Japanese destroyer Hanazuki

Destroyer of the Imperial Japanese Navy

Hanazuki (花月) was an destroyer of the Imperial Japanese Navy. Her name translates as "flower (sakura) moon", or an alternate name for "March".

The Akizuki class ships were originally designed as anti aircraft escorts for carrier battle groups, but were modified with torpedo tubes and depth charges to meet the need for more general purpose destroyers. The ships measured overall, with beams of and drafts of They displaced at standard load Their crews numbered 300 officers and enlisted men. Each ship had two Kampon geared steam turbines, each driving one propeller shaft using steam provided by three Kampon water tube boilers. The turbines were rated at a total of for a designed speed of The ships carried enough fuel oil to give them ranges of at speeds of
The main armament of the Akizuki class consisted of eight 10 cm Type 98 dual purpose guns in four twin gun turrets, one superfiring pair fore and aft of the superstructure. Hanazuki was equipped with 41 Type 96 anti aircraft (AA) guns in seven triple gun mounts and twenty single mounts. The ships were also each armed with four torpedo tubes in a single quadruple rotating mount amidships for Type 93 (Long Lance) torpedoes; one reload was carried for each tube. The later batches of ships were each equipped with two depth charge throwers and two sets of rails for which 72 depth charges were carried. Hanazuki was equipped with a Type 13 early warning radar on her mainmast and a Type 22 surface search radar on her foremast.

In June 1947, Hanazuki was turned over to United States as "DD 934", and was later sunk as target off Gotō Islands, Japan on 3 February 1948.