Japanese destroyer Nagatsuki (1906)

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

Nagatsuki (長月) ("Month of long night") was one of 32 Kamikaze-class destroyers built for the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) in the first decade of the 20th century.

Sister ship Ayanami
History
Empire of Japan
Name	Nagatsuki
Builder	Uraga Dock Company, Uraga, Kanagawa
Launched	15 December 1906
Completed	14 February 1907
Decommissioned	1 June 1930
Renamed	W-11, 1 August 1928
Reclassified	As a minesweeper, 1 December 1924
Fate	Scrapped after June 1930
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 Nagatsuki 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

Nagatsuki was launched at the Uraga Dock Company's shipyard in Uraga, Kanagawa, on 15 December 1906 and completed on 31 July 1907.^[1] The ship saw service in World War I and was converted into a minesweeper on 1 December 1924. She was renamed W-11 on 1 August 1928. The ship was decommissioned on 1 June 1930^[5] and subsequently broken up.^[3]

Notes

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