Japanese destroyer Kiku (1920)
{{short description|Destroyer of the Imperial Japanese Navy}}
| {{Infobox ship begin
}} {{Infobox ship image | Ship image = Japanese destroyer Kuri in 1937.jpg | Ship caption = Sister ship Kuri at anchor, 1937 }} {{Infobox ship career | Hide header = | Ship country = Empire of Japan | Ship flag = {{shipboxflag|Empire of Japan|naval}} | Ship name = Kiku | Ship namesake = | Ship ordered = | Ship builder = Kawasaki Dockyard Co., Kobe | Ship laid down = | Ship launched = 13 October 1920 | Ship completed = 10 December 1920 | Ship commissioned = | reclassified = As patrol boat, 1 April 1940 | renamed = As Patrol Boat No. 31, 1 April 1944 | Ship fate = Sunk by American aircraft, 31 March 1944 | Ship struck = 10 May 1944 | Ship notes = }} {{Infobox ship characteristics | Hide header = | Header caption = (as built) | Ship type = {{sclass|Momi|destroyer}} |Ship displacement=*{{convert|850|LT|t|lk=on|0}} (normal)
|Ship length=*{{convert|275|ft|m|abbr=on|1}} (pp)
|Ship beam={{convert|26|ft|m|abbr=on|1}} |Ship draft={{convert|8|ft|m|abbr=on|1}} |Ship power=*3 × Kampon water-tube boilers
|Ship propulsion=2 shafts; 2 × geared steam turbines |Ship speed= {{convert|36|kn|lk=in}} |Ship range={{convert|3000|nmi|abbr=on|lk=in}} at {{convert|15|kn}} |Ship complement=110 |Ship armament=*3 × single Type 3 120 mm 45 caliber naval gun
}} |
The Japanese destroyer {{nihongo|Kiku|菊|}} was one of 21 {{sclass|Momi|destroyer}}s built for the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) in the late 1910s. She was converted into a patrol boat in 1940 and spent the Pacific War on escort duties, mostly in Japanese waters. The ship was sunk by American carrier aircraft in early 1944.
Design and description
The Momi class was designed with higher speed and better seakeeping than the preceding {{sclass|Enoki|destroyer|0}} second-class destroyers.Watts & Gordon, p. 259 The ships had an overall length of {{convert|280|ft|m|1}} and were {{convert|275|ft|m|1}} between perpendiculars. They had a beam of {{convert|26|ft|m|1}}, and a mean draft of {{convert|8|ft|m|1}}. The Momi-class ships displaced {{convert|850|LT|t|lk=on|0}} at standard load and {{convert|1020|LT|t|0}} at deep load.Jentschura, Jung & Mickel, p. 137 Kiku was powered by two Brown-Curtis geared steam turbines, each driving one propeller shaft using steam provided by three Kampon water-tube boilers.Friedman, p. 244 The turbines were designed to produce {{convert|21500|shp|kW|lk=on}} to give the ships a speed of {{convert|36|kn|lk=in}}. The ships carried a maximum of {{convert|275|LT|t|0}} of fuel oil which gave them a range of {{convert|3000|nmi|lk=in}} at {{convert|15|kn}}. Their crew consisted of 110 officers and crewmen.Watts & Gordon, p. 260
The main armament of the Momi-class ships consisted of three Type 3 120 mm 45 caliber naval gun 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 {{convert|533|mm|sp=us|adj=on|0}} 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.
In 1939–1940, Kiku was converted into a patrol boat. Her torpedo tubes, minesweeping gear, and aft 12 cm gun were removed in exchange for two triple mounts for license-built Type 96 25 mm AT/AA Gun light AA guns and 60 depth charges. In addition one boiler was removed, which reduced her speed to {{convert|18|kn}} from {{convert|12000|shp|abbr=on}}. These changes made her top heavy and ballast had to be added which increased her displacement to {{convert|935|LT|t|sp=us|disp=flip|0}}.Hackett, Kingsepp & Cundall
Construction and career
Kiku, built at the Kawasaki Dockyard Co. shipyard in Kobe, was launched on 13 October 1920 and completed on 10 December 1920.Gardiner & Gray, p. 244 From December 1939 to April 1940, she was converted into a patrol boat and was renamed Patrol Boat No. 31 on 1 April 1940. The ship was sunk by American carrier aircraft from Task Force 58 on 31 March 1944 near Palau at coordinates {{Coord|07|30|N|134|30|E|display=inline,title}}. Patrol Boat No. 31 was struck from the Navy List on 10 May 1944.
Notes
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References
- {{cite book|editor1-last=Gardiner|editor1-first=Robert|editor2-last=Gray|editor2-first=Randal |title= Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921|year=1985|location=Annapolis|publisher=Naval Institute Press|isbn=0-87021-907-3|name-list-style=amp|chapter=Japan|author=Friedman, Norman|author-link=Norman Friedman}}
- {{cite web| url= http://www.combinedfleet.com/PB-31_t.htm | title= IJN Patrol Boat No. 31: Tabular Record of Movement | last1= Hackett | first1= Bob|first2=Sander|last2=Kingsepp|last3=Cundall|first3=Peter | date= 19 October 2018|access-date=24 April 2021 | work= SHOKAITEI! Stories and Battle Histories of the IJN's Patrol Boats| publisher=Combinedfleet.com |name-list-style=amp}}
- {{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 book|last1=Watts|first1=Anthony J.|title=The Imperial Japanese Navy|date=1971 |publisher=Doubleday |location=Garden City, New York|isbn=0-35603-045-8|last2=Gordon|first2=Brian G.|name-list-style=amp}}
{{Momi class destroyer}}
{{March 1944 shipwrecks}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kiku (1920)}}
Category:Ships built by Kawasaki Heavy Industries
Category:Momi-class destroyers
Category:Ships sunk by US aircraft