was a of the Imperial Japanese Navy.

Design and description

The Yūgumo class was a repeat of the preceding with minor improvements that increased their anti-aircraft capabilities. Their crew numbered 228 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 .

Japanese destroyer Suzunami (1943)

The main armament of the Yūgumo class consisted of six Type 3 guns in three twin-gun turrets, one superfiring pair aft and one turret forward of the superstructure. The guns were able to elevate up to 75° to increase their ability against aircraft, but their slow rate of fire, slow traversing speed, and the lack of any sort of high-angle fire-control system meant that they were virtually useless as anti-aircraft guns. They were built with four Type 96 anti-aircraft guns in two twin-gun mounts, but more of these guns were added over the course of the war. The ships were also armed with eight torpedo tubes in a two quadruple traversing mounts; one reload was carried for each tube. Their anti-submarine weapons comprised two depth charge throwers for which 36 depth charges were carried.

Japanese destroyer Suzunami (1943)

Construction and career

On 11 November 1943, Suzunami was sunk in a U.S. carrier air raid on Rabaul, New Britain. Reportedly she took a direct bomb hit while loading torpedoes near mouth of Rabaul Harbor (). She blew up and sank; 148 were killed, including Commander Kamiyama.

Japanese destroyer Suzunami (1943)

Notes

References

External links

CombinedFleet.com: Yūgumo-class destroyers

CombinedFleet.com: Suzunami history

Yūgumo-class destroyers

World War II destroyers of Japan

Destroyers sunk by aircraft

World War II shipwrecks in the Pacific Ocean

1943 ships

Maritime incidents in November 1943

Ships sunk by US aircraft

Naval magazine explosions

Ships built by Uraga Dock Company