The was 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 differently ...
of four
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 ...
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 I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...
.
Background
The ''Isokaze''-class destroyers were designed as part of the first phase of the ''
Hachi-hachi Kantai'' program of the Imperial Japanese Navy. With the commissioning of the new high speed
battleship
A battleship is a large armour, armored warship with a main artillery battery, battery consisting of large caliber guns. It dominated naval warfare in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
The term ''battleship'' came into use in the late 1 ...
s and , escort vessels with equally high speed and blue ocean capabilities were required.
Four vessels were built, with the order split between
Kure Naval Arsenal,
Kawasaki Shipyards
is the shipbuilding subsidiary of Kawasaki Heavy Industries. It produces primarily specialized commercial vessels, including LNG carriers, LPG carriers, container ships, bulk carriers, oil tankers, as well as high speed passenger jetfoils. In a ...
in
Kobe
Kobe ( , ; officially , ) is the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture Japan. With a population around 1.5 million, Kobe is Japan's seventh-largest city and the third-largest port city after Tokyo and Yokohama. It is located in Kansai region, whi ...
and
Mitsubishi Shipyards in
Nagasaki
is the capital and the largest city of Nagasaki Prefecture on the island of Kyushu in Japan.
It became the sole port used for trade with the Portuguese and Dutch during the 16th through 19th centuries. The Hidden Christian Sites in the ...
.
Design
The ''Isokaze''-class ships were a slightly larger and updated version of the previous . Externally, the design went to a three
smokestack
A chimney is an architectural ventilation structure made of masonry, clay or metal that isolates hot toxic exhaust gases or smoke produced by a boiler, stove, furnace, incinerator, or fireplace from human living areas. Chimneys are typ ...
profile, with a curved, rather than straight bow.
Internally, the engines were replaced with
heavy fuel oil
Heavy Fuel Oil (HFO) is a category of fuel oils of a tar-like consistency. Also known as bunker fuel, or residual fuel oil, HFO is the result or remnant from the distillation and cracking process of petroleum. For this reason, HFO is contaminate ...
-fired
steam 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 tu ...
engines. Two vessels (''Amatsukaze'' and ''Tokitsukaze'') used Brown-Curtis turbine engines, and the other two (''Isokaze'', ''Hamakaze'') used Parsons turbine engines. Advances in turbine design and construction permitted more reliable operation than previously with the ''Umikaze''. The rated power of gave the vessels a high speed of , and a range of at ; however, the engines could not be run continuously at over , which still considerably limited performance.
Armament was increased over the previous classes, with four
QF 4.7 inch Gun Mk I - IV QF may stand for:
* Qantas, an airline of Australia (IATA code QF)
* Qatar Foundation, a private, chartered, non-profit organization in the state of Qatar
* Quality factor, in physics and engineering, a measure of the "quality" of a resonant system ...
, pedestal-mounted along the centerline of the vessel, two in front of the smokestacks and two to the
stern
The stern is the back or aft-most part of a ship or boat, technically defined as the area built up over the sternpost, extending upwards from the counter rail to the taffrail. The stern lies opposite the bow, the foremost part of a ship. Or ...
. The number of
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, ...
es was increased to three launchers, each with a pair of 533 mm torpedoes. Anti-aircraft protection was provided by four
machine gun
A machine gun is a fully automatic, rifled autoloading firearm designed for sustained direct fire with rifle cartridges. Other automatic firearms such as automatic shotguns and automatic rifles (including assault rifles and battle rifles ...
s.
Operational history
The ''Isokaze''-class destroyers were completed in time to serve in the very final stages of
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...
.
''Tokitsukaze'' broke in two and sank off of
Miyazaki Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyūshū. Miyazaki Prefecture has a population of 1,073,054 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of 7,735 km2 (2,986 sq mi). Miyazaki Prefecture borders Ōita Prefecture to the north, Ku ...
,
Kyūshū
is the third-largest island of Japan's five main islands and the most southerly of the four largest islands ( i.e. excluding Okinawa). In the past, it has been known as , and . The historical regional name referred to Kyushu and its surround ...
in 1918. The wreck was raised and repaired at the
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 defens ...
, and although re-commissioned as a first class destroyer, was used thereafter as a training vessel at the
Imperial Japanese Navy Academy The was a school established to train line officers for the Imperial Japanese Navy. It was originally located in Nagasaki, moved to Yokohama in 1866, and was relocated to Tsukiji, Tokyo in 1869. It moved to Etajima, Hiroshima in 1888. Student ...
at
Etajima
, also called , ''Nomijima'', ''Nomi Island'', or is an island in Hiroshima Bay located in southwestern Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan. The mess with island name originates from the ancient (and possibly legendary) strait at now town .
Geography
Th ...
.
[Friedman, p. 243]
All ''Isokaze''-class ships were retired on 1 April 1935.
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Ships
References
Notes
Books
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{{WWI Japanese ships
Destroyer classes