Sister ship Ayanami
History
Empire of Japan
NameWakaba
BuilderYokosuka Naval Arsenal
Launched25 November 1905
Completed28 February 1906
Decommissioned1 April 1928
ReclassifiedAs a minesweeper, 1 December 1924
FateScrapped, 1928
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

Wakaba (若葉) ("Young leaves") 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 Wakaba 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

Wakaba was launched at the Yokosuka Naval Arsenal on 25 November 1905[1] and completed on 28 February 1906. The ship saw service in World War I and participated in the Siberian Expedition. She was converted into a minesweeper on 1 December 1924. Wakaba was decommissioned on 1 April 1928[5] and subsequently broken up.[3]

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 c Jentschura, Jung & Mickel, p. 133
  4. ^ Friedman 2011, p. 349
  5. ^ Todaka, et al., p. 219

Books