Japanese destroyer Fuyutsuki

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For other ships with the same name, see Japanese destroyer Fuyuzuki.
Fuyutsuki, 23 May 1944
History
Empire of Japan
NameFuyutsuki
Ordered1942
BuilderMaizuru Naval Arsenal
Cost17,820,400 JPY (as naval budget)[1]
Laid down8 May 1943
Launched20 January 1944
Completed25 May 1944
Commissioned25 May 1944
Reclassified
  • 4th Class Reserve Ship on September 1945
  • As repair ship/minesweeper tender on 20 November 1945
Stricken20 November 1945
HomeportYokosuka
FateScrapped and converted breakwater in May 1948
General characteristics
Class and typeAkizuki-class destroyer
Displacement
  • 2,700 long tons (2,743 t) standard
  • 3,700 long tons (3,759 t) full load
Length134.2 m (440 ft 3 in)
Beam11.6 m (38 ft 1 in)
Draft4.15 m (13 ft 7 in)
Propulsion
  • 4 × Kampon type boilers
  • 2 × Parsons geared turbines
  • 2 × shafts, 50,000 shp (37 MW)
Speed33 knots (38 mph; 61 km/h)
Range8,300 nmi (15,400 km) at 18 kn (21 mph; 33 km/h)
Complement300
Armament

Fuyutsuki[2][3] (冬月, "Winter Moon") was an Akizuki-class destroyer of the Imperial Japanese Navy. Her name means "Winter Moon".

Design and description[edit]

The Akizuki-class ships were originally designed as anti-aircraft escorts for carrier battle groups, but were modified with torpedo tubes and depth charges to meet the need for more general-purpose destroyers. The ships measured 134.2 meters (440 ft 3 in) overall, with beams of 11.6 meters (38 ft 1 in) and drafts of 4.15 meters (13 ft 7 in).[4] They displaced 2,701 long tons (2,744 t) at standard load[5] and 3,420 long tons (3,470 t) at deep load.[6] Their crews numbered 300 officers and enlisted men.[5]

Each ship had two Kampon geared steam turbines, each driving one propeller shaft using steam provided by three Kampon water-tube boilers. The turbines were rated at a total of 52,000 shaft horsepower (38,776 kW) for a designed speed of 33 knots (61 km/h; 38 mph). The ships carried enough fuel oil to give them ranges of 8,300 nautical miles (15,400 km; 9,600 mi) at speeds of 18 knots (33 km/h; 21 mph).[7]

The main armament of the Akizuki class consisted of eight 100-millimeter (3.9 in) Type 98 dual-purpose guns in four twin-gun turrets, two superfiring pairs fore and aft of the superstructure. They each carried a dozen 25-millimeter (1 in) Type 96 anti-aircraft (AA) guns in four triple-gun mounts. The ships were also each armed with four 610-millimeter (24 in) torpedo tubes in a single quadruple rotating mount amidships; one reload was carried for each tube.[8] The later batchs of ships were each equipped with six depth charge throwers for which 72 depth charges were carried. Fuyutsuki was equipped with a Type 21 early-warning radar on her foremast.[9]

Construction and career[edit]

On 25 May 1944, Fuyutsuki was completed at Maizuru Naval Arsenal, and she was assigned to the 11th Destroyer Squadron, Combined Fleet.[10]

On 24 June, she sailed to Yokosuka with Landing Ship No. 4 and Landing Ship No. 104.[11] On 25 June, she escorted the I-Gō Transport Squadron,[12] on 29 June, she was deployed to Chichi-jima with the cruiser Nagara and destroyer Matsu. They returned to Yokosuka on 3 July.[13]

On 11 July, she sailed to Tokuyama with the destroyer Kiyoshimo. On 14 July, she joined the Ro-Gō Transport Squadron,[14] and sailed to Nakagusuku Bay. On 15 July, she was assigned to the 41st Destroyer Division, 10th Division, 3rd Fleet with the destroyer Shimotsuki.[15] Fuyutsuki returned to Kure on 26 July.[13]

On 12 October, while escorting the light cruiser Ōyodo from Yokosuka to the Inland Sea, she was hit in the bow by a torpedo fired from the submarine USS Trepang. She returned to Kure where she was repaired.

On 31 January 1945 she ran aground on a sandbar near Ōita during a training mission in the Inland Sea.

Fuyutsuki participated on the last mission of the battleship Yamato (6–7 April 1945). She sank the crippled destroyer Kasumi with two torpedoes after taking aboard her crew.[16] She was one of the few surviving ships, even though lightly damaged by 127 mm rockets and bombs. Her own losses were 12 dead and 12 injured.

On 20 August 1945, Fuyutsuki hit a mine at Moji, Kyūshū, suffering heavy damage to her stern. She surrendered unrepaired and without armament.

References[edit]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ Senshi Sōsho (1969), p. 815.
  2. ^ 1 October 1943, Administrative order No. 235, Named one destroyer, two submarines, one coast defence ship, two minesweepers, and one submarine chaser., Minister's Secretariat, Ministry of the Navy.
  3. ^ National Archives of Japan, reference code: C12070120400, p. 1.
  4. ^ Sturton, p. 195
  5. ^ a b Whitley, p. 204
  6. ^ Todaka, p. 213
  7. ^ Jentschura, Jung & Mickel, p. 150
  8. ^ Whitley, pp. 204–205
  9. ^ Stille, p. 33
  10. ^ The Maru Special (1978), p. 35.
  11. ^ National Archives of Japan, reference code: C08030127400, p. 20.
  12. ^ National Archives of Japan, reference code: C08030127400, p. 21.
  13. ^ a b National Archives of Japan, reference code: C08030127500, p. 5.
  14. ^ National Archives of Japan, reference code: C08030127500, p. 32.
  15. ^ National Archives of Japan, reference code: C08030127500, p. 31.
  16. ^ Spurr, Russell (1981). A Glorious Way To Die - The Kamikaze Mission of the Battleship Yamato. New York: Newmarket Press. pp. 305. ISBN 9781557049131.

Sources[edit]

  • Dodson, Aidan & Cant, Serena (2020). Spoils of War: The Fate of Enemy Fleets after Two World Wars. Barnsley, UK: Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-5267-4198-1.
  • Rohwer, Jürgen (2005). Chronology of the War at Sea 1939–1945: The Naval History of World War Two (Third Revised ed.). Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-59114-119-2.
  • Stille, Mark (2013). Imperial Japanese Navy Destroyers 1919–45 (2): Asahio to Tachibana Classes. Botley, UK: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84908-987-6.
  • Sturton, Ian (1980). "Japan". In Chesneau, Roger (ed.). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1922–1946. Greenwich, UK: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-146-7.
  • Todaka, Kazushige, ed. (2020). Destroyers: Selected Photos from the Archives of the Kure Maritime Museum; the Best from the Collection of Shizuo Fukui's Photos of Japanese Warships. Japanese Naval Warship Photo Album. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-1-59114-630-8.
  • Whitley, M. J. (2000). Destroyers of World War Two: An International Encyclopedia. London: Cassell & Co. ISBN 1-85409-521-8.

Further reading[edit]

  • Ushio Shobō (Ushioshobokojinsha Co., Ltd.), Tōkyō, Japan.
    • The Maru Special, Imperial Japanese Vessels No. 19, Destroyer Asashio-class and Akizuki-class, 1978.
  • Senshi Sōsho, Asagumo Shimbunsha Inc., Tōkyō, Japan.
    • Vol. 31, Naval armaments and war preparation (1), "Until November 1941", 1969.
  • Japan Center for Asian Historical Records (http://www.jacar.go.jp/english/index.html), National Archives of Japan, Tokyo, Japan.
    • Reference code: C12070120400, October (1), Minister's Secretariat, Ministry of the Navy, 1943.
    • Reference code: C08030127400, Wartime log book from June 1, 1944 to June 30, 1945, 11th Torpedo Squadron (1), HQ of 11th Destroyer Squadron, Imperial Japanese Navy, 1944.
    • Reference code: C08030127500, Wartime log book from June 1, 1944 to June 30, 1945, 11th Torpedo Squadron (2), HQ of 11th Destroyer Squadron, Imperial Japanese Navy, 1944.

External links[edit]

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