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 ten 1st Class

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 ...

in service before and 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 ...

, during which all ten were sunk.

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 Plan. However, design issues with the ''Hatsuharu''-class ships, notably their “top-heavy” design relative to their small

displacement Displacement may refer to: Physical sciences Mathematics and Physics *Displacement (geometry), is the difference between the final and initial position of a point trajectory (for instance, the center of mass of a moving object). The actual path ...

, resulted in extensive modifications, to the point where the final six vessels on order were named as a separate class. The redesign caused the new class to exceed the limitations imposed by the 1930

London Naval Treaty The London Naval Treaty, officially the Treaty for the Limitation and Reduction of Naval Armament, was an agreement between the United Kingdom, Japan, France, Italy, and the United States that was signed on 22 April 1930. Seeking to address is ...

. An additional four vessels were ordered under the ”Circle-Two Naval Expansion Plan of fiscal 1934, and all vessels were completed by 1937. While the process of only giving numbers rather than names has ceased in 1928, these ships also bore the numbers ''Dai-65'' to ''Dai-74''. 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 A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, and with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, su ...

attacks against 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 ...

as it advanced across the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

, 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 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 ...

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 lower and 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 ...

design and the shape and inclination of the funnels. The hull retained the general configuration of the ''Hatsuharu'' class with a long

forecastle The forecastle ( ; contracted as fo'c'sle or fo'c's'le) is the upper deck of a sailing ship forward of the foremast, or, historically, the forward part of a ship with the sailors' living quarters. Related to the latter meaning is the phrase " be ...

with a pronounced flare to improve sea-keeping at high speeds by adding buoyancy and reducing the spray and water coming over the deck, but with a shorter forecastle and longer stern. The same engines were used as on the ''Hatsuharu'' class, and due to their greater displacement and draft, the ''Shiratsuyu''-class could only attain 34 knots. The ''Shiratsuyu'' class were the first Japanese warships to be completed with quadruple torpedo mounts and

telephone A telephone is a telecommunications device that permits two or more users to conduct a conversation when they are too far apart to be easily heard directly. A telephone converts sound, typically and most efficiently the human voice, into e ...

communications to the torpedo station. As with the ''Hatsuharu'' class. the

torpedo launcher 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 were given a protective shield to allow for use in heavy weather and to protect against splinter damage. The last four vessels (those ordered in 1934) differed slightly from their predecessors and resembled more the succeeding ''Asashio'' Class.

Propulsion

The ''Shiratsuyu'' class, as with the previous ''Hatsuharu'' class, carried two sets of

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 ...

geared turbine A steam turbine is a machine that extracts thermal energy from pressurized steam and uses it to do mechanical work on a rotating output shaft. Its modern manifestation was invented by Charles Parsons in 1884. Fabrication of a modern steam turbin ...

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 A pinion is a round gear—usually the smaller of two meshed gears—used in several applications, including drivetrain and rack and pinion systems. Applications Drivetrain Drivetrains usually feature a gear known as the pinion, which may ...

reduction gear A gear train is a mechanical system formed by mounting gears on a frame so the teeth of the gears engage. Gear teeth are designed to ensure the pitch circles of engaging gears roll on each other without slipping, providing a smooth transmission ...

. Each

propeller A propeller (colloquially often called a screw if on a ship or an airscrew if on an aircraft) is a device with a rotating hub and radiating blades that are set at a pitch to form a helical spiral which, when rotated, exerts linear thrust upon ...

had a diameter of and a pitch of . The total horsepower of the ''Shiratsuyu'' class was only compared to the of their ''Fubuki''-class predecessors, but the machinery was significantly lighter and more powerful on a unit basis. The ''Shiratsuyu''s machinery weighed only compared to the of the ''Fubuki'' class, or 396

shaft horsepower Horsepower (hp) is a unit of measurement of power, or the rate at which work is done, usually in reference to the output of engines or motors. There are many different standards and types of horsepower. Two common definitions used today are the ...

per tonne versus 347 shaft horsepower per tonne for the older ships.Lengerer, p. 101 Similarly the three Kampon Type Ro-Gō boilers used in the ''Shiratsuyu''-class ships weighed in comparison to the boilers used in the ''Fubuki'' class, but produced each while the older boilers produced . 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 , just like the older models, but used

superheating In thermodynamics, superheating (sometimes referred to as boiling retardation, or boiling delay) is the phenomenon in which a liquid is heated to a temperature higher than its boiling point, without boiling. This is a so-called ''metastable state ...

to improve efficiency while the older boilers simply used

saturated steam Steam is a substance containing water in the gas phase, and sometimes also an aerosol of liquid water droplets, or air. This may occur due to evaporation or due to boiling, where heat is applied until water reaches the enthalpy of vaporization ...

.Lengerer, p. 102 A single 100 kW turbo-generator was fitted behind the reduction gears in a separate compartment and two 40 kW

diesel generator A diesel generator (DG) (also known as a diesel Genset) is the combination of a diesel engine with an electric generator (often an alternator) to generate electrical energy. This is a specific case of engine generator. A diesel compression- ...

s were located between the propeller shafts. As initially completed the ''Shiratsuyu'' class had a range of at a speed of with of fuel.

Armament

The ''Shiratsuyu''-class destroyers used the same 50

caliber In guns, particularly firearms, caliber (or calibre; sometimes abbreviated as "cal") is the specified nominal internal diameter of the gun barrel Gauge (firearms) , bore – regardless of how or where the bore is measured and whether the f ...

12.7 cm/50 Type 3 naval gun 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 in "X" position was removed on all surviving ships and replaced with two triple Type 96 anti-aircraft guns, while other guns were added so that between 13 and 21 (depending on the individual vessel) of this calibre were eventually carried 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. Four 13 mm guns were also added. For example, of the related ''Hatsuharu'' class mounted ten single 25 guns when she was lost in July 1945. Four license-built Type 93 machine guns were also fitted to ''Hatsushimo'', but these were also of limited utility against modern aircraft. The

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. It was superseded ...

was mounted in quadruple tube ''Type 92'' launchers, derived from the twin tube ''Type 89'' launcher used in the

heavy cruiser The heavy cruiser was a type of cruiser, a naval warship designed for long range and high speed, armed generally with naval guns of roughly 203 mm (8 inches) in caliber, whose design parameters were dictated by the Washington Naval Tr ...

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 (also called duraluminum, duraluminium, duralum, dural(l)ium, or dural) is a trade name for one of the earliest types of age-hardenable aluminium alloys. The term is a combination of '' Dürener'' and ''aluminium''. Its use as a tra ...

to save weight, but these quickly corroded and had to be replaced. "NiCrMo" steel, taken from the air chambers of obsolete torpedoes, 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. Eight reloads were carried, and each tube could be reloaded in twenty-three seconds using the endless wire and winch provided. Because of the weight of the extra guns added, one set of reloads for the torpedo tubes was removed, together with the minelaying and minesweeping gear. By the start of the Pacific War, all ships of the class were using Type 93 torpedoes. Only eighteen

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 initially carried in a rack at the stern, but this increased to thirty-six after the autumn of 1942, with four depth charge throwers. Apparently no

sonar Sonar (sound navigation and ranging or sonic navigation and ranging) is a technique that uses sound propagation (usually underwater, as in submarine navigation) to navigation, navigate, measure distances (ranging), communicate with or detect o ...

hydrophone A hydrophone ( grc, ὕδωρ + φωνή, , water + sound) 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 an electric potenti ...

s were fitted until after the outbreak of the war when the ''Type 93'' sonar and ''Type 93'' hydrophones were mounted.Lengerer, p. 106

Radar

Radar Radar is a detection system that uses radio waves to determine the distance (''ranging''), angle, and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, w ...

was not installed on the surviving ships of this class until late in the war, possibly as late as 1944. Surviving ships were given a ''Type 22'' radar on the foremast, a ''Type 13'' on the mainmast and a ''Type E-27'' radar countermeasures device was carried high on the foremast.

Operational history

None of the ''Shiratsuyu''-class ships survived the Pacific War. The

lead ship The lead ship, name 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 to naval ships and large civilian vessels. Large ships are very complex and may ...

of the class, was sunk northeast of

Mindanao Mindanao ( ) ( Jawi: مينداناو) is the second-largest island in the Philippines, after Luzon, and seventh-most populous island in the world. Located in the southern region of the archipelago, the island is part of an island group of ...

in a collision with the oiler ''Seiyo Maru''. Most of the class were lost to US submarines, with ''Kawakaze'', ''Yudachi'', and ''Murasame'' being lost in surface actions. Only ''Harusame'' fell victim to aircraft. All ships in the class took part in either the

Battle of Midway The Battle of Midway was a major naval battle in the Pacific Theater of World War II that took place on 4–7 June 1942, six months after Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor and one month after the Battle of the Coral Sea. The U.S. Navy under Adm ...

or the Invasion of the Aleutians. was employed in several campaigns, beginning with the invasion of the Philippines. In 1942 she participated in the

Battle of the Java Sea The Battle of the Java Sea ( id, Pertempuran Laut Jawa, ja, スラバヤ沖海戦, Surabaya oki kaisen, Surabaya open-sea battle, Javanese : ꦥꦼꦫꦁꦱꦼꦒꦫꦗꦮ, romanized: ''Perang Segara Jawa'') was a decisive naval battle o ...

and the Battle of Midway. During the

Guadalcanal Campaign The Guadalcanal campaign, also known as the Battle of Guadalcanal and codenamed Operation Watchtower by American forces, was a military campaign fought between 7 August 1942 and 9 February 1943 on and around the island of Guadalcanal in th ...

''Murasame'' played a supporting role in the

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 Second Battle of the Solomon Sea) took place on 24–25 August 1942, and was the third carrier battle of the Pacific ca ...

and the

Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands The Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands, fought during 25–27 October 1942, sometimes referred to as the Battle of Santa Cruz or Third Battle of Solomon Sea, in Japan as the Battle of the South Pacific ( ''Minamitaiheiyō kaisen''), was the fourt ...

and was sunk at the

Battle of Blackett Strait The Battle of Blackett Strait (Japanese: ビラ・スタンモーア夜戦 (Battle of Vila–Stanmore)) was a naval battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II, fought on 6 March 1943 in the Blackett Strait, between Kolombangara and Arundel ...

. was squadron

flagship A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically the fi ...

of Captain

Tameichi Hara was an Imperial Japanese Navy, Imperial Japanese naval commander during the Pacific War and the author of the IJN manual on torpedo attack techniques, notable for his skill in torpedo warfare and night fighting. Hara was the only IJN destroyer ...

through much of 1942–43, and became one of the most famous Japanese destroyers of the war. She survived numerous battles in the Solomons until she was torpedoed and sunk off the Gulf of Siam by the submarine in early 1945.Nishida, Imperial Japanese Navy

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 ...

, 14 November 1933 , 5 April 1935 , 20 August 1936 , data-sort-value="15 June 1944" , Collision 15 June 1944 at , - ! scope="row" , , ja, 時雨, lit=autumn shower, 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 ...

, 9 December 1933 , 18 May 1935 , 7 September 1936 , data-sort-value="24 January 1945" , Torpedoed in Gulf of Siam, 24 January 1945 at , - ! scope="row" , , ja, 村雨, lit=scattered showers, 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 ...

, 1 February 1934 , 20 June 1935 , 7 January 1937 , data-sort-value="6 March 1943" , Sunk in action, 6 March 1943 at , - ! scope="row" , , ja, 夕立, lit=evening thunder shower in summer, label=none , Sasebo Naval Arsenal , 16 October 1934 , 21 June 1936 , 7 January 1937 , data-sort-value="13 November 1942" , Sunk in action 13 November 1942 at , - ! scope="row" , , ja, 春雨, lit=spring shower, 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 ...

, 3 February 1935 , 21 September 1935 , 26 August 1937 , data-sort-value="8 June 1944" , Air attack NW of Manokwari, New Guinea, 8 June 1944 at , - ! scope="row" , , ja, 五月雨, lit=early summer rain, label=none , Uraga Dock Company , 19 December 1934 , 6 July 1935 , 29 January 1937 , data-sort-value="25 August 1944" , Torpedoed near Palau, 25 August 1944 at , - ! scope="row" , , ja, 海風, lit=sea breeze, label=none , Maizuru Naval Arsenal , 4 May 1935 , 27 November 1936 , 31 May 1937 , data-sort-value="1 February 1944" , Torpedoed at Truk Atoll, 1 February 1944 at , - ! scope="row" , , ja, 山風, lit=wind from the hills, label=none , Uraga Dock Company , 25 May 1935 , 21 February 1936 , 30 June 1937 , data-sort-value="25 June 1942" , Torpedoed SE of Yokosuka, 25 June 1942 at , - ! scope="row" , , ja, 江風, lit=wind on the river, label=none , Fujinagata Shipyards , 25 April 1935 , 1 November 1936 , 30 April 1937 , data-sort-value="6 August 1943" , Sunk in action 6 August 1943 at , - ! scope="row" , , ja, 涼風, lit=cool breeze of summer, label=none , Uraga Dock Company , 9 July 1935 , 11 March 1937 , 31 August 1937 , data-sort-value="25 January 1944" , Torpedoed NNW of Pohnpei, 25 January 1944 at

Background

Design

Propulsion

Armament

Radar

Operational history

List of ships

References

Notes

Books

External links