Japanese World War II Destroyers - Evolution

Evolution

The oldest Japanese destroyers at the declaration of war with the United States dated from World War I designs and were rated as "class 1" (greater than 1,000 tons (standard)) or "class 2" (under 1,000 tons (standard)). As these became outclassed and unsuitable for front line duties, they were relegated to coastal protection and convoy escort duties, including support of the landings in the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia), Philippines and Wake Island.

The Washington Naval Treaty of 1922 assigned Japan a tonnage allocation with which it was dissatisfied. IJN planners assessed their needs to protect Japan's maritime lifelines with the assumption that their most likely opponent would be the United States. A total of 144 destroyers was deemed to be necessary. In order to achieve a long-ranged fleet, capable of operating far from home waters and bases, treaty limitations were disregarded. Japanese naval strategy assumed a major deciding battle against the United States and the destroyers' role would have been to harass and reduce the enemy in the lead up to such a battle. The resultant design was the Fubuki-class, which were commissioned during 1928–1932. The Fubukis became the basis for subsequent destroyer development, but they needed significant modification when stability and hull strength problems became apparent. These modifications were worked into new ship designs.

The Japanese produced some unusual and advanced features. The third group of Fubukis introduced a unique splinterproof torpedo tube turret (later retrofitted), allowing the tubes to be reloaded in action. In addition, they introduced splinterproof, gas-tight turrets for the 5-inch guns, far ahead of their time. To increase comfort, the forecastle was raised and the bridge enlarged and enclosed, to offer protection against weather in the Pacific. Furthermore, in line with Japan's evident preference for two stacks, Fubukis had an unusual siamesed design.

The London Naval Treaty added more restrictions to ship design and displacements were temporarily reduced (Hatsuharu- and Shiratsuyu-classes) until Japan withdrew from the naval treaties. The subsequent Asashios, Kagerōs, and Yūgumos resumed the design evolution and delivered the ships that the IJN desired, with substantially increased displacements. Further technical developments were prototyped in Shimakaze, but the design was not continued. Although the anti-aircraft (AA) defences of Japanese destroyers were shown to be inadequate, the IJN had recognised the need for fleet AA defence and the Akizukis were intended to fill this need.

The IJN suffered one problem with their destroyers: small batches of different types, which made standardized spares and training (such as on powerplant) impossible. By contrast, the United States Navy's destroyer powerplant was standard across hundreds of ships.

A substantial number of Japanese destroyers were lost in 1942 in actions around the Solomon Islands. The urgent need for replacements necessitated design simplifications to improve construction speed and war experience prompted improvements to damage control and anti aircraft weaponry. The resultant Matsu class destroyers were commissioned in 1944.