IJN Hatsuharu Class Destroyers
The Hatsuhara class destroyers were designed under the restrictions of the 1930 Naval Treaty of London. Thus, while they were smaller than the previous Fubuki and Akatsuki class destroyers, they were laid down for the best performance possible. Ordered in the 1931 Program, the destroyers were laid down between 1931 and 1933, and completed between 1933 and 1935.
Despite their smaller size, their designers attempted to replicate the same arsenal on the previous 'Special Type' destroyers. This resulted in a severe stability problem that was discovered after the Tomozuru, a torpedo boat, capsized. The Tomozuru class had been heavily armed, similar in fashion to the Hatsuharu destroyers. This had created a 'top heavy' effect, in which the ships were liable to capsize in poor ocean conditions. Alerted to what had occurred on the Tomozuru, several classes of ships, the Hatsuharu included, were modified to avoid any repeats of the naval disaster.
The entire class of destroyers, six in total, were loss in the Pacific War. The Hatsushimo sunk after colliding with a mine, while the Nenohi was sunk by an American submarine. The rest were all sunk by aircraft attack.
|
NEWSLETTER
|
| Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list |
|
|
|
