Japanese destroyer Amatsukaze
 Amatsukaze underway on October 17, 1940 |
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| Career |  |
|---|---|
| Name: | Amatsukaze |
| Ordered: | 1937 |
| Laid down: | 14 February 1939 |
| Launched: | 19 October 1939 |
| Commissioned: | 26 October 1940 |
| Struck: | 10 August 1945 |
| Fate: | Sunk in action, 6 April 1945 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | Kagero-class destroyer |
| Displacement: | 2,490 long tons (2,530 t) |
| Length: | 118.5 m (388 ft 9 in) |
| Beam: | 10.8 m (35 ft 5 in) |
| Draft: | 3.8 m (12 ft 6 in) |
| Speed: | 35 knots (40 mph; 65 km/h) |
| Complement: | 240 |
| Armament: | • 6 × 5 in (130 mm)/50 caliber DP guns • up to 28 × 25 mm AA guns • up to 4 × 13 mm AA guns • 8 × 24 in (610 mm) torpedo tubes • 36 depth charges |
| Service record | |
| Commanders: | Cmdr. Tameichi Hara (April 1940–January 1943) |
| Operations: | Battle of the Java Sea (1942) Battle of the Eastern Solomons (1942) Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands (1942) Naval Battle of Guadalcanal (1942) |
| Victories: | USS Barton (DD-599) (1942) |
Amatsukaze (天津風, "Heavenly Wind") was a Kagero-class destroyer of the Imperial Japanese Navy. During the first year of the Pacific War, the destroyer was under the command of Tameichi Hara and participated in the Battle of the Java Sea, Battle of the Eastern Solomons and the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands. During the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal, the ship sank the destroyer USS Barton with a torpedo, but suffer damage including silenced guns, a jammed rudder and had 43 crewmen killed.
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 crewman. Miraculously, the ship did not sink. Presumed sunk, the ship was not discovered for six days when 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, six miles east of Amoy (24°30′N 118°10′E / 24.5°N 118.167°E). Her crew managed to beach the ship and the salvage of ship was abandoned on 8 April. On 10 April, the ship was scuttled by charges placed on the ship.
[edit] References
- Hara, Capt. Tameichi (1961). Japanese Destroyer Captain. New York: Ballantine Books. SBN 345-02522-9-125.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
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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.
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Amatsukaze under attack on 6 April 1945 at South China Sea
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