Buying foreign destroyers gave Japan examples from which to learn construction methods and develop its own designs. Harusame combined a bow intended for manoeuvrability with a hull intended for speed, although the personal preference expressed here is to reverse that emphasis. A further possibility was to obtain foreign help with boilers and yard practice. Spain illustrates the contemporary option of having a foreign company establish a domestic yard, while Japan preferred to build its own industrial capability. Hiring a foreign builder to advise an existing naval arsenal is suggested as another possible arrangement. Its benefits remain a counterfactual judgment.
Notable Point · 30:28-32:36
Domestic destroyer production and the option of foreign advice
Harusame advanced Japan's goal of building its own destroyers, while leaving room to question whether foreign advisers could have eased its construction problems.