Japanese destroyer Fumizuki (1926)
 Fumizuki in July 1926
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
 Empire of Japan | |
| Name | Fumizuki |
| Namesake | July |
| Builder | Fujinagata Shipyards, Osaka |
| Laid down | 20 October 1924 as Destroyer No. 29 |
| Launched | 16 February 1926 |
| Completed | 3 July 1926 |
| Renamed | As Fumizuki, 1 August 1928 |
| Stricken | 31 March 1944 |
| Fate | Sunk by American aircraft, 18 February 1944 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type | Mutsuki-class destroyer |
| Displacement |
|
| Length |
|
| Beam | 9.16 m (30 ft 1 in) |
| Draft | 2.96 m (9 ft 9 in) |
| Installed power |
|
| Propulsion | 2 shafts; 2 × Kampon geared steam turbines |
| Speed | 37.25 knots (68.99 km/h; 42.87 mph) |
| Range | 4,000 nmi (7,400 km; 4,600 mi) at 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph) |
| Complement | 150 |
| Armament |
|
| Service record | |
| Part of: | Destroyer Division 30 |
| Operations: |
|
Fumizuki (文月, ”July”) was one of twelve
Dutch East Indies Campaign in early 1942. In March, she was assigned to convoy escort duties in and around Malaya and the Dutch East Indies until she was transferred to Rabaul in early 1943 to ferry troops around New Guinea and the Solomon Islands
.
Design and description
The Mutsuki class was an improved version of the
Kampon water-tube boilers. The turbines were designed to produce 38,500 shaft horsepower (28,700 kW), which would propel the ships at 37.25 knots (68.99 km/h; 42.87 mph). The ships carried 420 metric tons (413 long tons) of fuel oil which gave them a range of 4,000 nautical miles (7,400 km; 4,600 mi) at 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph). Their crew consisted of 150 officers and crewmen.[3]
The main armament of the Mutsuki-class ships consisted of four
minesweeping gear.[4]
Fumizuki was one of six Mutsuki-class ships reconstructed in 1935–36, with their hulls strengthened, raked caps fitted to the funnels and shields to the torpedo mounts. In 1941–42, most of those ships were converted into fast transports with No. 2 and No. 3 guns removed. In addition, ten license-built
anti-aircraft machineguns were installed.[5] The minesweeping gear was replaced by four depth charge throwers and the ships now carried a total of 36 depth charges. These changes reduced their speed to 34 knots (63 km/h; 39 mph)[6] and increased their displacement to 1,944 metric tons (1,913 long tons) at normal load.[3] Three more 25 mm guns were added in 1942–43.[6]
Construction and career
Fumizuki, built at the
launched on 16 February 1926[4] and completed on 3 July 1926. Originally commissioned as Destroyer No. 29, the ship was assigned the name Fumizuki on 1 August 1928.[3]
Pacific War
At the time of the
Operation M (the invasion of the Philippines), during which time the destroyer helped screen landings of Japanese forces at Lingayen Gulf and at Aparri.[5]
In early 1942, Fumizuki was assigned to escorting troop convoys from
Rangoon. She returned to Sasebo Naval Arsenal for repairs on 17 June, and returned to Mako in early September.[5]
On 16 September, Fumizuki sustained heavy damage after a collision with the transport Formosa Strait, forcing a return to Sasebo for repairs until early 1943.
At the end of January 1943, Fumizuki escorted the
IJN 8th Fleet. The destroyer participated in several Tokyo Express troop transport missions throughout the Solomon Islands through the end of April, suffering damage from strafing attacks at Finschhafen in March and at Kavieng
in April.
Fumizuki returned to
air raid by United States Navy aircraft while at Rabaul, with six crewmen killed and four injured. The vessel was again damaged in an air raid near Kavieng on the night of 4 January 1944.[5]
While at Truk on 17 February 1944, Fumizuki received a near miss bomb from a
Navy List on 31 March 1944.[5]
In media
- "Graveyard of the Atlantic...Graveyard of the Pacific," a 1991 episode of the PBS television series Return to the Sea, includes footage of a dive on the wreck of Fumizuki.
Notes
References
- Bailey, Dan E. (1992). World War II: Wrecks of the Kwajalein and Truk Lagoons. North Valley Diver Publications. ISBN 0-911615-05-9.
- Chesneau, Roger, ed. (1980). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1922-1946. Greenwich: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-146-7.
- 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.
- 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.
- Lindemann, Klaus (2005). Hailstorm Over Truk Lagoon: Operations Against Truk by Carrier Task Force 58, and the Shipwrecks of World War II. Oregon, USA: Resource Publications. ISBN 1-59752-347-X.
- Nevitt, Allyn D. (1998). "IJN Fumizuki: Tabular Record of Movement". Long Lancers. Combinedfleet.com. Retrieved 10 November 2015.
- Watts, Anthony J. & Gordon, Brian G. (1971). The Imperial Japanese Navy. Garden City, New York: Doubleday. ISBN 0385012683.
- Whitley, M. J. (1988). Destroyers of World War Two. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-326-1.
External links
- Return to the Sea Episode 105 "Graveyard of the Atlantic...Graveyard of the Pacific" at OceanArchives (Fair use policy for video at OceanArchives)
Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in February 1944 | |
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| Shipwrecks |
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| Other incidents |
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