“Japanese cruiser Yūbari”的意思、由来-开放百科全书

Construction of an experimental light cruiser was authorized under the 1917 8-4 Fleet Program but funding was not available until 1921.^[2] Yūbari was designed as an experimental scout cruiser that would have the combat potential of the standard {{convert|5000|t|LT|lk=on|abbr=on}} Sendai-class cruiser but with a much lighter displacement. Captain Yuzuru Hiraga, Japan’s leading naval architect, assisted by Lieutenant Commander Kikuo Fujimoto, developed an innovative design which strongly influenced the design of Japan’s subsequent heavy cruisers, as well as destroyers.^[2]

Design

The basic design premise of Yūbari was that the highest possible speed and weaponry be maintained with the greatest possible weight reduction.^[2] To save weight, the armor was integrated directly into the hull structure, forming the side walls and deck. Yūbari had {{convert|38|mm|in|abbr=on|2}} of belt armor protecting the machinery spaces and gun magazines, and {{convert|28|mm|in|abbr=on|2}} armor for the deck and bridge, giving the vessel far superior armor than the previous 5000-ton cruiser designs. The forecastle was given significant flare to improve seakeeping.

Propulsion was similar to that of a destroyer, with eight oil-fired Kampon boilers feeding three turbine engines, generating {{convert|43060|kW|hp|abbr=on}}.^[2] However, the exhaust was trunked into a single centrally-located smokestack, reducing the overall length of the design and freeing deck space.

The main battery consisted of six 14 cm/50 3rd Year Type naval guns mounted in two twin gun turrets and two single gun turrets located on the centre line of the ship’s axis in an arrangement which allowed one single and one twin turret to fire over the bow or stern. A single 8 cm/40 3rd Year Type naval gun and two 7.7 mm machine guns were located amidships on a raised platform for anti-aircraft defense. Two twin-mount torpedo launchers were also on the centerline of the ship’s axis, one fore and aft of the anti-aircraft gun platform, with four loaded and four reserve Type 93 torpedoes. The fire control system was centralized into an enlarged bridge.^[2]

The ship was completed {{convert|419|t|LT|abbr=on}} (13%) over the designed displacement, resulting in an extra foot of draft and a loss of {{convert|1.5|kn|km/h mph|abbr=on}} in designed speed.^[3] The use of new technologies and unproven designs led to a number of issues which only became apparent once Yūbari was commissioned. The smoke stack was found to draw poorly, and was enlarged by 1.80 meters in 1924. Additional ballast was also added to increase stability. In 1932, the 80mm anti-aircraft gun was removed and in 1935, two twin Type 93 {{convert|13.2|mm|in|abbr=on}} guns were fitted. These were replaced by two twin 25mm guns in 1940.^[2]

Service history

Completed just prior to the 1923 Great Kantō earthquake, Yūbari was quickly pressed into service to help evacuate refugees from Yokohama and other stricken areas. During this time (10 September 1923), Crown Prince Hirohito also visited the vessel while at Yokosuka. In April 1925, Yūbari shadowed maneuvers of the United States Navy off of Oahu. American destroyers gave chase, but Yūbari was able to outrun them. She was reassigned to the reserves in November 1933^[6]

In November 1934, Captain Tadashige Daigo assumed command, and Yūbari was reassigned to the Yokosuka Naval District, where she was modernized and refitted in November 1935. Afterwards, she was assigned to patrols off of the China coast. With the start of the Second Sino-Japanese War in August 1937, Yūbari assisted in the evacuation of Japanese civilians from coastal cities in southern China. Subsequently, she was sent north to cover landings by the Imperial Japanese Army at Hangzhou on 20 October. She returned to Yokosuka and was reassigned to the reserves in December of the same year. She was sent from March through October 1939 to the Ōminato Guard District to patrol the coast of Sakhalin .^[6]

At the time of the attack on Pearl Harbor, Yūbari was flagship of Destroyer Squadron Six of the IJN 4th Fleet, tasked with the defense of the South Pacific Mandate, and was based out of Truk from late 1941 through 1942.^[7]

Early in the war, Yūbari was the flagship for the Japanese invasion force during the invasion of Wake Island. She led both invasion attempts on 11 and 23 December 1941.^[8] During shore bombardment operations, she was bracketed by gunfire from the USMC defenders, but took no damage.^[6]

Subsequently, Yūbari and her destroyers participated in the capture of Rabaul and New Ireland in the Solomon Islands, followed by the Invasion of Salamaua–Lae on 8 March 1942. On 10 March, she was attacked by two Douglas SBD-3 Dauntless dive bombers from the aircraft carrier {{USS|Lexington|CV-2|6}}, which scored two severe near-misses that killed a number of her anti-aircraft gun crews. She was then strafed by four Grumman F4F-3 Wildcat fighters from Lexington, which killed her executive officer and several crewmen on her bridge. The following morning she was attacked again by aircraft from {{USS|Yorktown|CV-5|6}}. Yorktown’s SBD-3s detonated gunpowder bags near her No.2 turret, which set the protective mattresses around the bridge on fire, and an F4F-3 strafing run detonated gasoline drums stored in her port lifeboat. Firefighting teams found the fire hoses too short due to a design error and the fire threatened the forward torpedo mount. The captain ordered the torpedoes jettisoned but the mount would not rotate due to a power failure, forcing the crew to use pulleys and ropes to dump the torpedoes manually. During this battle Yūbari evaded 67 bombs and 12 torpedoes, suffering 13 killed and 49 wounded. She was bombed again on 10 March by four USAAF B-17 Flying Fortress bombers while returning to Rabaul with four near-misses opening three large holes in her stern. She returned to Truk for repairs on 25 March.^[6]

Beginning 29 June 1942, Yūbari took part in the Solomon Islands Campaign, including landing personnel on Guadalcanal to construct an airfield. From 17 June, she started to develop problems with her engines, and was limited to {{convert|26|kn}} on two shafts. Yūbari participated in the Battle of Savo Island on 9 August.^[10]^[11] She scored several hits on the American destroyer {{USS|Ralph Talbot|DD-390|6}}, and one of the torpedoes that sank the heavy cruiser {{USS|Vincennes|CA-44|6}} has been attributed to her.^[2]

From 20 August, Yūbari was based out of Truk, making patrols between Truk and the Marshall islands, Gilbert Islands, and Palau. She was based at Tarawa from 20 October to 20 November as a guard ship.^[6]

She returned to Yokosuka at the end of December, where her middle turbine was repaired and additional anti-aircraft weaponry was installed in February 1943. She returned to Rabaul on 1 April and was assigned to the Southwest Area Fleet. On 2 July, Yūbari and her destroyers bombarded the American beachhead established at Rendova Island, but with little effect. On her return to Buin, Yūbari struck a naval mine, damaging her bow and wounding 26 crewmen. The damage also limited her speed to 22 knots and forced a return to Yokosuka for repairs from August through October. In addition to repairs, additional anti-aircraft guns, a Type 22 surface search radar and Type 94 sonar were installed. She returned to Rabaul on 3 November. On 4 November, she rescued 196 troops and three artillery pieces from the transport Kiyosumi Maru, which had been damaged by a bombing attack the previous day. On 6 November, she undertook a "Tokyo Express" transport run with 700 troops from the IJA 17th Division and 25 tons of supplies to Bougainville Island. Yūbari was damaged slightly by a strafing attack in the 11 November Carrier Raid on Rabaul, and again on 14 November. On 18 November, she attempted another troop transport run to Garove Island in New Britain, but the mission was cancelled after Yūbari was damaged in an attack by USAAF B-24 Liberators and USN PBY Catalinas. She returned to Yokosuka on 19 December for repairs and the installation of yet more anti-aircraft guns. She returned to Saipan on 30 March 1944, and Palau on 25 April^[6]

Notes

1. ^{{cite book | last = Jentsura | first = Hansgeorg | year = 1976 | title = Warships of the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1869-1945 | publisher = Naval Institute Press | isbn = 0-87021-893-X }} page 108
2. ^¹²³⁴⁵⁶Stille, Imperial Japanese Navy Light Cruisers 1941-45 , pages 31-34;
3. ^Lacroix, Japanese Cruisers, p. 44
4. ^Lacroix, Japanese Cruisers, p. 368-369
5. ^¹{{cite web|first = Hiroshi | last = Nishida |url= http://homepage2.nifty.com/nishidah/e/stc0328.htm |title= Yubari light cruisers |year=2002 |work= Imperial Japanese Navy}}
6. ^¹²³⁴⁵⁶⁷*{{cite web | last = Parshall | first = Jon |author2=Bob Hackett |author3=Sander Kingsepp |author4=Allyn Nevitt | url = http://www.combinedfleet.com/ships/yubari | title = ‘‘Yūbari’’ class Imperial Japanese Navy Page |website=Combinedfleet.com | work = | accessdate = 2006-06-14}}
tabular record: CombinedFleet.com: ‘‘Yūbari’’ history
7. ^Lacroix, Japanese Cruisers, p. 363-366
8. ^Dull, A Battle History..., p. 24-25
9. ^Lacroix, Japanese Cruisers, p. 364
10. ^Lacroix, Japanese Cruisers, p. 368
11. ^Dull, A Battle History..., p. 187
12. ^U. S. Navy Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, "U.S.S. Bluegill, SS-242", Web. 23 Feb 2013. http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/b7/bluegill-i.htm

References

External links

Background

Design

Service history

Notes

References

External links