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IJN Hachijo


Escort / Destroyer Escort Warship [ 1941 ]



IJN Hachijo was the fourth of four vessels of the Shimushu-class built for the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War 2.



Authored By: Staff Writer | Last Edited: 04/02/2020 | Content ©www.MilitaryFactory.com | The following text is exclusive to this site.

GO TO SPECIFICATIONS [+]
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Shimushu-class warships were developed for the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) primarily for the escort / destroyer escort role during World War 2, making them relatively compact vessels with the running gear needed to keep pace with their larger brethren. This meant good endurance and solid seakeeping traits to which the Japanese classified them as "Ocean Defense Ships". The class was built through four examples: IJN Shimushi, IJN Kunashiri, IJN Ishigaki, and IJN Hachijo and led to several refinements in the Japanese approach to escort ships.

Hachijo, the focus of this article, was constructed by the Sasebo Naval Arsenal with her keel laid down on August 3rd, 1939. She was formally launched on April 10th, 1940 and commissioned on March 31st, 1941. She, along with her sister Kunashiri, eventually survived the war and were decommissioned / scrapped shortly afterwards (Shimushu was handed over to the Soviet Union while Ishigaki was torpedoed by the submarine USS Herring back in May 1944).

As built, IJN Hachijo held a running length of 255 feet with a beam of 29.9 feet, and draught of 10 feet. Her shallow draught allowed for operations close-to-shore when needed. Power was from a twin-diesel engine arrangement generating 4,200 horsepower used to drive twin screws under the ship. Maximum speed in ideal conditions reached nearly 20 knots (19.7 kts). Range was out to 8,000 nautical miles.

Aboard was a complement of 150 personnel. Her profile included an elevated forecastle with flat-faced bridge superstructure. Behind the structure was the forward mast. At midships was the short-profile funnel, noticeably cranked to the rear, and this preceded the second mast. Towards the stern was a stepped arrangement between the superstructure and hull proper which gave proper firing arcs to the guns facing aft.

Armament consisted of 3 x 4.7" (120mm) /45 caliber main guns set in three single-gunned mountings - one over the forecastle and the remaining two positioned aft, facing rearwards, in stepped fashion. 6 x Initially she carried just 4 x 1" (25mm) Anti-Aircraft (AA) guns but this was enhanced to 15 guns before the end of the war. Six depth charge launchers were also installed and the charge load was increased from the original 12 to 25 as the war went on - up to 60 total charges before the end. The armament suite was rounded out by 1 x 81mm (3.2") mortar. Though originally finished with mine-sweeping equipment, this was later given up in May 1942 in favor of more depth charges to better deal with the American submarine threat plaguing Japanese shipping.

During her early-going, Hachijo was used in her given escort role by Japanese forces traversing the vast expanses of the Pacific. In July of 1944, the warship came under fire from American warplanes and took damage to her hull as well as backup engine facilities which caused flooding. Despite this, she survived and was able to complete her tour in the Second World War. The Empire of Japan capitulated in August of 1945, signaling the end of World War 2 in full.

Hachijo followed many other IJN ships who did not meet their fate at the bottom of the ocean in the war - she was stripped of her war-making usefulness and scrapped on April 30th, 1948.©MilitaryFactory.com
Note: The above text is EXCLUSIVE to the site www.MilitaryFactory.com. It is the product of many hours of research and work made possible with the help of contributors, veterans, insiders, and topic specialists. If you happen upon this text anywhere else on the internet or in print, please let us know at MilitaryFactory AT gmail DOT com so that we may take appropriate action against the offender / offending site and continue to protect this original work.
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Specifications



Service Year
1941

Origin
Imperial Japan national flag graphic
Imperial Japan

Status
DECOMMISSIONED
Destroyed, Scrapped.
Complement
150
PERSONNEL


Class
Shimushu-class
Number-in-Class
4
VESSELS
Ships-in-Class


IJN Shimushu; IJN Kunashiri; IJN Ishigaki; IJN Hachijo


National flag of modern Japan Imperial Japan
(OPERATORS list includes past, present, and future operators when applicable)
Offshore Bombardment
Offshore bombardment / attack of surface targets / areas primarily through onboard ballistic weaponry.
Offshore Operation
Activities conducted near shorelines in support of allied activities.
Land-Attack
Offshore strike of surface targets primarily through onboard missile / rocket weaponry.
Maritime Patrol
Active patroling of vital waterways and maritime areas; can also serve as local deterrence against airborne and seaborne threats.
Airspace Denial / Deterrence
Neutralization or deterrence of airborne elements through onboard ballistic of missile weaponry.
Fleet Support
Serving in support (either firepower or material) of the main surface fleet in Blue Water environments.


Length
255.0 ft
77.72 m
Beam
29.9 ft
9.11 m
Draught
10.0 ft
3.05 m
Displacement
884
tons


Installed Power: 2 x Marine diesel engines developing 4,200 horsepower driving 2 x Shafts astern.
Surface Speed
19.7 kts
(22.7 mph)
Range
7,995 nm
(9,200 mi | 14,806 km)


kts = knots | mph = miles-per-hour | nm = nautical miles | mi = miles | km = kilometers

1 kts = 1.15 mph | 1 nm = 1.15 mi | 1 nm = 1.85 km
3 x 4.7" (120mm) /45 caliber Dual-Purpose (DP) main guns set across three single-gunned emplacements (one forward, two aft).
4 (later 15) x 1" (25mm) Anti-Aircraft (AA) guns.
6 x Depth charge launchers with 12 (later 25, then 60) reloads carried.


Supported Types


Graphical image of a modern warship turreted deck gun armament
Graphical image of a historical warship turreted main gun armament
Graphical image of an aircraft automatic cannon
Graphical image of a naval depth charge


(Not all weapon types may be represented in the showcase above)
None.


Military lapel ribbon for the Cold War period
Military lapel ribbon for early warship designs
Military lapel ribbon for the Falklands War
Military lapel ribbon for the 1991 Gulf War
Military lapel ribbon for the Korean War
Military lapel ribbon representing modern aircraft
Military lapel ribbon for the Attack on Pearl Harbor
Military lapel ribbon for the Russian Invasion of Ukraine
Military lapel ribbon for the Vietnam War
Military lapel ribbon for the World War 1
Military lapel ribbon for the World War 2


Ribbon graphics not necessarily indicative of actual historical campaign ribbons. Ribbons are clickable to their respective naval campaigns / operations / periods.

Images Gallery



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Image of the IJN Hachijo
Image from the Public Domain.


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