Japanese destroyer Amatsukaze (1939)
![]() Amatsukaze underway on 17 October 1940
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History | |
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Name | Amatsukaze |
Ordered | 1937 |
Builder | Maizuru Naval Arsenal |
Laid down | 14 February 1939 |
Launched | 19 October 1939 |
Commissioned | 26 October 1940 |
Stricken | 10 August 1945 |
Fate | Scuttled after air attack, 10 April 1945 |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | Kagerō-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 | 35.5 knots (40.9 mph; 65.7 km/h) |
Complement | 240 |
Armament |
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Service record | |
Commanders: | Cmdr. Tameichi Hara (April 1940 – January 1943) |
Operations: |
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Victories: |
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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]
Construction and Commissioning
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/98/Aerial_view_of_the_immobile_Japanese_carrier_Ryujo_with_two_destroyers_during_the_Battle_of_the_Eastern_Solomons%2C_24_August_1942_%2880-G-88018%29.jpg/220px-Aerial_view_of_the_immobile_Japanese_carrier_Ryujo_with_two_destroyers_during_the_Battle_of_the_Eastern_Solomons%2C_24_August_1942_%2880-G-88018%29.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a4/Japanese_destroyer_Amatsukaze_1945.jpg/220px-Japanese_destroyer_Amatsukaze_1945.jpg)
Amatsukaze was laid down on February 14 1939, launched on October 19 1939, and commissioned on October 26 1941. In the spring of 1941, Amatsukaze was put under the command of Captain Tameichi Hara. On November 25, Amatsukaze joined over 200 ships of Combined Fleet at Yokosuka, before steaming with three of her sisterships led by the light cruiser Jintsū to take part in the invasion of the Philippines. Amatsukaze met up with the light carrier Ryūjō to escort her to Palau by the time of the attack on Pearl Harbor, December 7 1941.[4][5]
World War II
After escorting Ryūjō to Palau, Amatsukaze guarded Legaspi from December 12-19. On the 20th, she departed with the invasion force for the port of Davao. Docking outside the port, Amatsukaze was tasked with launching high speed motorboats carrying troops for the invasion while standing off the port's defenses and ships. Some 200 machine gunners attacked from the shore, killing one of the soldiers and injuring several others. Amatsukaze fired her 12.7 cm (5 in) guns at the enemy men, forcing them to retreat and killing many of them, and in the process a stray shell hit a Philippine oil tanker, causing it to explode and burn for over 3 days before being deemed a total wreck.[4][6]
After a series of patrol duties and transiting from various naval facilities, on January 9 1942, Amatsukaze departed Magnaga Bay, and met with the Menado invasion force on the 11th. After successfully escorting the invasion force, she arrived at the Banka anchorage on the 17th, then departed with the Kendari invasion force on the 24th, then protected the Ambon invasion force on the 29th. Arriving at Hitulama anchorage on the 30th, Amatsukaze remained anchored until February 20 to escort the Timor invasion force.[4]
Amatsukaze saw action at the battle of the Java sea and took part in a torpedo attack that scored no hits on allied ships. Amatsukaze subsequently was attacked by B-17s and floatplanes but sustained no damage. On the 3rd of March, Amatsukaze helped to sink the submarine USS Perch with both gunfire and depth charge attacks. She escorted a troop convoy during the Battle of Midway, and escorted Japanese aircraft carriers at the battles of the Eastern Solomons and Santa Cruz.[4][7]
Naval battle of Guadalcanal
In November 1942, Amatsukaze escorted the battleships Hiei and Kirishima to bombard Henderson Field During the night of the 12-13th, the force was intercepted by an allied cruiser force consisting of two heavy cruisers, three light cruisers, and eight destroyers.
In the ensuing action, Amatsukaze 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 course and struck 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 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.[7]
Amatsukaze then spotted a mysterious ship. Captain Hara was initially confused, noting no gun turrets and believing the ship to possibly be a friendly. Upon further inspection, he discovered the ship to be the crippled heavy cruiser USS San Francisco, so badly mauled by Hiei and Kirishima's gunfire she didn't even resemble a warship. Amatsukaze opened fire, allegedly hitting San Francisco with nearly every shell, helping to set her afire. She then fired more torpedoes, but in his haste, Hara forgot a safety feature that prevented the type 93 torpedoes from exploding within 500 meters, meaning none of them damaged San Francisco.[7]
Injudicious use of the 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.[8] Captain Hara thought the destroyer Murasame had sank Helena but she survived.[7]
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.[9]
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. 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). She shot down two of her assailants, but was hit by one or two bombs.[10] Her crew managed to beach the ship; salvage attempts were abandoned on 8 April and 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.[11][12]
References
- ^ Sturton, p. 194
- ^ a b Whitley, pp. 200–01
- ^ a b Jentschura, Jung & Mickel, p. 148
- ^ a b c d "IJN Amatsukaze: Tabular Record of Movement". www.combinedfleet.com. Retrieved 20 April 2024.
- ^ Hara (1961) chapter 10
- ^ Hara (1961) Chapter 11
- ^ a b c d Hara, Tameichi (1 January 1965). Japanese Destroyer Captain (Second ed.). Ballantine. pp. Chapter 23. ISBN 978-0345026743.
- ^ Hara, pp. 134–142
- ^ Williams, p. 175
- ^ "The Last Voyage of the Amatsukaze". International Historical Research Associates. 2016.
- ^ "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".
- ^ "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
- 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.
- Sturton, Ian (1980). "Japan". In Chesneau, Roger (ed.). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1922–1946. Greenwich, UK: Conway Maritime Press. pp. 167–217. ISBN 0-85177-146-7.
- 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.