Umikaze

Ballistics

Armor Model

Overview

The experience of the Russo-Japanese War showed that the existing types of destroyers were too small for operations on the open sea. For normal cooperation with the fleet, ships much larger than the 300-ton torpedo boat destroyers were required. Immediately after the war ended, Japan began developing destroyers of increased size. The first were the two Umikaze-class destroyers, whose design was based on British ships of this class. The new destroyers were the first to use steam turbines. The lead ship of the class, Umikaze, was built in Maizuru. During the First World War, the destroyer participated in the hunt for Admiral Maximilian von Spee's squadron. From 1930, the obsolete Umikaze was used as a minesweeper.