Ikazuti-class destroyers

Prerequisites for the

The active development of the destroyers, as evidenced by the Sino-Japanese war , namely the successful torpedo attack on the Chinese naval base Weihaiwei, made the Japanese Naval General Staff, when forming the shipbuilding program of 1896, pay attention to ships capable of fighting them - destroyers (at that time called counter-carriers and fighters). In 1896-1897 in the UK (then considered the main builder of destroyers in the world ^[1] ), 12 of their representatives were ordered at once: 6 Yarrow companies (Ikazuti type) and 6 Tornicroft ships ( Murakumo type ) .

Design

The project was based on the early British 30-node destroyers ( class B , Built since 1894) - typical ships of this type for the beginning of the XX century. The Japanese fleet purchased a total of 55 units of British and own construction, based on it. The last of them ( like "Kamikaze" ) went into operation in 1909.

Enclosure and layout

The destroyer hull of 68.4 × 6.2 m in size was assembled from Siemens-Martin mild steel sheets 4-5 mm thick in order to achieve maximum speed. Extremely lightweight design led to strong vibration at full speed, in addition, even then doubts were expressed about its strength. These fears were confirmed when on September 19, 1901, the newest destroyer , Cobra, was (representative of the B-class with an experimental steam turbine plant) was torn in two as a result of reaching maximum speed.

In order to ensure greater survivability, the hull was divided by 10 transverse bulkheads into 11 compartments. The layout was classic for the destroyers of that time: from the bow to the stern there was a ramming compartment with an anchor device, sailor's cockpits with a galley , two boiler rooms, an engine room, officer cabins with a wardroom, provisions and tiller compartments.

To improve seaworthiness, the deck from the stem to the wheelhouse had a carapace (similar to tortoise shell) shape, and then it was slightly sloping.

The control devices were located in the conning tower and on the navigation bridge located above it. The main magnetic compass stood in the stern, behind the boiler cover on a special platform that protected it from vibration.

Powerplant

Two four-cylinder vertical triple expansion steam engines with a total capacity of 6,000 horsepower (4.5 MW) were installed, powered by steam from four water-tube boilers of the Yarrow design. Coal pits located between them and the side were supposed to provide protection against small-caliber shells.

Armament

Similar to the British prototypes: one 76-mm gun with a barrel length of 40 calibers of Armstrong design, five 57-mm guns with a barrel length of 40 calibers and two 450-mm torpedo tubes.

The torpedo tubes were located one after the other in the aft, because due to the chimneys occupying a significant part of the upper deck, there was no other place for them. Such a layout (as well as the placement of spare torpedoes in the bow, which made it impossible to quickly reload torpedo tubes ) was criticized by contemporaries, since both boiler rooms or both torpedo tubes could be put out of action with one successful hit. Practice has shown that in terms of survivability, the Japanese destroyers of their own and British construction did not differ fundamentally from similar Russian ships of that time.

Construction

Six ships were built by the Yarrow company at the Poplar shipyard in 1897-1899. All were named after celestial phenomena. ^[2]

During sea trials on December 12, 1899, Niji reached a speed of 31.15 knots, which exceeded the value specified in the contract (30 knots), and the manufacturer received a bonus for this. In real conditions, when using poor-quality Japanese brown coal and manning teams with physically weaker Japanese, destroyers of this type did not develop more than 26-28 knots. The cruising range, declared by the project of 3,000 miles in an economic 10-knot course, in practice turned out to be two to three times less.

In the years 1901-1902, the Yarrow company also built two more destroyers ( Akatsuki type ) under a modified project (with a power plant with a capacity of 6,500 horsepower instead of 6,000).

Shortly after arriving in Japan, ships of this type took part in suppressing the Yethetuan uprising , patrolling Chinese waters. In the course of this, the Niji was lost; on July 29, 1900, it crashed off the coast of Shandong Peninsula .

By 1904, modernization was carried out, consisting in replacing the 57-mm fore gun with a second 76-mm / 40 Armstrong (which gave the Japanese a significant advantage in firepower over Russian destroyers), the installation of a Marconi-designed wireless telegraph station (whose antennas were stretched between the masts, smaller of which it was specially installed between torpedo tubes for this purpose), the transfer of the galley from the cramped living compartment to a small cabin located behind the boiler fan between the first and second pipes. All this brought the ships closer to the later Harusame type .

Destroyers like "Ikazuti" actively participated in the Russian-Japanese war . By its beginning, Oboro was part of the 1st fighter squad (squad leader — 1st-rank captain Shojiro Asai), Akebono, Inazuma and Ikazuti were part of the 2nd fighter squad (commander – captain 1st rank Itiro Ishida), and “Sadzanami” was part of the 3rd detachment (the commander of the detachment is captain of the 2nd rank Kanemitsu Tsuchiya).

During a night attack on February 9, 1904 on a Russian squadron in Port Arthur, destroyers of this type took part in it, but did not achieve a result,.

In the early morning of March 10, 1904, fighters of the 3rd detachment (Sadzanami, Usugumo, Sinoneme) and Akebono intercepted Russian destroyers returning from intelligence near Port Arthur ( Resolute and Steregushchiy ). The latter, due to a malfunction of the power plant, could not break away from the pursuit, and was forced to accept an unequal battle, during which he achieved 27 hits in the Akebono (4 wounded) and 8 in the Sadzani (1 killed, 2 wounded). The Japanese destroyer with a completely lost artillery and most of the crew that had lost their course, the Japanese tried to tow, and the midshipman from the approaching Sadzany even raised the Japanese flag on it, but because of the kingstones opened in the engine room and suitable Russian ships, they had to leave battlefield. After half an hour, the cruiser “Bayan” and “Novik” lifted four surviving crew members of the “Guardian” out of the water.

On the night of April 13, Ikazuti, Inazuma, Akebono and Oboro escorted the Koryu Maru steamer to the site of the mines at Port Arthur. At dawn, they discovered and during the battle sank the Russian destroyer "Terrible . " The Japanese noted its superiority in speed (with 27 knots issued to them in tests), which is probably due to the insufficient physical strength of the Japanese stokers and the poor quality of coal used by them.

In the afternoon, on that minefield, the flagship of the 1st Pacific Squadron Petropavlovsk died with its commander S.O. Makarov , and the battleship Victory was seriously damaged.

During the battle of Port Arthur on May 19, the Ikazuti was severely damaged by a large-caliber Russian shell (24 dead).

Destroyers of this type took part in the battle in the Yellow Sea , never having launched an attack on Russian ships, but did not receive any damage as a result.

On the night of November 3, the Oboro was blown up by a mine southwest of Port Arthur, while remaining afloat, according to Russian sources, it was torpedoed by a mine boat from the battleship Retvisan , which, considering the weakness of 381-mm Whitehead torpedoes, seems more probable.

All fighters took part in the Tsushima battle . By that time, Akebono, Ikazuti, Inazuma and Oboro were in the 2nd fighter squad (detachment commander — 1st rank captain Junkichi Yajima), and the Sadzanami in the 3rd fighter detachment (commander Detachment — Captain 1st Rank Jutaro Yoshijima).

In the evening and night of May 27, the Ikazuti, during torpedo attacks on Russian ships, was damaged by their artillery fire, while losing 13 people wounded. On the afternoon of May 28, the Sadzans, after a short pursuit, captured the destroyer Bedovy , on which was the commander of the Second Pacific Squadron, Vice Admiral Z. P. Rozhestvensky with headquarters.

On September 5, 1905, at the port of Rasin, the Japanese cruisers Ivate , Niitaka and the Oboro and Akebono fighters met with two Russian cruisers and two destroyers, the fire was never opened and the opponents soon lost sight of each other. Nevertheless, this incident is considered the last clash at sea during the Russo-Japanese War.

On December 16, 1909, the Inazuma collided with a schooner 30 miles south of Hakodate , broke and sank. Both halves of the hull in 1910 were raised and scrapped.

October 10, 1913 as a result of the explosion of the boiler, Ikazuti was destroyed. The following year, his body was cut into metal.

Thus, three out of six ships of this type died from non-combat causes, and not a single one during the course of hostilities.

"Sadzanami" was removed from the lists on April 1, 1913 and since 1914 was used as a civilian ship "Sadzanami-Maru". "Akebono" and "Oboro" in 1921, due to complete obsolescence, were disarmed and reclassified to tenders, and in 1925-1926 were scrapped.

• Murakumo destroyers

1. ↑ Howarth, The Fighting Ships of the Rising Sun
2. ↑ Jentsura, Warships of the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1869-1945

• Patyanin S.V. Squadron destroyers and destroyers of Japan 1879-1945.