Momi-class destroyer

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Japanese destroyer Ashi.jpg
Ashi
Class overview
NameMomi class
Builders
OperatorsNaval ensign of the Empire of Japan.svg  Imperial Japanese Navy
Preceded by Kawakaze class
Succeeded by Minekaze class
Built1918–1923
In commission1919–1946
Planned28
Completed21
Cancelled7
Lost11
Scrapped10
General characteristics as built
Type Destroyer
Displacement
  • 864 t (850 long tons) (normal)
  • 1,036 t (1,020 long tons) (deep load)
Length
  • 83.8 m (275 ft) (pp)
  • 85.3 m (280 ft) (o/a)
Beam7.9 m (26 ft)
Draft2.4 m (8 ft)
Installed power
Propulsion2 shafts; 2 × Parsons steam turbines
Speed36 knots (67 km/h; 41 mph)
Range3,000  nmi (5,600 km; 3,500 mi) at 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph)
Complement148
Armament

The Momi-class destroyers were a class of twenty-one second-class destroyers of the Imperial Japanese Navy. [1] All were named for plants. Obsolete by the beginning of the Pacific War, the Momis were relegated to mostly secondary roles, with some vessels serving throughout the war as patrol vessels or high speed transports.

Contents

Background

Construction of the medium-sized Momi-class destroyers was authorized as part of the Imperial Japanese Navy's 8-4 Fleet Program from fiscal 1918–1920, as an accompaniment to the larger Minekaze class with which they shared many common design characteristics. [2] These vessels were produced at several shipyards around Japan, and when formed into attack squadrons of two to four vessels, made up the backbone of the inter-war Imperial Japanese Navy. [3]

The final seven vessels planned for this series were cancelled, and re-ordered as the new Wakatake-class destroyers in 1919, and by the mid-1920s the concept of the "second-class destroyer" had fallen out of favor due to the greater capabilities offered by the new generation of fleet destroyers. [4]

Initial design

The Momi class was a development of the Enoki second-class destroyers, relying on the same basic hull. They were quite small, comparable to Royal Navy corvettes. The design incorporated features discovered on German destroyers awarded as reparations from World War I, including a lengthened forecastle with a break forming a well deck immediately forward of the bridge, and a front gun battery placed on a pedestal on the centerline so that it could be operated in heavy weather. This arrangement also offered the advantage of a low, semi protected area for the forward torpedo tubes albeit at the cost of becoming awash in heavy seas. [5] Initial problems with stability during high-speed turns were later corrected by widening the beam and bringing up the waterline.

When compared with the Minekaze class, the smaller size necessitated a reduction from four boilers to three and the adoption of lighter-weight Parsons direct-drive turbines, resulting in a drop from 38,500  hp in the Minekaze class to 21,500 hp (16,000 kW) in the Momi class. In addition, fuel capacity was lowered to 275 tons of oil fuel.

As gear turbine technology was not yet perfected, the navy experimented with a variety of power plants on the Momi class:

TurbinesEquipment for
Brown-Curtis turbinesKaya, Warabi and Tade
Parsons impulse turbinesHishi and Hasu
Escher Wyss & Cie Zoelly turbinesSumire
Mitsubishi Shipbuilding High-pressure
impulse turbine and low-pressure reaction turbine		Kaki
Kampon turbinesall others

The Momi class was heavily armed for its small displacement, with a main battery of Type 3 120 mm 45 caliber naval guns, the same as was used on the Minekaze-class, and a set of double torpedo launchers. Anti-aircraft protection was provided by two 7.7mm machine guns. [4]

Early operational history

Due to their shallow draft, the Momi-class destroyers proved to be excellent for operation in coastal waters, and were used along the coast of China to support amphibious landings during the Second Sino-Japanese War.

A number of the Momi-class vessels were lost or disposed during the interwar period. Momi herself was turned over to trials in 1932, while Warabi was run down by the cruiser Jintsu on 27 August 1927 off Maizuru, Kyoto. Kaya and Nashi were scrapped in 1939. [4]

Also in 1939, Aoi, Fuji, Hagi, Hishi, Kiku, Satsuki, Tade, Tsuta and Yomogi were removed from front line combat service and converted into patrol vessels. In 1940, Ashi, Kaki, Nine, Sumire, and Take were disarmed, and re-rated as training ships. [4]

By the time of the Pacific War, the Momi-class was reaching the end of its service life, and only three (Tsuga, Hasu and Kuri) remained in service as destroyers. An effort was made to upgrade their capabilities by removing the minesweeping gear from the stern and replacing with 36 to 48 depth charges and four depth charge launchers. The amidships Type 3 guns was replaced by two triple Type 96 AA guns from 1942 to 1943, and a Type 13 radar was added. Tsuga was sunk by air attack 15 January 1945. Hasu was surrendered and scrapped at the end of the war. Kuri was surrendered, but sank after striking a mine off Korea on 8 October 1945. [4]

As patrol boats

Periscope photo of Patrol Boat #39 (Japanese escort vessel, originally the destroyer Tade, 1922) sinking after being torpedoed by Seawolf on 23 April 1943 Japanese Patrol Boat No.39 sinking after being torpedoed on 23 April 1943.jpg
Periscope photo of Patrol Boat #39 (Japanese escort vessel, originally the destroyer Tade, 1922) sinking after being torpedoed by Seawolf on 23 April 1943
Patrol Boat No. 39 (ex-Tade) Sinking after being torpedoed 02.jpg
Patrol Boat No. 39 (ex-Tade)

Beginning in 1939, nine Momi-class vessels were re-classified as patrol boats and converted for escort duty, having one boiler removed (dropping their power to 12,000  ihp (8,900 kW) and speed to just 18 knots (21 mph; 33 km/h). Their torpedo tubes, minesweeping gear, and the amidships Type 3 gun mount were replaced by six Type 96 25 mm AT/AA Guns, 36 depth charges, and three depth charge throwers. [4] As well, their names were dropped and they were simply numbered.

During 1941–1942, these vessels were modified again, to carry and launch a Toku Daihatsu-class landing craft, by having the aft smokestack removed and the stern modified with a sloping deck to the waterline, as well as providing accommodation for 150 naval infantry troops. All of these vessels except ex-Fuji (as Patrol Boat #36) were sunk during the course of the Pacific War. [4]

List of ships

Construction data
Name Kanji Builder Laid down Launched CompletedFate
Momi 樅 Yokosuka Naval Arsenal, Japan 23 January 191810 June 191927 December 1919Decommissioned, 1 April 1932; renamed Disposal Destroyer No.2 (廃駆二号, Haiku 2-Gō); used for trials to 1936
Kaya 榧23 December 191810 June 191928 March 1920Decommissioned, 1 February 1940 and scrapped
Nashi 梨 Kawasaki Shipyards, Kobe, Japan2 February 191826 August 191910 December 1919
Take 竹Kawasaki Shipyards, Kobe, Japan2 December 191826 August 191925 December 1919Decommissioned, 1 February 1940; converted to training ship; scuttled as breakwater at Akita port in 1948
Kaki 柿 Uraga Dock Company, Japan27 February 191920 October 19192 August 1920Decommissioned, 1 April 1940; converted to training ship; re-converted to auxiliary ship Ōsu (大須) 23 February 1945; scrapped 1948
Tsuga 栂 Ishikawajima Shipyards, Japan5 March 191917 April 192020 June 1920Sunk off Taiwan, 15 January 1945, in air attack; struck 10 March 1945
Nire 楡 Kure Naval Arsenal, Japan5 September 191922 December 191931 March 1920Decommissioned, 1 February 1940; converted to training ship, re-converted to auxiliary ship No.1 Tomariura (第一泊浦, Dai-1 Tomariura) 15 December 1944; scrapped 1948
Kuri 栗Kure Naval Arsenal, Japan5 December 191919 March 192030 April 1920Mined off Pusan, 8 October 1945; struck 25 October 1945
Kiku 菊Kawasaki Shipyards, Kobe, Japan20 January 192013 October 192010 December 1920Converted to Patrol Boat No.31 (第三十一号哨戒艇, Dai-31-Gō shōkaitei) 1 April 1940; sunk at Palau, 30 March 1944 by air attack; struck 10 May 1944
Aoi 葵Kawasaki Shipyards, Kobe, Japan1 April 19209 November 192010 December 1920Converted to Patrol Boat No.32 (第三十二号哨戒艇, Dai-32-Gō shōkaitei) 1 April 1940; grounded 23 December 1941 at Wake Island; struck 15 January 1942
Hagi 萩Uraga Dock Company, Japan28 February 192029 October 192020 April 1921Converted to Patrol Boat No.33 (第三十三号哨戒艇, Dai-33-Gō shōkaitei) 1 April 1940; grounded 23 December 1941 at Wake Island; struck 15 January 1942
Fuji 藤 Fujinagata Shipyards, Japan6 December 191927 November 192031 May 1921Converted to Patrol Boat No.36 (第三十六号哨戒艇, Dai-36-Gō shōkaitei) 1 April 1940; surrendered to Netherlands in July 1946 at Surabaya; scrapped 10 August 1946
Susuki 薄Ishikawajima Shipyards, Japan3 May 192021 February 192125 May 1921Converted to Patrol Boat No.34 (第三十四号哨戒艇, Dai-34-Gō shōkaitei) 1 April 1940; sunk 6 March 1943 in collision with Yakaze off Kavien; written off 10 January 1945.
Hishi 菱Uraga Dock Company, Japan10 November 19209 May 192123 March 1922Converted to Patrol Boat No.37 (第三十七号哨戒艇, Dai-37-Gō shōkaitei) 1 April 1940; sunk off Borneo, by USS Pope 24 January 1942; struck 10 April 1942
Hasu 蓮Uraga Dock Company, Japan2 March 19218 December 192131 July 1922Retired, 12 October 1945; scuttled as breakwater in Fukui, 1946
Warabi 蕨Fujinagata Shipyards, Japan12 October 192028 September 192119 December 1921Sunk 24 August 1927 in collision with Jintsu off Cape Miho; struck 15 September 1927
Tade 蓼Fujinagata Shipyards, Japan20 December 192015 March 192131 July 1922Converted to Patrol Boat No.39 (第三十九号哨戒艇, Dai-39-Gō shōkaitei) 1 April 1940; torpedoed off Yonaguni by USS Seawolf (SS-197) 23 April 1943; struck 1 July 1943
Sumire 菫Ishikawajima Shipyards, Japan24 November 192014 December 192131 March 1923Decommissioned, 1 February 1940; converted to training ship, re-converted to auxiliary ship Mitaka (三高) 23 February 1945; scrapped 1948
Tsuta 蔦Kawasaki Shipyards, Kobe, Japan16 October 19209 May 192130 June 1921Converted to Patrol Boat No.35 (第三十五号哨戒艇, Dai-35-Gō shōkaitei) 1 April 1940; sunk at Lae by air attack 2 September 1942; struck 10 February 1943
Ashi 葦Kawasaki Shipyards, Kobe, Japan15 November 19203 September 192129 October 1921Decommissioned, 1 February 1940; converted to training ship, re-converted to auxiliary ship No.2 Tomariura (第二泊浦, Dai-2 Tomariura) 15 December 1944; modified to Shin'yō suicide motorboat mothership 1945, scrapped 1947
Yomogi 蓬Ishikawajima Shipyards, Japan26 February 192114 March 192219 August 1922Converted to Patrol Boat No.38 (第三十八号哨戒艇, Dai-38-Gō shōkaitei) 1 April 1940: torpedoed Bashi Strait by USS Atule 25 November 1944; struck 10 March 1945

Notes

  1. ↑ Jentsura, Warships of the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1869-1945
  2. ↑ Howarth, The Fighting Ships of the Rising Sun
  3. ↑ Globalsecurity.org, IJN Momi class destroyers
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Stille, Mark (2017). Imperial Japanese Navy Antisubmarine Escorts 1941–45. Oxford, UK: Osprey Publishing. pp. 12–14. ISBN   978-1-4728-1817-1.
  5. ↑ Destroyers of World War Two: An International Encyclopedia. pp. 188/189

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References

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