Sazanami (漣, "Ripples") was an Ikazuchi-class destroyer of the Imperial Japanese Navy. It was one of the smallest and oldest destroyers of the Japanese navy.[2] Only being 220 feet long, which made 30 to 32 knots and capable of 6000 horsepower.[3]

Sazanami at Yokosuka, 1900
History
Empire of Japan
Name	Sazanami
Builder	Yarrow & Company
Laid down	1 June 1897
Launched	8 July 1899[1]
Completed	28 August 1899
Decommissioned	1 April 1928
Fate	Sunk as target ship, 1917
General characteristics
Class and type	Ikazuchi-class destroyer
Displacement	305 long tons (310 t) normal, 410 long tons (420 t) full load
Length	67.2 m (220 ft) pp, 68.4 m (224 ft) overall
Beam	6.2 m (20 ft)
Draught	1.57 m (5.2 ft)
Propulsion	2-shaft reciprocating, 4 Yarrow boilers, 6,000 ihp (4,500 kW)
Speed	30 knots (56 km/h)
Complement	55
Armament	1 × QF 12 pounder gun 5 × QF 6 pounder Hotchkiss gun 2 × 18 in (460 mm) torpedoes

Service history

Completed on 28 August 1899, she arrived at Sasebo on March 24, 1900, where she was classified as a destroyer.[4]

During the Russo-Japanese War, Sazanami participated in the battles of Port Arthur and Yalu River.[4] At the Battle of Tsushima, The Russian destroyer Bedovii, which was carrying the wounded Zinovy Rozhestvensky, surrendered to her.[5]

On 1 April 1913, the destroyer was decommissioned.[6] On 23 August 1914 , it was transferred as a miscellaneous service ship, designated as a target ship, and renamed Sazanami Maru. On 29 August 1916, she was sunk off the coast of Tateyama as a target. She was later sold for scrap on 9 January 1917.

References