surviving members of the class in 1943, four had their aft bank of torpedo tubes removed to reduce weight and to permit storage of cargo. The three ships that survived into late 1944 (, , and ), had their suite of anti-aircraft guns increased to 16 and 22 Type 96 guns in single and dual mounts. ''Satsuki'' was fitted with a Type 13 radar in February 1944.

Operational history

The ''Mutsuki'' class formed the 5th and 6th Destroyer Squadrons. ''Mutsuki'' and ''Kisaragi'' participated in the

Battle of Wake Island The Battle of Wake Island was a battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II, fought on Wake Island. The assault began simultaneously with the attack on Pearl Harbor naval and air bases in Hawaii on the morning of 8 December 1941 (7 December ...

at the start of the war, during which time ''Kisaragi'' was lost due to aircraft bombardment. The remaining eleven vessels participated in the invasions of the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

and

Netherlands East Indies The Dutch East Indies, also known as the Netherlands East Indies ( nl, Nederlands(ch)-Indië; ), was a Dutch colony consisting of what is now Indonesia. It was formed from the nationalised trading posts of the Dutch East India Company, which ...

. In the subsequent

Solomon Islands campaign The Solomon Islands campaign was a major campaign of the Pacific War of World War II. The campaign began with Japanese landings and occupation of several areas in the British Solomon Islands and Bougainville, in the Territory of New Guinea, du ...

surviving ships were exposed to considerable danger as fast transports in “

Tokyo Express The Tokyo Express was the name given by Allied forces to the use of Imperial Japanese Navy ships at night to deliver personnel, supplies, and equipment to Japanese forces operating in and around New Guinea and the Solomon Islands during the P ...

” missions in trying to re-supply island garrisons. ''Mutsuki'', ''Nagatsuki,'' ''Kikuzuki'', ''Mikazuki'' and ''Mochizuki'' were lost due to air attack in various battles in the Solomons. Surviving vessels participated in the

New Guinea campaign The New Guinea campaign of the Pacific War lasted from January 1942 until the end of the war in August 1945. During the initial phase in early 1942, the Empire of Japan invaded the Australian-administered Mandated Territory of New Guinea (23 Jan ...

, mostly in the role of “Tokyo Express” transports. ''Yayoi'' was lost in an air attack off New Guinea and ''Fumizuki'' in

Operation Hailstone Operation Hailstone ( ja, トラック島空襲, Torakku-tō Kūshū, lit=airstrike on Truk Island), 17–18 February 1944, was a massive United States Navy air and surface attack on Truk Lagoon conducted as part of the American offensive drive ...

at Truk. In the final stages of the war, ''Uzuki'' was lost to US PT-boats, ''Satsuki'' and ''Yūzuki'' to air attacks and ''Minazuki'' to submarine torpedoes in the Philippines. None of the ''Mutsuki''-class destroyers survived the war.Brown. Warship ''Losses of World War Two''

List of ships

} , ,

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 ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

, style="text-align: right;" , 21 May 1924 , style="text-align: right;" , 23 Jul 1925 , style="text-align: right;" , 25 Mar 1926 , sunk in air attack in Solomon Islands , 25 Aug 1942; struck 1 Oct 1942 , - ! scope="row" , , ''Dai-21'' , ja, 如月, lit=February, label=none , ,

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 Prefecture in 1889, as the fourth of the naval districts responsible for the defense ...

, Japan , style="text-align: right;" , 3 Jun 1924 , style="text-align: right;" , 5 Jun 1925 , style="text-align: right;" , 21 Dec 1925 , combat loss off Wake Island , 11 Dec 1941; struck 15 Jan 1942 , - ! scope="row" , , ''Dai-23'' , ja, 弥生, lit=March, label=none , ,

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 ...

, Japan , style="text-align: right;" , 11 Jan 1924 , style="text-align: right;" , 11 Jul 1925 , style="text-align: right;" , 28 Aug 1926 , sunk in air attack in Solomon Islands , 11 Sep 1942; struck 20 Oct 1942 , - ! scope="row" , , ''Dai-25'' , ja, 卯月, lit=April, label=none , , Ishikawajima Shipyards, Japan , style="text-align: right;" , 11 Jan 1924 , style="text-align: right;" , 15 Oct 1925 , style="text-align: right;" , 14 Sep 1926 , Sunk Ormoc Bay , 12 Dec 1944; struck 10 Jan 1945 , - ! scope="row" , , ''Dai-27'' , ja, 皐月, lit=May, label=none , ,

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 cont ...

, Japan , style="text-align: right;" , 1 Dec 1923 , style="text-align: right;" , 25 Mar 1925 , style="text-align: right;" , 15 Nov 1925 , sunk in air attack at Manila Bay , 21 Sep 1944; struck 10 Nov 1944 , - ! scope="row" , , ''Dai-28'' , ja, 水無月, lit=June, label=none , ,

, Japan , style="text-align: right;" , 24 Mar 1925 , style="text-align: right;" , 25 May 1926 , style="text-align: right;" , 22 Mar 1927 , Torpedoed in Celebes Sea , 6 Jun 1944; struck 10 Aug 1944 , - ! scope="row" , , ''Dai-29'' , ja, 文月, lit=July, label=none , , Fujinagata Shipyards, Japan , style="text-align: right;" , 20 Oct 1924 , style="text-align: right;" , 16 Feb 1926 , style="text-align: right;" , 3 Jul 1926 , sunk in air attack at Truk , 18 Feb 1944; struck 31 Mar 1944 , - ! scope="row" , , ''Dai-30'' , ja, 長月, lit=September, label=none , , Ishikawajima Shipyards, Japan , style="text-align: right;" , 16 Apr 1925 , style="text-align: right;" , 6 Oct 1926 , style="text-align: right;" , 30 Apr 1927 , combat loss in central Solomons , 6 Jul 1943; struck 1 Nov 1943 , - ! scope="row" , , ''Dai-31'' , ja, 菊月, lit=Chrysanthemum Moon, label=none , , Maizuru Naval Arsenal, Japan , style="text-align: right;" , 15 Jun 1925 , style="text-align: right;" , 15 May 1926 , style="text-align: right;" , 20 Nov 1926 , sunk in air attack at Tulagi , 4 May 1942; struck 25 May 1942; Later salvaged by USS ''Menominee'' (AT-73), 6 Oct 1943 , - ! scope="row" , , ''Dai-32'' , ja, 三日月, lit=Crescent Moon, label=none , , Sasebo Naval Arsenal, Japan , style="text-align: right;" , 21 Aug 1925 , style="text-align: right;" , 12 Jul 1926 , style="text-align: right;" , 5 May 1927 , sunk in air attack at Cape Gloucester , 29 Jul 1943; struck 15 Oct 1943 , - ! scope="row" , , ''Dai-33'' , ja, 望月, lit=Full Moon, label=none , , Uraga Dock Company, Japan , style="text-align: right;" , 23 Mar 1926 , style="text-align: right;" , 28 Apr 1927 , style="text-align: right;" , 31 Oct 1927 , sunk in air attack in central Solomons , 24 Oct 1943; struck 5 Jan 1944 , - ! scope="row" , , ''Dai-34'' , ja, 夕月, lit=Evening Moon, label=none , , Fujinagata Shipyards, Japan , style="text-align: right;" , 27 Nov 1926 , style="text-align: right;" , 4 Mar 1927 , style="text-align: right;" , 25 Jul 1927 , sunk in air attack at Cebu , 12 Dec 1944; struck 10 Jan 1945

References

Notes

Books

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External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mutsuki-class destroyer Destroyer classes World War II destroyers of Japan