The Akizuki class were large (larger than the USN's Fletcher class) robust destroyers. The explosive charge in US Mark14 torpedoes was much less than IJN torpedoes, but that was a good hit. Akizuki's good design (and good crew) saved her to fight another day.
Akizuki class DDs, initially designed as low-cost (compared to AA cruisers) AA carrier escorts, eventually proved to be one of the best ww2 destroyers.
In Jan 1944 sistership Suzutsuki had her bow blown off past no.2 gun and her stern blown off just past no.4 gun by torpedos. She survived to be repaired, to then be hit in the bow in October by another torpedo and again survived. In 1945 she was one of the four destroyers that survived Operation Ten-Go, the Yamato's suicide mission, she was badly bombed and almost lost her bow (again!) and had to sail home in reverse!
Amatsukaze also have a similar case of being torpedoed but by USS Redfin (SS-272), with bow and bridge was completely blown off, fitted with wave-cutter bow but never made it back to Japan for proper repairs
I am glad I have Kegero's Super Drawings In 3d, of Akizuki, which is useful for both, in using for building a model of either sister, and drawing. It was great hearing that one of her sisters were discovered, Niizuki. I was wondering what your thoughts are of the website Combined Fleet, and what how you found it as a source for reference for some of these topics on the Imperial Japanese Navy? Take care, and all the best.
@@christophersnyder1532 Overall, I think combined fleet is a solid website information wise when compared to others, but by no means definitive. For instance, this video and my previous one (battle of Sunda Strait) had virtually no help from it as it was vague. It also misses information occasionally like Akizuki's trials after October 23, 1943. Some articles are also old and out of date like the shokaku sinking analysis. All that said, dates and corresponding information are usually correct in my experience. Thanks, take care as well.
Hi Crosser, where do you source the bulk of your information, outside of Combined Fleet, then?. Your videos are very good soure of info from us IJN tragically. Keep up the great work
@@Wayne.J That's a difficult question to answer due to the scope of my research. To summarize it, I use as much primary sourcing as possible followed by secondary. Many Japanese accounts and records survived the war and have been made accessible through archives and institutions in Japan. The USN also spent much time investigating the technology/equipment used by the IJN and those records are usually accessible online in PDF formats. Of course, the USN records need to be approached cautiously as comparisons with equipment are usually made from lacking corresponding data (Shinano turret armor tests come to mind first). When it comes to individual ship design and history, I specifically hunt for the ships I want information on and purchase items I find that tick the boxes. It gets expensive sometimes, especially when it comes to German ships in my experience. The best tip I can really give is cross check. History can provide conflicting details at times and getting more is better in many cases, but not all. Some sources are terrible like Colin Simpson's 'The Lusitania.' It's a book made on conspiracies and unsupported assumptions, but is a good example of what not to use.
@@centralcrossing4732 Thx, you do great videos. I am IJN fan from the start of the Combined Fleet webpage from mid to late 1990s. I know the old guys have passed over and guys left have rarely updated. But agree it is a bit old, and a little out of date, though bulk of it, at least as a general overview is probably still correct. I was just looking for "new" updates so seeing your site and 1 or 2 other IJN sites recently, has led me to renew my interest. Keep up the great work ❤❤❤
USS Nautilus was comparatively old, so that is possible, but US Mark 14 torpedoes had serious problems, at least one of which was evident in her attack on Akizuki. The contact exploder often failed to set off the warhead, as happened with Akizuki. Another that may have been relevant was that until the problem was found and correction made, the things ran ~10 feet (~3 meters) deeper than set. The Mark 14s used a year later had the problems corrected and actually worked.
Nautilus was not a standard fleet type sub, which were built in the hundreds during the war. She was one of a class of 3 large subs built in the 30s as a USN experiment with what were called cruiser submarines, armed with a pair of 6" guns, and meant for longe range cruising and surface actions. A good idea for going after Japanese merchant shipping, which was the primary purpose of her existence. As a result of her size, she was slow to dive and not very maneuverable while submerged. A destroyer was the last thing she would want to get involved with.
The V-boats pre-dated the classes that came to be known as fleet submarines. The V-boats were basically experiments with size, armament (number of torpedo tubes, types of guns - some had 5"/51 guns), and propulsion. All were slower than fleet boat classes, but the Dolphin and Cachalot V-boat subclasses seem to be the form the USN decided to optimize and incrementally improve in fleet boat classes. Some V-boats were used for regular war patrols early in the war and later used for special missions.
The Akizuki class were large (larger than the USN's Fletcher class) robust destroyers. The explosive charge in US Mark14 torpedoes was much less than IJN torpedoes, but that was a good hit. Akizuki's good design (and good crew) saved her to fight another day.
Akizuki class DDs, initially designed as low-cost (compared to AA cruisers) AA carrier escorts, eventually proved to be one of the best ww2 destroyers.
In Jan 1944 sistership Suzutsuki had her bow blown off past no.2 gun and her stern blown off just past no.4 gun by torpedos. She survived to be repaired, to then be hit in the bow in October by another torpedo and again survived. In 1945 she was one of the four destroyers that survived Operation Ten-Go, the Yamato's suicide mission, she was badly bombed and almost lost her bow (again!) and had to sail home in reverse!
Amatsukaze also have a similar case of being torpedoed but by USS Redfin (SS-272), with bow and bridge was completely blown off, fitted with wave-cutter bow but never made it back to Japan for proper repairs
Is the original bow section still near Saipan?
Thanks for great video. I really enjoyed its storytelling and visual contend. Keep up the good work!
So only 3/4 s of the ship made it home.what happened to the rest of the ship..?
Great video and thanks for work on this.
I am glad I have Kegero's Super Drawings In 3d, of Akizuki, which is useful for both, in using for building a model of either sister, and drawing.
It was great hearing that one of her sisters were discovered, Niizuki.
I was wondering what your thoughts are of the website Combined Fleet, and what how you found it as a source for reference for some of these topics on the Imperial Japanese Navy?
Take care, and all the best.
@@christophersnyder1532 Overall, I think combined fleet is a solid website information wise when compared to others, but by no means definitive. For instance, this video and my previous one (battle of Sunda Strait) had virtually no help from it as it was vague. It also misses information occasionally like Akizuki's trials after October 23, 1943. Some articles are also old and out of date like the shokaku sinking analysis. All that said, dates and corresponding information are usually correct in my experience.
Thanks, take care as well.
Hi Crosser, where do you source the bulk of your information, outside of Combined Fleet, then?. Your videos are very good soure of info from us IJN tragically.
Keep up the great work
@@Wayne.J That's a difficult question to answer due to the scope of my research. To summarize it, I use as much primary sourcing as possible followed by secondary. Many Japanese accounts and records survived the war and have been made accessible through archives and institutions in Japan. The USN also spent much time investigating the technology/equipment used by the IJN and those records are usually accessible online in PDF formats. Of course, the USN records need to be approached cautiously as comparisons with equipment are usually made from lacking corresponding data (Shinano turret armor tests come to mind first). When it comes to individual ship design and history, I specifically hunt for the ships I want information on and purchase items I find that tick the boxes. It gets expensive sometimes, especially when it comes to German ships in my experience.
The best tip I can really give is cross check. History can provide conflicting details at times and getting more is better in many cases, but not all. Some sources are terrible like Colin Simpson's 'The Lusitania.' It's a book made on conspiracies and unsupported assumptions, but is a good example of what not to use.
@@centralcrossing4732
Thx, you do great videos.
I am IJN fan from the start of the Combined Fleet webpage from mid to late 1990s.
I know the old guys have passed over and guys left have rarely updated. But agree it is a bit old, and a little out of date, though bulk of it, at least as a general overview is probably still correct.
I was just looking for "new" updates so seeing your site and 1 or 2 other IJN sites recently, has led me to renew my interest.
Keep up the great work ❤❤❤
Another great video. Was U.S.S. Nautilus having technical issues?
USS Nautilus was comparatively old, so that is possible, but US Mark 14 torpedoes had serious problems, at least one of which was evident in her attack on Akizuki. The contact exploder often failed to set off the warhead, as happened with Akizuki. Another that may have been relevant was that until the problem was found and correction made, the things ran ~10 feet (~3 meters) deeper than set. The Mark 14s used a year later had the problems corrected and actually worked.
Mark XIV torpedoes. They were notoriously unreliable in almost every way
Nautilus was not a standard fleet type sub, which were built in the hundreds during the war. She was one of a class of 3 large subs built in the 30s as a USN experiment with what were called cruiser submarines, armed with a pair of 6" guns, and meant for longe range cruising and surface actions. A good idea for going after Japanese merchant shipping, which was the primary purpose of her existence. As a result of her size, she was slow to dive and not very maneuverable while submerged. A destroyer was the last thing she would want to get involved with.
The V-boats pre-dated the classes that came to be known as fleet submarines. The V-boats were basically experiments with size, armament (number of torpedo tubes, types of guns - some had 5"/51 guns), and propulsion. All were slower than fleet boat classes, but the Dolphin and Cachalot V-boat subclasses seem to be the form the USN decided to optimize and incrementally improve in fleet boat classes. Some V-boats were used for regular war patrols early in the war and later used for special missions.
Oh YEAH! FIRST!!!!!!
@@manilajohn0182 Long time channel supporters and regular commenters such as yourself deserve the honor occasionally.
@@centralcrossing4732 lol okay- and it IS an honor...
At 0:40, why is the name of the ship reversed? キヅキア "Kizukia"