:Japanese destroyer Sumire (1944)

{{short description|WWII-era Japanese escort destroyer}}

{{other ships|Japanese destroyer Sumire}}

{{good article}}

{{Infobox ship begin}}

{{Infobox ship image

|Ship image= Japanese destroyer Sumire Scan10048 19470726.JPG

|Ship caption=Sumire just before leaving Sasebo for Hong Kong, 26 July 1947

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{{Infobox ship career

|Hide header=

|Ship country=Empire of Japan

|Ship flag={{shipboxflag|Empire of Japan|naval}}

|Ship name=Sumire

|Ship ordered=1943

|Ship laid down=21 October 1944

|Ship launched=27 December 1944

|Ship completed=26 March 1945

|Ship namesake=Violet

|Ship commissioned=

|Ship builder=Yokosuka Naval Arsenal

|Ship in service=

|Ship out of service=

|Ship struck=5 October 1945

|Ship reinstated=

|Ship honours=

|Ship fate=Turned over to the Royal Navy, 20 August 1947, and sunk as a target

|Ship notes=

}}

{{Infobox ship characteristics

|Hide header=

|Header caption=

|Ship class=Tachibana sub-class of the {{sclass|Matsu|destroyer|0}} escort destroyer

|Ship displacement={{cvt|1309|t|LT|lk=on}} (standard)

|Ship length={{convert|100|m|ftin|abbr=on}} (o/a)

|Ship beam={{convert|9.35|m|ftin|abbr=on}}

|Ship draft={{convert|3.37|m|ftin|abbr=on}}

|Ship power=*2 × water-tube boilers

  • {{cvt|19000|shp|lk=on}}

|Ship propulsion=2 shafts, 2 × geared steam turbines

|Ship speed={{convert|27.8|kn|lk=in}}

|Ship range={{convert|4680|nmi|lk=in|abbr=on}} at {{convert|16|kn}}

|Ship complement=

|Ship sensors=

|Ship armament=*1 × twin, 1 × single 12.7 cm/40 Type 89 naval gun DP guns

|Ship notes=

}}

{{nihongo|Sumire|菫||"Violet"}} was one of 23 escort destroyers of the Tachibana sub-class of the {{sclass|Matsu|destroyer|4}} built for the Imperial Japanese Navy during the final stages of World War II. Completed in March 1945, she saw no combat during the war and was used to repatriate Japanese personnel after the war until 1947. Mid-year the destroyer was turned over to Great Britain and subsequently sunk as a target.

Design and description

The Tachibana sub-class was a simplified version of the preceding {{sclass|Matsu|destroyer|4}} to make them even more suited for mass production. The ships measured {{convert|100|m|ftin|sp=us}} long overall, with a beam of {{convert|9.35|m|ftin|sp=us}} and a draft of {{convert|3.37|m|ftin|sp=us}}.Sturton, p. 196 They displaced {{convert|1309|t|LT|sp=us|lk=on}} at standard load and {{convert|1554|t|LT|sp=us}} at deep load.Whitley, p. 208 The ships had two Kampon geared steam turbines, each driving one propeller shaft, using steam provided by two Kampon water-tube boilers. The turbines were rated at a total of {{convert|19000|shp|lk=on}} for a speed of {{convert|27.8|kn|lk=in}}. The Tachibanas had a range of {{convert|4680|nmi|lk=in}} at {{convert|16|kn}}.Jentschura, Jung & Mickel, p. 153

The main armament of the Tachibana sub-class consisted of three 12.7 cm/40 Type 89 naval gun dual-purpose guns in one twin-gun mount aft and one single mount forward of the superstructure. The single mount was partially protected against spray by a gun shield. The accuracy of the Type 89 guns was severely reduced against aircraft because no high-angle gunnery director was fitted. They carried a total of 25 Type 96 25 mm AT/AA Gun anti-aircraft guns in 4 triple and 13 single mounts. The Tachibanas were equipped with Type 13 early-warning and Type 22 surface-search radars.Stille, p. 41 The ships were also armed with a single rotating quadruple mount amidships for {{convert|610|mm|in|adj=on|0|sp=us}} torpedoes. They could deliver their 60 depth charges via two stern rails and two throwers.

==Construction and service==

Sumire (Violet)Nevitt was ordered in Fiscal Year 1943 under the Modified 5th Naval Armaments Supplement Program as part of the Matsu class, but the design was simplified to facilitate production and the ship was one of those built to the modified design. She was laid down on 21 October 1944 by Yokosuka Naval Arsenal, launched on 27 December and completed on 26 March 1945.Stille, p. 40 Sumire was assigned that day to Destroyer Squadron 11 under the Combined Fleet for working up, and was briefly attached to the Second Fleet on 1–20 April. She was training in the Seto Inland Sea from 1 June to 23 July and was transferred to the Maizuru Naval District on the 15th. The ship was turned over to Allied forces at Maizuru at the time of the surrender of Japan on 2 September and was stricken from the navy list on 5 October. The destroyer was disarmed and used to repatriate Japanese personnel in 1945–1947. Sumire was turned over to Great Britain on 20 August of the latter year and subsequently sunk as a target ship.

Notes

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Bibliography

  • {{cite book| last = Jentschura| first = Hansgeorg| first2 = Dieter |last2=Jung|first3=Peter |last3=Mickel| year = 1977| title = Warships of the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1869–1945| publisher = United States Naval Institute| location = Annapolis, Maryland| isbn = 0-87021-893-X|name-list-style=amp}}
  • {{cite web |last1=Nevitt |first1=Allyn D. |title=IJN Sumire: Tabular Record of Movement |url=http://www.combinedfleet.com/sumire_t.htm |website=www.combinedfleet.com |access-date=22 June 2020 |date=1998}}
  • {{cite book |last1=Stille |first1=Mark |title=Imperial Japanese Navy Destroyers 1919–45 (2): Asahio to Tachibana Classes |date=2013 |publisher=Osprey Publishing |location=Botley, UK |isbn=978-1-84908-987-6}}
  • {{cite book|title=Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1922–1946|editor1-last=Chesneau|editor1-first=Roger|publisher=Conway Maritime Press|location=Greenwich, UK|year=1980|isbn=0-85177-146-7|chapter=Japan|author-first=Ian|author-last=Sturton}}
  • {{cite book|last=Whitley|first=M. J.|title=Destroyers of World War Two: An International Encyclopedia|publisher=Naval Institute Press|year=1988|isbn=0-87021-326-1 |location=Annapolis, Maryland |authorlink=Michael J. Whitley}}

{{Tachibana-class destroyer}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sumire (1944), Japanese destroyer}}

Category:Tachibana-class destroyers

Category:Ships built by Yokosuka Naval Arsenal

Category:1944 ships

Category:World War II destroyers of Japan