Their design profiles included an unobstructed forecastle with a stepped-down hull line running cleanly to stern. A primary turret was fitted to the bow with good engagement angles and the bridge superstructure sat immediately aft. A main mast was fitted aft of the bridge section and the smoke funnels were installed near midships (ahead of the secondary mast works). Additional armament was fitted heading aft.
To ease large-scale production, the warships were designed as simply and as cleanly as possible so even more primitive Japanese shipyards could contribute to their manufacture to satisfy the numbers required - welded construction being used wherever possible. The class kept some of the qualities of earlier IJN escorts including the "endless-chain" depth charge system which facilitated the arming, loading, and discharging of depth charges at the stern. However, onboard systems were utilitarian which, in some cases, negated the vessel's forward-thinking measures.
Entering service in late-1943-1944, the Type C-class ships were typically assigned to IJN destroyer divisions but ended up as fodder for American submarines - the new design had good range but was inherently slow-moving with ultimately lacked much combat value for the changing fortunes of war. Such was the speed at which the service required the warships that the class featured no named vessels - only numbers - for identification purposes (ships Nos. 1 through 268 with gaps in between). Production issues inherent in the creation of the Type C ships inevitably led the IJN to invest in the related "Type D" vessels which were slightly faster at 17.5 knots but with less range despite the addition of fuel stores.
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