Destroyers - Japan: books - history and technology

Destroyers : Selected Photos from the Archives of the Kure Maritime Museum

Selected photos from the archives of the Kure Maritime Museum showing destroyers used by the Japanese Navy.

Originally published in Japan in 2005, each album in The Japanese Naval Warship photo album series contains official photographs taken by the Kure Maritime Museum, as well as those taken by private individuals. These pictorial records document the main types of Japanese vessels, from battleships to submarines, based on the best images from Shizuo Fukui, a former Imperial Japanese Navy commander and technician.

These photos include the ones Fukui began collecting as a young boy and continued after he worked as a naval shipbuilder, and those that he was given in order to complete a photographic history of the Imperial Japanese Navy's ships, which include those gathered by Nagamura Kiyoshi, a shipbuilder who proactively collected photos, and the collection of machinist Amari Yoshiyuki. These images are especially valuable because of the massive destruction of official documents at the end of the war.

Imperial Japanese Navy Destroyers, 1919-45 (1) - Minekaze to Shiratsuyu Classes (Osprey)

This volume details the history, weapons and tactics of the Japanese destroyers built before the war. This includes the famous Fubuki class (called "Special Type" by the Japanese, which were, when completed in the late 1920's, the most powerful class of destroyers in the world. This design forced all other major navies to follow suite and provided the basic design for the next many classes of Imperial Navy destroyers.

This book also covers the three classes built before the Special Type which were based on a German World War I design as well as two classes built after the advent of the Special Type. All of these ships had a rich history as they fought from the first battles of the Pacific War up until the very end when several accompanied the superbattleship Yamato on her death sortie.
The final part is an analysis of the destroyer designs covered in the book which will include an examination of their strengths and weaknesses.

Contents: Introduction - Japanese naval strategy and the role of the destroyer - Japanese destroyer tactics - Japanese destroyer design principles - Japanese destroyer weapons - Minekaze class - Kamikaze class - Mutsuki class - Fubuki class - Akatsuki class - Hatsuharu class - Shiratsuyu class - Analysis and conclusion - Bibliography - Index.

Imperial Japanese Navy Destroyers, 1919-45 (2) - Asashio to Tachibana Classes (Osprey)

During the Pacific War the most successful component of the Imperial Japanese Fleet was its destroyer force. These ships were larger and, in most cases, better-equipped than their Allied counterparts. Armed with a powerful, long-ranged torpedo, these ships proved formidable opponents.
Initially, they were instrumental in an unbroken string of Japanese victories, but it was not until the Guadalcanal campaign that these ships fully demonstrated their power. In a series of daring night actions, they devastated Allied task forces with their deadly torpedoes.
This volume details the history, weapons and tactics of the Japanese destroyers built just before and throughout the war, including the famous Kagero and Yugumo classes, the experimental destroyer Shimakaze that boasted a top speed of almost 40 knots and 15 torpedo tubes, and the Matsu class that represented the Japanese equivalent to an Allied destroyer escort. These ships were designed to be built quickly and cheaply, but proved to be very tough in combat.

Contents: Introduction - Japanese naval strategy and the role of the destroyer - Japanese destroyer tactics - Japanese destroyer design principles - Japanese destroyer weapons - Japanese destroyer radar - Asashio class - Kagero class - Yugumo class - Akitsuki class - Shimakaze class - Matsu class - Analysis and conclusion - Bibliography - Index.

Akizuki-Class Destroyers - In the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II (Legends of Warfare)

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The destroyers of the Akizuki "Autumn Moon" class were very different from the standard fleet type of Imperial Japanese Navy destroyers inaugurated with the Fubuki class. They were designed for the protection of the Imperial Japanese Navy's carrier task forces, and in order to achieve this they carried a particularly powerful antiaircraft armament and had an extremely long radius of action.

However, only 12 out of a planned number of 39 entered service, and they arrived too late to play a crucial role in the decisive carrier battles of World War II. Despite this, their history is of particular interest since the Akizuki class foreshadowed the postwar fleet escort.
This is the history of their design and construction, and it relies heavily on Japanese source material and includes numerous photos and drawings.

Fubuki-Class Destroyers - in the Imperial Japanese Navy During World War II (Legends of Warfare)

The World War II-era destroyers of the Japanese Fubuki class were the first of a type sometimes referred to as "super destroyers." These destroyers were extremely large and heavily armed with guns and torpedoes.
Ironically, the IJN was pushed to create heavier destroyers by the terms of the Washington Naval Treaty, which discouraged the construction of new capital ships. Particular emphasis was placed on ships that were important for the night battle preceding the "decisive battle."
Thereby the stage was prepared for the Fubuki class, and it introduced a new standard for Japanese destroyers, a standard followed by almost all Japanese destroyers designed afterward.

Presented here is the history of their design, construction, and combat history, relying primarily on original Japanese war-era source material, including numerous diagrams and photos.

The Japanese Destroyer Shimakaze (Super Drawings in 3D)

The "Shimakaze" was built at Maizuru and entered service with the Japanese Navy in 1943. This book in the series "Super Drawings in 3D" describes the design, armament and career of this Japanese destroyer.

A volume in the Super Drawings in 3D Series. With ground-breaking 3D imagery, each corner, angle, and dimension of the ship is viewable.
With various close-up views, and each 3D image based on actual technical scale drawings and photographs, this is an exceptional reference tool.
Information on the design, development and combat history of the vessel is also included, as well as numerous photographs.

Imperial Japanese Navy Antisubmarine Escorts 1941-45 (Osprey)

In 1941, the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) went to war with a marginal anti-submarine warfare (ASW) capability. This was a lamentable state of affairs for a nation dependent upon imports to sustain its war economy.
There were only a few purpose-built ASW escorts available at the start of the war and these were augmented by a handful of second-class destroyers and a dozen torpedo boats.

Once the magnitude of the threat to Japan's shipping became fully apparent in 1943, the IJN made plans for mass production of ASW escorts. These arrived in 1944, but could not stop the massacre of Japanese shipping by increasingly bold and effective American submarines.

This volume will detail the history, weapons and tactics of the IJN's ASW escorts. These include the Momi class of second-rate destroyers, the Tomodzuru and Ootori classes of torpedo boars, and the several types of ASW escorts built from 1937 up to the end of the war.

USN Fleet Destroyer vs IJN Fleet Submarine : The Pacific 1941-42 (Osprey)

Leading up to the Pacific War, Japanese naval strategists believed that a decisive fleet engagement would be fought against the United States Navy. Outnumbered by the USN, the Imperial Japanese Navy planned to use its large, ocean-going submarines to chip away at its opponent before the grand battle.
In order to accomplish this, the IJN's submarine force was tasked to perform extended reconnaissance of the USN's battle fleet, even in port, and then shadow and attack it.
For their part, the USN was fully aware of the potential threat posed by Japanese submarines, and destroyer crews were trained and equipped with modern anti-submarine weapons and tactics to screen the battle fleet.

Challenging the assumption that Japanese submarines were ineffective during the Pacific War, this fully illustrated study examines their encounters with the US Navy, and the successes and failures of American destroyers in protecting their capital ships.

USN Destroyer vs IJN Destroyer - The Pacific, 1943 (Osprey)

This book covers the fierce night naval battles fought between the US Navy and the Imperial Japanese Navy during late 1943 as the Allies advanced slowly up the Solomons Islands toward the major Japanese naval base at Rabaul. During this period, several vicious actions were fought featuring the most modern destroyers of both navies.

Throughout most of 1942, the Imperial Navy had held a marked edge and a key ingredient of these successes was their destroyer force, which combined superior training and tactics with the most capable torpedo in the world. Even into 1943 mixed Allied light cruiser/destroyer forces were roughly handled by Japanese destroyers.

After these battles, the Americans decided to stop chasing Japanese destroyers with cruisers so the remainder of the battles in 1943 (with one exception) were classic destroyer duels.
The Americans still enjoyed the technical edge provided to them by radar, and now added new, more aggressive tactics. The final result was the defeat of the Imperial Navy's finely trained destroyer force and the demonstration that the Japanese were unable to stop the Allies' advance.