By the time you are getting this it will be Wednesday and I will be enjoying a well deserved break in Berlin, Germany with my wonderful girlfriend. As there will only be one post this week due to my holiday so I hope you make the most of it & enjoy it!
This week I will be looking at a one of my most loved ships in my harbour, the Hatsuharu Tier 7 Japanese Destroyer. This is the first Destroyer in the Japanese line to get the Type 93 Long Lance Torpedoes. This 610mm Type 93 is a massive step up from the from the previous tiers 5-6 in damage. These Torpedoes are fast, have a long range and a hard punch with a base alpha damage of over 17 k.
The Hatsuharu Class Destroyer
The Hatsuharu class destroyer was built at the beginning of the 1930's. At this time the Imperial Navy's ship developments were limited by the London Navy Treaty.The design limitations imposed by the treaty meant that the Hatsuharu was smaller than previous Fubuki and Akatsuki class Destroyers that had come before her previously. It also limited designs for the Hatsuharu to a displacement of 1500 tons. The designers had to stretch the contemporary destroyer design to its limit whilst still trying to arm the new destroyer design with almost equally powerful armaments of its earlier classes. This causes severe stability problems due to the ships smaller hull and displacement. The resulting top heavy designs created worrying structural weaknesses, not just the Hatsuharu but many of the ships of this treaty's era. These structural design flaws were fatally highlighted when the torpedo boat Tomozuru capsized in 1934 and a typhoon ripped the bows of two Fubuki class destroyers in 1935. As a result of these 'incidences', all the Hatsuharu class vessels went through a major rebuild or were extensively modified to remedy their stability problems.
So Pretty Yet so Dangerous
Suffering stability problems for weaponry caused a lot of issues but Hatsuharu but it was able to hold its own in a fight. It used the same calibre 50 type 3 naval guns (12.7cm) as its Fubuki class predecessor however its guns could serve as dual purpose anti air as well anti ship with having a 75 degree elevation. An additional two 40mm AA guns also served as closer range air deterrence if the need presented itself. The 2 Triple 61cm torpedo launchers could do a full 360 degree turn in around twenty five seconds thanks to its electro hydraulic system and each emptied launcher tube could be quickly reloaded with the use of a mechanical wired system (Kiryoku sōtenshiki jihatsu sōten sochi) in around 23 seconds (I wish it was like this in world of warships).
During the second world war The Hatsuharu class destroyers saw action in the Battle of Midway, battle of Kolombangara and even escorted the mighty Yamato on her final Operation tengo. In the Battle of Kolmbangara the 'Yugure' Hatsuharu class destroyer assisted in the sinking off USS Gwin and the damaging of HMNZS Achilles, USS Honolulu and USS St. Louis. All the Hatsuharu class destroyers in service were eventually sunk in different conflicts throughout the second world war either by air bombings, submarine torpedoes or by mines.
In World of Warship this destroyer really enters the Japanese Destroyers into the arena of versatile long range strikes. The speed of the torpedoes mixed with its range their 10 km range has surprised many a ship I had been stalking whilst captaining this ship. The Hatsuharu gains a larger surface detectability range of 6.7km but still maintains a comfortable 3 km safe area in which to launch surprise attacks from without ever being spotted.
Like most Japanese destroyers the guns are pretty unremarkable being of smaller number and a with slower rotation speed than their American counterparts. At Tier 7 The American Mahan is a pretty poor destroyer in comparison to the Hatuharu. Its guns have a longer range and quicker rotation speed but has exceptionally poor ranged torpedoes (the worst in the game at 4.5km un-upgraded and 6.4 km upgraded). A Mahan has a surface detectability of almost 8 km so has to sail well within secondary range of most battleships to be effective. Unsurprisingly the Mahan has been given more health than the Harauhatsu to take a little extra punishment but its still a destroyer and won't last long under sustained punishment. Battleship weaponry seems to get a lot more accurate when firing at targets between 12 and 6 km so puts the Mahan at a distinct disadvantage when engaging larger ships.
The guns are not as painful to use as previous tiers of Japanese destroyers having around half the turret rotation speed of the Minekazi & Mitsuki (45 seconds on these ship where the Hatsuharu has a 25 secs for 180 degrees). This welcome change lends towards more versatile play for Japanese destroyers where guns actually might be a viable option in some most scenarios. As the Hatsuharu has similar sized guns to the Mahan the American has to rely on its main advantage of faster firing guns to get it out of trouble. Being able to spot and outrun the Mahan whilst maintaining stealth gives the Hatsuharu the advantage as a destroyer to react and avoid a close up brawls. Forcing American destroyers to take up chase limits their fire which takes their gun advantage away from them. Maintain a decent distance using your higher speed, whilst drive them back by your firing guns (which will be novel for most Japanese destroyer player) and torpedoes. This is normally enough to deter even the most dogged of attackers after setting them on fire a few times and causing them to take evasive manoeuvres dodging incoming torpedoes.
The Mahan Tier 7 American Destroyer
I like the Hatuharu. I have to admit when sailing the T6 Mitsuki I found it hard to adjust my playstyle for that ship. The Minekaze was a great little destroyer and I felt the Mitsuki was a bit of a let down. This made me think about what impact the future changes in the heavier higher levelled destroyers would effect my play. I am happy to say that the Hatsuharu is much more fun to captain than the Mitsuki and I have begun to see high amounts of damage rack up in most of my games. I find its balance of power, speed and stealth really aids my approach to the battlefield which works well as a fast paced doom bringing machine. I would definitely recommend this ship for anyone that loves that hard hitting potential only destroyers can give.
Hatsuharu Doom Attack
I hope this review has helped you make a decision on whether you would like to take up Japanese destroyers and would love to hear your feed back. Till Next time.
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