Fubuki-class Destroyer

Fubuki-class Destroyer

Country	Japan
Length	388 feet
Beam	34 feet
Draft	11 feet
Machinery	Four Kampon type boilers, two Kampon type Ro geared turbines, two shafts
Power Output	50,000 shaft horsepower
Speed	38 knots
Range	5,000nm at 14 knots
Armament	6x127mm 50 caliber Type 3 naval guns, up to 22x25mm Type 96 AA guns, up to 10x13mm AA guns, 9x610mm torpedo tubes, 36 depth charges

Contributor: David Stubblebine

This article refers to the entire Fubuki-class; it is not about an individual vessel.

ww2dbaseThe Fubuki-class of destroyers revolutionized the way navies viewed the destroyer. When Fubuki appeared in 1928, she was the first destroyer in the world to feature power-worked, weatherproof dual 5" mounts, and torpedo reloads. At that time, she was hands-down the most powerful warship of her size anywhere in the world. Unfortunately, the design was also structurally suspect (a common flaw in Japanese warships of this era) as a result of trying to cram too much weaponry into too small a displacement. Subsequent rebuilds remedied this problem, but at the cost of slightly reduced speed and torpedo reload capability. Ayanami is interesting because she carried the modified Model B 5" gun turret, which had superior elevation: 75 degrees, compared to 50 degrees for the Model A turret, allowing the main guns to also be used as anti-aircraft batteries.

ww2dbaseSource: CombinedFleet.com

Last Major Revision: Oct 2009

Fubuki-class Destroyer Interactive Map

Fubuki-class Destroyer Operational Timeline

10 Nov 1930	Amagiri was commissioned into service.
1 Apr 1942	Vice Admiral Jisaburo Ozawa's Malaya Force, Second Expeditionary Fleet, departs Mergui, Burma and steams into the Bay of Bengal in the Indian Ocean Raids to attack merchant shipping. The force includes light carrier Ryujo and cruisers Chokai, Suzuya, Kumano, Mikuma, Mogami, and Yura.
5 Apr 1942	Following Admiral Jisaburo Ozawa’s force’s attack on the British naval base at Colombo, Ceylon, the force is split creating a Northern Group commanded by Rear Admiral Takeo Kurita consisting of cruisers Kumano and Suzuya; the Center Group consisting of the carrier Ryujo and cruisers Chokai and Yura under Ozawa; and the Southern Group comprised of cruisers Mogami, and Mikuma under Captain Shakao Sakiyama for the purposes of smaller raids against merchant shipping.
6 Apr 1942	Sakiyama's Southern Group of Mogami, Mikuma and destroyer Amagiri sank four merchantmen totaling 19,000 tons with two of them finished off with torpedoes from Amagiri.
11 Apr 1942	Ozawa's Force arrived at Singapore to conclude a successful sortie into the Indian Ocean.
5 Sep 1942	Yugure, Fubuki, Amagiri, and Kagero landed 370 men and supplies at Taivu, Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands.
9 Dec 1942	Amagiri and Yugure departed Shortland Islands, Solomon Islands at 1230 hours on a transport run to Guadalcanal. They arrived at Guadalcanal at 2011 hours, unloaded, and departed at 2315 hours.
10 Dec 1942	Amagiri and Yugure arrived at Shortland Islands, Solomon Islands at 0700 hours.
12 Dec 1942	Amagiri and Yugure departed Shortland Islands, Solomon Islands at 1230 hours on a transport run to Rekata Bay, Santa Isabel Island, Solomon Islands.
13 Dec 1942	Amagiri and Yugure arrived at Shortland Islands, Solomon Islands.
15 Dec 1942	Amagiri and Yugure departed Shortland Islands, Solomon Islands at 1230 hours on a transport run to Rekata Bay, Santa Isabel Island, Solomon Islands.
16 Dec 1942	Amagiri and Yugure arrived at Shortland Islands, Solomon Islands.
2 Aug 1943	US Navy torpedo boat PT-109, commanded by Lieutenant (jg) John F. Kennedy, was rammed by a Japanese destroyer Amagiri in the Blackett Strait between Kolombangara and Arundel in the Solomon Islands.
5 Nov 1943	During the US raid on Rabaul, New Britain, Amagiri was damaged by a near miss.

Did you enjoy this article or find this article helpful? If so, please consider supporting us on Patreon. Even $1 per month will go a long way! Thank you.

Share this article with your friends:

Facebook
Reddit
Twitter

Stay updated with WW2DB:

RSS Feeds

Visitor Submitted Comments

1. AnonymousDaddy69 says:
10 May 2022 05:41:23 PM

thanks this helped so much!

All visitor submitted comments are opinions of those making the submissions and do not reflect views of WW2DB.

Posting Your Comments on this Topic

Your Name
Your Email
	Your email will not be published
Comment Type
Your Comments

Notes:

1. We hope that visitor conversations at WW2DB will be constructive and thought-provoking. Please refrain from using strong language. HTML tags are not allowed. Your IP address will be tracked even if you remain anonymous. WW2DB site administrators reserve the right to moderate, censor, and/or remove any comment. All comment submissions will become the property of WW2DB.

2. For inquiries about military records for members of the World War II armed forces, please see our FAQ.

Change View

Desktop View

Search WW2DB

World War II Database

Fubuki-class Destroyer