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Akizuki destroyers
That was an amazing destroyer. It was so amazing that the victorious countries (the US, the USSR, the UK and China) received only one ship of the class. The project was unique due to the unusual origin of the ship. As a rule destroyers were constructed from gunboats or torpedo boats, but the Akizuki destroyer was designed as a specialized anti-aircraft (AA) ship from the very beginning.
The Japanese naval specialists were closely watching all the innovations in the ship building field. After receiving a message that the English navy was to be equipped with Dido class AA cruisers, the Japanese decided to construct a ship that could support the striking aircraft carrier groups with the AA and anti-submarine defense. They decided to make it a destroyer instead of a cruiser in order to incorporat such ships into the navy as quickly as possible.
The first ship in the series, Akizuki, was laid down on July 30, 1940 and enlisted on June 11, 1942. Unfortunately for the Japanese, those remarkable ships did not take part in the famous Midway battle. Who knows, perhaps they would have managed to defend the Japanese carriers. They had the means to do it!. The destroyers were armed with 8 excellent 100mm AA-guns. No other destroyer in the Pacific carried 8 AA-guns, the maximum amount being 5 guns on board the American ships, and 6 ones on the Japanese vessels. Of course, such caliber was not sufficient for naval a combat, but it was just the right size for the AA-guns. The ship also had 2 coupled 25mm machineguns. During the war the number of machineguns was constantly growing, and finally reached the number of 27. Alas, this was far from being the best example of light AA-artillery. Such systems as the famous 40mm Bofors, which were also used in the Japanese navy, were much more effective.
However, the destroyer proved to be very successful. To make it a fully capable battle unit, it was equipped with a single 4-pipe torpedo launcher. The ship possessed sufficient speed, range and navigability. The destroyer was equipped with the best Japanese radars and targeting equipment.
Its debut was quite successful: on September 29, 1942 it managed to shoot down two low-flying B-17, which were known for their high durability. At that time, that was the best AA-destroyer in the Pacific. But the rapid technological advancement in the radar field in the US, and the invention of a remote radio-detonator in particular, had reduced the value of the Akizuki class capabilities. Nevertheless, only the fire from their AA-guns could reach the B-29 that were bombing the Kure naval base in April 1945 from 9.000 m.
Akizuki destroyers in the "Pacific Storm"
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