Fubuki Class, Japanese Destroyers

Naval Historical Center #NH 83011

Specifications:

The Fubukis were completed in 1928-32, primarily in naval yards. They created a sensation with their numerous innovations, which included powerful enclosed twin gun armament, sophisticated directors, and enclosed bridges. 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. These features came at the cost of compromising stability and strength, with much of the superstructure built of aluminum alloy instead of steel.

The design was constrained by the naval disarmament treaties, under which Japan could build an aggregate 201,600 tons of destroyers. Navy planners estimated that 144 destroyers were needed, which meant their individual displacement should be about 1400 tons. It was possible to build an adequate destroyer on this displacement, but Japanese commitment to a qualitative superiority over the Western navies led to the final 1750 ton design. Since the total number of Japanese destroyers never approached 144, the large displacement did not become an issue. These "Special Type" destroyers were build over a five-year period, resulting in an unusual degree of inhomogeneity within the class.

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 by lowering their center of gravity, extensively riveting and rewelding the hulls, and replacing the original turrets with a lighter model with a maximum elevation of only 55 degrees. This eliminated what little antiaircraft capability the main battery had, increased the displacement to 2090 tons, and lowered their speed by a knot, but strengthened the ships enough that they became excellent combat units.

Units in the Pacific:

References

CombinedFleet.com (accessed 2007-12-12)

Morison (1948)

Osborne (2005)

Whitley (1988)

Worth (2001)

The Pacific War Online Encyclopedia © 2007, 2009-2010 by Kent G. Budge. Index

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