IJN Hachijo

IJN Hachijo Story

The Shimushu class battleships were designed for the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) primarily for escort/destroyer escort missions during WWII, making them relatively compact with the necessary landing gear to keep up with their larger compatriots. This means good endurance and sturdy seaworthiness characteristics, and Japan classifies them as "marine defense ships".

The course is built around four examples: IJN Shimushi, IJN Kunashiri, IJN Ishigaki, and IJN Hachijo, with some improvements to Japanese escort methods.

The Hachijo featured in this article was built by the Sasebo Naval Arsenal, and the keel was laid on August 3, 1939. She was officially launched on April 10, 1940, and commissioned on March 31, 1941.

Her sister Kuni later eventually survived the war and was decommissioned/scrapped shortly thereafter (Shimushu was handed over to the USSR, and Ishigaki was dated May 1944 submarine USS Herring was torpedoed).

At the time of construction, the IJN Hachijo had a barrel length of 255 feet, a beam of 29.9 feet, and a draft of 10 feet. Her shallow draft allows for nearshore operations if necessary. Power comes from a 4,200-horsepower twin-diesel engine that drives the twin-screw underneath the boat.

Top speed under ideal conditions is almost 20 knots (19.7 knots). The range is 8,000 nautical miles.

There are 150 employees on board. Her profile includes a raised forecastle with a flat bridge structure. Behind the structure is the fore mast. Midship is the short funnel, which is clearly bent back and before the second mast.

Towards the stern, there was a stepped arrangement between the superstructure and the hull itself, which provided the correct arc of fire for the rear-facing guns.

Armament consists of 3 x 4.7" (120 mm)/45 caliber main guns mounted on three single gun mounts - one above the forecastle and the remaining two aft, facing the stern, in a tiered fashion. 6 x Originally only she carried 4 x 1" (25mm) Anti-Aircraft Guns (AA), but this was increased to 15 by the end of the war. Six depth charge launchers were also installed, and over the course of the war, the charge was increased from 12 to 25 - a total of 60 in the end. The weapon is rounded by a 1 x 81 mm (3.2 in) mortar.

Although initially equipped with mine-sweeping equipment, it was later abandoned in May 1942 and replaced by more depth charges to better counter threats from American submarines and Japanese shipping.

In her early voyages, Hachijo was used by the Japanese army in her assigned escort role across the vast Pacific Ocean. In July 1944, the warship was attacked by American fighter jets, damaging its hull and auxiliary power units, causing flooding.

Still, she survived and was able to complete her tour through World War II. The surrender of Imperial Japan in August 1945 marked the complete end of World War II.

Hachijo followed a number of other IJN ships that did not find their destiny on the sea floor during the war - she was stripped of wartime use and was decommissioned on April 30, 1948.

Specification

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Performance

Armor

AIR WING