Wakatake-class destroyer

The Wakatake-class destroyers (若竹型駆逐艦, Wakatakegata kuchikukan) were a class of eight second-class destroyers of the Imperial Japanese Navy.[1]

The Wakatake-class destroyer Kuretake
Class overview
Name: Wakatake class
Builders:
Operators:  Imperial Japanese Navy
Preceded by: Minekaze class
Succeeded by: Kamikaze class
In commission: 1920–1945
Planned: 13
Completed: 8
Cancelled: 5
Lost: 7
Retired: 1
General characteristics
Type: Destroyer
Displacement:
  • 900 long tons (910 t) normal,
  • 1,100 long tons (1,100 t) full load
Length:
  • 83.8 m (275 ft) pp,
  • 85.3 m (280 ft) overall
Beam: 7.9 m (26 ft)
Draught: 2.5 m (8.2 ft)
Propulsion: 2-shaft Mitsubishi-Parsons geared steam turbine, 3 heavy oil-fired boilers 21,500 ihp (16,000 kW)
Speed: 36 knots (67 km/h)
Range: 3,000 nmi (5,600 km) at 15 kn (28 km/h; 17 mph)
Complement: 110
Armament:

Background

The medium-sized Wakatake-class destroyers were a follow-on to the Momi class as part of the Imperial Japanese Navy's 8-6 Fleet Program from fiscal 1921 as a lower cost accompaniment to the larger Minekaze-class destroyers. The class was originally planned to consist of thirteen vessels, but due to the Washington Naval Treaty, as well as budgetary limitations, the orders for the last four were cancelled in 1922, with the final number being reduced to eight when No.14 was also cancelled. The Wakatake class was the last class to be rated "second class" and all future destroyers were designed larger.[2] It was planned that the Wakatake-class ships should have names, but upon completion they were given numbers. This proved to be extremely unpopular with the crews and was a constant source of confusion in communications, so in 1928, names were assigned.[3]

Design

The Wakatake-class destroyers were essentially slightly modified Momi-class ships with 50 tons additional displacement and a deeper draft to improve handling characteristics in heavy seas, particularly against rolling. Weaponry layout (with the exception of added AA armaments), general arrangement and silhouette were all identical with the Momi class.

As with the Momi class, a number of types of turbine engines were used for propulsion. Asagao was built with Parsons impulse turbines, Yūgao with Escher Wyss & Cie Zoelly turbines, and the remaining vessels with Brown-Curtis turbines.

The armament for the Wakatake-class was identical to that of the Momi class. The main battery consisted of three Type 3 120 mm 45 caliber naval guns in single mounts, with two twin Type 6 torpedo launchers. Anti-aircraft protection was provided by two 7.7mm machine guns. After the start of the Pacific War, one of the Type 3 guns was replaced by two triple-mount Type 96 25-mm cannons, although some vessels had three twin-mounts and two single-mounts instead. The minesweeping gear was replaced by 36 to 48 depth charges with four launchers. Some of the vessels also were fitted with a Type 13 radar.[4]

Operational history

The small displacement of the Wakatake-class limited their utility as fleet escorts, and as with the Momi-class, they were mainly used in Chinese coastal waters, where their shallow draft made them suitable for operations in rivers and coastal waters.[4]

On 15 September 1932, Sawarabi capsized due to poor stability and sank north of Keelung near Taiwan. In April 1940 Yūgao was re-rated as Patrol Boat No. 46, with considerably reduced armament and the removal of one boiler, which reduced her speed to only 18 knots.[4]

Of the remaining six units, three (Wakatake, Kuretake, and Sanae) were assigned to Destroyer Division 13 under the Kure Naval District, and patrolled the Seto Inland Sea and the Bungo Strait on antisubmarine patrols. The other three (Asagao, Fuyō and Karukaya)were assigned to Destroyer Division 32 under the Chinkai Guard District, which was assigned to patrol the Tsushima Strait screening maritime traffic in the Tsushima Straits. From 10 April 1942, the 1st Surface Escort Division of the Southwest Area Fleet was created, and Desdivs 13 and 32 were assigned to it to provide protection for convoys against Allied submarine activity. The convoy routes were initially those between Moji, Taiwan, and the Philippines. Later, these routes extended to Singapore, French Indochina, the Netherlands East Indies, and Palau. In the course of this service, Karukaya set a record by successfully completing 54 convoy escorts before her loss. Of the six destroyers, four were lost to American submarines, and one to an air attack. Only Asagao survived the war and was finally broken up in 1948.[5]

List of Ships
Kanji Name Builder Laid down Launched Completed Fate
若竹
(第二駆逐艦)		 Wakatake
ex-No.2		 Kawasaki Shipyards, Japan 13 December 1921 24 July 1922 30 September 1922 Sunk 30 March 1944 in air attack off Palau during Operation Desecrate One [07.50N, 134.20E]; struck 10 May 1944
呉竹
(第四駆逐艦)		 Kuretake
ex-No.4		 Maizuru Naval Arsenal, Japan 15 March 1922 21 October 1922 21 December 1922 Sunk 30 December 1944 by USS Razorback at Bashi Channel [21N, 121.24E]; struck 10 February 1945
早苗
(第六駆逐艦)		 Sanae
ex-No.6		 Uraga Dock Company, Japan 5 April 1922 15 February 1923 5 November 1923 Torpedoed Celebes Sea [04.52N, 122.07E] 1943-11-13 by USS Bluefish; struck 5 January 1944
早蕨
(第八駆逐艦)		 Sawarabi
ex-No.8		 Uraga Dock Company, Japan 20 November 1922 1 September 1923 24 July 1924 Capsized 5 December 1932 in storm off Keelung, Taiwan [27.17N, 122.12E]; struck 1 April 1933
朝顔
(第十駆逐艦)		 Asagao
ex-No.10		 Ishikawajima Shipyards, Japan 14 March 1922 4 November 1922 10 May 1923 Sunk 22 August 1945 by naval mine at Kanmon Straits; raised, BU 1948
夕顔
(第十二駆逐艦)		 Yūgao
ex-No.12		 Ishikawajima Shipyards, Japan 15 May 1922 14 April 1923 31 May 1924 Converted 1 February 1940 to Patrol Boat No. 46 (第四六号哨戒艇, Dai-46-Gō shōkaitei); sunk 10 November 1944 by USS Greenling at Irōzaki
芙蓉
(第十六駆逐艦)		 Fuyō
ex-No.16		 Fujinagata Shipyards, Japan 16 February 1922 23 September 1922 16 March 1923 Torpedoed 20 December 1943 off Manila Bay [14.44N, 119.55E] by USS Puffer; struck 5 February 1944
刈萱
(第十八駆逐艦)		 Karukaya
ex-No.18		 Fujinagata Shipyards, Japan 16 May 1922 19 March 1923 20 August 1923 Torpedoed 10 May 1944 west of Luzon [15.38N, 119.25E] by USS Cod; struck 10 July 1944

The five cancelled units were initially to be named Shian (from Kawasaki, Kobe)(later No.14), Omodoka (also from Kawasaki, Kobe)(later No.20), Nadeshiko (from Fujinagata Zosensho, Osaka)(later No.22), Botan (from Uraga Dock Co, Tokyo)(later No.24) and Basho (from Ishikawajima Zosensho, Tokyo)(later No.26).

Naming history

The IJN originally planned that the Wakatake-class ships should have names, but upon completion they were given numbers due to the projected large number of warships the IJN expected to build through the Eight-eight fleet 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, but not the original names that were planned.

Plan name and transliteration Original name as ordered Renamed 24 April 1924 Renamed 1 August 1928
Kikyō (桔梗)
Chinese bellflower		 Dai-2 Kuchikukan
(第二駆逐艦),
2nd Destroyer		 Dai-2-Gō Kuchikukan
(第二号駆逐艦),
No.2 Destroyer		 Wakatake (若竹),
Bamboo sprout
Yuri (百合),
Lilium		 Dai-4 Kuchikukan
(第四駆逐艦),
4th Destroyer		 Dai-4-Gō Kuchikukan
(第四号駆逐艦),
No.4 Destroyer		 Kuretake (呉竹),
Black bamboo, Phyllostachys nigra
Ayame (菖蒲)
Iris sanguinea		 Dai-6 Kuchikukan
(第六駆逐艦),
6th Destroyer		 Dai-6-Gō Kuchikukan
(第六号駆逐艦),
No.6 Destroyer		 Sanae (早苗),
Rice sprouts on May
Kaidō (海棠)
Malus halliana		 Dai-8 Kuchikukan
(第八駆逐艦),
8th Destroyer		 Dai-8-Gō Kuchikukan
(第八号駆逐艦),
No.8 Destroyer		 Sawarabi (早蕨),
Bracken on Spring
Kakitsubata (杜若)
Iris laevigata		 Dai-10 Kuchikukan
(第十駆逐艦),
10th Destroyer		 Dai-10-Gō Kuchikukan
(第十号駆逐艦),
No.10 Destroyer		 Asagao (朝顔),
Morning glory
Tsutsuji (躑躅)
Azalea		 Dai-12 Kuchikukan
(第十二駆逐艦),
12th Destroyer		 Dai-12-Gō Kuchikukan
(第十二号駆逐艦),
No.12 Destroyer		 Yūgao (夕顔),
Ipomoea alba
Shion (紫苑),
Aster tataricus		 Dai-14 Kuchikukan
(第十四駆逐艦),
14th Destroyer
Ajisai (紫陽)
Hydrangea		 Dai-16 Kuchikukan
(第十六駆逐艦),
16th Destroyer		 Dai-16-Gō Kuchikukan
(第十六号駆逐艦),
No.16 Destroyer		 Fuyō (芙蓉),
Hibiscus mutabilis
Karukaya (刈萱)
One of the Poaceae		 Dai-18 Kuchikukan
(第十八駆逐艦),
18th Destroyer		 Dai-18-Gō Kuchikukan
(第十八号駆逐艦),
No.18 Destroyer		 Karukaya (刈萱),
One of several Andropogoneae grasses used for thatching
Omodaka (沢瀉),
Alismataceae		 Dai-20 Kuchikukan
(第二十駆逐艦),
20th Destroyer
Botan (牡丹),
Peony		 Dai-22 Kuchikukan
(第二十二駆逐艦),
22nd Destroyer
Bashō (芭蕉),
Musa basjoo		 Dai-24 Kuchikukan
(第二十四駆逐艦),
24th Destroyer
Nadeshiko (撫子),
Dianthus		 Dai-26 Kuchikukan
(第二十六駆逐艦),
26th Destroyer
gollark: Am I just supposed to MANUALLY check the Maclaurin serieseseses of all the functions I use for this sort of thing?
gollark: Also, how can we prove that common special functions don't have this kind of backdoor?
gollark: See, this is what I'm worried about.
gollark: Those are probably contaminated.
gollark: I can't use them due to the Greek letter shortage.

References

Notes
  1. Jentsura, Warships of the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1869-1945
  2. Globalsecurity.org, IJN Wakatake class destroyers
  3. Howarth, The Fighting Ships of the Rising Sun
  4. Stille, Mark (2017). Imperial Japanese Navy Antisubmarine Escorts 1941–45. Oxford, UK: Osprey Publishing. pp. 14–17. ISBN 978 1 4728 1817 1.
  5. Nevitt, Combined Fleet.com

Books
  • Evans, David (1979). Kaigun: Strategy, Tactics, and Technology in the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1887–1941. US Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-192-7.
  • Howarth, Stephen (1983). The Fighting Ships of the Rising Sun: The Drama of the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1895–1945. Atheneum. ISBN 0-689-11402-8.
  • Jentsura, Hansgeorg (1976). Warships of the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1869–1945. US Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-893-X.
  • Watts, A.J. (1966). Japanese warships of World War II. Ian Allan. ISBN 0711002150.

Collection of writings by Sizuo Fukui Vol.5, Stories of Japanese Destroyers, Kōjinsha (Japan) 1993, ISBN 4-7698-0611-6

  • Model Art Ship Modelling Special No.17, Genealogy of Japanese Destroyers Part-1, Model Art Co. Ltd. (Japan), September 2005, Book code 08734-9
  • Model Art Extra No.340, Drawings of Imperial Japanese Naval Vessels Part-1, Model Art Co. Ltd. (Japan), October 1989, Book code 08734-10
  • Daiji Katagiri, Ship Name Chronicles of the Imperial Japanese Navy Combined Fleet, Kōjinsha (Japan), June 1988, ISBN 4-7698-0386-9


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