Destroyer of the Imperial Japanese Navy
|
| History |
|---|
 Empire of Japan |
|---|
| Name | Isonami |
| Builder | Maizuru Naval Arsenal |
| Launched | 21 November 1908 |
| Completed | 2 April 1909 |
| Decommissioned | 1 June 1930 |
| Out of service | 9 April 1935 |
| Renamed | W-7, 1 August 1928 |
| Reclassified | |
| Fate | Served as a floating pier at Kure Naval Arsenal |
| General characteristics (as built) |
|---|
| Class and type | Kamikaze-class destroyer |
| Displacement | |
| Length |
- 227 ft (69.2 m) (pp)
- 234 ft (71 m) (o/a)
|
| Beam | 21 ft 7 in (6.6 m) |
| Draught | 6 ft (1.8 m) |
| Installed power | 4 boilers; 6,000 ihp (4,500 kW) |
| Propulsion | 2 shafts; 2 triple-expansion steam engines |
| Speed | 29 knots (54 km/h; 33 mph) |
| Range | 1,200 nmi (2,200 km; 1,400 mi) at 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph) |
| Complement | 70 |
| 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]
