Japanese destroyer Matsukaze (1906)

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

Matsukaze (松風) ("Wind in the coastal pines") 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	Matsukaze
Builder	Kawasaki Shipyards, Kobe
Launched	23 December 1906
Completed	16 February 1907
Decommissioned	1 April 1924
Fate	Scrapped, 1924
General characteristics (as built)
Class and 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 on single mounts; the forward gun was located on superstructure, but the aft gun was at the stern.^{[Note 1]} 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.^[1]

Construction and career

Matsukaze was launched at Kawasaki's shipyard in Kobe on 23 December 1906^[1] and completed on 16 February 1907. The ship saw service in World War I and participated in the Siberian Expedition. She was decommissioned on 1 April 1924^[5] and subsequently broken up for scrap.^[3]

Notes

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

Citations

1. Friedman 1985, p. 241
2. Watts & Gordon, p. 243
3. Jentschura, Jung & Mickel, p. 133
4. Friedman 2011, p. 349
5. Todaka, et al., p. 218

Books

• Friedman, Norman (1985). "Japan". In Gardiner, Robert & Gray, Randal (eds.). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-907-3.
• Friedman, Norman (2011). Naval Weapons of World War One. Barnsley, South Yorkshire, UK: Seaforth. ISBN 978-1-84832-100-7.
• Jentschura, Hansgeorg; Jung, Dieter & Mickel, Peter (1977). Warships of the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1869–1945. Annapolis, Maryland: United States Naval Institute. ISBN 0-87021-893-X.
• Todaka, Kazushige; Fukui, Shizuo; Eldridge, Robert D. & Leonard, Graham B. (2020). Destroyers: Selected Photos from the Archives of the Kure Maritime Museum; the Best from the Collection of Shizuo Fukui's Photos of Japanese Warships. Japanese Naval Warship Photo Album. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-1-59114-630-8.
• Watts, Anthony J. & Gordon, Brian G. (1971). The Imperial Japanese Navy. London: Macdonald. ISBN 0-35603-045-8.