Imperial Japanese Navy - AKITSUKI class Destroyer ==========================================================================




Akizuki (Akitsuki) was the lead ship of her class of destroyer in the Imperial Japanese Navy. Her name means "Autumn Moon".

In early 1943 US Office of Navy intelligence was receiving numerous sighting reports of the light cruiser Yubari from several different areas. As the Yubari was a single ship class, ONI was puzzled how the ship could be in several places at the same time. Soon new aerial photography solved the mystery. The sightings were of the new Akitsuki class destroyers, a new class that bore a strong similarity in size and layout to Yubari. The mistake was understandable as, prior to the appearance of the Akitsuki the silhouette of Yubari was unique and the ship was one of the best known of IJN warships.

The Yubari was an experimental design laid down in 1922 under the 1917 building program. Designed to test the ideas of Naval Constructor Hiraga, the ship mounted the same broadside as the 5,000 ton cruisers (Nagara type) and had the same speed performance but on a displacement of only 2,500 tons. All of the armament was placed on the centerline and four of the six guns were in twin turrets. The hull design was also a radical departure from previous practice. The design was a success and the techniques used led directly to the design of the Kako class cruisers. Many of the features pioneered in Yubari were repeated in all subsequent Japanese cruisers.

The Akizuki class destroyers (Akitsuki) were one of the primary classes of new destroyers of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) after 1942. They were designed to fight larger ships, aircraft, and submarines.

This is considered to have been the most useful class of destroyers Japan fielded during the war and was well regarded in the IJN. They mounted a superb 3.9" (100mm) dual-purpose gun in four twin mounts. They also were among the first Japanese vessels equipped with radar. Yes, they were a little light in the torpedo department, compared to contemporary destroyers (a single mount of four tubes, plus reloads), but the ships compensated with stronger anti-aircraft armament, which the Japanese were desperately in need of, and so the tradeoff was probably worth it.

The design of the Akitsuki class destroyers centered on task force defense. Ordered as part of the 1939 and 1941 Naval Programs, the Akitsuki destroyers were armed with heavy anti-aircraft and anti-submarine equipment. The last six destroyers, beginning with the Fuyutsuki were better described as "quasi" sister ships, due to the war demands they were built with simpler materials and methods than their predecessors.

These destroyers were the largest and most modern destroyers built by the IJN during WWII. The ships were originally planned as anti-aircraft cruisers but were completed as large destroyers. The ships were build around four twin mountings for the new high velocity 65 caliber 3.9 inch anti-aircraft guns. Although these guns appear to be smaller than the standard destroyer main armament (5 inch), they were actually exceptionally powerful with a high rate of fire (15-21 rounds/min/barrel) and a superior surface range (20,000 yards). The guns were housed in a massive type 98 turret which weighted 34 tons. The turrets were powered by electrically driven hydraulic gears with elevation range between +90 to -10 degrees. A total of 13 units were build; most of which were either sunk or heavily damage at the end of the war.

Two of the destroyers, Fuyutsuki and Suzutsuki, were part of the suicidal sortie lead by the Yamato against American forces on Okinawa. Both managed to survive the failed mission, but were effectively sidelined until the end of the war. Several years later, in 1948, both ships were demolished and their hull used as a breakwater at Wakamatsu Port.

The largest, most handsome, and, in the Japanese estimation, most successful destroyers in the Imperial fleet were those of the AKIZUKI (Akitsuki) class. Known as the "Type B," these ships were designed primarily as antiaircraft escorts for the carrier force. As originally conceived, they would not even have carried torpedoes, but a later desire to add an offensive capability saw the inclusion in the design of a quadruple 24" torpedo mount midships.

The main features distinguishing this class from other Japanese destroyers were their size and innovative armament. Some 50 feet longer and 700 tons heavier than the preceding KAGEROs and YUGUMOs, the AKIZUKIs were able to carry a fourth main-battery turret without suffering any topweight problems as a result. These turrets were large, fully-enclosed and power-operated, and each mounted twin 3.9" high-velocity guns. Though designed as AA weapons, their high rate of fire and range of 20,000 yards made them at least the equal of their American 5" counterparts. From 1943 on each destroyer was also equipped with fifteen to fifty-one 25 mm. machine guns, the number increasing as the war progressed, and a full array of Types 21 and 22 radars.

The ships of the AKIZUKI class were built concurrently with those of the YUGUMO class, with the first six ordered under the 1939 Program and another ten, known as the SHIMOTSUKI group, under the 1941 Program. Of the latter, four were never built, MICHIZUKI being broken up on the stocks in March 1945 to make way for suicide craft, while HAZUKI, KIYOTSUKI and OZUKI were all cancelled. A large number of succeeding vessels, hull numbers 777-785 of the 1942 Program and 5061-5083 of the Modified 1942 Program, proved nothing more than expressions of wishful thinking.

Twelve AKIZUKIs were actually built, most of them serving in the 41st and 61st Destroyer Divisions. Six survived the war, but four of those, YOIZUKI, HARUZUKI, HANAZUKI and NATSUZUKI, were completed too late to see action outside of Japanese home waters. Though favorite targets of U.S. submarines, only one ship of the class was actually sunk by one. Two were lost to air attack and three in surface actions -- an interesting breakdown considering their original design as antiaircraft escorts.

Their swept-back lines and large single funnel made the AKIZUKIs very similar in appearance to light cruiser YUBARI, and in fact U.S. forces would consistently misidentify these ships as cruisers. And that appreciation was not so wide of the mark, considering their frequent employment in place of cruisers as squadron flagships. Their bridges were actually a bit too cramped for the addition of an admiral and his staff, and their turn of speed inferior to that of most of their contemporaries. But the AKIZUKIs continued as favorites in the role of destroyer-leader, and three were lost while so employed.

All in all, the AKIZUKI class represented an excellent, versatile design, and the vessels turned in solid performances. Lead-ship AKIZUKI herself compiled the most impressive record, fighting from Guadalcanal to Leyte Gulf with but one significant break in service due to damage. And TERUZUKI surely dealt her enemies some terrible blows one bloody night in Ironbottom Sound. But the most notable action of any of the class was HATSUZUKI's last fight off Cape Engano, an exhibition of such tenacity and selflessness as to rank with that of the American destroyers off Samar.


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NB: The above text has been collected / excerpted / edited / mangled / tangled / re-compiled / etc ... from the following online sources :

IJN - AKITSUKI class Destroyer - wikipedia article #1

IJN - AKITSUKI class Destroyer - wikipedia article #2

IJN - AKITSUKI class Destroyer - www.globalsecurity.org

IJN - AKITSUKI class Destroyer - www.combinedfleet.com article #1

IJN - AKITSUKI class Destroyer - www.combinedfleet.com article #2

IJN - AKITSUKI class Destroyer - www.ijn.dreamhost.com