Fubuki Class, Japanese Destroyers

IJN Amagiri, a Fubuki-class destroyer

Tonnage	1750 tons standard displacement
Dimensions	388'6" by 34' by 10'6" 118.41m by 10.36m by 3.20m
Maximum speed	38 knots
Complement	197
Armament	3x2 5"/50 dual-purpose guns 2x2 25mm/60 AA guns 2 13mm/76 machine guns 3x3 24" Long Lance torpedo tubes Depth charges
Bunkerage	475 tons fuel oil
Range	5000 nautical miles (9300km) at 14 knots
Modifications	1942-1943: One dual 5" mount replaced by 2x3 25mm mounts. Total light antiaircraft was 14 25mm guns and 4 13mm guns. 1944: Total of 22 25mm guns and 6-10 13mm guns.Type 13 radar began to be fitted towards the end of the war.

The Fubukis were completed in 1928-32, primarily in naval yards. They created a sensation with their powerful enclosed twin gun armament. Less noticed was their 24” torpedo armament, 3” larger than the standard for other nations. However, these were not originally the deadly Long Lance torpedoes, which were not shipped until much later.

After the Tomozuru Incident, in which a destroyer capsized in a typhoon, and the Fourth Fleet Incident, in which another typhoon damaged virtually every ship in the Fourth Fleet, the Japanese saw a need to strengthen their ship designs. The Fubukis accordingly were reconstructed in 1935-1937. This lowered their speed but strengthened the ships enough that they became excellent combat units.

Units in the Pacific:

Akebono	at Hashirajima	Sunk by aircraft 1941-11-13 at Cavite
Amagiri	with Singora Attack Force	Mined 1944-4-23 off Makassar
Asagiri	with Singora Attack Force	Sunk by aircraft 1942-8-28 near Guadalcanal
Ayanami	with Kota Baharu Attack Force	Crippled by gunfire and scuttled 1942-11-15 near Guadalcanal
Fubuki	with Main Body	Sunk by gunfire 1942-10-11 near Guadalcanal
Hatsuyuki	with Main Body	Sunk by aircraft 1943-7-17 at Kahili
Isonami	with Singora Attack Force	Torpedoed 1943-4-9 near Wangiwangi Island by Tautog
Murakumo	with Kota Baharu Attack Force	Crippled by aircraft and scuttled 1942-10-12 near Guadalcanal
Oboro	with Guam Invasion Force	Sunk by aircraft 1942-10-17 off Kiska
Sagiri	with Main Body	Torpedoed 1941-12-24 near Kuching by K-XVI
Sazaname	with Midway Neutralization Force	Torpedoed 1944-1-14 near Yap by Albacore
Shikiname	with Kota Baharu Attack Force	Torpedoed 1944-9-12 in South China Sea by Growler
Shinonome	with Kota Baharu Attack Force	Sunk by aircraft 1941-12-17 off Miri
Shirakumo	with Kota Baharu Attack Force	Torpedoed 1944-3-16 off Hokkaido by Tautog
Shirayuki	with Main Body	Sunk by aircraft 1943-3-3 in Bismarck Sea
Uranami	with Kota Baharu Attack Force	Sunk by aircraft 1944-10-26 off Iloilo
Ushio	with Midway Neutralization Force
Usugumo	1941-6-20 (Maizuru)	Torpedoed 1944-7-5 in Kuriles by Skate
Yugiri	with Singora Attack Force	Sunk by gunfire 1943-11-25 in Solomons

References

CombinedFleet.com (accessed 2007-12-12)

Morison (1948)

Whitley (1988)

Worth (2001)

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