Japanese destroyer Yayoi (1905)

Sister ship Ayanami
History
Empire of Japan
Name	Yayoi
Builder	Yokosuka Naval Arsenal
Launched	7 August 1905
Completed	23 September 1905
Decommissioned	1 December 1924
Out of service	16 June 1926
Fate	Sunk as a target, 10 August 1926
General characteristics (as built)
Class and type	Kamikaze-class destroyer
Displacement	381 long tons (387 t) 450 long tons (460 t) (full load)
Length	227 ft (69.2 m) (pp) 234 ft (71 m) (o/a)
Beam	21 ft 7 in (6.6 m)
Draught	6 ft (1.8 m)
Installed power	4 boilers; 6,000 ihp (4,500 kW)
Propulsion	2 shafts; 2 triple-expansion steam engines
Speed	29 knots (54 km/h; 33 mph)
Range	1,200 nmi (2,200 km; 1,400 mi) at 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph)
Complement	70
Armament	2 × single 3 in (76 mm) 12 cwt guns 4 × single 3 in (76 mm) 8 cwt guns 2 × single 450 mm (17.7 in) torpedo tubes

Yayoi (弥生) ("Month of new plants" or "March") was one of 32 Kamikaze-class destroyers built for the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) in the first decade of the 20th century.

The Kamikaze-class destroyers were improved versions of the preceding Harusame class.^[1] They displaced 381 long tons (387 t) at normal load and 450 long tons (460 t) at deep load. The ships had a length between perpendiculars of 227 feet (69.2 m) and an overall length of 234 feet (71.3 m), a beam of 21 feet 7 inches (6.6 m) and a draught of 6 feet (1.8 m). The Kamikazes were powered by two vertical triple-expansion steam engines, each driving one shaft using steam produced by four Kampon water-tube boilers. The engines produced a total of 6,000 indicated horsepower (4,500 kW) that gave the ships a maximum speed of 29 knots (54 km/h; 33 mph). They carried a maximum of 100 long tons (102 t) of coal^[2] which gave them a range of 1,500 nautical miles (2,800 km; 1,700 mi) at a speed of 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph). Their crew consisted of 70 officers and ratings.^[3]

The main armament of the Kamikaze-class ships consisted of two 40-calibre quick-firing (QF) three-inch (76 mm) 12 cwt guns^{[Note 1]} on single mounts; the forward gun was located on superstructure, but the aft gun was at the stern. Four 28-calibre QF three-inch 8 cwt guns on single mounts were positioned abreast the superstructure, two in each broadside. The ships were also armed with two single rotating mounts^[1][3] for 450-millimetre (17.7 in)^[4] torpedoes between the superstructure and the stern gun.^[1]

Yayoi was launched at Yokosuka Naval Arsenal on 7 August 1905^[1] and completed on 23 August 1905. The ship saw service in World War I and decommissioned on 1 December 1924, although she remained in use as an auxiliary until 16 June 1926. She was sunk as a target by aircraft on 10 August 1926 off the Oki Islands.^[5]

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• Friedman, Norman (2011). Naval Weapons of World War One. Barnsley, South Yorkshire, UK: Seaforth. ISBN 978-1-84832-100-7.
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