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 differentl ...
of two
destroyers 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 surrend ...
.
Background
Although unable to obtain funding in fiscal year 1907 for additional s, which were expensive due to their large size and imported
turbine engine
A gas turbine, also called a combustion turbine, is a type of continuous flow internal combustion engine. The main parts common to all gas turbine engines form the power-producing part (known as the gas generator or core) and are, in the directi ...
s, the Imperial Japanese Navy was also unwilling to purchase three additional destroyers as recommended by the government. In a compromise, the Navy agreed to purchase two medium size ships instead.
Both were designed and built 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 ...
in Japan.
Design
The ''Sakura''-class ships were half the displacement of the previous ''Umikaze'' class but with the same basic hull design. Externally, the design went from four to 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 ...
s, which was a first for the Japanese Navy; however, internally the troublesome
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
Parsons
Parsons may refer to:
Places
In the United States:
* Parsons, Kansas, a city
* Parsons, Missouri, an unincorporated community
* Parsons, Tennessee, a city
* Parsons, West Virginia, a town
* Camp Parsons, a Boy Scout camp in the state of Washingt ...
steam turbine engines of the ''Umikaze'' class were replaced by standard
coal-fired
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen.
Coal is formed when dea ...
triple expansion steam engines, which gave better reliability and fuel consumption. The lower rated power of gave the vessels a maximum speed of , however, better fuel consumption equated to longer range, which was what the Imperial Japanese Navy needed.
Armament was similar to that of the ''Umikaze'' class, with one
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 ...
, mounted on the
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 ...
deck forward of the
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 ...
, and four
s, mounted one on either side and two towards the stern of the ship, with two twin 450-mm
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, s ...
es launchers.
Operational history
Japan had fifty destroyers operational at the start of
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
. Although intended for coastal operation, with the ''Umikaze''-class destroyers too short in range to operate overseas and with all previous classes of destroyers too small and/or obsolete for front-line service, the two ''Sakura''-class destroyers were Japan's most advanced front-line destroyers during the opening stages of the war. Both were deployed extensively overseas as part of Japan's contribution to the war effort under the terms of the
Anglo-Japanese Alliance.
The ''Sakura''-class ships were re-rated as second-class destroyers on 28 August 1912, and served until 1 April 1932 when both were retired.
[Nishida, Imperial Japanese Navy]
Ships
References
Notes
Books
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External links
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{{WWI Japanese ships
Destroyer classes