Shimakaze

One word sums up this magnificent vessel: power. She had a top speed of almost 40 knots (that's really moving, people), 6 x 5" guns, and a main torpedo battery of 15 (count 'em) 24" tubes. She was, in my opinion, the most powerful destroyer of the war -- the superb U.S. Allen Sumner had comparable gun power and better fire control, and the French Mogadors had the same speed and superior 8 x 5.5" gunpower (not to mention almost 1,000 tons of full load displacement -- nearly a light cruiser), but neither of these classes had the kind of torpedo battery capable of scuppering an entire squadron of opponents at a crack. Of course, because of her outsized powerplant she was far too expensive to be built in any sort of quantity (Japan was losing the war big-time by the time she was launched), and her sixteen sister ships were never laid down. What a pity.

Additional information on this class from Allyn Nevitt.

The only known picture of Shimakaze, running flat out with a bone in her teeth.
Plan and elevation drawings of Shimakaze.