JAPANESE DESTROYER AYANAMI

Ayanami was a Japanese destroyer whose keel was laid in 1928, launched in October 1929, and commissioned in the Imperial Japanese Navy in April 1930. The length of the ship at the time of launching was 118.4 m, width 10.4 m, and the actual full displacement - 2,050 tons. Destroyer Ayanami's top speed was up to 38 knots! The main armament at the time of the launch was 6 127 mm guns in three twin turrets, and the secondary armament were 25 mm cannons, depth charges, and nine 610 mm torpedo tubes with nine spare torpedoes. Ayanami was the eleventh Fubuki-class destroyer. When designing destroyers of this type, the focus was on the most powerful armament - especially torpedo ones - and high maximum speed, at the expense of e.g. armor and, in particular, the living conditions of the crew. As a result, a series of ships was created that aroused the admiration of Western experts and the concern of US and British naval intelligence services! In the course of the service, however, some design shortcomings were revealed: first of all, the wrong center of gravity, which resulted in poor stability of these destroyers, as well as insufficient overall strength of the structure. However, all Fubuki-class ships underwent repairs and modernizations in the period 1935-1938, which eliminated the above-mentioned disadvantages. Undoubtedly, destroyers of this type were among the best destroyers in the world at the turn of the 1930s and 1940s, maintaining their combat value throughout the entire war in the Pacific. Destroyer Ayanami began his military career by participating in the Japanese-Chinese struggle that broke out in 1937. Until 1940, it operated in the waters surrounding China and supported, among others, operations in the Shanghai region. In December 1941, he supported landing operations in Malaya, and then fought in the area of the Dutch East Indies. In June 1942, he took part in the Battle of Midway. Shortly after, he was sent to the area of the Solomon Islands archipelago, where he fought in the area of the Guadalcanal island, as part of the so-called Tokyo Express. Destroyer Ayanami was sunk on December 15, 1942 as a result of artillery fire from the USS Washington battleship.