Kiji & Ardito; Japanese Torpedo-boat Kiji Italian torpedo-boat Ardito [from front cover]
Piotr Wisniewski (Drawings), and Slawomir Brzezins Wyszkow, Poland: BS Firma Wydawniczo-Handlowa. Presumed First Edition, First printing. Trade paperback. 40 pages. Illustrations. 2 black and white tri-fold illustrations (one for Kiji and one for Ardito, and on two panel (one side only) of both ships in color. All Plans of World Warships/Yellow Periscope Series No.5. Bibliography. The Ciclone class were a group of torpedo boats or destroyer escorts built for the Italian Navy which fought in the Second World War. They were modified, slightly heavier, versions of the previous Orsa class, with improved stability and heavier anti-submarine armament. These ships were built as part of the Italian war mobilization program and completed in 1942–43. All units were fitted with a sonar, and also torpedo launchers were present in the same quantity and placement for all units of the class. However, there were three different gun configurations in the class: Ghibli, Impavido, Impetuoso, Indomito were fitted with 3 single 100mm/47 guns, plus 4 dual 20mm/65 machine guns; Aliseo, Ardente, Ciclone, Fortunale, Groppo, Monsone, Tifone, Uragano with 2 single 100mm/47 guns and 8 × 20mm/65 machine guns; and Animoso, Ardito, Ardimentoso, Intrepido with 2 single 100mm/47 guns, while the central mounting was fitted with a quadruple 20mm/65 mounting, for a total of 12 AA machine guns. The tori-class torpedo boat were a class of eight fast torpedo boats of the Imperial Japanese Navy built before and operated during World War II. To circumvent the terms of the 1930 London Naval Treaty, which limited its total destroyer tonnage the Imperial Japanese Navy designed the Chidori class torpedo boat, but planned to arm it with half the armament of a Fubuki class destroyer. The resultant design was top-heavy and unstable, resulting in the 1934 Tomozuru Incident, in which one of the Chidori-class vessels capsized. The subsequent investigation revealed the fundamental design flaw, and the four vessels in the class which had been completed were extensively rebuilt, and the remaining sixteen vessels projected were canceled in favor of a new design which would address these design issues from the beginning. Sixteen tori-class vessels were ordered in the 1934 2nd Naval Armaments Supplement Program, of which eight were completed between 1936 and 1937. The remaining eight were cancelled in favor of building additional submarine chasers. Benefiting from the redesign of the Chidori-class, the tori-class had a slightly longer hull with an increased beam. The bridge structure was also lower than on the Chidori-class to help keep the center-of-gravity low. Two Kampon geared turbines powered by two Kampon water-tube boilers produced a total of 19,000 shaft horsepower (14,000 kW), which gave the ships more power than the Chidori-class, and thus a slightly higher maximum speed of 30.0 knots (34.5 mph) The armament of the tori-class was almost the same as for the rebuilt Chidori-class with a main battery of three single 12 cm/45 3rd Year Type naval guns which to elevate to 55 degrees for a limited anti-aircraft capability. The torpedo mount was upgraded from a twin to a triple torpedo launcher, and a single Type 94 depth charge launcher was carried. However, anti-aircraft weaponry was only a single license-built Vickers 40 mm (2 pounder pom pom). During the Pacific War, in 1944 survivors had the aft gun removed, and up to three twin-mount and five single-mount Type 96 25mm AA guns were installed as well as a Type 22 and a Type 13 radar. The number of depth charges was increased to 48. The tori-class were used extensively from the start of the Pacific War to escort invasion convoys to the Philippines, Dutch East Indies and the Solomon Islands. Hiyodori sank the USS Amberjack (SS-219) during the Solomon Islands campaign on 16 February 1943. Seven of the eight ships in the class were sunk by submarines or air attack in the Pacific or the South China Sea and only Kiji survived to the end of the war. Condition: Very good.
Keywords: Naval Vessel, Warship, Torpedo-boat, Otori Class, Ciclone Class, Kiji, Ardito, Naval Architecture, Shipbuilding
ISBN: 8387918946
[Book #87557]
Price: $150.00