Japanese destroyer Asakaze (1905)

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Sister ship Ayanami
History
Empire of Japan
NameAsakaze
BuilderMitsubishi Shipyards, Nagasaki
Launched28 October 1905
Completed24 February 1906
Decommissioned1 April 1928
Out of service31 January 1929
ReclassifiedAs a minesweeper, 1 December 1924
FateSunk as a target, 1 August 1929
General characteristics (as built)
Class and typeKamikaze-class destroyer
Displacement
  • 381 long tons (387 t)
  • 450 long tons (460 t) (
    full load
    )
Length
  • 227 ft (69.2 m) (pp)
  • 234 ft (71 m) (
    o/a
    )
Beam21 ft 7 in (6.6 m)
Draught6 ft (1.8 m)
Installed power4 boilers; 6,000 
kW
)
Propulsion2 shafts; 2 triple-expansion steam engines
Speed29 knots (54 km/h; 33 mph)
Range1,200 nmi (2,200 km; 1,400 mi) at 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph)
Complement70
Armament

Asakaze (朝風) ("Morning wind") was one of 32 Kamikaze-class destroyers built for the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) in the first decade of the 20th century.

Design and description

The Kamikaze-class destroyers were improved versions of the preceding

kW) that gave the ships a maximum speed of 29 knots (54 km/h; 33 mph). They carried a maximum of 100 long tons (102 t) of coal[2] which gave them a range of 1,500 nautical miles (2,800 km; 1,700 mi) at a speed of 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph). Their crew consisted of 70 officers and ratings.[3]

The main armament of the Kamikaze-class ships consisted of two 40-

three-inch (76 mm) 12 cwt guns[Note 1] on single mounts; the forward gun was located on superstructure, but the aft gun was at the stern. Four 28-calibre QF three-inch 8 cwt guns on single mounts were positioned abreast the superstructure, two in each broadside. The ships were also armed with two single rotating mounts[1][3] for 450-millimetre (17.7 in)[4] torpedoes between the superstructure and the stern gun. When Asakaze was converted into a minesweeper in 1924, she was rearmed with a pair of 12-centimetre (4.7 in) 3rd Year Type guns taken from older ships on single mounts and the three-inch 8 cwt guns were removed.[1]

Construction and career

Asakaze was

decommissioned on 1 April 1928, although Asakaze remained in use until 31 January 1929. She was sunk as a target by the battlecruisers Haruna and Hiei on 1 August.[5]

Notes

  1. ^ "Cwt" is the abbreviation for hundredweight, 12 cwt referring to the weight of the gun.

Citations

  1. ^ a b c d Friedman 1985, p. 241
  2. ^ Watts & Gordon, p. 243
  3. ^ a b Jentschura, Jung & Mickel, p. 133
  4. ^ Friedman 2011, p. 349
  5. ^ a b Todaka, et al., p. 218

Books