DDs without depth charges rack?

Originally Posted by Bleiente

It may seem strange to you ... but it's not the DD's that can be dangerous to you.
They are the little ones ... the escort and patrol units - the kaibōkan, which you have to fear.

According to the IJN mentality and the resulting doctrine, almost all first-class destroyers are designed exclusively as attack units, and thus, in the first war years, are equipped with defensive equipment only rudimentarily (ASW is one of the defensive measures).
Exceptions are only the multipurpose destroyers of the Akizuki and their subclasses.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akizuki-class_destroyer




Therefore, for example, auxiliary units such as obsolete destroyers, torpedo boats, ocean-going tug and fishing boats have been specially converted to ASW units and reclassified.
These units were sometimes relatively successful.

Example:
Here a destroyer of the Momi class, first declassified to the destroyer 2nd class...

Then rebuilt and re-classified as No.31-class patrol boat.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No.31-class_patrol_boat

And the following units should be better avoided as a submarine commander... those are snappy.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaib%C5%8Dkan