View source for Japanese destroyer Hatsuzakura

{{short description|WWII-era Japanese escort destroyer}}
{{good article}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image=Destroyer Hatsuzakura bringing envoys to USS Missouri (BB-63) off Japan.jpg
|Ship caption=''Hatsuzakura'' bringing envoys, [[Tokyo Bay]], 27 August 1945. The bow of {{USS|Nicholas|DD-449|6}} is in the foreground.
}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Hide header=
|Ship country=[[Empire of Japan]]
|Ship flag={{shipboxflag|Empire of Japan|naval}}
|Ship name=''Hatsuzakura''
|Ship ordered=1943
|Ship laid down=12 April 1944
|Ship launched=10 February 1945
|Ship completed=28 May 1945
|Ship namesake=Early-blooming [[Cherry]]
|Ship commissioned=
|Ship builder=[[Yokosuka Naval Arsenal]]
|Ship in service=
|Ship out of service=
|Ship struck=15 September 1945
|Ship honours=
|Ship fate=Turned over to the [[Soviet Navy]], 29 July 1947
|Ship notes=
}}
{{Infobox ship career
| Hide header=title
| Ship country=[[Soviet Union]]
| Ship flag={{shipboxflag|Soviet Union|naval}}
| Ship name=''Vyrazitelny'' ({{lang|ru|Выразительный}}
| Ship renamed = ''TsL-26'', 17 June 1949 
|Ship commissioned=29 July 1947
|Ship reclassified=[[Target ship]], 17 June 1949
| Ship acquired=29 July 1947
|Ship struck=11 March 1958
| Ship fate=[[ship breaking|Scrapped]] after 19 February 1959
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Hide header=
|Header caption=
|Ship class=''Tachibana'' sub-class of the {{sclass|Matsu|destroyer|0}} [[escort destroyer]]
|Ship displacement={{cvt|1309|t|LT|lk=on}} ([[Displacement (ship)#Standard displacement|standard]])
|Ship length={{convert|100|m|ftin|abbr=on}} ([[o/a]])
|Ship beam={{convert|9.35|m|ftin|abbr=on}}
|Ship draft={{convert|3.37|m|ftin|abbr=on}}
|Ship power=2 × [[water-tube boiler]]s; {{cvt|19000|shp|lk=on}}
|Ship propulsion=2 shafts, 2 × geared [[steam turbines]]
|Ship speed={{convert|27.8|kn|lk=in}}
|Ship range={{convert|4680|nmi|lk=in|abbr=on}} at {{convert|16|kn}}
|Ship complement=
|Ship sensors=
*1 × [[List of Japanese World War II radar#Shipborne Radar|Type 22]] [[search radar]]
*1 × [[List of Japanese World War II radar#Land-based Radar|Type 13]] [[early-warning radar]]
|Ship armament=*1 × twin, 1 × single [[12.7 cm/40 Type 89 naval gun|{{convert|127|mm|in|0|abbr=on}}]] [[DP gun]]s
*4 × triple, 13 × single [[Type 96 25&nbsp;mm AT/AA Gun|{{convert|25|mm|in|abbr=on|0}}]] [[AA gun]]s
*1 × quadruple {{convert|610|mm|in|abbr=on}} [[torpedo tube]]s
*2 × rails, 2 × throwers for 60 [[depth charge]]s
|Ship notes=
}}
|}

{{nihongo|'''''Hatsuzakura'''''|初櫻||"Early-blooming [[Cherry]]"}} was one of 23 [[Destroyer#Later combat|escort destroyer]]s of the ''Tachibana'' [[ship class|sub-class]] of the {{sclass|Matsu|destroyer|4}} built for the [[Imperial Japanese Navy]] during the final stages of [[World War II]]. The ship was used to repatriate Japanese personnel after the war until 1947. Mid-year the destroyer was turned over to the [[Soviet Union]] and was [[Ship commissioning|commissioned]] that same year. She was renamed ''Vyrazitelny'' ({{lang|ru|Выразительный}} (Expressive)) later that year. When the ship was converted into a [[target ship]] in 1949, she was renamed ''TsL-26''. The vessel was ordered to be [[ship breaking|scrapped]] a decade later.

==Design and description==
The ''Tachibana'' sub-class was a simplified version of the preceding {{sclass|Matsu|destroyer|4}} to make them even more suited for mass production. The ships measured {{convert|100|m|ftin|sp=us}} long [[Length overall|overall]], with a [[beam (nautical)|beam]] of {{convert|9.35|m|ftin|sp=us}} and a [[draft (ship)|draft]] of {{convert|3.37|m|ftin|sp=us}}.<ref name=g6>Sturton, p. 196</ref> They displaced {{convert|1309|t|LT|sp=us|lk=on}} at [[Displacement (ship)#Standard displacement|standard]] load and {{convert|1554|t|LT|sp=us}} at deep load.<ref>Whitley, p. 208</ref> The ships had two [[Kampon]] geared [[steam turbine]]s, each driving one [[propeller shaft]], using steam provided by two Kampon [[water-tube boiler]]s. The turbines were rated at a total of {{convert|19000|shp|lk=on}} for a speed of {{convert|27.8|kn|lk=in}}. The ''Tachibana''s had a range of {{convert|4680|nmi|lk=in}} at {{convert|16|kn}}.<ref name=j3>Jentschura, Jung & Mickel, p. 153</ref>

The main armament of the ''Tachibana'' sub-class consisted of three [[12.7 cm/40 Type 89 naval gun|Type 89 {{convert|127|mm|adj=on|0|sp=us}}]] [[dual-purpose gun]]s in one twin-gun mount aft and one single mount forward of the [[superstructure]]. The single mount was partially protected against [[spray (liquid drop)|spray]] by a [[gun shield]]. The accuracy of the Type 89 guns was severely reduced against aircraft because no high-angle gunnery [[director (military)|director]] was fitted. They carried a total of 25 [[Type 96 25 mm AT/AA Gun|Type 96 {{convert|25|mm|adj=on|0|sp=us}}]] [[anti-aircraft gun]]s in 4 triple and 13 single mounts. The ''Tachibana''s were equipped with [[List of Japanese World War II radar#Land-based Radar|Type 13]] [[early-warning radar|early-warning]] and [[List of Japanese World War II radar#Shipborne Radar|Type 22]] surface-[[search radar]]s.<ref name=s1>Stille, p. 41</ref> The ships were also armed with a single rotating quadruple mount [[amidships]] for {{convert|610|mm|in|adj=on|0|sp=us}} [[torpedo]]es. They could deliver their 60 [[depth charge]]s via two stern rails and two throwers.<ref name=g6/><ref name=s1/>

==Construction and service==
[[File:Hatuzakura.jpg|thumb|left|''Hatsuzakura'' in Tokyo Bay, 27 August 1945]]
''Hatsuzakura'' (Early-blooming Cherry)<ref name=ne>Nevitt</ref> was ordered in Fiscal Year 1943 under the [[Modified 5th Naval Armaments Supplement Program]] as part of the ''Matsu'' class, but the design was simplified to facilitate production and the ship was one of those built to the modified design.<ref name=j3/> She was [[laid down]] on 12 April 1944 by [[Yokosuka Naval Arsenal]], [[Ship naming and launching|launched]] on 10 February 1945 and completed on 28 May.<ref>Stille, p. 40</ref> ''Hatsuzakura'' was assigned that day to Destroyer Squadron 11 under the [[Combined Fleet]] for [[Glossary of nautical terms (M-Z)|working up]]; on 15 July she was transferred to the [[Yokosuka Naval District]]. On 27 August the ship ferried Japanese emissaries and [[maritime pilot|local pilots]] to the entrance to [[Tokyo Bay]] to meet the American [[battleship]] {{USS|Missouri|BB-63|2}}. The ship was turned over to Allied forces at Yokosuka at the time of the [[surrender of Japan]] on 2 September and was stricken from the [[navy list]] on 15 September.<ref name=ne/> The destroyer was disarmed and used to repatriate Japanese personnel in 1945–1947. ''Hatsuzakura'' was turned over to the Soviet Union on 29 July of the latter year.<ref name=j3/>

The ship was commissioned that same day and assigned to the Fifth Fleet. ''Hatsuzakura'' was renamed ''Vyrazitelny'' on 2 October and was placed in reserve on 14 February 1949. She was disarmed, converted into a target ship and renamed ''TsL-26'' on 17 June. The ship was transferred to the [[Pacific Fleet (Russia)|Pacific Fleet]] on 23 April 1953. She was stricken from the navy list on 11 March 1958 and ordered to be scrapped on 19 February 1959.<ref>Berezhnoy, p. 22</ref>

==Notes==
{{reflist}}

==Bibliography==
*{{Cite book|url=http://militera.lib.ru/enc/berezhnoy_ss01/index.html|title=Трофеи и репарации ВМФ СССР|last=Berezhnoy|first=Sergey|publisher=Sakhapoligrafizdat|year=1994 |location=Yakutsk |language=Russian|trans-title=Trophies and Reparations of the Soviet Navy|oclc=33334505}}
*{{cite book| last = Jentschura| first = Hansgeorg| first2 = Dieter |last2=Jung|first3=Peter |last3=Mickel| year = 1977| title = Warships of the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1869–1945| publisher = United States Naval Institute| location = Annapolis, Maryland| isbn = 0-87021-893-X|name-list-style=amp}}
*{{cite web |last1=Nevitt |first1=Allyn D. |title=IJN Hatsuzakura: Tabular Record of Movement |url=http://www.combinedfleet.com/hatsua_t.htm |website=www.combinedfleet.com |access-date=22 June 2020 |date=1998}}
*{{cite book |last1=Stille |first1=Mark |title=Imperial Japanese Navy Destroyers 1919–45 (2): Asahio to Tachibana Classes |date=2013 |publisher=Osprey Publishing |location=Botley, UK |isbn=978-1-84908-987-6}}
* {{cite book|title=Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1922–1946|editor1-last=Chesneau|editor1-first=Roger|publisher=Conway Maritime Press|location=Greenwich, UK|year=1980|isbn=0-85177-146-7|chapter=Japan|author-first=Ian|author-last=Sturton}}
* {{cite book|last=Whitley|first=M. J.|title=Destroyers of World War Two: An International Encyclopedia|publisher=Naval Institute Press|year=1988|isbn=0-87021-326-1 |location=Annapolis, Maryland |authorlink=Michael J. Whitley}}

{{Tachibana-class destroyer}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hatsuzakura (1945), Japanese destroyer}}
[[Category:Tachibana-class destroyers]]
[[Category:Ships built by Yokosuka Naval Arsenal]]
[[Category:1945 ships]]
[[Category:World War II destroyers of Japan]]
[[Category:Destroyers of the Soviet Navy]]