Japanese destroyer Shimotsuki
Shimotsuki was an destroyer of the Imperial Japanese Navy. Her name means "November".The Akizuki-class ships were originally designed as anti-aircraft escorts for carrier battle groups, but were modified with torpedo tubes and depth charges to meet the need for more general-purpose destroyer. Her crew numbered 300 officers and enlisted men. The ships measured overall, with a beam of and a draft of. They displaced at standard load and at deep load.
The ships had two Kampon geared steam turbines, each driving one propeller shaft, using steam provided by three Kampon water-tube boilers. The turbines were rated at a total of for a designed speed of. The ships carried up to of fuel oil which gave them a range of at a speed of.
The main armament of the Akizuki class consisted of eight Type 98 dual purpose guns in four twin-gun turrets, two superfiring pairs fore and aft of the superstructure. They carried four Type 96 anti-aircraft guns in two twin-gun mounts. The ships were also armed with four torpedo tubes in a single quadruple traversing mount; one reload was carried for each tube. Their anti-submarine weapons comprised six depth charge throwers for which 72 depth charges were carried.Construction and career
On 25 November 1944, Shimotsuki was torpedoed and sunk by the submarine east-northeast of Singapore with heavy loss of life.
