W-244 IJN DESTROYER 'SHIKINAMI 1944'

The Shikinami was a Japanese destroyer whose keel was laid in 1928, launched in June 1929, and commissioned in the Imperial Japanese Navy in December 1929. 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 Shikinami'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. The Shikinami was the twelfth destroyer of the Fubuki class. 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 Shikinami underwent its baptism of fire in the Japanese-Chinese struggle that broke out in 1937. In the first days of the Pacific War with the US, he supported Japanese landings in Malaya. In the period of January-February 1942, she acted as an escort ship for the Ryujo aircraft carrier. In June 1942, he took part in the Battle of Midway. From August of the same year, he fought in the area of the Solomon Islands archipelago, where he was badly damaged in November. After repairs, it returned to the line in early 1943 and in March of that year took part in the Battle of the Bismarck Sea. After this battle, he served as an escort for many months. Destroyer Shikinami was sunk on September 12, 1944.