The Mutsuki class was an improved version of the Kamikaze-classdestroyers and was the first with triple 61-centimeter (24 in) torpedo tubes. The ships had an overall length of 102.4 meters (335 ft 11 in)[1] and were 94.54 meters (310 ft 2 in) between perpendiculars. They had a beam of 9.16 meters (30 ft 1 in), and a mean draft of 2.96 meters (9 ft 9 in). The Mutsuki-class ships displaced 1,336 metric tons (1,315 long tons) at standard load and 1,800 metric tons (1,772 long tons) at deep load.[2] They were powered by two Parsons geared steam turbines, each driving one propeller shaft, using steam provided by four Kamponwater-tube boilers. The turbines were designed to produce 38,500 shaft horsepower (28,700 kW), which would propel the ships at 37.25 knots (68.99 km/h; 42.87 mph). The ships carried 420 metric tons (413 long tons) of fuel oil which gave them a range of 4,000 nautical miles (7,400 km; 4,600 mi) at 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph). Their crew consisted of 150 officers and crewmen.[3]
The main armament of the Mutsuki-class ships consisted of four 12-centimeter (4.7 in) Type 3 guns in single mounts; one gun forward of the superstructure, one between the two funnels and the last pair back to back atop the aft superstructure. The guns were numbered '1' to '4' from front to rear. The ships carried two above-water triple sets of 61-centimeter torpedo tubes; one mount was between the forward superstructure and the forward gun and the other was between the aft funnel and aft superstructure. Four reload torpedoes were provided for the tubes.[3] They carried 18 depth charges and could also carry 16 mines. They could also fitted with minesweeping gear.[4]
Construction and career
Yayoi was laid down by the Uraga Dock Company at its shipyard in Uraga on 11 January 1924,[2]launched on 11 July 1925[4] and completed on 28 August 1926. Originally commissioned simply as Destroyer No. 23, the vessel was assigned the name Yayoi on 1 August 1928.[3] In the late 1930s, Yayoi participated in combat during the Second Sino-Japanese War and later in the Invasion of French Indochina in 1940.
The Japanese approached the island early on the morning of 11 December, and the warships began to bombard the island at a range of 8,200 meters (9,000 yd) at 05:30. As none of the six American 5-inch (12.7 cm) coast-defense guns replied, Rear AdmiralSadamichi Kajioka, commander of the invasion forces, ordered his ships to close the island, believing that the American guns had been destroyed by the earlier aerial attacks. Encouraging this, Major James Devereux, commander of the United States Marine garrison, had ordered his men to hold their fire until he gave the order to do so. After the Japanese ships had closed to a range of 4,100 meters (4,500 yd), he ordered his guns to open fire. They did so with great effect, sinking Hayate, near-missing Kajioka's flagshipYubari, and causing to him to order his forces to disengage.[5] During this time, Yayoi was hit by a 5-inch shell, which killed one man and wounded 17 others. Yayoi returned on 23 December with the second (and ultimately successful) Wake Island invasion force before returning to Kwajalein.[6]
Chesneau, Roger, ed. (1980). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1922–1946. Greenwich: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN0-85177-146-7.
Devereaux, James P.S., Colonel, USMC (1947). The Story of Wake Island. The Battery Press. ISBN0-89839-264-0.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
Howarth, Stephen (1983). The Fighting Ships of the Rising Sun: The Drama of the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1895–1945. Atheneum. ISBN0-689-11402-8.
Jentschura, Hansgeorg; Jung, Dieter & Mickel, Peter (1977). Warships of the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1869–1945. Annapolis, Maryland: United States Naval Institute. ISBN0-87021-893-X.
