Momo-class destroyer

300px Hinoki on patrol at Wuhan, China, 1923
Class overview
Builders:	Maizuru Naval Arsenal Kure Naval Arsenal
Operators:	Imperial Japanese Navy Manchukuo Imperial Navy
Preceded by:	Isokaze class
Succeeded by:	Enoki class
In commission:	28 February 1916 – 10 October 1944
Completed:	4
Lost:	1
Retired:	3
General characteristics
Type:	Destroyer
Displacement:	835 long tons (848 t) normal, 1,080 long tons (1,100 t) full load
Length:	83.8 m (275 ft) pp, 85.8 m (281 ft) overall
Beam:	7.7 m (25 ft)
Draught:	2.3 m (7.5 ft)
Propulsion:	2-shaft steam turbine, 4 heavy oil-fired boilers 16,700 ihp (12,500 kW)
Speed:	31.5 knots (58.3 km/h)
Range:	2,400 nautical miles (4,400 km) at 15 knots (28 km/h)
Complement:	110
Armament:	3 × QF 4.7 inch Gun Mk I - IV 2 ×6.5mm machine guns 6× 53cm torpedoes

The Momo-class destroyers (桃型駆逐艦, Momogata kuchikukan) were a class of four destroyers of the Imperial Japanese Navy. As with the previous Kaba class, all were named after trees.

Background

The Momo-class destroyers were designed as part of the first phase of the Hachi-Hachi Kantai program of the Imperial Japanese Navy, at the same time as the large Isokaze class. With the commissioning of the new high speed battleships Yamashiro and Ise, escort vessels with equally high speed and blue ocean capabilities were required. However, the Japanese Navy could not afford to build many large destroyers, so it was decided to split production between large "1st-class destroyers" (i.e. the Isokaze class) and new medium-sized "2nd class destroyers" (i.e. the Momo class).

Four vessels were built under the fiscal 1915 budget, with the order split between Maizuru Naval Arsenal and Sasebo Naval Arsenal.

Design

The Momo-class ships were a scaled-down version of the Isokaze class and retained many of the innovations introduced by that class: curved, rather than straight bow, torpedo tubes, geared turbines, and a single-caliber main battery.

Internally, the engines were heavy fuel oil-fired steam turbine engines. Two vessels (Hinoki and Yanagi) used Brown-Curtis turbine engines, and the other two (Momo and Kashi) used Japanese-designed geared turbine engines. The smaller engines gave a smaller rated power of 16,700 shp, which allowed only for a speed of 31.5 knots (58.3 km/h), and limited range due to high fuel consumption.

Armament was slightly less than the Isokaze class, with three instead of four QF 4.7 inch Gun Mk I - IV guns, pedestal mounted along the centerline of the vessel, front, mid-ship and to the stern. The number of torpedoes was the same as the Isokaze (i.e. two triple launchers).

Operational history

The Momo-class destroyers were completed in time to serve in the very final stages of World War I. As the Japanese 15th Destroyer Flotilla under the cruiser Izumo, they were based at Malta from August 1917. The Japanese fleet was nominally independent, but carried out operations under the direction of the Royal Navy command on Malta, primarily in escort operations for transport and troopship convoys and in anti-submarine warfare operations against German U-boats in the Mediterranean.

Kashi was transferred to the Manchukuo Imperial Navy on 1 May 1937 and was renamed Hai Wei. However, on 6 June 1942, Hai Wei was transferred back to the Imperial Japanese Navy, and reclassified as the auxiliary escort Kari. The ship fought in World War II, and was sunk by United States Navy aircraft from TF38 off of Okinawa on 10 October 1944.

The remaining three vessels were retired on 1 April 1940 and broken up, except for Yanagi, which was retained as a training hulk until scrapped in 1947.

List of Ships

Kanji	Name	Translation	Builder	Laid down	Launched	Completed	Fate
桃	Momo	Peach Tree	Sasebo Naval Arsenal, Japan	1916-02-28	1916-10-12	1916-12-23	BU 1940-04-01
樫 海威	Kashi	Evergreen Oak Tree	Maizuru Naval Arsenal, Japan	1916-03-15	1916-12-01	1917-03-31	Transferred to Manchukuo 1937-05-01 as Hai Wei returned to IJN 1942-06-29 as Kaii, sunk in air attack off Okinawa 1944-10-10
檜	Hinoki	Japanese Cypress Tree	Maizuru Naval Arsenal, Japan	1916-05-05	1916-12-25	1917-03-31	BU 1940-05-01
柳	Yanagi	Willow Tree	Sasebo Naval Arsenal, Japan	1916-10-21	1917-02-24	1917-05-05	Retired 1940-05-01; training hulk to 1947-04-01