Japanese destroyer Amatsukaze (1939)

Amatsukaze underway on 17 October 1940
History
Empire of Japan
NameAmatsukaze
Ordered1937
BuilderMaizuru Naval Arsenal
Laid down14 February 1939
Launched19 October 1939
Commissioned26 October 1940
Stricken10 August 1945
FateScuttled 10 April 1945
General characteristics
Class and typeKagerō-class destroyer
Displacement2,490 long tons (2,530 t)
Length118.5 m (388 ft 9 in)
Beam10.8 m (35 ft 5 in)
Draft3.8 m (12 ft 6 in)
Speed35 knots (40 mph; 65 km/h)
Complement240
Armament
Service record
Commanders: Cmdr. Tameichi Hara (April 1940 – January 1943)
Operations:
Victories:

USS Perch (SS-176) (1935) USS Barton (DD-599) (1942)

USS Juneau (CL-52) (1942)

Amatsukaze (天津風, "Heavenly Wind") was a Kagerō-class destroyer of the Imperial Japanese Navy.

Design and description

The Kagerō class was an enlarged and improved version of the preceding Asashio class. Their crew numbered 240 officers and enlisted men. The ships measured 118.5 meters (388 ft 9 in) overall, with a beam of 10.8 meters (35 ft 5 in) and a draft of 3.76 meters (12 ft 4 in).[1] They displaced 2,065 metric tons (2,032 long tons) at standard load and 2,529 metric tons (2,489 long tons) at deep load.[2] The ships 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 52,000 shaft horsepower (39,000 kW) for a designed speed of 35 knots (65 km/h; 40 mph). The ships had a range of 5,000 nautical miles (9,300 km; 5,800 mi) at a speed of 18 knots (33 km/h; 21 mph).[3]

The main armament of the Kagerō class consisted of six Type 3 127-millimeter (5.0 in) guns in three twin-gun turrets, one superfiring pair aft and one turret forward of the superstructure. They were built with four Type 96 25-millimeter (1.0 in) anti-aircraft guns in two twin-gun mounts, but more of these guns were added over the course of the war. The ships were also armed with eight 610-millimeter (24.0 in) torpedo tubes for the oxygen-fueled Type 93 "Long Lance" torpedo in two quadruple traversing mounts; one reload was carried for each tube.[2] Their anti-submarine weapons comprised 16 depth charges.[3]

Service history

Amatsukaze (center bottom) maneuvers at high speed to evade a high-level bomb attack by US B-17's on the disabled aircraft carrier Ryūjō (center right) during the Battle of the Eastern Solomons.
Amatsukaze under attack in the South China Sea, 6 April 1945

During the first year of the Pacific War, the destroyer was under the command of Tameichi Hara. Amatsukaze saw action at the battle of the Java sea, but only took part in a torpedo attack that scored no hits on allied ships, before Amatsukaze survived air attacks from both B-17s and floatplanes with no damage sustained. On the 3rd of March, Amatsukaze helped to sink the submarine USS Perch via both gunfire damage and depth charge attacks. Amatsukaze escorted a troop convoy during the battle of Midway, and escorted Japanese aircraft carriers at the battles of the Eastern Solomans and Santa Cruz.[4][5]

Naval battle of Guadalcanal

In November of 1942, Amatsukaze would escort the battleships Hiei and Kirishima to bombard Henderson Field, a crucial air base which was captured by American forces. Understandably, the US sent out as many naval forces as possible to protect Henderson Field upon allied intelligence discovering the plan. In the night of the 12-13th, the force was intercepted by an allied cruiser force at point blank range, consisting of two heavy cruisers, three light cruisers, and eight destroyers.

In the ensuing action, Amatsukaze would come to play a critical role as she launched a full salvo of eight type 93 torpedoes against the attacking ships. Two of these torpedoes hit their intended target, the destroyer USS Barton, who blew up and sank within a few minutes. A third, however, veered off and hit a more critical target, the light cruiser USS Juneau. The torpedo broke Juneau's keel, cut her speed to 13 knots, and knocked out most of her systems, forcing her clean out of the battle. The crippled Juneau was later finished off by the submarine I-26, as a torpedo hit nearly the exact same spot Amatsukaze's torpedo landed, causing the cruiser to capsize. Either in its sinking or its aftermath, the five Sullivan brothers were all killed, leading to the mandate that if all but one sibling is killed in combat, the remaining sibling is withdrawn from service to continue the bloodline.[5]

However, injudicious use of her searchlights attracted the attention of the light cruiser USS Helena. The ensuing barrage silenced Amatsukaze's guns, knocked out her steering engine and killed 43 of her crew but her turbines were not affected and she was able to withdraw at 20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph) using emergency manual steering.[6]

Amatsukaze was under repair at Kure Naval Arsenal until February 1943, and was then deployed to Truk, carrying out escort and transport operations until returning to Japan for refit at Kure in December that year.[7]

On 11 January 1944, while escorting a convoy of four ships in the South China Sea, Amatsukaze was torpedoed by the submarine USS Redfin. The resulting magazine explosion severed the bow of the ship and killed 80 crewmen. Miraculously, the ship did not sink. Presumed sunk, the ship was not discovered for six days until she was spotted by a patrol plane. Amatsukaze was eventually towed to Singapore where a temporary bow was rigged.

On 6 April 1945, Amatsukaze was attacked by USAAF B-25s, 6 miles (9.7 km) east of Amoy (24°30′N 118°10′E / 24.500°N 118.167°E / 24.500; 118.167). She managed to shoot down two of her assailants, but was hit by one or two bombs.[8] Her crew managed to beach the ship; salvage attempts were abandoned on 8 April. On 10 April, the ship was scuttled with explosive charges.

In 2012, the wreckage of Amatsukaze was found by a Chinese engineering ship. About 30 tons of the wreckage was salvaged, cut into pieces and sold as scrap metal before the intervention of local relics administration departments. According to Chinese media, a museum will be built to protect the remaining wreckage.[9][10]

References

  1. ^ Chesneau, p. 194
  2. ^ a b Whitley, pp. 200–01
  3. ^ a b Jentschura, Jung & Mickel, p. 148
  4. ^ "(put title here)". www.combinedfleet.com. Retrieved 20 April 2024.
  5. ^ a b Hara, Tameichi (1 January 1965). Japanese Destroyer Captain (Second ed.). Ballantine. pp. Chapter 23. ISBN 978-0345026743.
  6. ^ Hara, pp.134–142
  7. ^ Williams, p. 175
  8. ^ "The Last Voyage of the Amatsukaze". International Historical Research Associates. 2016.
  9. ^ "省文物局：军舰残骸就地保护_海峡都市报闽南版数字报_闽南网_泉州_漳州_厦门_龙岩_福建_台海_闽南_新闻网_闽南新闻网_闽南门户_海峡都市报闽南版报社官网".
  10. ^ "漳浦海域捞出二战日本军舰 侵华物证 - 漳州小鱼网|漳州论坛|漳州|漳州房产网|二手房|漳州二手车|漳州小吃|漳州租房|漳州新闻|漳州人才网|漳州网|漳州城市门户 - Powered by phpwind". Archived from the original on 19 August 2012. Retrieved 26 April 2014.

Bibliography

  • Chesneau, Roger, ed. (1980). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1922–1946. Greenwich, UK: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-146-7.
  • Hara, Capt. Tameichi (1961). Japanese Destroyer Captain. New York: Ballantine Books. ISBN 0-345-02522-9. SBN 345-02522-9-125.
  • Jentschura, Hansgeorg; Jung, Dieter & Mickel, Peter (1977). Warships of the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1869–1945. Annapolis, Maryland: United States Naval Institute. ISBN 0-87021-893-X.
  • Whitley, M. J. (2000). Destroyers of World War Two: An International Encyclopedia. London: Cassell & Co. ISBN 1-85409-521-8.
  • Williams, Michael (2018). "Amatsukaze: A Destroyer's Struggle". In Jordan, John (ed.). Warship 2018. Oxford, UK: Osprey. pp. 174–189. ISBN 978-1-4728-2999-3.

External links

  • CombinedFleet.com: Kagero-class destroyers
  • CombinedFleet.com: Amatsukaze history
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