Japanese destroyer Isonami (1908)

For other ships with the same name, see Japanese destroyer Isonami.
Sister ship Ayanami
History
Empire of Japan
NameIsonami
BuilderMaizuru Naval Arsenal
Launched21 November 1908
Completed2 April 1909
Decommissioned1 June 1930
Out of service9 April 1935
RenamedW-7, 1 August 1928
Reclassified
FateServed as a floating pier at Kure Naval Arsenal
General characteristics (as built)
Class and typeKamikaze-class destroyer
Displacement
Length
  • 227 ft (69.2 m) (pp)
  • 234 ft (71 m) (o/a)
Beam21 ft 7 in (6.6 m)
Draught6 ft (1.8 m)
Installed power4 boilers; 6,000 ihp (4,500 kW)
Propulsion2 shafts; 2 triple-expansion steam engines
Speed29 knots (54 km/h; 33 mph)
Range1,200 nmi (2,200 km; 1,400 mi) at 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph)
Complement70
Armament

Isonami (磯波) ("Wave on a sea shore") was one of 32 Kamikaze-class destroyers built for the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) in the first decade of the 20th century.

Design and description

The Kamikaze-class destroyers were improved versions of the preceding Harusame class.[1] They displaced 381 long tons (387 t) at normal load and 450 long tons (460 t) at deep load. The ships had a length between perpendiculars of 227 feet (69.2 m) and an overall length of 234 feet (71.3 m), a beam of 21 feet 7 inches (6.6 m) and a draught of 6 feet (1.8 m). The Kamikazes were powered by two vertical triple-expansion steam engines, each driving one shaft using steam produced by four Kampon water-tube boilers. The engines produced a total of 6,000 indicated horsepower (4,500 kW) that gave the ships a maximum speed of 29 knots (54 km/h; 33 mph). They carried a maximum of 100 long tons (102 t) of coal[2] which gave them a range of 1,500 nautical miles (2,800 km; 1,700 mi) at a speed of 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph). Their crew consisted of 70 officers and ratings.[3]

The main armament of the Kamikaze-class ships consisted of two 40-calibre quick-firing (QF) three-inch (76 mm) 12 cwt guns[Note 1] on single mounts; the forward gun was located on superstructure, but the aft gun was at the stern. Four 28-calibre QF three-inch 8 cwt guns on single mounts were positioned abreast the superstructure, two in each broadside. The ships were also armed with two single rotating mounts[1][3] for 450-millimetre (17.7 in)[4] torpedoes between the superstructure and the stern gun. When Isonami was converted into a minesweeper in 1924, she was rearmed with a pair of 12-centimetre (4.7 in) 3rd Year Type guns taken from older ships on single mounts and the three-inch 8 cwt guns were removed.[1]

Construction and career

Isonami was launched at Maizuru Naval Arsenal on 21 November 1908 and completed on 2 April 1909.[1] The ship saw service in World War I and the Siberian Expediation. She was converted into a minesweeper on 1 December 1924 and was renamed W-7 on 1 August 1928. The ship was decommissioned on 1 June 1930, but she continued in service as a tugboat and a dispatch boat until 9 April 1935. Afterwards she became a floating pier at Kure Naval Arsenal.[5]

Notes

  1. ^ "Cwt" is the abbreviation for hundredweight, 12 cwt referring to the weight of the gun.

Citations

  1. ^ a b c d Friedman 1985, p. 241
  2. ^ Watts & Gordon, p. 243
  3. ^ a b Jentschura, Jung & Mickel, p. 133
  4. ^ Friedman 2011, p. 349
  5. ^ Todaka, et al., p. 219

Books

  • Friedman, Norman (1985). "Japan". In Gardiner, Robert & Gray, Randal (eds.). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-907-3.
  • Friedman, Norman (2011). Naval Weapons of World War One. Barnsley, South Yorkshire, UK: Seaforth. ISBN 978-1-84832-100-7.
  • Jentschura, Hansgeorg; Jung, Dieter & Mickel, Peter (1977). Warships of the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1869–1945. Annapolis, Maryland: United States Naval Institute. ISBN 0-87021-893-X.
  • Todaka, Kazushige; Fukui, Shizuo; Eldridge, Robert D. & Leonard, Graham B. (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.
  • Watts, Anthony J. & Gordon, Brian G. (1971). The Imperial Japanese Navy. London: Macdonald. ISBN 0-35603-045-8.