Shimushu-class escort ship
 Shimushu 1940
| |
| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Operators |  Imperial Japanese Navy |
| Succeeded by | Etorofu-class |
| Built | 1939–1941 |
| In commission | 1940–1948 |
| Completed | 4 |
| Lost | 1 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Escort vessel |
| Displacement | 860 long tons (874 t) standard |
| Length | 77.7 m (255 ft) |
| Beam | 9.1 m (29 ft 10 in) |
| Draught | 3.05 m (10 ft) |
| Speed | 19.7 knots (22.7 mph; 36.5 km/h) |
| Range | 6,017 mi (5,229 nmi) at 16 kn (18 mph; 30 km/h) Fuel: 150 tons |
| Complement | 150 |
| Armament | list error: <br /> list (help) • 3 × 120 mm (4.7 in)/45 cal DP guns • Up to 15 × 25 mm (0.98 in) AA guns • 6 × depth charge throwers • Up to 60 × depth charges • 1 × 80 mm (3.1 in) mortar |
The Shimushu class escort ships (占守型海防艦, Shimushu-gata kaibōkan) were a class of ships in the service of the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II.
The Japanese called these ships Kaibōkan, "ocean defence ships", (Kai = sea, ocean, Bo = defence, Kan = ship), to denote a multi-purpose vessel. They were initially intended for patrol and fishery protection, minesweeping and as convoy escorts. The four ships of the Shimushu class would provide the foundation for the five following classes of 171 Japanese Kaibōkan-type escort ships.
The Shimushu class was initially armed with just twelve depth charges, but this was doubled in May 1942 when their minesweeping gear was removed. The ASW weaponry would later rise to 60 depth charges with a 8 cm trench mortar and six depth charge throwers. The number of AA machine guns was increased to 15.
Ships
- Shimushu (占守): Launched, 13 December 1939. Commissioned, 30 June 1940. Ceded to the Soviet Union, 5 July 1947. Decommissioned on May 16, 1959.
- Hachijo (八丈): Launched, 10 April 1940. Commissioned, 31 March 1941. Scrapped, 30 April 1948.
- Kunashiri (国後): Launched, 6 May 1940. Commissioned, 3 October 1940. Wrecked, 4 June 1946.
- Ishigaki (石垣): Launched, 14 September 1940. Commissioned, 15 February 1941. Torpedoed and sunk by submarine USS Herring on 31 May 1944.
References
- http://www.combinedfleet.com/Shimushu_c.htm
- Worth, Richard, Fleets of World War II, Da Capo Press (2001), ISBN 0-306-81116-2