Japanese destroyer Tsuga (1920)

The Japanese destroyer Tsuga (栂) was one of 21 Momi-class destroyers built for the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) in the late 1910s. She spent most of the Pacific War patrolling and escorting convoys in and around Chinese waters, during which the ship participated in the Battle of Hong Kong in December 1941. Tsuga was sunk by American carrier aircraft in early 1945.

Sister ship Kuri at anchor, 1937
History
Empire of Japan
Name: Tsuga
Builder: Ishikawajima, Tokyo
Laid down: 5 March 1919
Launched: 17 April 1920
Completed: 20 July 1920
Stricken: 10 March 1945
Fate: Sunk by American aircraft, 15 January 1945
General characteristics as built
Type: Momi-class destroyer
Displacement:
  • 864 t (850 long tons) (normal)
  • 1,036 t (1,020 long tons) (deep load)
Length:
  • 83.8 m (275 ft) (pp)
  • 85.3 m (280 ft) (o/a)
Beam: 7.9 m (26 ft)
Draft: 2.4 m (8 ft)
Installed power:
Propulsion: 2 shafts; 2 × Parsons steam turbines
Speed: 36 knots (67 km/h; 41 mph)
Range: 3,000 nmi (5,600 km; 3,500 mi) at 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph)
Complement: 110
Armament:
  • 3 × single 12 cm (4.7 in) Type 3 guns
  • 2 × twin 53.3 cm (21.0 in) torpedo tubes

Design and description

The Momi class was designed with higher speed and better seakeeping than the preceding Enoki-class second-class destroyers. The ships had an overall length of 85.3 meters (280 ft) and were 83.8 meters (275 ft) between perpendiculars. They had a beam of 7.9 meters (26 ft), and a mean draft of 2.4 meters (8 ft). The Momi-class ships displaced 864 metric tons (850 long tons) at standard load and 1,036 metric tons (1,020 long tons) at deep load. They were powered by two Parsons direct-drive steam turbines, each driving one propeller shaft, using steam provided by three Kampon water-tube boilers.[1] The turbines were designed to produce 21,500 shaft horsepower (16,000 kW), which would propel the ships at 36 knots (67 km/h; 41 mph). The ships carried a maximum of 275 metric tons (271 long tons) of fuel oil which gave them a range of 3,000 nautical miles (5,600 km; 3,500 mi) at 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph). Their crew consisted of 110 officers and crewmen.[2]

The main armament of the Momi-class ships consisted of three 12-centimeter (4.7 in) Type 3 guns in single mounts; one gun forward of the superstructure in a well deck, one between the two funnels, and the last gun atop the aft superstructure. The guns were numbered '1' to '3' from front to rear. The ships carried two above-water twin sets of 53.3-centimeter (21.0 in) torpedo tubes; one mount was in the well deck between the forward superstructure and the forward gun and the other between the aft funnel and aft superstructure.[2]

Construction and career

Tsuga, built at the Ishikawajima shipyard in Tokyo, was laid down on 5 March 1919, launched on 17 April 1920 and completed on 20 July 1920.[3]

Pacific War

At the start of the Pacific War on 7 December 1941, Tsuga was assigned to the China Area Fleet with two of her sister ships, Hasu and Huri. She supported the invasion of Hong Kong in December 1941 and then began convoy escort and patrolling off the Chinese coast. The ship was sunk by carrier aircraft from Task Force 38 during its South China Sea raid on 15 January 1945 at coordinates 23°33′N 119°33′E.[4]

Notes
  1. Watts & Gordon, pp. 259–60
  2. Jentschura, Jung & Mickel, p. 137
  3. Gardiner & Gray, p. 244
  4. Hackett, Kingsepp & Cundall
gollark: Experience the logic. Signs underwater create air.
gollark: Also, so is the ground.
gollark: I would guess that they modify nothing, but Steve is very strong.
gollark: What about shulker boxes?
gollark: 2304? Are you sure?

References
  • Gardiner, Robert & Gray, Randal, eds. (1985). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships: 1906–1921. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-85177-245-5.
  • Hackett, Bob; Kingsepp, Sander & Cundall, Peter (2014). "IJN Second Class Destroyer Tsuga: Tabular Record of Movement". KUCHIKUKAN! Stories and Battle Histories of the IJN's Second-Class Destroyers. Combinedfleet.com. Retrieved 16 November 2015.
  • Jentschura, Hansgeorg; Jung, Dieter & Mickel, Peter (1977). Warships of the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1869–1945. Annapolis, Maryland: United States Naval Institute. ISBN 0-87021-893-X.
  • Watts, Anthony J. & Gordon, Brian G. (1971). The Imperial Japanese Navy. Garden City, New York: Doubleday. ISBN 0385012683.
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