A revised approach to the IJN’s decisive battle doctrine emerged as a result of these new limitations. Coupled with an emerging recognition of the significantly greater industrial capacity of the United States, this revision placed a new emphasis on the qualitative superiority of individual ships, superior weaponry that could engage at longer ranges than the enemy, the greater inclusion of lesser but still highly capable ship types arrayed in a layered offense to engage the enemy prior to major battle between capital ships, and a greater emphasis on the training of its sailors in appropriate tactics, particularly at night.  All these factors were felt to work to Japan’s advantage in that an approaching enemy force could be whittled down through repeated forms of attack as it approached Japanese possessions and territories.  This doctrine drove Japanese naval expansion throughout the rest of the 1920s, 1930s, and into the Pacific War, until rapid technological advances in US and Allied weaponry, equipment, detection, production and logistics overwhelmed the Japanese and rendered their doctrine obsolete.

One of the cornerstones of the revised doctrine was massed torpedo attack, particularly at night, by squadrons of heavily armed, high speed destroyers with torpedoes of greater range, speed and warhead size than those of other countries.  Accordingly, much attention was given over to new destroyer design.

Beginning with the Fubuki class destroyers, each succeeding class through to the Yugumo class incorporated incremental improvements in performance, range, and the size of their respective torpedo batteries utilizing 24” diameter torpedoes, particularly the oxygen powered Type 93 (i.e. the Long Lance), the most powerful torpedo in the world at that time. Further attention was paid to torpedo reloads and rapid reload machinery. 

Renewed naval expansion plans on the part of the United States in 1939-40 included new, larger, more heavily armed, and higher speed battleships. The Japanese realized that their destroyer squadrons would require still faster and more powerfully armed ships to cope with this new threat, and began designing a new destroyer class, Type “C”, to meet this need. Shimakaze (Island Wind ) was the result.

These boilers had been previously installed in the Kagero class destroyer Amatsukaze, so they weren’t strictly experimental. They had performed satisfactorily; when coupled to the turbines typically carried by that class, they generated the class typical 52,000shp and a maximum speed of 35 knots. However, for the Type “C” class, a new, more powerful set of turbines capable of 75,000shp were installed for the first time in a Japanese destroyer. Together with the new boilers, a design speed of 39 knots was expected.

On sea trials in May, 1943, Shimakaze generated 75,850shp for a speed of 40.37 knots on a trials displacement of 2,921 tons. As part of the trials, she was also tested at an engine overboost of 105%, generating 79,240shp and a speed of 40.9 knots, the fastest speed ever attained by a Japanese destroyer, and among the fastest of all the world’s destroyers at that time. 

To perform her primary role, Shimakaze carried a unique arrangement of fifteen 61cm/24” diameter oxygen powered “Long Lance” torpedoes, arrayed in three quintuple tube mounts covered with light metal, turret-like shielding. The Type 93 Long Lance torpedo was enormous: 9m/29.5ft. long, with a half ton warhead and weighing almost 3 tons apiece. The top weight generated by the enormous number of torpedoes and their mounts meant that reloads could not be carried without greatly affecting stability, so  torpedo reloads and rapid reload equipment was dispensed with. 

Japanese torpedo doctrine of the time posited that a broadside of nine torpedoes (as seen first in the Fubuki class and later revised to eight) should yield between one to three hits, depending on range to the target and speed of the torpedo. With the Shimakaze design, it was felt that a broadside nearly double in number would not only increase the likelihood of hits, but also the percentage of hits. Accordingly, reloads could be dispensed with as virtually the entire torpedo load of a typical Japanese destroyer was being delivered in one salvo instead of two. Or, seen another way, the equivalent of the initial torpedo salvos of two destroyers.

When launched, Shimakaze carried armament typical of Japanese first class, or Type “A”, destroyers:  six 12.7cm 50cal guns in three new model Type D turrets, two triple 25mm guns mounted on a raised platform to either side of #2 funnel and a twin 13mm light AA mounted on a small raised platform in front of the bridge. Roll off racks and a “Y’ gun for depth charges were also installed.  Upgrades to her AA suite came later on in the war.

Shimakaze carried herself on a displacement about 20% larger than prior destroyers, with an extra 35’ of length and a slightly higher wider beam and greater draft, mostly to accommodate the larger torpedo armament. She was also one of the first Japanese destroyers to carry their newly developed versions of radar, a Type 22 set for both sea and air search, mounted high on her large, tripod foremast. 

The onset of war in late 1941 strained Japan’s already lean industrial base while limiting the availability of war material.  Work on new and experimental designs was curtailed in favor of current or simplified designs. The new high pressure boilers and enhanced turbines of the Shimakaze design required more material and manhours of fabrication than could be afforded, so the follow-on ships were first delayed, and then ultimately canceled. Shimakaze remained the only member of her class ever built. 

A more detailed history can be found in her TROM (Tabulated Record of Movements), and a good accounting of her specifications can be found in her Wikipedia article here.

Despite this interest, the only plastic injection kit that comes to mind is the venerable Tamiya 1/700 kit, first released over 40 years ago.  That kit was among the finer efforts of the initial offerings from the original Waterline Consortium, certainly the best of all the destroyer kits originally issued, in my opinion. 

The Tamiya kit seemed to acknowledge something special about the ship it was representing.  It was molded very cleanly, with no sinkholes or flash on the hull that I can remember.  It was the only waterline kit to come with a heavy metal waterline plate, pre-painted red, and that was attached with tiny screws, not glue.  It even came with a degaussing cable with brackets, a detail that only Tamiya bothered with for some of its better kits. Given the level of molding technology then available, that kit seemed as good as it got.

Time passed, PE and styrene accessories became available, and it became possible to detail and improve the Tamiya kit.  However, the bare bones of the kit remained – a mostly featureless deck, a nicely molded bridge but still bare of details, and the like elsewhere.

Of course, molding technology and market demands have changed since then, and finally, a new 1/700 version has just been released from PitRoad. This is an in-box review of the kit and, as always, I pepper my descriptions with personal opinions. 

The kit is molded in a light gray plastic that is fairly hard and clean, with no soft or greasy aspects.  The detailing of features, both large and small, is about the sharpest and best defined that I’ve seen in 1/700.  Generally speaking, the scaling of these same features for 1/700 is also extremely good in almost all respects.
 

Most surprisingly, there is no waterline plate.  It’s an interesting decision on the part of PitRoad.  I’m guessing that inclusion of the plate would probably have marred the fine lines of the bow and stern as molded. 

To compensate, the upper hull is robust in construction to preserve its shape without hogging or bending. Not perfectly flat, my example has the barest hint of a rise in the middle.  It’s possible that the addition of the separate main deck might serve to correct this.  I’ll also spend some time thinking about whether or not to add my own waterline plate as a bottom, but it really doesn’t need one unless showing a bit of hull red is desirable.

The upper hull is beautifully formed and finished. No hull plating lines or details (thankfully for this scale) but it does have a properly scaled and rendered degaussing cable, including brackets, It also has slightly deeper and better defined portholes than has typically come from PitRoad with their previous IJN destroyer kits. Also surprising is the inclusion of finely scaled and defined porthole eyebrows. I am no fan of these eyebrows on 1/700 ships but, here again, I have to say that this is the best example of this detail in 1/700 I’ve seen to date. Properly shaped anchor recesses are included, as are the large deck girder extensions for the deck overhang marking the end of the forecastle deck that was unique to Shimakaze among the Japanese DDs.

The clipper bow is properly shaped and impressively fine for 1/700; again, the best example yet produced by PitRoad for any of its IJN DDs.  I can’t complain about it at all. The sloped stern, first seem in the Yugumo class (but not in PitRoad’s kit of the same), has been properly, wonderfully reproduced. 

While the forecastle and main decks have been engineered as separate pieces, the outer border of the hull that rims those linoleum covered decks has also been molded atop the hull, with a slightly recessed and raised edging (spurnwaters) all the way around, along with bollards. This rim properly marks where the railings go (on the outside edge) and will be very welcome for those attaching PE railings.
 

The hull scales out exceptionally well. Shimakaze’s particulars versus the scale and kit:

Overall Length:	129.5m/424’10”	1/700 scale OA length:	185mm	Kit OA length:	185mm
Waterline Length:	126.4m/413’4”	1/700 scale WL length:	180.6mm	Kit WL length:	180mm
Beam:	11.2m/36’9”	1/700 scale beam:	16mm	Kit beam:	16.5mm

 

The sprue also holds the main gun director for the 12.7cm main guns, and its cupola. This model director was seen only on the late production Yugumos and Shimakaze.  A version of this director appears on the earlier PitRoad E-10 DD accessory set, but this one is far more sharply molded. The original Tamiya version pales in comparison. 

The bridge base is one piece with no seams to glue and sand. Fine details include an awning rail, piping, vents, hatches, and the wind baffle screen that lies directly underneath the compass deck windows.  This type baffle was a common feature on larger IJN warships, but unique to this destroyer, as other IJN destroyers never carried a baffle. While it does not have openings on the top of the baffle (virtually impossible to create to scale in 1/700 without fine PE), the large dividing vanes underneath are fantastically molded and scaled. Larger kits should have baffles this nice. 

The compass deck level is equally nice, with sharply molded (and properly scaled) port and starboard running lights with semi-enclosures, and life rings. The bridge windows and roof are equally fine. It might be difficult to remove the windows and replace them with PE ladders for window frames, given how tiny this piece is.  Also worth mentioning are the two funnels. Again, these are beautifully molded in one piece (no seams!) with fine lines depicting the grab bars surrounding each of them, With a nod to detailers, the top of the funnels are recessed to show the inner gratings.  The addition of PE funnel grills will show these beautiful details to great effect without hiding them. For those reluctant to use PE, solid funnel grill covers are included though, truthfully, it would be a shame to cover them over. It can be argued that even PE funnel grills are overscale in 1/700 to begin with so, I suppose the molded grills can be left off if need be. 

Their NE-05 set is a dedicated IJN destroyer set. It differs from the earlier E-10 it replaces in that its equipment is more specific to the Kagero and Yugumo classes, whereas the earlier set had a slightly broader range of equipment that included applications for the preceding Asashio, Hatsuharu and Shiratsuyu classes.  This kit comes with one full set of the NE-05.

Perhaps most important are the three model C/D turrets, each with twin 12.7cm barrels. These are undoubtedly the finest 1/700 scale IJN DD turrets currently available. I could go on and on about them but interested readers can review my comments on them in greater detail here.

Other parts that are utilized included the single and triple 25mm AA, hawser reels, ships boats, some boat davits, torpedo davits, the Type 13 radar, searchlight, 3 m rangefinder, anchors, and “Y” depth charge thrower and depth charge racks. 

Some parts are not used, such as the twin 25mm AA, 25mm ammo boxes (because PitRoad has already molded them onto the various platforms), and some of the aforementioned davits. Plus, you also end up with an unused pair of quadruple torpedo mounts, warheads and shields for the spares box, which is a very nice bonus, given the level of detail on these parts. 

If you can’t wait, then backdating this kit to Shimakaze’s original fit is relatively easy.  One need only delete only the extras that I just mentioned, as well as the additional AA platform (parts C11, 2 & 9), while adding the searchlight/RDF platform (part C12) directly to top of the main engine air intakes (part F28) in order to recreate her appearance as completed.

So, is the new Shimakaze kit worth it? I surely think so. I haven’t looked at many of the other 1/700 injection molded destroyer kits recently released for other navies by firms like Dragon and Trumpeter but my sense is that this kit is on a par with the finest of them. I certainly think this kit superior to any other 1/700 IJN destroyer offering currently on the market, very much like Tamiya’s version when it first came out.

While kit fit remains to be seen, my sense is that there will be few issues. This is the first 1/700 IJN destroyer kit in my memory, and the first 1/700 IJN kit in a long time, that I can consider building mostly right out of the box.  Personally, I anticipate adding of PE railings and funnel grills, brass barrels, and replacing the kit masts with brass rod for stiffness, but not much else. Certainly, I foresee no worries or struggles over correcting obvious errors, because there are none. I look forward to building it. 

Kit courtesy of my wallet, via Hobbylink Japan.  To the best of my knowledge, the kit hasn’t yet been released yet in the US but, when it is, I would expect a MSRP of around $35 - $40.