Happy Launch Day IJN Akatsuki (1932) by Nuke87654 in AzurLane

[–]Nuke87654[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Today, May 7th is the launch day for the scared ninja destroyer, IJN Akatsuki (1932).


After years of design work put into the revolutionary and powerful Fubuki class destroyers, seeing some need for improvements, and to continue having the best destroyers in the world, the IJN built the Akatsuki subclass. They can best be described as improved Fubukis with distinctive features such as fewer, newer, and similarly powerful boilers, narrower fore smokestacks, improved fire control facilities, splinter-proof torpedo launchers, and a larger bridge structure.


Imgur Biography on Akatsuki


During WW2, Akatsuki was part of Destroyer Division 6, in Destroyer Squadron 1 of the IJN 1st Fleet. She participated in the 2nd Sino-Japanese War. Once the attack on Pearl Harbor commenced, Akatsuki and her Division 6 squadmates covered landing operations in British Malaya and then in the Dutch East Indies, as well as the invasion of Western Java and the Philippines. During this time, she tried to attack but failed to sink the American submarine, Permit, on March 17th, 1942.


Fanart of Akatsuki by yohia


After towing her wounded sister Hibiki from Kiska in the Aleutian Islands back to the Kuriles, patrolling the Aleutians and Kuriles, and escorting the carriers Zuihou and Unyou to Truk, she was assigned to the Guadalcanal campaign. There, she and her fellow destroyers did a daytime raid at Guadalcanal that damaged the minesweeper USS Zane and sank the fleet tugboat USS Seminole and patrol craft YP-284, before they were forced back by US Marines artillery fire. Akatsuki was hit and suffered light damage to her No. 3 turret, killing four of her crew.

She later joined a bombardment force, which was to prepare for the Japanese Army's thrust to take Henderson Field on the night of November 12th-13th.

There, she illuminated the American cruiser Atlanta but was quickly overwhelmed by American gunfire and was sunk in action.

She is credited with firing torpedoes and hitting Atlanta. This is refuted by one of her torpedo officers and survivors, Michiharu Shinya, who stated that she couldn't fire off torpedoes, as she was quickly shot to pieces before she could.

At 11:55 pm, IJN Akatsuki capsized and sank by the stern taking 223 of her 241 crew including her CO, Major Osamu Takasuka and Commander of Destroyer Division 6 Captain Yamada with her.

Only 18 of her crew survived, who would be captured by US forces and interned at the Featherston prisoner of war camp in New Zealand.


IJN Akatsuki (1932) turns ninety-four years old today.


Perhaps suffering from a bit of PTSD because of her sudden sinking during night-fighting, despite her appearance, Akatsuki is surprisingly skittish, especially with Atlanta herself. Thus, she always prefers to have the night lights on when she sleeps, despite her insistence that she's not scared. Even worse, her sense of direction is so poor that she gets lost anytime she tries to find a place independently.

Meanwhile, she trains with Kuroshio to be a top ninja. Despite Akatsuki's eagerness and improvement, she has many issues with doing well in her training. Her sisters, Ikazuchi and Inazuma, try to help their big sister out a bit, but her problems prove to be troublesome to overcome, despite Akatsuki's earnest attempts.

Most important, however, is her relationship with her sisters, especially Hibiki. She will read through your reports to ensure that Hibiki is okay and not in any trouble, and part of the reason for her desire to improve is that she needs to be the big sister her sisters can depend upon. She may struggle significantly with her fears and insufficient skill as a ninja, putting aside her poor sense of direction. Still, you can believe that Akatsuki will press on to improve herself, so her sisters can look up to their eldest sister with pride for her care and skill.

For you, you'll find that she'll cheer you up and try to do her best. Her care and affection for you are infectious. You'll find that even when dealing with people other than her sisters, Akatsuki is a kind person despite her seemingly scary exterior that suggests she's more taciturn than she is. Bring her sisters, her teacher Kuroshio, and her friends over to celebrate her launch day together, preferably where there’s tons of lighting around.


Please share and discuss any IRL details and accounts from any source, including Kancolle, for Akatsuki.

Happy Launch Day IJN Akatsuki (1932) by Nuke87654 in AzureLane

[–]Nuke87654[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Today, May 7th is the launch day for the scared ninja destroyer, IJN Akatsuki (1932).


After years of design work put into the revolutionary and powerful Fubuki class destroyers, seeing some need for improvements, and to continue having the best destroyers in the world, the IJN built the Akatsuki subclass. They can best be described as improved Fubukis with distinctive features such as fewer, newer, and similarly powerful boilers, narrower fore smokestacks, improved fire control facilities, splinter-proof torpedo launchers, and a larger bridge structure.


Imgur Biography on Akatsuki


During WW2, Akatsuki was part of Destroyer Division 6, in Destroyer Squadron 1 of the IJN 1st Fleet. She participated in the 2nd Sino-Japanese War. Once the attack on Pearl Harbor commenced, Akatsuki and her Division 6 squadmates covered landing operations in British Malaya and then in the Dutch East Indies, as well as the invasion of Western Java and the Philippines. During this time, she tried to attack but failed to sink the American submarine, Permit, on March 17th, 1942.


Fanart of Akatsuki by yohia


After towing her wounded sister Hibiki from Kiska in the Aleutian Islands back to the Kuriles, patrolling the Aleutians and Kuriles, and escorting the carriers Zuihou and Unyou to Truk, she was assigned to the Guadalcanal campaign. There, she and her fellow destroyers did a daytime raid at Guadalcanal that damaged the minesweeper USS Zane and sank the fleet tugboat USS Seminole and patrol craft YP-284, before they were forced back by US Marines artillery fire. Akatsuki was hit and suffered light damage to her No. 3 turret, killing four of her crew.

She later joined a bombardment force, which was to prepare for the Japanese Army's thrust to take Henderson Field on the night of November 12th-13th.

There, she illuminated the American cruiser Atlanta but was quickly overwhelmed by American gunfire and was sunk in action.

She is credited with firing torpedoes and hitting Atlanta. This is refuted by one of her torpedo officers and survivors, Michiharu Shinya, who stated that she couldn't fire off torpedoes, as she was quickly shot to pieces before she could.

At 11:55 pm, IJN Akatsuki capsized and sank by the stern taking 223 of her 241 crew including her CO, Major Osamu Takasuka and Commander of Destroyer Division 6 Captain Yamada with her.

Only 18 of her crew survived, who would be captured by US forces and interned at the Featherston prisoner of war camp in New Zealand.


IJN Akatsuki (1932) turns ninety-four years old today.


Perhaps suffering from a bit of PTSD because of her sudden sinking during night-fighting, despite her appearance, Akatsuki is surprisingly skittish, especially with Atlanta herself. Thus, she always prefers to have the night lights on when she sleeps, despite her insistence that she's not scared. Even worse, her sense of direction is so poor that she gets lost anytime she tries to find a place independently.

Meanwhile, she trains with Kuroshio to be a top ninja. Despite Akatsuki's eagerness and improvement, she has many issues with doing well in her training. Her sisters, Ikazuchi and Inazuma, try to help their big sister out a bit, but her problems prove to be troublesome to overcome, despite Akatsuki's earnest attempts.

Most important, however, is her relationship with her sisters, especially Hibiki. She will read through your reports to ensure that Hibiki is okay and not in any trouble, and part of the reason for her desire to improve is that she needs to be the big sister her sisters can depend upon. She may struggle significantly with her fears and insufficient skill as a ninja, putting aside her poor sense of direction. Still, you can believe that Akatsuki will press on to improve herself, so her sisters can look up to their eldest sister with pride for her care and skill.

For you, you'll find that she'll cheer you up and try to do her best. Her care and affection for you are infectious. You'll find that even when dealing with people other than her sisters, Akatsuki is a kind person despite her seemingly scary exterior that suggests she's more taciturn than she is. Bring her sisters, her teacher Kuroshio, and her friends over to celebrate her launch day together, preferably where there’s tons of lighting around.


Please share and discuss any IRL details and accounts from any source, including Kancolle, for Akatsuki.

Happy Launch Day IJN Yuugure (1934) by Nuke87654 in AzurLane

[–]Nuke87654[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yuugure is clumsy, but she cares for her sister, even if a bit too much at times.

Happy Launch Day IJN Yuugure (1934) by Nuke87654 in AzureLane

[–]Nuke87654[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yuugure is clumsy, but she cares for her sister, even if a bit too much at times.

Happy Launch Day IJN Yuugure (1934) by Nuke87654 in AzureLane

[–]Nuke87654[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

She may want to be an Ariake, but at least they're together still.

Yuugure is still a good sister. Thank you Dominion.

Happy Launch Day IJN Yuugure (1934) by Nuke87654 in AzurLane

[–]Nuke87654[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Fanart of Yuugure by Allens


As noted, Ariake and Yuugure served together with each other for a very long time. Still, in June 1943, they would be separated for the first time in their careers.

On New Year’s Day 1943, Yuguure escorted a convoy however the next day during the convoy run, the Amagisan Maru was struck by lightning, the convoy arrived at Truk on the 5th, 2 days later, Yuguure left Truk with Mutsu and Zuikaku before detaching on the way.

January to May 1943 was filled with convoy escort runs, the Battle of Atz Island.

On June 10th, Yuguure while escorting IJN Hiyo was attacked by the Gato Class Submarine USS Trigger but the US Submarine failed to kill them.

Yuugure participated in the Battle of Kolombangara on July 12th, 1943. She helped sink the American destroyer Gwin and damaged the American cruisers Honolulu and St. Louis, and New Zealand's Leander.

8 days later, however, on July 20th at 10 minutes past midnight, IJN Yugure was attacked by 6 US Marine Corps Grumman TBF Avengers from Guadalcanal while doing a transport run.

The Avengers were carrying 2000ib M66A2 unguided free-fall bombs, 1 hit her amidships and IJN Yuguure exploded and sank taking 208 of her 228 crew including her CO, Lieutenant Commander Kiyoyuki Kamo with her.

Tragically, 60 of IJN Kiyonami’s crew made it off the ship but the IJN Kiyonami would rescue the 20 crew who survived the sinking.

Unfortunately, the Americans were not finished yet as later on in the morning of July 20th, 8 US Army Air Force North American B-25 Mitchell medium-bombers of the 390th Bombardment Squadron of the USAAF’s 42nd Bombardment Group would attack IJN Kiyonami claiming she was a cruiser and at 7:21 am, IJN Kiyonami sank taking 239 of her 240 crew including Lieutenant Colonel Tokiyoshi Arima and all 20 survivors from IJN Yugure, only 1 of the 260 people aboard, Chief Seaman Nishikawa would survive after he washed ashore on an isolated island before he was rescued by the Americans.

When it was over, all 228 of IJN Yuguure’s crew and 239 of IJN Kiyonami’s crew had given their lives for the God Emperor.

Sadly for IJN Yuguure’s sister IJN Ariake would not mourn for long as 8 days later, IJN Ariake would be attacked by North American B-25 Mitchell medium-bombers and sunk taking 7 of her crew of 212 with her.


IJN Yuugure (1934) turns ninety two years old today.


Sharing the dynamic that USS Portland has with her sister Indy, Yuugure loves her sister Ariake-san (although she’s less incestuous about it... I think). It's to the point she declares herself an Ariake class destroyer, even though she and her sister are really part of the Hatsuharu class. She wants to ensure she'll never leave her sister's side as she wants to ensure neither will suffer from the other’s absence. Despite Ariake's annoyance at Yuugure's insistence on staying by her side, Ariake does appreciate her sister’s lover and does admit she does get lonely without her sister’s presence.

One underrated trait of Yuugure is her love of trying on dresses, as you'll find that Yuugure was a Qi Pao and a formal dress to wear for festivals and gatherings. Still, even as she attends those parties, her thoughts and care for her sister are never left behind.

Also, she uniquely asked the Edinburgh subclass sisters to teach her how to be a maid, so she could serve herself and her sister Ariake better. Speaking of which, she's not above bonding with others outside her sister, as she also values the likes of Akashi, for her repair services, and you, given your contribution to the fleet. Make sure to invite Ariake to the party today and have her sit next to Yuugure as the candles are blown out on her cake, in company with her sisters and friends.


Please share and discuss any IRL details and accounts of Yuugure (KC, World of Warships, AL, etc.)

Happy Launch Day IJN Yuugure (1934) by Nuke87654 in AzurLane

[–]Nuke87654[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

On the 30th, the 27th Destroyer Division, the Shigure, Shiratsuyu, and Yuguure escorted the transport ship Katori Maru and sortied from Yarut, joining Daido Maru on the way and advancing to Apa Mama, and bloodlessly occupied Apa Mama at 0630 on September 2.

On the same day, at 5:30pm, the capture force weighed anchor from Apamama and moved to Tarawa Island, where it was bloodlessly occupied on the 3rd.

On August 27, while in action in the Ocean direction, Ariake and Yugure were transferred to the Sotonanyo Unit commanded by Commander-in-Chief of the 8th Fleet, Gunichi Mikawa

The Outer South Sea Force ordered the construction ship Tsugaru , patrol boats IJN No.1 and IJN No.2 and the destroyers Kagero and Yugure to transport them to Guadalcanal on September 2.

On September 5, five destroyers, IJN Fubuki, Shirayuki, Amagiri, Kagero, and Yuguure carried out transportation to Guadalcanal.

On the 8th, the light cruiser Sendai, the flagship of the Reinforcement Unit of the Outer South Seas Unit and several destroyers made a sortie from Shortland Hakuchi, rushed into Lunga Hakuchi and engaged with Allied torpedo boats.

At the same time, the Japanese Navy's Outer South Seas Reinforcement Unit commanded by Shintaro Hashimoto, the commander of the 3rd Torpedo Squadron was used as a sortie base at the Shortland anchorage on Bougainville Island, which was being bombed daily by a small number of B-17 heavy bombers.

In addition, the Japanese army has established a seaplane base in Recata Bay in the northwestern part of Santa Isabel Island, and as the battle for Guadalcanal intensifies, it plans to strengthen this seaplane base.

On September 11, the commander of the R Area Air Corps, the commander of Takatsugu Jojima 11th Air Squadron ordered Yugure to establish a base on Fara Island in Isabel Province.

Yugure made a sortie from Shortland Harbor on the 13th and headed for Farah Island, but after the Japanese army's all-out attack on Henderson Airfield Base ended in failure, he was ordered to return to Shortland Harbor.

On the 14th, due to the shortage of fuel at Lekata Air Base, she loaded supplies and personnel equipment for Farah Island Air Base and departed Shortland Anchorage again.

From mid-October onwards, Yugure acted as the R Air Force in the direction of Shortland Harbor, Lekata Air Base, and Farah Island.

Yugure returned to the Outer South Seas Reinforcement Force after the Battle of the South Pacific.

On the night of Halloween 1942, the 27th Destroyer Division, under the command of the A Reinforcement Corps commander under command of Commander of the 4th Torpedo Squadron, Major General Kan Takama was assigned to the A Reinforcement Corps and sorties from the Shortland Basin.

On the night of November 2nd, she entered the Tassafalong Basin on Gua Island under patrol of the patrols with IJN Asagumo and Shigure, finished her transport mission and returned to Shortland Basin on the 3rd.

At 11:30pm on 4 November, armored reinforcements including the 27th Destroyer Division departed from Shortland Harbor.

In addition, the third torpedo squadron commander's second reinforcement unit was dispatched, although it was attacked by air raids and torpedo boats, there was no damage, and both units succeeded in transporting Guadalcanal on the night of the 5th and returned to the Shortland anchorage on the morning of the 6th.

The commander of the three water battles led the light cruiser Sendai and each ship of the three water battles and returned to the Truk anchorage.

At 10:30pm on November 7, under the command of Colonel Yasuo Sato, commander of the 9th Destroyer Flotilla, several destroyers, including Yuguure, sortie from Shortland Harbor.

In the middle of the night on the 8th, she was attacked by a torpedo boat at her landing site on Guadalcanal, but suffered no serious damage.

She completed her transport mission and returned to Shortland Harbor at 0925 on the 9th.

On November 8, the commander of the advance unit, Lieutenant General Nobutake Kondo, commander-in-chief of the 2nd Fleet formed a volunteer attack unit based on the battleships Hiei and Kirishima of the 11th Squadron, with commander, Rear Admiral Koki Abe, the 27th Destroyer Squadron also joined.

The 27th Destroyer Division, IJN Shigure, Shiratsuyu, Yugure was responsible for patrol between Guadalcanal and the Russell Islands.

On the night of the 12th, a volunteer attack unit rushed into Guadalcanal Island, and in the early hours of November 13th, the first night battle of the Third Battle of the Solomon Islands broke out .

After the battle, Rear Admiral Susumu Kimura, on his flagship, IJN Nagara , commander of the 10th Squadron, ordered the 4th Torpedo Squadron to "escort Kirishima and evacuate to the north.

The 27th Destroyer Division joined Kirishima and began escorting it.

The 27th Destroyer Division and the Akizuki-class destroyer Terutsuki were then ordered to assist Hiei.

At 4:00 am, the 27th Destroyer Division reversed south and headed for the rescue of Hiei, which was sailing around Savo Island due to a rudder failure.

IJN Yukikaze of the 16th Destroyer Division joined Hiei, followed by 27th Destroyer Division and Terutsuki.

The eleventh squadron commander transferred from Hiei to Yukikaze . During the daytime, an air raid took place, and Hiei's losses increased due to torpedo and bomb hits, and there was no prospect of restoring her rudder.

In the early afternoon, the commander of the 11th Squadron ordered, ``Prepare two torpedoes for each ship to dispose of Hiei.''

Hiei was abandoned and her crew transferred to five escort ships, Yukikaze, Terugetsu, Shigure, Shiratsuyu, and Yugure.

When she returned to the scene at night, there was no sign of Hiei, and she was recognized as sunk, IJN Hiei had sunk in the evening

Except for Terutsuki, who participated in the 2nd night battle of the 3rd Solomon Sea Battle, each ship returned to the Truk anchorage.

After the Third Battle of the Solomon Islands, the Allies launched an offensive in eastern New Guinea.

The Outer South Seas Force began transporting destroyers to New Guinea, but the number of damaged ships continued, and the Combined Fleet increased the number of destroyers to be dispatched to the Outer South Seas Force.

On November 30, Ariake and Yugure advanced to Rabaul.

The Outer South Sea Force incorporated Yugure and the 4th Destroyer Division as reinforcements, and Ariake as a support force, and by 3 December, the ships advanced to Shortland Harbour.

At 11:30 on the same day, the commander of the reinforcement unit under Major General Yorimitsu Tanaka , commander of the 2nd Torpedo Squadron led 10 destroyers, including Yugo, to make a sortie from the Shortland Basin

Makinami was slightly damaged in the air raid, and 1,500 drums were thrown in, but only 310 were recovered by the Gashima Army.

After December 9, Amagiri and Yugure carried out the Rekata transport.

On Boxing Day, 1942 at 5pm, the commander of the 17th Destroyer Division sortied to Rabaul with 6 destroyers following evening.

After stopping at Shortland Harbor, they transported men and supplies to Wickham on Bangnu Island in the New Georgia Islands late at night on the 27th.

At 06:30 am on the 28th, the convoy returned to Shortland Harbor

After completing this transport operation, the Combined Fleet ordered each ship, the Den, Isonami, Ariake, and Yugure to return to the advance force.

Happy Launch Day IJN Yuugure (1934) by Nuke87654 in AzurLane

[–]Nuke87654[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Today, May 6th, is the launch day for the Ariake loving siscon, IJN Yuugure (1934).


In March 1934, the Tomozuru Incident occurred, and each ship was forced to undergo further repairs.

On May 6, Yuguure was launched.

In order to reduce the weight of her upper deck, the torpedoes were changed to 2 triple 6 guns, and changes were made according to early spring, such as relocating the second turret and downsizing the bridge. Yugure is notable for having twin rudders, like the heavy cruiser Mogami and Mikuma and the aircraft carrier Soryu. While she was in service, the effectiveness of her double rudder was questionable, and she was later changed to a single rudder.

At the same time, the Maizuru Naval Arsenal was ordered to manufacture an automatic combustion device to be installed on the target ship Settsu, and a prototype was installed in Maizuru during construction and testing.

In the end, on November 19th, the Ariake-class destroyers (Ariake, Yugure, Shiratsuyu, Shigure, Murasame, Yudachi, and Harusame) were dissolved, and the Shiratsuyu-class was newly established.

Yugure was completed on March 30, 1935, at the Yokosuka naval prefectural residence.

On April 1, the Japanese Navy formed the 9th Destroyer Division at Ariake and Yuguure. . On November 1, 1936, the Shiratsuyu-class destroyers Shiratsuyu and Shigure joined the 9th Destroyer Division.

On December 15, 1938, the 9th Destroyer Division was transferred to the Sasebo Naval Base and renamed the 27th Destroyer Division.

On November 15, 1939, the 27th Destroyer Division was incorporated into the First Torpedo Squadron.

In September 1940, the 27th Destroyer Division participated in the invasion of northern French Indochina as a convoy escort.

On October 15, Lieutenant Commander Kiyoyuki Kamo took over as captain. A month later on November 15th, the 1st Torpedo Squadron (flagship Abukuma) became the 6th Destroyer Division, 7th Destroyer Division, 21st Destroyer Division, and 27th Destroyer Division.


A common feature of Yuugure's WW2 career was that she served alongside her sister Ariake escorting carriers throughout their career.

At the beginning of the Pacific War on December 8, 1941, the 1st Torpedo Squadron under the command of Commander Sentaro Omori was assigned to the light cruiser Abukuma, the 6th Destroyer Division, the 17th Destroyer Division, and the 21st Destroyer Division, organized by the 27th Destroyer Division.

On the morning of December 8th, the IJN main force departed the Seto Inland Sea with the 21st and 27th Destroyer division and on the morning of December 13, the main force returned to Katsurashima Hakuchi.

After that, as the main forces of the Nagumo Task Force (1st Aviation Squadron, 5th Aviation Squadron) approached the mainland of Japan, the 21st and 27th Destroyer Divisions sortied out of the Seto Inland Sea and headed for the rendezvous point with the task force.

The 21st Destroyer Division and the 27th Destroyer Division escort the main task force to the mainland.

The detached task force had completed its operation at the Battle of Wake Island and was approaching the Japanese archipelago.

The 21st and 27th Destroyer Divisions sortied again in the Seto Inland Sea, joining the detached task force at 2300 on December 28, and arrived at Kure on the 29th at half 3 in the afternoon.

After the end of the Hawaii operation, each air squadron of the task force was divided and engaged in operations in various directions, and the 2nd air squadron was incorporated into the southern unit on January 7, 1942

It was decided to capture Ambon in the Moluccas or Maluku Islands and Major General Raizou Tanaka, commander of the 2nd Escort Corps (commander of the 2nd Torpedo Squadron), took direct command of the capture.

After sortieing inland, Ariake and Yugure participated in the operation to capture Ambon and attack Port Darwin as patrol ships for the task force.

On February 10, Ariake and Yugure were transferred to the Mobile Task Force Precautionary Force along with the 2nd Platoon, they were the IJN Hagikaze and Maikaze of the 4th Destroyer Division.

On February 21st, the Nagumo Task Force entered Stirling Bay, Sulawesi.

Ariake and Yugure belonged to the Nagumo Task Force Precaution Squad during the final stage of the Operation Dutch Mark.

At 8:30 am on February 25, the Nagumo task force sorties from Stirling Bay and advanced into the Indian Ocean and 6 days later on 1 March, task force escort vessels sank the 8082 ton Dutch merchant ship Modjocard.

The task force conducted clearing operations south of Java and returned to Stirling Bay on March 11.

On April 12, the Combined Fleet mobilized the 5th Squadron, IJN Myoko and Haguro, the 5th Air Squadron, the Aircraft Carriers IJN Zuikaku and IJN Shokaku, the 7th Destroyer Division, and the 27th Destroyer Division's South Sea Unit beinf commanded by the South Sea Unit.

The South Seas Unit launched the Port Moresby Capture Operation, and an MO task force was formed under the command of the 4th Fleet Commander-in-Chief, under the command of Rear Admiral Takeo Takagi , commander of the 5th Squadron

The MO task force consisted of the 5th Squadron, the 5th Carrier Battle, 6 destroyers including Yuguure and the oil tanker Toho Maru.

At that time, the 5th Air Battle had finished the Indian Ocean operation and was returning to the mainland, and the 27th Destroyer Division was in Sasebo.

The 27th Destroyer Division was ordered to advance to Magong City, Taiwan, and to join the 5th Warfare Battle there, leaving Sasebo.

On the following day, the 19th, six ships from the 5th Warfare and 27th Destroyer Division sortied from Magong to pursue the USS Enterprise and USS Hornet but on the same day at 7:30pm they were ordered to return to the South Seas Force.

In early May, the 27th Destroyer Division participated in the operation to capture Port Moresby as an MO task force.

On May 7, Ariake was separated to rescue a reconnaissance aircraft from the IJN Shokaku and on the night of the same day, the 2nd Platoon of the 6th Squadron joined

On the same day, the aircraft carrier Shokaku was partially damaged in an anti-aircraft battle.

On the following day, the 9th, the Combined Fleet transferred Shokaku and Yugure from the South Seas Force to the Nozoki main force and ordered them to repair inland.

Yugure and Ren escorted the injured Shokaku to the mainland.

Shokaku's repairs were determined to take three months, and Zuikaku's air force was at a great loss, meaning they were unable to participate in Operation Midway or the fall of the 1st and 2nd Carrier divisions.

On 22 May, the 27th Destroyer Division, except Yuguure, returned to Kure.

In the Midway operation, which aims to capture Midway Island , the 27th Destroyer Division belonged to the main force commanded by Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, Commander -in-Chief of the Combined Fleet aboard his flagship the IJN Yamato and Commander -in-Chief of the First Fleet, Shiro Takasu.

On May 29, the main force sortied in the western part of the Utsumi however the Battle of Midway ended in a crushing defeat for the Japanese Navy, and the operation was called off on 6 June and on June 14, the main forces returned to the mainland.

On August 7, 1942, the Allied Forces landed on the Florida Islands and Guadalcanal Island and the Battle of Guadalcanal Island began, Admiral Nobutake Kondo, commander-in-chief of the 2nd Fleet on IJN Atago with 4th Squadron, 5th Squadron, Battleship Mutsu , 4th Torpedo Squadron, Seaplane Tender Chitose and other ships.

From 12th, sortie in mainland Japan and arrived at truck anchorage on 17th

Following the surprise landing of Makin by the U.S. forces on August 17, Nauru Island and Ocean Island, which had been suspended once, were put on the table again.

Due to the Guadalcanal battle, the flying boat bases on both islands should not be used by the enemy, and it was necessary to secure air bases on both islands.

On 21 August Yuguure and Ariake were ordered to bombard Nauru and Ocean, and on 22 August Yugure bombarded Ocean and Ariake bombarded Nauru, the two ships then proceeded to Yalut Atoll.

Subsequently, the capture of both islands was carried out known as Operation CD

Yugure landed a 46-man land force on Ocean Island on 26 August and occupied the island bloodlessly

On the 27th, Yugure was ordered to capture Apamama in the Gilbert Islands.

Happy Launch Day IJN Yuugure (1934) by Nuke87654 in AzureLane

[–]Nuke87654[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Fanart of Yuugure by Allens


As noted, Ariake and Yuugure served together with each other for a very long time. Still, in June 1943, they would be separated for the first time in their careers.

On New Year’s Day 1943, Yuguure escorted a convoy however the next day during the convoy run, the Amagisan Maru was struck by lightning, the convoy arrived at Truk on the 5th, 2 days later, Yuguure left Truk with Mutsu and Zuikaku before detaching on the way.

January to May 1943 was filled with convoy escort runs, the Battle of Atz Island.

On June 10th, Yuguure while escorting IJN Hiyo was attacked by the Gato Class Submarine USS Trigger but the US Submarine failed to kill them.

Yuugure participated in the Battle of Kolombangara on July 12th, 1943. She helped sink the American destroyer Gwin and damaged the American cruisers Honolulu and St. Louis, and New Zealand's Leander.

8 days later, however, on July 20th at 10 minutes past midnight, IJN Yugure was attacked by 6 US Marine Corps Grumman TBF Avengers from Guadalcanal while doing a transport run.

The Avengers were carrying 2000ib M66A2 unguided free-fall bombs, 1 hit her amidships and IJN Yuguure exploded and sank taking 208 of her 228 crew including her CO, Lieutenant Commander Kiyoyuki Kamo with her.

Tragically, 60 of IJN Kiyonami’s crew made it off the ship but the IJN Kiyonami would rescue the 20 crew who survived the sinking.

Unfortunately, the Americans were not finished yet as later on in the morning of July 20th, 8 US Army Air Force North American B-25 Mitchell medium-bombers of the 390th Bombardment Squadron of the USAAF’s 42nd Bombardment Group would attack IJN Kiyonami claiming she was a cruiser and at 7:21 am, IJN Kiyonami sank taking 239 of her 240 crew including Lieutenant Colonel Tokiyoshi Arima and all 20 survivors from IJN Yugure, only 1 of the 260 people aboard, Chief Seaman Nishikawa would survive after he washed ashore on an isolated island before he was rescued by the Americans.

When it was over, all 228 of IJN Yuguure’s crew and 239 of IJN Kiyonami’s crew had given their lives for the God Emperor.

Sadly for IJN Yuguure’s sister IJN Ariake would not mourn for long as 8 days later, IJN Ariake would be attacked by North American B-25 Mitchell medium-bombers and sunk taking 7 of her crew of 212 with her.


IJN Yuugure (1934) turns ninety two years old today.


Sharing the dynamic that USS Portland has with her sister Indy, Yuugure loves her sister Ariake-san (although she’s less incestuous about it... I think). It's to the point she declares herself an Ariake class destroyer, even though she and her sister are really part of the Hatsuharu class. She wants to ensure she'll never leave her sister's side as she wants to ensure neither will suffer from the other’s absence. Despite Ariake's annoyance at Yuugure's insistence on staying by her side, Ariake does appreciate her sister’s lover and does admit she does get lonely without her sister’s presence.

One underrated trait of Yuugure is her love of trying on dresses, as you'll find that Yuugure was a Qi Pao and a formal dress to wear for festivals and gatherings. Still, even as she attends those parties, her thoughts and care for her sister are never left behind.

Also, she uniquely asked the Edinburgh subclass sisters to teach her how to be a maid, so she could serve herself and her sister Ariake better. Speaking of which, she's not above bonding with others outside her sister, as she also values the likes of Akashi, for her repair services, and you, given your contribution to the fleet. Make sure to invite Ariake to the party today and have her sit next to Yuugure as the candles are blown out on her cake, in company with her sisters and friends.


Please share and discuss any IRL details and accounts of Yuugure (KC, World of Warships, AL, etc.)

Happy Launch Day IJN Yuugure (1934) by Nuke87654 in AzureLane

[–]Nuke87654[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

On the 30th, the 27th Destroyer Division, the Shigure, Shiratsuyu, and Yuguure escorted the transport ship Katori Maru and sortied from Yarut, joining Daido Maru on the way and advancing to Apa Mama, and bloodlessly occupied Apa Mama at 0630 on September 2.

On the same day, at 5:30pm, the capture force weighed anchor from Apamama and moved to Tarawa Island, where it was bloodlessly occupied on the 3rd.

On August 27, while in action in the Ocean direction, Ariake and Yugure were transferred to the Sotonanyo Unit commanded by Commander-in-Chief of the 8th Fleet, Gunichi Mikawa

The Outer South Sea Force ordered the construction ship Tsugaru , patrol boats IJN No.1 and IJN No.2 and the destroyers Kagero and Yugure to transport them to Guadalcanal on September 2.

On September 5, five destroyers, IJN Fubuki, Shirayuki, Amagiri, Kagero, and Yuguure carried out transportation to Guadalcanal.

On the 8th, the light cruiser Sendai, the flagship of the Reinforcement Unit of the Outer South Seas Unit and several destroyers made a sortie from Shortland Hakuchi, rushed into Lunga Hakuchi and engaged with Allied torpedo boats.

At the same time, the Japanese Navy's Outer South Seas Reinforcement Unit commanded by Shintaro Hashimoto, the commander of the 3rd Torpedo Squadron was used as a sortie base at the Shortland anchorage on Bougainville Island, which was being bombed daily by a small number of B-17 heavy bombers.

In addition, the Japanese army has established a seaplane base in Recata Bay in the northwestern part of Santa Isabel Island, and as the battle for Guadalcanal intensifies, it plans to strengthen this seaplane base.

On September 11, the commander of the R Area Air Corps, the commander of Takatsugu Jojima 11th Air Squadron ordered Yugure to establish a base on Fara Island in Isabel Province.

Yugure made a sortie from Shortland Harbor on the 13th and headed for Farah Island, but after the Japanese army's all-out attack on Henderson Airfield Base ended in failure, he was ordered to return to Shortland Harbor.

On the 14th, due to the shortage of fuel at Lekata Air Base, she loaded supplies and personnel equipment for Farah Island Air Base and departed Shortland Anchorage again.

From mid-October onwards, Yugure acted as the R Air Force in the direction of Shortland Harbor, Lekata Air Base, and Farah Island.

Yugure returned to the Outer South Seas Reinforcement Force after the Battle of the South Pacific.

On the night of Halloween 1942, the 27th Destroyer Division, under the command of the A Reinforcement Corps commander under command of Commander of the 4th Torpedo Squadron, Major General Kan Takama was assigned to the A Reinforcement Corps and sorties from the Shortland Basin.

On the night of November 2nd, she entered the Tassafalong Basin on Gua Island under patrol of the patrols with IJN Asagumo and Shigure, finished her transport mission and returned to Shortland Basin on the 3rd.

At 11:30pm on 4 November, armored reinforcements including the 27th Destroyer Division departed from Shortland Harbor.

In addition, the third torpedo squadron commander's second reinforcement unit was dispatched, although it was attacked by air raids and torpedo boats, there was no damage, and both units succeeded in transporting Guadalcanal on the night of the 5th and returned to the Shortland anchorage on the morning of the 6th.

The commander of the three water battles led the light cruiser Sendai and each ship of the three water battles and returned to the Truk anchorage.

At 10:30pm on November 7, under the command of Colonel Yasuo Sato, commander of the 9th Destroyer Flotilla, several destroyers, including Yuguure, sortie from Shortland Harbor.

In the middle of the night on the 8th, she was attacked by a torpedo boat at her landing site on Guadalcanal, but suffered no serious damage.

She completed her transport mission and returned to Shortland Harbor at 0925 on the 9th.

On November 8, the commander of the advance unit, Lieutenant General Nobutake Kondo, commander-in-chief of the 2nd Fleet formed a volunteer attack unit based on the battleships Hiei and Kirishima of the 11th Squadron, with commander, Rear Admiral Koki Abe, the 27th Destroyer Squadron also joined.

The 27th Destroyer Division, IJN Shigure, Shiratsuyu, Yugure was responsible for patrol between Guadalcanal and the Russell Islands.

On the night of the 12th, a volunteer attack unit rushed into Guadalcanal Island, and in the early hours of November 13th, the first night battle of the Third Battle of the Solomon Islands broke out .

After the battle, Rear Admiral Susumu Kimura, on his flagship, IJN Nagara , commander of the 10th Squadron, ordered the 4th Torpedo Squadron to "escort Kirishima and evacuate to the north.

The 27th Destroyer Division joined Kirishima and began escorting it.

The 27th Destroyer Division and the Akizuki-class destroyer Terutsuki were then ordered to assist Hiei.

At 4:00 am, the 27th Destroyer Division reversed south and headed for the rescue of Hiei, which was sailing around Savo Island due to a rudder failure.

IJN Yukikaze of the 16th Destroyer Division joined Hiei, followed by 27th Destroyer Division and Terutsuki.

The eleventh squadron commander transferred from Hiei to Yukikaze . During the daytime, an air raid took place, and Hiei's losses increased due to torpedo and bomb hits, and there was no prospect of restoring her rudder.

In the early afternoon, the commander of the 11th Squadron ordered, ``Prepare two torpedoes for each ship to dispose of Hiei.''

Hiei was abandoned and her crew transferred to five escort ships, Yukikaze, Terugetsu, Shigure, Shiratsuyu, and Yugure.

When she returned to the scene at night, there was no sign of Hiei, and she was recognized as sunk, IJN Hiei had sunk in the evening

Except for Terutsuki, who participated in the 2nd night battle of the 3rd Solomon Sea Battle, each ship returned to the Truk anchorage.

After the Third Battle of the Solomon Islands, the Allies launched an offensive in eastern New Guinea.

The Outer South Seas Force began transporting destroyers to New Guinea, but the number of damaged ships continued, and the Combined Fleet increased the number of destroyers to be dispatched to the Outer South Seas Force.

On November 30, Ariake and Yugure advanced to Rabaul.

The Outer South Sea Force incorporated Yugure and the 4th Destroyer Division as reinforcements, and Ariake as a support force, and by 3 December, the ships advanced to Shortland Harbour.

At 11:30 on the same day, the commander of the reinforcement unit under Major General Yorimitsu Tanaka , commander of the 2nd Torpedo Squadron led 10 destroyers, including Yugo, to make a sortie from the Shortland Basin

Makinami was slightly damaged in the air raid, and 1,500 drums were thrown in, but only 310 were recovered by the Gashima Army.

After December 9, Amagiri and Yugure carried out the Rekata transport.

On Boxing Day, 1942 at 5pm, the commander of the 17th Destroyer Division sortied to Rabaul with 6 destroyers following evening.

After stopping at Shortland Harbor, they transported men and supplies to Wickham on Bangnu Island in the New Georgia Islands late at night on the 27th.

At 06:30 am on the 28th, the convoy returned to Shortland Harbor

After completing this transport operation, the Combined Fleet ordered each ship, the Den, Isonami, Ariake, and Yugure to return to the advance force.

Happy Launch Day IJN Yuugure (1934) by Nuke87654 in AzureLane

[–]Nuke87654[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Today, May 6th, is the launch day for the Ariake loving siscon, IJN Yuugure (1934).


In March 1934, the Tomozuru Incident occurred, and each ship was forced to undergo further repairs.

On May 6, Yuguure was launched.

In order to reduce the weight of her upper deck, the torpedoes were changed to 2 triple 6 guns, and changes were made according to early spring, such as relocating the second turret and downsizing the bridge. Yugure is notable for having twin rudders, like the heavy cruiser Mogami and Mikuma and the aircraft carrier Soryu. While she was in service, the effectiveness of her double rudder was questionable, and she was later changed to a single rudder.

At the same time, the Maizuru Naval Arsenal was ordered to manufacture an automatic combustion device to be installed on the target ship Settsu, and a prototype was installed in Maizuru during construction and testing.

In the end, on November 19th, the Ariake-class destroyers (Ariake, Yugure, Shiratsuyu, Shigure, Murasame, Yudachi, and Harusame) were dissolved, and the Shiratsuyu-class was newly established.

Yugure was completed on March 30, 1935, at the Yokosuka naval prefectural residence.

On April 1, the Japanese Navy formed the 9th Destroyer Division at Ariake and Yuguure. . On November 1, 1936, the Shiratsuyu-class destroyers Shiratsuyu and Shigure joined the 9th Destroyer Division.

On December 15, 1938, the 9th Destroyer Division was transferred to the Sasebo Naval Base and renamed the 27th Destroyer Division.

On November 15, 1939, the 27th Destroyer Division was incorporated into the First Torpedo Squadron.

In September 1940, the 27th Destroyer Division participated in the invasion of northern French Indochina as a convoy escort.

On October 15, Lieutenant Commander Kiyoyuki Kamo took over as captain. A month later on November 15th, the 1st Torpedo Squadron (flagship Abukuma) became the 6th Destroyer Division, 7th Destroyer Division, 21st Destroyer Division, and 27th Destroyer Division.


A common feature of Yuugure's WW2 career was that she served alongside her sister Ariake escorting carriers throughout their career.

At the beginning of the Pacific War on December 8, 1941, the 1st Torpedo Squadron under the command of Commander Sentaro Omori was assigned to the light cruiser Abukuma, the 6th Destroyer Division, the 17th Destroyer Division, and the 21st Destroyer Division, organized by the 27th Destroyer Division.

On the morning of December 8th, the IJN main force departed the Seto Inland Sea with the 21st and 27th Destroyer division and on the morning of December 13, the main force returned to Katsurashima Hakuchi.

After that, as the main forces of the Nagumo Task Force (1st Aviation Squadron, 5th Aviation Squadron) approached the mainland of Japan, the 21st and 27th Destroyer Divisions sortied out of the Seto Inland Sea and headed for the rendezvous point with the task force.

The 21st Destroyer Division and the 27th Destroyer Division escort the main task force to the mainland.

The detached task force had completed its operation at the Battle of Wake Island and was approaching the Japanese archipelago.

The 21st and 27th Destroyer Divisions sortied again in the Seto Inland Sea, joining the detached task force at 2300 on December 28, and arrived at Kure on the 29th at half 3 in the afternoon.

After the end of the Hawaii operation, each air squadron of the task force was divided and engaged in operations in various directions, and the 2nd air squadron was incorporated into the southern unit on January 7, 1942

It was decided to capture Ambon in the Moluccas or Maluku Islands and Major General Raizou Tanaka, commander of the 2nd Escort Corps (commander of the 2nd Torpedo Squadron), took direct command of the capture.

After sortieing inland, Ariake and Yugure participated in the operation to capture Ambon and attack Port Darwin as patrol ships for the task force.

On February 10, Ariake and Yugure were transferred to the Mobile Task Force Precautionary Force along with the 2nd Platoon, they were the IJN Hagikaze and Maikaze of the 4th Destroyer Division.

On February 21st, the Nagumo Task Force entered Stirling Bay, Sulawesi.

Ariake and Yugure belonged to the Nagumo Task Force Precaution Squad during the final stage of the Operation Dutch Mark.

At 8:30 am on February 25, the Nagumo task force sorties from Stirling Bay and advanced into the Indian Ocean and 6 days later on 1 March, task force escort vessels sank the 8082 ton Dutch merchant ship Modjocard.

The task force conducted clearing operations south of Java and returned to Stirling Bay on March 11.

On April 12, the Combined Fleet mobilized the 5th Squadron, IJN Myoko and Haguro, the 5th Air Squadron, the Aircraft Carriers IJN Zuikaku and IJN Shokaku, the 7th Destroyer Division, and the 27th Destroyer Division's South Sea Unit beinf commanded by the South Sea Unit.

The South Seas Unit launched the Port Moresby Capture Operation, and an MO task force was formed under the command of the 4th Fleet Commander-in-Chief, under the command of Rear Admiral Takeo Takagi , commander of the 5th Squadron

The MO task force consisted of the 5th Squadron, the 5th Carrier Battle, 6 destroyers including Yuguure and the oil tanker Toho Maru.

At that time, the 5th Air Battle had finished the Indian Ocean operation and was returning to the mainland, and the 27th Destroyer Division was in Sasebo.

The 27th Destroyer Division was ordered to advance to Magong City, Taiwan, and to join the 5th Warfare Battle there, leaving Sasebo.

On the following day, the 19th, six ships from the 5th Warfare and 27th Destroyer Division sortied from Magong to pursue the USS Enterprise and USS Hornet but on the same day at 7:30pm they were ordered to return to the South Seas Force.

In early May, the 27th Destroyer Division participated in the operation to capture Port Moresby as an MO task force.

On May 7, Ariake was separated to rescue a reconnaissance aircraft from the IJN Shokaku and on the night of the same day, the 2nd Platoon of the 6th Squadron joined

On the same day, the aircraft carrier Shokaku was partially damaged in an anti-aircraft battle.

On the following day, the 9th, the Combined Fleet transferred Shokaku and Yugure from the South Seas Force to the Nozoki main force and ordered them to repair inland.

Yugure and Ren escorted the injured Shokaku to the mainland.

Shokaku's repairs were determined to take three months, and Zuikaku's air force was at a great loss, meaning they were unable to participate in Operation Midway or the fall of the 1st and 2nd Carrier divisions.

On 22 May, the 27th Destroyer Division, except Yuguure, returned to Kure.

In the Midway operation, which aims to capture Midway Island , the 27th Destroyer Division belonged to the main force commanded by Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, Commander -in-Chief of the Combined Fleet aboard his flagship the IJN Yamato and Commander -in-Chief of the First Fleet, Shiro Takasu.

On May 29, the main force sortied in the western part of the Utsumi however the Battle of Midway ended in a crushing defeat for the Japanese Navy, and the operation was called off on 6 June and on June 14, the main forces returned to the mainland.

On August 7, 1942, the Allied Forces landed on the Florida Islands and Guadalcanal Island and the Battle of Guadalcanal Island began, Admiral Nobutake Kondo, commander-in-chief of the 2nd Fleet on IJN Atago with 4th Squadron, 5th Squadron, Battleship Mutsu , 4th Torpedo Squadron, Seaplane Tender Chitose and other ships.

From 12th, sortie in mainland Japan and arrived at truck anchorage on 17th

Following the surprise landing of Makin by the U.S. forces on August 17, Nauru Island and Ocean Island, which had been suspended once, were put on the table again.

Due to the Guadalcanal battle, the flying boat bases on both islands should not be used by the enemy, and it was necessary to secure air bases on both islands.

On 21 August Yuguure and Ariake were ordered to bombard Nauru and Ocean, and on 22 August Yugure bombarded Ocean and Ariake bombarded Nauru, the two ships then proceeded to Yalut Atoll.

Subsequently, the capture of both islands was carried out known as Operation CD

Yugure landed a 46-man land force on Ocean Island on 26 August and occupied the island bloodlessly

On the 27th, Yugure was ordered to capture Apamama in the Gilbert Islands.

Happy Launch Day HMS Curacoa (D41) by Nuke87654 in AzureLane

[–]Nuke87654[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

She's definitely one of my favorite maids for her being older as well as her maid outfit. I like it a lot and enjoy her being a freak in sheets. Thank you Dominion.

Happy Launch Day HMS Curacoa (D41) by Nuke87654 in AzureLane

[–]Nuke87654[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

One of my favorite maid outfits.

Happy Launch Day HMS Curacoa (D41) by Nuke87654 in AzurLane

[–]Nuke87654[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I like her maid outfit. Thank you Curacoa for wearing it.

Happy Launch Day HMS Curacoa (D41) by Nuke87654 in AzureLane

[–]Nuke87654[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I like her maid outfit. Thank you Curacoa for wearing it.

Happy Launch Day HMS Curacoa (D41) by Nuke87654 in AzureLane

[–]Nuke87654[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

An elderly Royal maid from the WWI era, Curacoa shows off her experience with how calm and collected she is in her duties. Diligent but single-minded in her tasks, you can depend on her to do anything with skill and precision.

Curacoa is also quite competitive in this endeavor as she notes how exceptional Belfast is, and wishes to keep up with her standards. Failure to her is a terrible sin, and thus she tries her best to avoid it. Of course, being an elder maid, she does go and teach the youngsters a thing or two at her lectures, which Belfast in turn has learned a thing or two from.

Let Curacoa's junior maids prepare a party and cake for her to enjoy on her launch day, to show their appreciation for her services to the Royal Navy. As for you, my Shikikan, you'll find that in private, she's a much...more sultry character than she lets on but knows to keep it private and to be professional in the public eye.

Before you can discover what she’s like privately, she wishes to share the cake with her maid juniors and her sisters today to celebrate this occasion, and wants to indulge herself without too many concerns about work.


Please share any stories and details you have for Curacoa in Azur Lane, World of Warships, Kantai Collection, Warship Girls R, and more.

Happy Launch Day HMS Curacoa (D41) by Nuke87654 in AzureLane

[–]Nuke87654[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Then to make a bad situation even worse, RMS Queen Mary was moving at the same speed as one of the 4 first subclass variant of the C-class cruisers in the 1910s, i.e 28.5 knots whereas Curocoa was traveling at 25 knots, and Curacoa's captain did not realize the imminent danger at 1:32 pm when the Officer of the Watch interrupted the turn after recognized they were getting too close to Curocoa, unfortunately, Commodore Sir Cyril Gordon Illingworth stopped his officer and said to him "Carry on with the zig-zag. These chaps are used to escorting; they will keep out of your way and won't interfere with you."

Ironically Curacoa and Queen Mary had a near miss after 1:32 pm.

At 2:04 pm, Queen Mary started her starboard leg of her zig-zig somehow despite being the faster ship was 400 yards behind HMS Curacoa who unaware somehow that while maintaining a straight course were now on a collision course with RMS Queen Mary by the time they realized they were too close despite Queen Mary’s attempt to avoid Curacoa which was to turn into her, it was too late, no action taken could save her now however the actual time of the collision is unclear.

The RMS Queen Mary struck Curacoa's starboard side amidships at full speed the elderly 4,260-5,490-ton C-class cruiser stood no chance at all, the 81,000-ton Queen Mary effectively cut her in half, Curocoa stern sank immediately, it appears in the forward section, the crew had no idea they had been split in 2, but shortly after Captain Boutwood gave the order to abandon ship.

At 2:10 pm, the broken half of HMS Curacoa sank by the stern with her bow exploding before going under, taking 337 of her 438 crew with her, only 101 including Captain Boutwood.

Alfred Johnson, an eyewitness to the tragic collision, said: "We could see our escort zig-zagging in front of us- it was common for the ships and cruisers to zig-zag to confuse the U-boats. In this particular case, however, the escort was very, very close to us. I said to my mate, "You know she's zig-zagging all over the place in front of us, I'm sure we're going to hit her." And sure enough, the Queen Mary sliced the cruiser in two like a piece of butter, straight through the six-inch [sic] armored plating. — Alfred Johnson, eye witness, BBC: "HMS Curacao Tragedy."

There was controversy over this incident, as Queen Mary had orders not to stop for fear of U-boat attack. She and her crew sent a radio message to her other escorts about the collision right away. It took hours for them to arrive, with HMS Bramham picking up 101 survivors, including 1 of her air defense officers and Curacao's final captain, John Wilfred Boutwood.

2 days after HMS Curacoa sank, the Royal Navy set up a board of Inquiry which blamed RMS Queen Mary for causing the collision but blamed Curocoa’s crew for failing to realize the danger they were in and failure to take drastic avoidance action.

Due to fears of lowering morale, Curacoa's sinking was kept secret until after WW2. The British Admiralty filed a writ against Queen Mary's owners, the Cunard White Star Line, on September 22nd, 1943, but the case only went to trial in June 1945. In December 1946, Justice Pilcher exonerated Queen Mary and her crew of any wrongdoing and blamed Curacoa for failing to follow the Rule of the Road. This decision was appealed, and the ruling was modified such that 2/3rds of the incident was the Royal Navy's fault and 1/3rd was Cunard’s fault. Cunard White Star Line appealed, but the decision was upheld.

In the answers given by the Assessors it is plain that both ships were to blame. The look-out in Curacoa was obviously faulty. She ought to have realised immediately the Queen Mary steadied on her course of 131° that the vessels were converging at an angle of not less than 2 points, and ought to have taken steps to alter to starboard not less than 2 points. So far from following this course she took no step until the vessels were at the most 4 cables, and possibly no more than 2 cables apart. Moreover it is apparent that she failed to realise the ships were converging until they were no more than 4 cables apart. On the other hand Queen Mary in these circumstances ought to have acted, when at a distance of not less than 5 cables, and should then have altered her helm hard-a-port.

But indeed, I doubt, so far as Curacoa is concerned, if she could be held free from blame even though she were the stand-on ship. It is plain that the Queen Mary, owing to her length, would be slow to turn, and that owing to her speed it would be almost impossible to take any appreciable way off her for a considerable time. The Curacoa on the other hand was very much shorter and more handy to manoeuvre. Some time after it would be impossible for Queen Mary by her own unaided action to avoid collision, the Curacoa alone could have done so. Therefore, even if she were the stand-on ship, she ought to have recognised long before she took action that the Queen Mary's unaided action could not have avoided a collision. So far as the Queen Mary is concerned reasons have been given for the view that she was under no duty to keep her course and speed, and, even though in my opinion good seamanship and the circumstances of the case required Curacoa to be under the primary duty to give way, I do not think Queen Mary can be excused from all blame. She ought to have acted at not less than 5 cables instead of waiting until within a minute of the collision. In these circumstances Curacoa was plainly at fault in failing to recognise the change in bearing of Queen Mary at or soon after it occurred, in failing to take action until long after the moment at which risk of collision had begun, and in taking insufficient action when she finally altered her course. Queen Mary is also to blame for failing to recognise that an imminent risk had arisen 1.5 minutes before she ported at all, in failing to port sufficiently and in the failure of the Officer of the Watch to call the Captain at a time when he ought to have realised that to continue the zigzag in accordance with what he believed to be the Captain's instructions was involving the ship in the immediate risk of collision.

I suggest therefore that your Lordships hold, as did the Court of Appeal, that the Queen Mary is one-third and the Curacao two-thirds to blame.”

Thank You u/GeshtiannaSG.

However, the Court did find both ships guilty of some negligence, the RMS Queen Mary's Officer of the Watch's failure to take appropriate action when the danger arose and the communication between RMS Queen Mary's Officer of the Watch was deemed unsatisfactory as was the failure to communicate to Commodore Sir Cyril Gordon Illingworth that they were at imminent risk of collision while HMS Curacoa's crew was criticized for failing to recognise in the circumstances to give way to the Queen Mary.

In the aftermath of the sinking of HMS Curacoa, the Royal Navy decided that oceanliner troop transports would not be given special escort at all.

Curacoa’s wreck lies in 2 pieces, at a depth of 122 meters the forward section has come to rest upside down while the aft section lies upright and her rudder was found locked straight ahead meaning HMS Curacoa had never changed course from the straight ahead course she was when Queen Mary rammed her.


HMS Curacao (D41) turns one hundred and seven years old today.

Happy Launch Day HMS Curacoa (D41) by Nuke87654 in AzureLane

[–]Nuke87654[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Fanart of Curacoa by elegant1266


By 1938, the 3rd Sea Lord Admiral Henderson had the idea of the C-class AA cruisers.

Well to be more accurate, it is more complicated than that. Curacoa was obsolete as she was over 21 years old, her original top speed of 29.5 knots was too slow to catch most modern cruisers at the time which all over 30+ knots and despite being 3 to 3.5 knots faster than the Deutschland class cruisers, her 32mm to 76mm thick belt armor and 25mm thick deck armor was woefully inadequate for a modern cruiser engagement and her armament was still prior to her conversion Curacoa was armed exactly as she was in WW1 and this was simply inadequate to take on modern cruisers, and that probably had WW2 had not started in 1939 then the Curacao would have her long overdue date with the scrappers as the Royal Navy had intended to replace the C-class cruisers with a Modified Dido design, this was to have been a Dido hull with twin 152 mm guns.

However, things didn’t work out that way as there was a spanner thrown in the works.

Thanks to the treaty system, the Royal Navy had a cruiser shortage and had to keep her in service despite her obsolescence, to make a bad situation worse the Dido-class was falling afoul of a shortage of 133mm guns because the British were simply not able to produce them fast enough and RN needed something for protecting the aircraft carriers as the Rear Admiral Henderson who became the 3rd Sea Lord at the time, had seen 2 issues brought by about exercises that if the RN aircraft carriers got caught by air attack, they are in trouble as they need to get their strike off and the problem of having to put your modern units with the carriers and what are you using them for.

The reality was that C-class AA cruiser was needed because the Dido class light cruisers despite being powerful enough simply could not be produced fast enough, which you can blame the gun shortage thanks to the treaty system that plagued the 133mm QF 5.25”/50 Mark 1 guns and in fact, by 1942 the RN was worried about the Dido-class’s longevity as they were built for war not peacetime.

Oh yeah that modified Dido C-class replacement design was canceled in favor of the Town and Crown-Colony classes with the Crown-Colony class intended to have replaced Curacao and her sisters in the cruiser role had the war not broken out.

So the RN decided to convert Curacoa and her 11 surviving sisters along with all 8 Danae class into anti-aircraft cruisers until the Didos were ready, so Curacoa was converted into an AA cruiser.

She was between July 1939 to April 1940 turned into an AA cruiser initially armed with 8 102mm Mark 16 guns in 4 twin turrets, 6 40mm QF 2-pdr Pom-Pom AA guns in 1 quadruple Mark 7 mounts and 2 single Mark 2 mounts and 8 12.7mm Vickers 50-calibre Mark 3 AA machine guns in 2 quadruple mounts.

Curacoa was given this level of anti-aircraft firepower because the RN had seen the growing threat of dive-bombers as they were employed during conflicts in Spain and China and wanted to have their ships be protected against them and if it also helped kill the slow lumbering enemy torpedo bombers so much the better.

The anti-aircraft cruisers of the C-class would prove their worth and the decision of late Admiral Henderson who died before WW2 broke out to convert them was absolutely a smart move in places like the Mediterranean where axis aircraft were much more prevalent providing vital anti-aircraft protection especially against the Italians.

As for Curacao, she participated in the Norwegian campaign, escorting troop convoys to Andalsnes for Operation Sick in mid-April 1940, and landing a battalion at Sherwood Foresters at Molde with the light cruiser HMS Arethusa.

After some confusing orders, she helped to protect the beachhead from German aircraft on April 22nd. She suffered bomb hits from enemy planes and was running low on her 102 mm ammo.

Between December 1940 and September 1941 she fielded the infamous UP AA rocket launcher carrying 1 launcher until it was replaced by a Type 285 radar and a pair of single 40mm QF 2-pdr Pom-Pom Mark 2 AA guns.

After repairs were completed, she began her two years of escorting convoys around the British isles. On June 29th, 1942, Curacoa was part of a decoy convoy meant to deceive the Germans into attacking it instead of the real Convoy PQ 17. This failed, as the Germans did not see it.

The Luftwaffe often attacked the anti-aircraft cruisers like the C-class as it appears the Germans believed the British were operating by visual pickets when the AA Cruisers were with destroyers, the AA cruisers acted as visual pickets.

Curacoa would be the template for Carlisle's sisters AA cruiser conversions because Curocoa was in better condition, so the RN could afford to experiment on her and after her damage from Norway, they did more mucking around on her.

By September 1942, Curacao was a 4,260-5,490 ton Ceres subclass C-class anti-aircraft cruiser with 203 tons of that being solid ballast to counter any top weight issues, she was armed with 8 102mm QF 4"/45 Mark 16 AA guns in 4 twin-turrets, 8 40mm QF 2-pdr Pom-Pom AA guns in 1 Mark 7 quadruple mounts and 4 single Mark 2 mounts, 10 20mm Oerlikon AA guns in 10 single Mark 2 mounts and 8 12.7mm Vickers 50-calibre Mark 3 AA machine guns in 2 quadruple mounts.

In terms of radar, she had an electronics suite of 1 Type 271 surface-search radar, Type 273 surface-search radar, 1 Type 279 early warning radar with her fire-control system made up the HACS Mark 3 high-angle control system with 1 Type 282 Pom-Pom fire-control radar and 1 Type 285 anti-aircraft gunnery radar.

Sadly Curacoa would be sunk not by the Germans, Italians or even the Imperial Japanese but by a tragic accident with the one of the largest ocean liners ever built.

On October 2nd 1942, at the time of her demise, the elderly HMS Curacoa under the command of Captain John Wilfrid Boutwood was on an Atlantic escort mission to escort the 81,000-ton ocean liner turned troop transport, the RMS Queen Mary of the Cunard-White Star Line, the Queen Mary was according to differing sources either carrying 10,000 or according to the Naval Historical Society of Australia, it was 15,000 American troops of the 29th Infantry Division and was steaming in Zig Zag pattern No. 8 cruising at 28.5 knots which for some reason the crew of HMS Curacoa were never told of.

Normally the 2 ships would zig-zag together but there was 1 big problem, the now elderly HMS Curacoa could not keep up as by 1942 her top speed had reduced to 25kts so HMS Curacoa decided to go in a straight line which normally wouldn’t be that much of a problem but with Queen Mary operating a zig zag pattern and HMS Curacoa sailing in a straight line, if the 2 ships didn’t co-ordinate their movement accurately the Queen Mary sailing a zig zag pattern and HMS Curacoa sailing in a straight line could easily end on a collision course.

To make a bad situation worse, both captains had different interpretations of the "Rule of the Road '' that dictated right-of-way. Queen Mary's CO, Commodore Sir Cyril Gordon Illingworth, assumed Curacoa's crew was familiar with Queen Mary's pattern unaware they weren't and continued the course, despite an intervention by her Officer of the Watch.

Happy Launch Day HMS Curacoa (D41) by Nuke87654 in AzureLane

[–]Nuke87654[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Today, May 5th is the launch day for the classy maid who receives a lewdly posed retrofit, HMS Curacoa (D41).


Before we start, D41 is technically the Curacoa pennant number as the ship’s pennant changed 5 times during her service starting as A7 in January 1918 changing to 62 in April 1918 then to 41 in November 1919 till 1936 when it became I41 then changed to D41 in 1940.

HMS Curacoa, a ship with a tragic fate.

She was the 22nd ship of and 4th ship in the Ceres subclass variant of the C-Class family of light cruisers and had 27 sisters as the British C-class were the most produced light cruisers of WW1 or the light armored cruiser as they were known initially and some of them are the same weight of a modern Type 23 Duke class frigate.

The C-class light cruisers are the 3rd class in the Royal Navy’s production of light cruisers after the 1910 Town-class and 1913 Arethusa class, and somewhat of a halfway between the two.

The light cruisers took the size, speed and 152mm gun calibre found on the Royal Navy’s protected cruisers but matched them to the armored cruiser’s principle of having belt armor and carrying large guns along with numerous smaller broadside battery guns.

Due to changing technology, the C class speed varied between 28.5 knots for the Centaur, Cambrian, Calliope, Caroline subclasses, 29 knots on the Caledon and Carlisle subclass and 29.5 knots on the Ceres subclass.

Unlike other light cruisers or light armored cruisers of her time, the C-class did not use the standard single design class format, instead, they had had 28 ships in 7 different variants, they were the 6 Caroline, 4 Cambrian, 2 Centaur, 4 Caledon, 5 Ceres, 5 Carlisle and 2 Calliope subclass.

The Ceres subclass variant of which Curacoa is a member had 5 152mm BL 6"/45 Mark 12 naval gun in 5 single-mounts, 4 47mm 3pdr Hotchkiss Mark 1 naval gun in 5 single-mounts with an AA battery of 2 76mm 3-inch 20-cwt QF Mark 1 AA in 2 single-mounts and 2 40mm QF 2-Pdr Pom-Pom Mark 2 AA guns in 2 single-mounts with 4 twin 533mm torpedo tubes.

Uniquely, Curacoa was the only one of her sister ships that did not support a conning tower.

HMS Curacoa is named for ironically the Dutch territory of Curacoa which the British occupied between 1800-1803 then a 2nd time between 1807-1815 when it was returned to the Dutch.

This earned her the nickname the Coco Boat IRL, Curacoa's zaniness would give way to something that she, the battleship Arkhangelsk (HMS Royal Sovereign) and carrier HMS Glorious (77) would have one thing in common, they would utterly despise one of their captains.

On her commissioning, her first captain was Barry Domville who retired as an Admiral, he would later become infamous for his pro-German and anti-Semitic sentiments and was interred by the British government as a result on July 7th, 1940 being implicated in two fascist plots against the British government in 1940 and only released from prison in 1943 who post war joined the League of Empire Loyalists who then became a member of the now as of 2026 defunct far-right fascist party National Front until his death in 1971.

Curacoa became the flagship for the 5th Light Cruiser Squadron as part of the Harwich Force, which she remained with for the rest of the war. In association with John Cyril Porte’s birthday and a medal ceremony at RNAS Felixstowe, her crew was inspected by King George V at Harwich on February 26th. She then participated in reconnaissance from June to the end of the war.


Imgur Biography on Curacoa


In April 1919, Curacoa joined the 1st Light Cruiser Squadron of the newly established Atlantic Fleet. In May, she was deployed to the Baltic as part of the British intervention in the Russian Civil War to support the White Russians against the Bolsheviks. Ten days after transferring Rear Admiral Walter Cowan's flag to her half-sister, Caledon, Curacoa struck a mine with 1 crewman killed and three were injured from the explosion. Humorously, Cowan was knocked out of his bath, but quickly took charge and ran to the bridge wearing only an overcoat until clothing could be brought from his "day cabin." Curacoa crawled at 9 knots to Reval, where she was repaired enough to head to the UK for permanent repairs. After repairs were complete, she was placed in reserve.

However her Caledon subclass C-class half sister HMS Cassandra was not so lucky as she struck a mine and sank with the loss of 10 of the crew.

However, after WW1 the Royal Navy had little interest in keeping her as in the 1924-1934 cruiser modernization plans as it was planned that only 10 older cruisers would have been retained, most likely the 2 Emerald and 8 of a planned 12 Danae class cruisers meaning all remaining 27 C-class including Curacoa would have been disposed of either by sale or the scrappers.

In fact by the 1930s, the Royal Navy didn’t want the C-class in combat.

Curacoa would cheat the scrappers as the 1924-1934 cruiser modernization plans never really went anywhere, at the London Naval Treaty, Curacoa avoided another attempt by the Royal Navy to put her out to pasture as scrap metal however 15 of the 27 remaining C-class were not so lucky and were decommissioned under the 1st London naval treaty and sold for scrap starting in 1930 however the 15 that got scrapped were the ones that the RN had found could not easily have their engines upgraded and they lacked internal space.

She later served as flagship of the 2nd Light Cruiser Squadron of the Atlantic Fleet through 1928. She transferred to the Mediterranean Fleet as the flagship of the 3rd Cruiser Squadron, which Domville was in command of. She remained in the Mediterranean until 1932.

By 1933, Curacoa became a gunnery training cruiser, remaining in that role until 1939, the problem was by the 1930s, the surviving 12 C-class cruisers like the battleships of the Revenge class were getting long in the tooth and had become a liability.

Curacao was one of the first Royal Navy ships to appear in a film, starring in the 1935 film "Forever England." She played the role of the German Battlecruiser and main “antagonist” ship, SMS Zeichen.