Matsu-class destroyer


The Matsu-class destroyers were a class of destroyer built for the Imperial Japanese Navy in the late stages of World War II. The class was also designated the Type-D Destroyer. Although sometimes termed Destroyer escorts, they were larger and more capable than contemporary United States Navy destroyer escorts or the Imperial Japanese Navy kaibokan vessels.

Background

Even by 1942, the Imperial Japanese Navy General Staff realized that attrition of its destroyer force was not sustainable. There was a growing need for a simplified design which could be quickly mass-produced which could serve primarily as convoy escorts and as destroyer-transports in front-line locations, but would still be capable of working with the fleet if necessary. Emphasis was placed on anti-aircraft guns and anti-submarine weapons, and radar, as operations against surface targets was deemed unlikely. Forty-two vessels were ordered and work began in August 1943.
In the middle of 1944, the orders for twenty-four of these vessels were replaced with a further-simplified design, designated the Tachibana-class destroyer or Modified Type-D Destroyer. The Tachibana-class had straight lines and a modular construction to facilitate mass-production.The Imperial Japanese Navy had plans to build another hundred and twelve Tachibana-class vessels, but only fourteen were completed before construction was cancelled, with resources diverted to "special-attack units".

Design

The Matsu-class destroyers displaced standard with a length of overall. In order to simplify construction and reduce construction time, the Matsu-class destroyers used the same turbine engine as the, with two Kampon boilers The engine could develop only, which gave the vessels a top speed of just under. The boiler and the machinery rooms were separated to improve on survivability to combat damage.
The class was well armed for a ship of its size. The main battery was the 12.7 cm/40 Type 89 naval gun used as a primary anti-aircraft gun on many Japanese capital ships. A single gun was located forward with an anti-spray shield rather than a gun turret, and a dual mount was located aft with no protection at all. However, the lack of a high-angle fire-control director limited the anti-aircraft effectiveness of these weapons. Each vessel also had a quadruple torpedo launcher with Type 93 torpedoes, but no reloads.
Further anti-aircraft protection was provided by four Type 96 AA gun triple-mounts and eight single-mounts and both a Type 22 and Type 13 radar. The number of single-mounts was increased on certain individual vessels to thirteen. For anti-submarine warfare, each vessel also had two Type 94 depth charge projectors with 48 depth charges.
The Tachibana-class, entering service in 1945, had the same armament as the Matsu-class, but initially with 13 single-mount Type 96s instead of eight. This was later increased to as many as 19. Only one vessel,, was modified to launch a single kaiten manned torpedo from her stern, although there were plans to covert another 11 to this configuration just before the war came to an end.

Operational history

Matsu-class destroyers were assigned to Destroyer Divisions 43, 52, and 53. Few Matsu-class units saw extensive service beyond Japanese home waters, and none of the Tachibana-class.

''Matsu'' and ''Tachibana'' classes comparison

Matsu classTachibana class
Project numberF55F55B
Building methodOrdinaryModular design
Main materialsHigh-Tensile Strength steel and Carbon steelCarbon steel only
HullDouble bottomSingle bottom
BowKnuckle bowStraight bow
SternDestroyer sternTransom stern
Bilge KeelBoxy Flat board
Active sonarType 93Type 3
HydrophoneType 93Type 4
Turbineshigh-pressure,
intermediate-pressure,
low-pressure,
and cruising		high-pressure
and low-pressure

Ships of the classes

Forty-two vessels were ordered in Fiscal Year 1943 under the Modified 5th Naval Armaments Supplement Programme as #5481-#5522. Eighteen of these were completed to the original Matsu design, but the other twenty-four were altered to a modified design which became known as the Tachibana class. Eight of this batch were completed to that design, while orders for sixteen were subsequently cancelled.
Another thirty-two vessels were authorised in Fiscal Year 1944 under the Wartime Naval Armaments Supplement Programme as #4801-#4832, all to the Tachibana design. Six of this batch were completed to that design, while another four were ordered and laid down but were subsequently cancelled on 17 April 1945; the remaining twenty-two were never ordered.
A further eighty vessels were projected in Fiscal Year 1945 to a further modification of the design, known as the Kai-Tachibana class, but no orders were placed before the end of the war brought an end to the programme.

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