Japanese destroyer Hakaze

Japanese destroyer Hakaze
History
Name	Hakaze
Ordered	1918 fiscal year
Builder	Mitsubishi-Nagasaki, Japan
Laid down	November 11, 1918
Launched	June 21, 1920
Commissioned	September 16, 1920
Fate	Sunk in action, January 23, 1943
Stricken	March 1, 1943
General characteristics
Class and type	Minekaze-class destroyer
Displacement	1,345 long tons (1,367 t) normal, 1,650 long tons (1,680 t) full load
Length	97.5 m (320 ft) pp, 102.6 m (337 ft) overall
Beam	9 m (30 ft)
Draught	2.8 m (9.2 ft)
Propulsion	2-shaft Mitsubishi-Parsons geared turbines, 4 boilers 38,500 ihp (28,700 kW)
Speed	39 knots (72 km/h)
Range	3,600 nm at 14 knots (6,700 km at 26 km/h)
Complement	148
Armament	4 × Type 3 120 mm 45 caliber naval gun 6 × 21 in (533 mm) torpedo tubes 2 × 7.7 mm machine guns
Service record
Operations:	Second Sino-Japanese War Pacific War

Hakaze (羽風, Winged Wind) was a Minekaze-class destroyer, built for the Imperial Japanese Navy immediately following World War I. Advanced for their time, these ships served as first-line destroyers through the 1930s, but were considered obsolescent by the start of the Pacific War.

History

Construction of the large-sized Minekaze-class destroyers was authorized as part of the Imperial Japanese Navy's 8-4 Fleet Program from fiscal 1917–1920, as an accompaniment to the medium-sized Momi-class, with which they shared many common design characteristics. Equipped with powerful engines, these vessels were capable of high speeds and were intended as escorts for the projected Amagi-class battlecruisers, which were ultimately never built. Hakaze, built at the Mitsubishi shipyards in Nagasaki, was the seventh ship of this class. It was laid down on November 11, 1918, launched on June 21, 1920 and commissioned on September 16, 1920. On completion, Hakaze was assigned to the Yokosuka Naval District under the IJN 2nd Fleet.

From 1937–1938, Hakaze was assigned to patrols of the northern and central China coastlines in support of Japanese combat operations in the Second Sino-Japanese War

World War II history

At the time of the attack on Pearl Harbor, Hakaze was assigned to Destroyer Division 34 under the command of the IJN 11th Air Fleet, and was based at Cape St. Jacques south of Saigon in French Indochina supporting the 22nd Air Flotilla. Its primary mission in the early stages of the Pacific War was to transport materials to Miri and Kuching in Sarawak and to Kota Bharu in Malaya for the construction for forward air bases.

In February 1942, after providing support for "Operation L" (the invasion of Palembang on Sumatra in the Netherlands East Indies, Hakaze was based out of Bangka, from which she made anti-submarine patrols. She was transferred to Bangkok in March, and Singapore in April. In May, Hakaze was based at Rabaul in the Solomon Islands, from which it supported the attempted "Operation Mo" (the invasion of Port Moresby). After returning to Maizuru briefly for repairs at the end of May, Hakaze escorted a convoy to Saipan, and from Saipan to Hahajima in the Ogasawara Islands and back. In August, she escorted a convoy from Saipan to Rabaul and began patrols from that base through October. In October, she escorted several convoys in preparation of the Guadalcanal offensive. In November, after being used as a "Tokyo Express" high speed transport to convey troops from Buin to Munda, she made an additional four transport runs in the same month.

From the end of November through January 20, 1943, Hakaze was assigned to patrol/escort duties in the Shortlands–Buka–Rabaul–Kavieng sector. While escorting the seaplane tender Akitsushima, she attacked the submarine USS Guardfish (SS-217) but was in turn torpedoed and sunk on January 23, 1943 approximately fifteen miles south of Kavieng, New Ireland at position 02°47′S 150°38′E.

On March 1, 1943 Hakaze was removed from navy list.

References

• Howarth, Stephen (1983). The Fighting Ships of the Rising Sun: The Drama of the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1895–1945. Atheneum. ISBN 0-689-11402-8.
• Jentsura, Hansgeorg (1976). Warships of the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1869–1945. US Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-893-X.
• Nelson, Andrew N. (1967). Japanese–English Character Dictionary. Tuttle. ISBN 0-8048-0408-7.
• Watts, Anthony J (1967). Japanese Warships of World War II. Doubleday. ASIN B000KEV3J8.
• Whitley, M J (2000). Destroyers of World War Two: An International Encyclopedia. London: Arms and Armour Press. ISBN 1-85409-521-8.

External links

• Nevitt, Allyn D. (1997). "IJN Hakaze: Tabular Record of Movement". Long Lancers. Combinedfleet.com. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |month= (help)
• Nishidah, Hiroshi (2002). "Minekaze class 1st class destroyers". Materials of the Imperial Japanese Navy. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |month= (help)