Aoshima 1:700 Hatsushimo Destroyer 1945

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Hatsushimo was a Japanese destroyer whose keel was laid in 1933, launched in November 1933, and commissioned in the Imperial Japanese Navy in September 1934. The length of the ship at the time of launching was 109.5 m, width 10 m, and the actual full displacement – 1,800 tons. Destroyer Hatsushimo’s top speed was up to 36 knots. The main armament at the time of the launch was 5 127 mm guns in two twin and one single turret, and the secondary armament was two 40 mm cannons, depth charge launchers and nine 610 mm torpedo tubes.

Hatsushimo was the fourth Hatsuharu-class destroyer. Designing destroyers of this type was based on the very successful Fubuki class, but the provisions of the disarmament treaty of 1930 had to be respected, which forced the maximum displacement to be limited to 1,850 tons. The result was a ship with capabilities similar to the Fubuki class, but with weaker torpedo armament. What’s more – also on the Hatsuharu type, the ship’s stability and the overall strength of the structure had to be improved later. Finally, at the outbreak of the war, units of this type were as good as their Allied counterparts, but had less combat capabilities than the earlier chronological type of Fubuki! Destroyer Hatsushimo began its participation in World War II – in a not very effective way, i.e. by patrolling mother waters in search of American submarines. In January and February 1942, he supported Japanese amphibious operations in the region of the Dutch East Indies. In the summer of 1942, Hatsushimo fought in the Aleutian region, and in March 1943 he took part in the Battle of the Commander Islands. Then he performed a patrol and escort service in the waters of the North Pacific. In April 1944, the ship was modernized: it received a new radar and its anti-aircraft armament was strengthened. In October of the same year, he took part in the Battle of Leyte Bay. In April 1945, he took part in Operation Ten-Go, but was not sunk. The destroyer Hatsushimo sank on July 30, 1945 as a result of hitting a mine.