View source for Ikazuchi-class destroyer

{{For|destroyer escorts of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force|Ikazuchi-class destroyer escort}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2018}}

{{Infobox ship
|section1={{Infobox ship/image
 |image=IJN Sazanami at Yokosuka Meiji 33.jpg
 |image_caption= ''Ikazuchi''-class destroyer ''Sazanami'' at Yokosuka
 }}

|section2={{Infobox ship/class overview
 |name=''Ikazuchi'' class
 |builders=[[Yarrow Shipbuilders|Yarrow & Company]], [[Poplar, London|Poplar]], London
 |operators={{navy|Empire of Japan}}
 |class_before=None
 |class_after={{sclass|Murakumo|destroyer|4}}
 |subclasses=
 |built_range=
 |in_commission_range=February 1899 – August 1921
 |total_ships_planned=6
 |total_ships_completed=6
 |total_ships_canceled=
 |total_ships_lost=3
 |total_ships_retired=3
 |total_ships_preserved=
 }}

|section3={{Infobox ship/characteristics
 |hide_header=''Ikazuchi''-class destroyer
 |header_caption=
 |type= [[Destroyer]]
 |displacement=*{{convert|305|LT|t|0}} normal,
               *{{convert|410|LT|t|0|abbr=on}} full load
 |length=*{{convert|67.2|m|ft|abbr=on}} [[Length between perpendiculars|pp]],
         *{{convert|68.4|m|ft|abbr=on}} overall
 |beam={{convert|6.2|m|ft|abbr=on}}
 |draught={{convert|1.57|m|ft|abbr=on}}
 |draft=
 |propulsion=2-shaft reciprocating, 4 Yarrow boilers, {{convert|6000|ihp|kW|lk=in|abbr=on}}
 |speed={{convert|30|kn|km/h|lk=in}}
 |range=
 |complement=55
 |sensors=
 |EW=
 |armament=*1 × [[QF 12 pounder 12 cwt naval gun|QF 12 pounder]] gun
           *5 × [[QF 6 pounder Hotchkiss]] gun
           *2 × {{convert|18|in|mm|abbr=on}} [[torpedo]]es
 |armour=
 |armor=
 |aircraft=
 |aircraft_facilities=
 |notes=
 }}
}}

The {{nihongo|'''''Ikazuchi''-class destroyers'''|雷型駆逐艦|Ikazuchi-gata kuchikukan}} was a [[ship class|class]] of six [[torpedo boat destroyer]]s of the [[Imperial Japanese Navy]], which were built in Britain in 1897–99. All were named after celestial phenomena.<ref>Jentsura, ''Warships of the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1869-1945''</ref>

==Background==
In the [[First Sino-Japanese War]], the Japanese navy came to understand the combat effectiveness of small, fast [[torpedo]]-equipped warships over larger, slower ships equipped with slow-loading and often inaccurate [[naval artillery]]. The ''Ikazuchi''-class vessels were the second group of [[destroyer]]s to be procured by the Imperial Japanese Navy (the Thornycroft-built ''Murakumo'' and ''Shinonome'' were ordered a day earlier than the first two Yarrow-built destroyers),<ref>Watts, ''The Imperial Japanese Navy, 1869-1945''</ref> but the [[lead ship]] ''Ikazuchi'' was the first to be laid down and launched. Four ships were ordered under the 1896 fiscal year budget (''Ikazuchi'' and ''Inazuma'' on 16 January 1897, and ''Akebono'' and ''Sazanami'' on 30 April 1897), and an additional two under the 1897 budget (''Niji'' and ''Oboro'' on 1 July 1898). All were ordered from [[Yarrow Shipbuilders|Yarrow & Company]] in [[Poplar, London|Poplar]], London, which was considered to be the world's premier builders of destroyers and smaller warships.<ref>Howarth, ''The Fighting Ships of the Rising Sun''</ref>

==Design==
The design of the ''Ikazuchi''-class destroyers was based on the four-[[smokestack|funnel]] "Thirty Knotters" of the [[Royal Navy]] (from 1913 grouped as the {{sclass2|B|destroyer (1913)|4}}).

All ''Ikazuchi''-class vessels had a [[flush deck]] design with a distinctive "turtleback" [[forecastle]] that was intended to clear water from the bow during high speed navigation, but was poorly designed for high waves or bad weather. The [[Bridge (nautical)|bridge]] and forward gun platform were barely raised above the bow, resulting in a wet conning position. More than half of the small hull was occupied by the boilers and the engine room. With fuel and weaponry, there was little space left for crew quarters.

The ''Ikazuchi''-class ships were powered by [[steam engine|triple expansion steam engines]] with [[coal|coal-fired]] [[water-tube boiler]]s. Armament consisted of one [[British ordnance terms#QF|QF]] [[QF 12 pounder 12 cwt naval gun|12&nbsp;pounder]] gun mounted on a "[[bandstand]]" on the [[forecastle]], five [[QF 6 pounder Hotchkiss]] guns (two abreast the [[conning tower]], two between the funnels and one on the [[quarterdeck]]) and two single tubes for {{convert|18|in|mm|adj=on}} [[torpedo]]es.<ref>Cocker, ''Destroyers of the Royal Navy''</ref>

==Operational history==
All six ''Ikazuchi''-class destroyers arrived in Japan in time to be used during the [[Boxer Rebellion]] to patrol the [[China]] coast and to cover the landings of Japanese ground troops. ''Niji'' was lost in an accident off the [[Shantung Peninsula]] on 3 August 1900, but the remaining five vessels saw combat service during the [[Russo-Japanese War]] of 1904–1905.<ref>Nishida, ''Imperial Japanese Navy''</ref>

After the end of the Russo-Japanese War, ''Inazuma'' was lost in a collision with a merchant vessel off the coast of [[Hakodate]], [[Hokkaidō]] on 16 December 1909. On 28 August 1912 the remaining four ''Ikazuchi''-class vessels were re-classified as third-class destroyers, and were removed from front-line combat service.

''Akebono'' and ''Oboro'' returned to combat service in [[World War I]] as part of the Japanese detachment in the [[Battle of Tsingtao]], and in the operation to seize [[List of former German colonies|German colonial possessions]] in the [[Oceania|South Pacific]].  However, their remaining time on the [[navy list]] proved to be limited. After the [[lead ship]] ''Ikazuchi'' suffered a boiler explosion at [[Ominato]] harbor due to [[metal fatigue]] in its engine on 9 October 1912, and was written off the following year, ''Sazanami'' was also retired from service. ''Oboro'' and ''Akebono'' were retained until 1 April 1921, when they were converted into auxiliary [[minesweeper (ship)|minesweepers]] for a brief period, but were scrapped in 1925.

==List of ships==
{{clear}}
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size:97%;"
|-
! Kanji
! Name<br>(Translation)
! Builder
! Laid down
! Launched
! Completed
! width="38%"| Fate
|-
| 雷
| {{ship|Japanese destroyer|Ikazuchi|1898|2}}<br>"Thunder"
| rowspan=6 | [[Yarrow Shipbuilders|Yarrow & Company]], [[Poplar, London|Poplar]], London
| 1 September 1897
| 15 November 1898
| 23 February 1899
| Boiler explosion at Ominato 9 October 1913,<br>written off 5 November 1913, scrapped 29 April 1914
|-
| 電
| {{ship|Japanese destroyer|Inazuma|1899|2}}<br>"Lightning"
| 1 November 1897
| 28 January 1899
| 25 April 1899
| Lost in collision off Hakodate 16 December 1909, written off 15 September 1910
|-
| 曙
| {{ship|Japanese destroyer|Akebono|1899|2}}<br>"Dawn"
| 1 February 1898
| 25 April 1899
| 3 July 1899
| Retired 18 October 1921, broken up 2 May 1925
|-
|漣
| {{ship|Japanese destroyer|Sazanami|1899|2}}<br>"Ripple"
| 1 June 1897
| 8 August 1899
| 28 August 1899
| Retired 1 April 1913, sold 23 August 1914 as MV ''Sazanami Maru''
|-
| 霓
| {{ship|Japanese destroyer|Niji|1899|2}}<br>"Rainbow"
| 1 January 1899
| 22 June 1899
| 29 July 1899
| Grounded off Shantung Peninsula 29 July 1900, written off 8 April 1901
|-
| 朧
| {{ship|Japanese destroyer|Oboro|1899|2}}<br>"Moonlight"
| 1 January 1899
| 5 October 1899
| 1 November 1899
| Retired 21 June 1921, broken up 1926
|-
|}

==Notes==
{{reflist}}

==References==
*{{cite book
 | last = Cocker
 | first = Maurice
 | year = 1983
 | title = Destroyers of the Royal Navy, 1893-1981
 | publisher = Ian Allan
 | location =
 | isbn = 0-7110-1075-7
}}
*{{cite book
 | last = Evans
 | first = David
 | year = 1979
 | title = Kaigun: Strategy, Tactics, and Technology in the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1887-1941
 | publisher = US Naval Institute Press
 | location =
 | isbn = 0-87021-192-7
}}
*{{cite book
 | last = Howarth
 | first = Stephen
 | year = 1983
 | title = The Fighting Ships of the Rising Sun: The Drama of the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1895-1945
 | publisher = Atheneum
 | location =
 | isbn = 0-689-11402-8
}}
*{{cite book
 | last = Jane
 | first = Fred T
 | year = 1904
 | title = The Imperial Japanese Navy
 | url = https://archive.org/details/cu31924030895795
 | publisher = Thacker, Spink & Co
 | location =
 | id = ASIN: B00085LCZ4
}}
*{{cite book
 | last = Jentsura
 | first = Hansgeorg
 | year = 1976
 | title = Warships of the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1869-1945
 | publisher = US Naval Institute Press
 | location =
 | isbn = 0-87021-893-X
}}
*{{cite web
| last = Nishida
| first = Hiroshi
| url = http://admiral31.world.coocan.jp/e/stc0401.htm
| title = Materials of IJN: Ikazuchi class destroyer
| work = Imperial Japanese Navy
}}
*{{cite book
 | last = Stille
 | first = Mark
 | year = 2016
 | title = The Imperial Japanese Navy of the Russo-Japanese War
 | publisher = Osprey Publishing
 | location = Oxford
 | isbn = 978-1-4728-1119-6
}}
*{{cite book
 | last = Watts
 | first = Anthony John
 | year = 1971
 | title = The Imperial Japanese Navy, 1869-1945
 | publisher = Macdonald & Co. (Publishers) Ltd
 | location = London
 | isbn = 0-356-03045-8
}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Ikazuchi class destroyer}}

{{Ikazuchi class destroyers}}
{{Russo-JapaneseWarJapaneseShips}}
{{WWI Japanese ships}}

[[Category:Destroyer classes]]
[[Category:Ikazuchi-class destroyers| ]]
[[Category:World War I destroyers of Japan]]
[[Category:Russo-Japanese War naval ships of Japan]]