Japanese destroyer Hamakaze (1940)
Hamakaze underway on 30 June 1941
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History | |
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Empire of Japan | |
Name | Hamakaze |
Ordered | 1937 |
Laid down | 20 November 1939 |
Launched | 25 November 1940 |
Commissioned | 30 June 1941 |
Stricken | 10 June 1945 |
Fate | Sunk in action, 7 April 1945 |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | Template:Sclass- |
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) |
Propulsion | Two-shaft geared turbines |
Speed | 35 knots (40 mph; 65 km/h) |
Range | 8338km (4500nm) |
Complement | 240 |
Armament |
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Hamakaze (浜風, "Beach Wind") was one of 19 Template:Sclass-s built for the Imperial Japanese Navy during the 1930s.
Design and description
The Kagerō class was an enlarged and improved version of the preceding Template:Sclass-. 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 career
Hamakaze was heavily involved in the fighting in 1943 in the Solomon Islands chain, including the battles of Kula Gulf, Kolombangara, and the 'Battle off Horaniu'. On 7 April 1945, Hamakaze escorted the battleship Yamato from the Inland Sea on her Operation Ten-Go attack on the Allied forces on Okinawa. She was sunk by aircraft of Task Force 58 and sank 150 miles (240 km) southwest of Nagasaki (30°47′N 128°08′E / 30.783°N 128.133°E).[4]
Notes
- ^ Chesneau, p. 194
- ^ a b Whitley, pp. 200–01
- ^ a b Jentschura, Jung & Mickel, p. 148
- ^ Spurr, Russell (1981). A Glorious Way To Die - The Kamikaze Mission of the Battleship Yamato. New York: Newmarket Press. pp. 257. ISBN 9781557049131.
References
- Chesneau, Roger, ed. (1980). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1922–1946. Greenwich, UK: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-146-7.
- 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.
{{cite book}}
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suggested) (help) - Whitley, M. J. (1988). Destroyers of World War 2. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-326-1.