Mutsuki-class Destroyer
Description
Model depicted: Shapeways, Tiny Thingamajigs - Mutsuki http://www.shapeways.com/product/BP5JK9WYM/1-1800-ijn-dd-mutsuki-x3?optionId=57492324
Scale: 1/1800
Ships in class: 12
| Kanji | Name | Builder | Laid down | Launched | Completed | Fate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 睦月 | Mutsuki DD-19 |
Sasebo Naval Arsenal, Japan | 21 May 1924 | 23 July 1925 | 25 March 1926 | Sunk in air attack in Solomon Islands [07.47S, 160.13E] on 25 August 1942; struck 1 October 1942 |
| 如月 | Kisaragi DD-21 |
Maizuru Naval Arsenal, Japan | 3 June 1924 | 5 June 1925 | 21 December 1925 | Combat loss off Wake Island [18.55N, 166.17E] on 11 December 1941; struck 15 January 1942 |
| 弥生 | Yayoi DD-23 |
Uraga Dock Company, Japan | 11 January 1924 | 11 July 1925 | 28 August 1926 | Sunk in air attack in Solomon Islands [08.45S, 151.25E] on 11 September 1942; struck 20 October 1942 |
| 卯月 | Uzuki DD-25 |
Ishikawajima Shipyards, Japan | 11 January 1924 | 15 October 1925 | 14 September 1926 | Dai-25-Gō Kuchikukan (第二十五号駆逐艦?); renamed Uzuki (“April”) on 1 August 1928; Sunk Ormoc Bay [11.03N, 124.23E] on 12 December 1944; struck 10 January 1945 |
| 皐月 | Satsuki DD-27 |
Fujinagata Shipyards, Japan | 1 December 1924 | 25 March 1925 | 15 November 1925 | Sunk in air attack at Manila Bay [15.35N, 120.55E] on 21 September 1944; struck 10 November 1944 |
| 水無月 | Minazuki DD-28 |
Uraga Dock Company, Japan | 24 March 1924 | 25 March 1926 | 22 March 1927 | Torpedoed in Celebes Sea [04.05N, 119.30E] on 6 June 1944; struck 10 August 1944 |
| 文月 | Fumizuki DD-29 |
Fujinagata Shipyards, Japan | 20 October 1924 | 16 February 1926 | 3 July 1926 | Sunk in air attack at Truk [07.24N, 151.44E] on 18 February 1944; struck 31 March 1944 |
| 長月 | Nagatsuki DD-30 |
Ishikawajima Shipyards, Japan | 16 April 1925 | 6 October 1926 | 30 April 1927 | Combat loss in central Solomons [08.02S, 157.12E] on 6 July 1943; struck 1 November 1943 |
| 菊月 | Kikuzuki DD-31 |
Maizuru Naval Arsenal, Japan | 15 June 1925 | 15 May 1926 | 20 November 1926 | Sunk in air attack at Tulagi [09.07S, 160.12E] on 4 May 1942; struck 25 May 1942. Later salvaged by USS Menominee (AT-73), 6 October 1943. |
| 三日月 | Mikazuki DD-32 |
Sasebo Naval Arsenal, Japan | 21 August 1925 | 12 July 1926 | 5 May 1927 | Sunk in air attack at Cape Gloucester [05.27S, 148.25E] on 29 July 1943; struck 15 October 1943 |
| 望月 | Mochizuki DD-33 |
Uraga Dock Company, Japan | 23 March 1926 | 28 April 1927 | 31 October 1927 | Sunk in air attack in central Solomons [05.42S, 151.40E] on 24 October 1943; struck 5 January 1944 |
| 夕月 | Yūzuki DD-34 |
Fujinagata Shipyards, Japan | 27 November 1926 | 4 March 1927 | 25 July 1927 | Sunk in air attack at Cebu [11.20N, 124.10E] on 12 December 1944; struck 10 January 1945 |
The Mutsuki-class destroyers were based on the same hull design as the previous Kamikaze class, except with a double curvature configuration of the bow, a feature which became a standard in all later Japanese destroyers.
The Mutsuki class was the first to be fitted with the newly developed 24-inch (610 mm) torpedoes, with greater range and larger warhead than previous torpedoes in the Japanese inventory. Originally Type 8 torpedoes were carried, arranged in two triple mountings. These were later replaced with the famous Type 93 "Long Lance" oxygen-propelled torpedoes during World War II.
