Harusame-class destroyer

Japanese destroyer Murasame at Sasebo, 1919

The was a class of seven torpedo boat destroyers (TBDs) of the Imperial Japanese Navy. The Harusame class of destroyers were the first destroyers to be built in Japan.

Background

The Harusame-class destroyers were part of the 1894 Imperial Japanese Navy ten-year expansion and modernization plan for based on lessons learned in the First Sino-Japanese War. In the second phase of this plan, from fiscal 1897, after 12 destroyers had been imported from the United Kingdom, budget cutbacks reduced the number of new vessels to only four more (two each from the and classes).

In fiscal year 1900, the Imperial Japanese Navy decided to cancel plans for a torpedo boat tender, which freed funds to purchase four additional destroyers. Likewise, in fiscal 1903, the cancellation of six planned utility vessels freed funds to produce an additional three destroyers.

In order to cut costs and to help develop the Japanese shipbuilding industry, it was decided to construct all seven of the new destroyers at Japanese yards. The first four were built at the Yokosuka Naval Arsenal, and the remaining three at the Kure Naval Arsenal.

Design

The Harusame-class ships attempted to incorporate the best features of the existing destroyer designs in the Navy's inventory. The bow design and front half of the vessel was substantially identical to the previous Yarrow-built , whereas the aft section was a copy of the previous Thornycroft-built .

Externally, the design retained the four-smokestacks of the Ikazuchi class, and the improved rudder design of the Akatsuki class. The main design issue was with the coal-fired triple expansion steam engines, which copied the design of the Yarrow water-tube boilers. As with the Ikazuchi class, the rated power was ; however, problems with quality of the materials and construction meant that actual maximum power was considerably less.

Their armament was an incremental improvement to the previous classes, with two (instead of one) QF 12-pounders (on a bandstand on the forecastle and on the quarterdeck), four QF 6-pounder Hotchkiss (two sided abreast the conning tower, and two sided between the funnels) and two single tubes for torpedoes.

Operational history

All of the Harusame-class destroyers were completed in time to be used in combat during the Russo-Japanese War of 1904–1905, with the final three vessels completed just in time to take part in the crucial final Battle of Tsushima. Hayatori was lost after striking a naval mine during the conflict off of Port Arthur .

Harusame was lost in 1911 after running aground in Matoya Bay in Mie Prefecture, Japan . On 28 August 1912, the remaining five vessels were rated as 3rd-class destroyers and were removed from front line combat service. However, all five served again during World War I, albeit in minor roles.

All five surviving vessels were converted to auxiliary minesweepers on 1 April 1922, but were used for only a year until converted to unarmed utility vessels, and were then subsequently scrapped in 1924 or 1926.

List of Ships

Kanji	Name (and meaning)	Builder	Laid down	Launched	Completed	Fate
春雨	("Spring shower")	Yokosuka Naval Arsenal, Japan	1 February 1902	31 October 1902	26 June 1903	ran aground 24 November 1911, written off 28 December 1911, wreck broken up 1 August 1926
村雨	("Scattered showers")		20 March 1902	29 November 1902	7 July 1903	auxiliary minesweeper 1 April 1922, decommissioned 1 April 1923, broken up 14 February 1926
速鳥			15 April 1902	12 March 1903	24 August 1903	mined off Port Arthur 3 September 1904; struck 15 June 1905
朝霧	("Morning mist")		15 April 1902	15 April 1903	18 September 1903	auxiliary minesweeper 1 April 1922, decommissioned 1 April 1923; broken up 14 February 1926
有明	("Dawn")	Kure Naval Arsenal, Japan	30 June 1904	17 December 1904	15 March 1905	retired 1 December 1924, struck from Navy List 10 April 1925; Transferred to Home Ministry as a police boat 12 November 1925
吹雪	("Blizzard")		29 September 1904	21 January 1905	28 February 1905	Stricken on 10 April 1925 and broken up in 1926
霰			29 October 1904	5 April 1905	10 May 1905	Stricken on 1 April 1924 and broken up in 1926