Enoki-class destroyer
 Kuwa during speed trials off Hiroshima, 1918. Note the vast amount of smoke from coal-fired boilers
| |
| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Name | Enoki class |
| Builders | |
| Operators |  Imperial Japanese Navy |
| Preceded by | Momo class |
| Succeeded by | Kawakaze class |
| In commission | 1918–1936 |
| Completed | 6 |
| Retired | 6 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Destroyer |
| Displacement |
|
| Length |
|
| Beam | 7.7 m (25 ft) |
| Draught | 2.3 m (7.5 ft) |
| Propulsion | 2-shaft steam turbine, 4 boilers 16,700 ihp (12,500 kW) |
| Speed | 31.5 knots (58.3 km/h) |
| Range | 2,400 nmi (4,400 km; 2,800 mi) at 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph) |
| Complement | 110 |
| Armament |
|
The Enoki-class destroyers (榎型駆逐艦, Enokigata kuchikukan) were a class of six destroyers of the Imperial Japanese Navy.[1] As with the previous Momo class, all were named after trees. As Enoki and Nara were both commissioned on the same day, the class is also referred to as the Nara-class destroyers (楢型駆逐艦, Naragata kuchikukan).
Background
With most of Japan’s destroyers deployed to the
Diet of Japan for an emergency procurement budget, similar to that awarded during the Russo-Japanese War for the production of the Kamikaze-class destroyers. The funding was awarded from the fiscal 1917 budget, but mindful of the fact that the Kamikaze-class destroyers had not actually been completed until after the end of the previous war, the government stipulated that the emergency budget be used up within a six-month period.[2]
The order for six vessels was split between the four major naval shipyards: one to Yokosuka Naval Arsenal, two to Kure Naval Arsenal, two to Sasebo Naval Arsenal and one to Maizuru Naval Arsenal.[3]
Design
With such a limited time frame to use its budget, the Japanese Navy could not afford the time to design a new ship. Therefore, the
bow construction. Experience with extended overseas deployment in World War I had taught the Japanese Navy that the construction of its destroyers needed to be reinforced to handle heavy seas. The result was a ship which looked physically almost exactly like the Momo class, but was roughly 15 tons heavier in displacement.[4]
Internally, all six vessels used Brown-Curtis geared
QF 4.7 inch Gun Mk I – IV guns, pedestal mounted along the centerline of the vessel, front, mid-ship and to the stern and two triple torpedo launchers.[5]
Operational history
The Enoki-class destroyers served in the very final stages of
minesweepers on 1 June 1930. The remaining four vessels were retired on 1 April 1934.[6]
List of Ships
| Kanji | Name | Builder | Laid down
|
Launched | Completed | Fate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 榎 | Enoki "Evergreen Shrub" |
Maizuru Naval Arsenal, Japan | 1 October 1917 | 5 March 1918 | 30 April 1918 | Minesweeper W-10 on 1 June 1930; Demilitarized, 1 July 1936 |
| 槇 | Maki "Chinese Black Pine" |
Sasebo Naval Arsenal, Japan | 16 October 1917 | 2 December 1917 | 7 April 1918 | Retired, 1 April 1934 |
| 欅 | Keyaki "Elm Tree" |
Sasebo Naval Arsenal, Japan | 16 October 1917 | 15 January 1918 | 20 April 1918 | |
| 桑 | Kuwa "Mulberry Tree" |
Kure Naval Arsenal, Japan | 5 November 1917 | 23 February 1918 | 31 March 1918 | |
| 椿 | Tsubaki "Camellia Tree" |
Kure Naval Arsenal, Japan | 5 November 1917 | 23 February 1918 | 30 April 1918 | Retired, 1 April 1935 |
| 楢 | Nara "Oak Tinder" |
Yokosuka Naval Arsenal, Japan | 8 November 1917 | 28 March 1918 | 30 April 1918 | Minesweeper W-9 on 1 June 1930; Demilitarized, 1 April 1936 |
Notes
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Enoki class destroyer.
- ^ Jentsura, Warships of the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1869–1945
- ^ Evans, Kaigun: Strategy, Tactics, and Technology in the Imperial Japanese Navy.
- ^ Howarth, The Fighting Ships of the Rising Sun
- ^ Globalsecurity.org, IJN Enoki class destroyers
- ^ Nishida, Imperial Japanese Navy
- ^ Nishida, Imperial Japanese Navy
References
- 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.
- Nishida, Hiroshi. "Materials of IJN: Enoki class destroyer". Imperial Japanese Navy.
- "IJN Enoki class destroyers". Globalsecurity.org.