Shipyard Question

[John 3rd]

I am trying to get a better grasp on Japanese shipyards. The major slips we know about. The recent thread there was quite helpful. The question I have is how many smaller slips did the Japanese have for building DDs, CLs, and SS? Does anyone have an idea here?


Am getting ready to do a RA Mark 3 Version of the Mod and want to have better information to work from in this area.

[JWE]

Actually, John, not very many more. At the end of the war, Mitsubishi, Nagasaki, had 6 total. Now that is a bit of a gas, because one 'could' build in a fitting/graving dock, but then all you get are hulls. There were only two SS dedicated slipways in the whole country, but even these built other stuff. Everybody built subs on the same slips they built cruisers on. Heck, the Musashi slip was used to build a gazillion suicide midgets, and to store scrap metal.

Realistically, what you see is what you get. There wasn't a Part-B of any yard plan. But there were some yards that didn't do biggies, but had some decent facilities to push out DDs. Uraga Dock and Fujinagata SB each had 3 DD 'capable' slips, and each built some good ships. For reasons known only to God, these yards were utterly underutilized and if they built a DD, the next slip project might be a fishing boat.

And then there's Sasebo. Somebody at Sasebo must have seriously peed-off somebody at the Technical Bureau, because these guys had 3 slips that built the best of the pathetically small number of DDs they got. They didn't get squat for contracts, and were basically begging for business until Spring 1944. Them boys were the Bath Iron Works of Japanese DD production. But only 3 slips.

And then there was a ton of teensy, weensy places that could build some auxiliary Cha's and PB's. I mean, if the hull is small enuf, you can do it in your backyard and just have it towed somewhere else for fitting out – which is just what happened.

Sorry, Bro. What ya see is what ya got.

J

[Shark7]

ORIGINAL: JWE

Actually, John, not very many more. At the end of the war, Mitsubishi, Nagasaki, had 6 total. Now that is a bit of a gas, because one 'could' build in a fitting/graving dock, but then all you get are hulls. There were only two SS dedicated slipways in the whole country, but even these built other stuff. Everybody built subs on the same slips they built cruisers on. Heck, the Musashi slip was used to build a gazillion suicide midgets, and to store scrap metal.

Realistically, what you see is what you get. There wasn't a Part-B of any yard plan. But there were some yards that didn't do biggies, but had some decent facilities to push out DDs. Uraga Dock and Fujinagata SB each had 3 DD 'capable' slips, and each built some good ships. For reasons known only to God, these yards were utterly underutilized and if they built a DD, the next slip project might be a fishing boat.

And then there's Sasebo. Somebody at Sasebo must have seriously peed-off somebody at the Technical Bureau, because these guys had 3 slips that built the best of the pathetically small number of DDs they got. They didn't get squat for contracts, and were basically begging for business until Spring 1944. Them boys were the Bath Iron Works of Japanese DD production. But only 3 slips.

And then there was a ton of teensy, weensy places that could build some auxiliary Cha's and PB's. I mean, if the hull is small enuf, you can do it in your backyard and just have it towed somewhere else for fitting out – which is just what happened.

Sorry, Bro. What ya see is what ya got.

J

Wasn't there an additional problem of getting marine engines and not having adequate heavy industry to really bump up ship production over what it was? As you point out, you have the under-utilized Sasebo slips, but I've read that a main reason for canceling so many of the DDs (Shimakaze, Akizuki, Yugumo classes) was the lack of sufficient boilers to power them (the boilers were needed for the emergency carrier building programs).

Is my thinking right on this matter?