hatsuharu (azur lane)
Azur Lane's personification of the Japanese destroyer Hatsuharu, lead ship and name ship of her class.
Appearance
As designed by Allenes, her base form portrays her with long black hair tied two side up with blue hair ribbons and cat ears with matching cat tail.
She wears a serafuku-style school uniform with a grey sweater over it, a black skirt, a blue coat with cherry blossom print, and black thighhighs.Her rig consists of a 61 cm triple torpedo mount on her back, reload torpedoes tucked in her coat, and a 12.7 cm twin gun mount Type B as a handgun.
Upon retrofit , she casts aside her grey sweater to reveal a sleeveless midriff white top with a white sailor collar, while her skirt turns white with a side slit. She also gains white detached long sleeves with a "mountain stripe pattern" reminiscent of the Shinsengumi, with the colors inverted.
Her rig is also larger and more mechanical, attached on the waistline, carrying two 12.7 mm twin gun mounts and a single 61 cm triple torpedo mount. Also attached to the rig is a katana.
History
In real life, Hatsuharu and her sisters were specifically built to make the most out of London Naval Treaty restrictions on destroyer tonnage as the Treaty had prevented more Akatsuki-class destroyers (of 1,800 tons) to be built. The IJN wanted newer, lighter, smaller units of 1,500 tons displacement and yet be able to mount virtually the same armament of three 12.7 cm twin gun mounts and three 61 cm triple torpedo mounts, but Hatsuharu as designed was forced to mount 5 guns instead of 6 due to the smaller size.
The taxing demands of the IJN resulted in a ship class that had severe stability and maneuverability problems, with Hatsuharu and her sister Nenohi being ordered into a substantial refit within a year of commissioning. Their high bridges, funnels, and masts were reduced in height, while one torpedo mount was removed. The rest of the class was completed to the revised design.
When the Pacific War began, she was assigned to Destroyer Division 21 and participated in the taking of the Dutch East Indies (Indonesia) and the Aleutian Islands campaign.
She spent the rest of 1942 up to mid-1944 in escort and training duties before seeing action in Leyte Gulf, rescuing Wakaba's survivors. Retreating to Manila, she was caught and sunk by a US carrier raid there in November 1944.
Skins
Hatsuharu-class destroyers
- Original Hatsuharu-class
- Ariake subclass