Japanese destroyer Tsuga (1920)

Tsuga in 1940
History
Empire of Japan
Name	Tsuga
Builder	Ishikawajima, Tokyo
Laid down	5 March 1919
Launched	17 April 1920
Completed	20 July 1920
Stricken	10 March 1945
Fate	Sunk by American aircraft, 15 January 1945
General characteristics (as built)
Type	Momi-class destroyer
Displacement	850 long tons (864 t) (normal) 1,020 long tons (1,036 t) (deep load)
Length	275 ft (83.8 m) (pp) 280 ft (85.3 m) (o/a)
Beam	26 ft (7.9 m)
Draft	8 ft (2.4 m)
Installed power	3 × Kampon water-tube boilers 21,500 shp (16,000 kW)
Propulsion	2 shafts; 2 × geared steam turbines
Speed	36 knots (67 km/h; 41 mph)
Range	3,000 nmi (5,600 km; 3,500 mi) at 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph)
Complement	110
Armament	3 × single 12 cm (4.7 in) guns 2 × twin 533 mm (21 in) torpedo tubes

The Japanese destroyer Tsuga (栂) was one of 21 Momi-class destroyers built for the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) in the late 1910s. She spent most of the Pacific War patrolling and escorting convoys in and around Chinese waters, during which the ship participated in the Battle of Hong Kong in December 1941. Tsuga was sunk by American carrier aircraft in early 1945.

Design and description

The Momi class was designed with higher speed and better seakeeping than the preceding Enoki-class second-class destroyers.^[1] The ships had an overall length of 280 feet (85.3 m) and were 275 feet (83.8 m) between perpendiculars. They had a beam of 26 feet (7.9 m), and a mean draft of 8 feet (2.4 m). The Momi-class ships displaced 850 long tons (864 t) at standard load and 1,020 long tons (1,036 t) at deep load.^[2] Tsuga was powered by two Parsons geared steam turbines, each driving one propeller shaft using steam provided by three Kampon water-tube boilers.^[3] The turbines were designed to produce 21,500 shaft horsepower (16,000 kW) to give the ships a speed of 36 knots (67 km/h; 41 mph). The ships carried a maximum of 275 long tons (279 t) of fuel oil which gave them a range of 3,000 nautical miles (5,600 km; 3,500 mi) at 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph). Their crew consisted of 110 officers and crewmen.^[4]

The main armament of the Momi-class ships consisted of three 12-centimeter (4.7 in) Type 3 guns in single mounts; one gun forward of the well deck, one between the two funnels, and the last gun atop the aft superstructure. The guns were numbered '1' to '3' from front to rear. The ships carried two above-water twin sets of 533-millimeter (21 in) torpedo tubes; one mount was in the well deck between the forward superstructure and the bow gun and the other between the aft funnel and aft superstructure.^[2]

Construction and career

Tsuga, built at the Ishikawajima shipyard in Tokyo, was laid down on 5 March 1919, launched on 17 April 1920 and completed on 20 July 1920.^[5]

Pacific War

At the start of the Pacific War on 7 December 1941, Tsuga was assigned to the China Area Fleet with two of her sister ships, Hasu and Huri. She supported the invasion of Hong Kong in December 1941 and then began convoy escort and patrolling off the Chinese coast. The ship was sunk by carrier aircraft from Task Force 38 during its South China Sea raid on 15 January 1945 at coordinates 23°33′N 119°33′E / 23.550°N 119.550°E / 23.550; 119.550.^[6]

Notes

References

• 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.
• Hackett, Bob; Kingsepp, Sander & Cundall, Peter (10 August 2018). "IJN Second Class Destroyer Tsuga: Tabular Record of Movement". KUCHIKUKAN! Stories and Battle Histories of the IJN's Second-Class Destroyers. Combinedfleet.com. Retrieved 24 April 2021.
• 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.
• Watts, Anthony J. & Gordon, Brian G. (1971). The Imperial Japanese Navy. Garden City, New York: Doubleday. ISBN 0-35603-045-8.