Japanese destroyer Ayanami (1909)

For other ships with the same name, see Japanese destroyer Ayanami.

Ayanami (綾波) ("cross wave") was the last of 32 Kamikaze-class destroyers built for the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) in the first decade of the 20th century.

Ayanami
History
Empire of Japan
Name	Ayanami
Builder	Maizuru Naval Arsenal
Launched	20 March 1909
Completed	26 June 1909
Out of service	19 April 1933
Renamed	W-9, 1926
Reclassified	As a minesweeper, 1 December 1924 As a tugboat and dispatch boat, 1 June 1930
Fate	Scrapped after April 1933
General characteristics (as built)
Class & type	Kamikaze-class destroyer
Displacement	381 long tons (387 t) 450 long tons (460 t) (full load)
Length	227 ft (69.2 m) (pp) 234 ft (71 m) (o/a)
Beam	21 ft 7 in (6.6 m)
Draught	6 ft (1.8 m)
Installed power	4 boilers; 6,000 ihp (4,500 kW)
Propulsion	2 shafts; 2 triple-expansion steam engines
Speed	29 knots (54 km/h; 33 mph)
Range	1,200 nmi (2,200 km; 1,400 mi) at 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph)
Complement	70
Armament	2 × single 3 in (76 mm) 12 cwt guns 4 × single 3 in (76 mm) 8 cwt guns 2 × single 450 mm (17.7 in) torpedo tubes

Design and description

The Kamikaze-class destroyers were improved versions of the preceding Harusame class.^[1] They displaced 381 long tons (387 t) at normal load and 450 long tons (460 t) at deep load. The ships had a length between perpendiculars of 227 feet (69.2 m) and an overall length of 234 feet (71.3 m), a beam of 21 feet 7 inches (6.6 m) and a draught of 6 feet (1.8 m). The Kamikazes were powered by two vertical triple-expansion steam engines, each driving one shaft using steam produced by four Kampon water-tube boilers. The engines produced a total of 6,000 indicated horsepower (4,500 kW) that gave the ships a maximum speed of 29 knots (54 km/h; 33 mph). They carried a maximum of 100 long tons (102 t) of coal^[2] which gave them a range of 1,500 nautical miles (2,800 km; 1,700 mi) at a speed of 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph). Their crew consisted of 70 officers and ratings.^[3]

The main armament of the Kamikaze-class ships consisted of two 40-calibre quick-firing (QF) three-inch (76 mm) 12 cwt guns^{[Note 1]} on single mounts; the forward gun was located on superstructure, but the aft gun was at the stern. Four 28-calibre QF three-inch 8 cwt guns on single mounts were positioned abreast the superstructure, two in each broadside. The ships were also armed with two single rotating mounts^[1][3] for 450-millimetre (17.7 in)^[4] torpedoes between the superstructure and the stern gun. When Isonami was converted into a minesweeper in 1924, she was rearmed with a pair of 12-centimetre (4.7 in) 3rd Year Type guns taken from older ships on single mounts and the three-inch 8 cwt guns were removed.^[1]

Construction and career

Ayanami was launched at Maizuru Naval Arsenal on 20 March 1909 and completed on 26 June.^[1] The ship served during World War I and participated in the Siberian Expedition. She was converted into a minesweeper on 1 December 1924 and was renamed W-9 on 1 August 1928. The ship was decommissioned on 1 June 1930, but she continued in service as a tugboat and a dispatch boat until 19 April 1935 and was subsequently scrapped.^[5]

Notes

1. "Cwt" is the abbreviation for hundredweight, 12 cwt referring to the weight of the gun.