Japanese destroyer Amatsukaze (1939)
Kagerō-class destroyer From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Amatsukaze (天津風, "Heavenly Wind") was a Kagerō-class destroyer of the Imperial Japanese Navy. Captained by Tameichi Hara throughout 1942, Amatsukaze saw heavy combat. She took part in the capture of several key areas in the Philippines and Dutch East Indies, notably when she captured the port of Davao, bombarding the shores and destroying attempts by machine gunners to halt the landings and destroying a Philippine oil tanker in the process.
 Amatsukaze on sea trials off Uraga on 17 October 1940 | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 Empire of Japan | |
| 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 |
|
| Service record | |
| Commanders: | Cmdr. Tameichi Hara (April 1940 – January 1943) |
| Operations: |
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| Victories: |
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Amatsukaze saw combat at the battle of the Java Sea, but only took part in a torpedo attack that failed to score any hits. However, in the battle's aftermath, Amatsukaze assisted in capturing the hospital ship SS Op Ten Noort. Amatsukaze then took part in patrol duties in the Java Sea, where she helped to sink the submarines HNLMS K X and USS Perch. Amatsukaze escorted the Admiral Yamamoto's battleship force during the battle of Midway, and escorted carriers during the battles of the Eastern Solomons and Santa Cruz.
Amatsukaze arguably saw the highlight of her career at the naval battle of Guadalcanal, November 13 1942, fighting an allied cruiser force at point blank range. With torpedo hits, Amatsukaze sank the destroyer USS Barton and helped to sink the light cruiser USS Juneau, before she shelled the crippled heavy cruiser USS San Francisco, but was herself crippled by shellfire from the light cruiser USS Helena, but managed to survive and withdraw from the battle.
Upon being repaired, Amatsukaze saw a variety of escorting roles throughout 1943, bit did not see combat. On January 16 1944, Amatsukaze was damaged beyond repair by a torpedo fired from the submarine USS Redfin which blew her in two. The forward section rapidly sank, but the aft section miraculously stayed afloat and was towed to Singapore, where she spent nearly the rest of her service. In March of 1945, what was left of Amatsukaze was rigged with a temporary bow and departed in a vain attempt to make it to mainland Japan, but on April 6 she was forced to run aground after being hit by land-based air attacks, and finally scuttled on April 10.
After the war, Tameichi Hara published a book on his experiences as a destroyer captain, which included a detailed service of his time aboard Amatsukaze and the combat she went through.
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]
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]
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]
Java Sea Campaign
Amatsukaze was anchored in Davao when B-17 bombers attacked the port. Though Amatsukaze was unable to move, she was not damaged due to luck alone.[7] 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 took on wounded and dying ground troops from Ambon on February 1, then remained anchored until February 20 to escort the Timor invasion force.[4][8]
Battle of the Java Sea
On February 26, Amatsukaze and other destroyers came under more air attacks, but were again not damaged. However, a spotting plane met the destroyers and informed their crews of an allied force of five cruisers attempting to sink enemy troop convoys. Amatsukaze met with the heavy cruisers Haguro and Nachi, with the latter's floatplane trailing the enemy force and radioing their actions. By 6:00 on the 27th, Captain Hara aboard Amatsukaze spotted enemy ships, two heavy cruisers, three light cruisers, and nine destroyers, and ordered the destroyers to close to point blank range. At around 6,000 meters, Amatsukaze took minor damage from near misses and was blinded by smoke from the destroyer Tokitsukaze, which had taken a shell hit. However, Hara ordered the torpedoes to be fired, simultaneously with six other destroyers, launching a total of 72 torpedoes. However, not a single torpedo made it' mark. While the destroyer Kortenaer was hit by a Japanese torpedo and sank nearly instantly, this hit was credited to the Haguro and none of the destroyers.[9][10]
Later that night, Amatsukaze was enroute sweeping for enemy ships when four destroyers were encountered. This was USS Paul Jones, Alden, John D Ford, and John D Edwards, which had broken off from the main formation after expending all of their torpedoes. Amatsukaze fired upon the force but did not light the searchlights as she fled from the outnumbering force, with no hits scored on either side.[9] While Haguro and Nachi continued the battle of the Java Sea, spearheading a devastating victory, Amatsukaze saw no further combat. In the aftermath of the battle on the 28th, Amatsukaze spotted the hospital ship SS Op Ten Noort, which was rescuing survivors from various sunken allied warships. Amatsukaze halted Op Ten Noort, and was ordered the ship to depart to Bawean Island. Enroute, Amatsukaze radioed the position of around 100 allied survivors to Japanese intelligence, leading to their eventual rescue. [10][9]
Submarine successes
On March 1, Amatsukaze dropped off Op Ten Noort to Bandjermasin, then refueled to engage in patrol duty in the Java Sea. It was enroute along with other ships on the same day that Amatsukaze located the surfaced submarine USS Seal, the first of several submarine encounters the ship faced within the next two days. Seal fired four torpedoes at Jintsū (all of which missed their target) and crash dived before Amatsukaze could even fire a single shot to respond, greatly disappointing Captain Hara and the rest of Amatsukaze's crew. However, disappointment turned into excitement as later that night, Amatsukaze saw a far more successful encounter when her lookouts spotted the Dutch submarine HNLMS K X. Amatsukaze fired 32 rounds, setting K X on fire and forcing her to dive. Amatsukaze was then joined by the destroyer Hatsukaze in attacking the submarine and each dropped 6 depth charges, further damaging K X. A heavy oil spill surfaced, and the submarine was assumed sunk. K X did initially survive and returned to port with heavy damage, but the very next day, due to the increasingly successful Japanese invasion of the Dutch East Indies, K X was scuttled in harbor on account of the damage inflicted mostly by Amatsukaze, having been damaged too badly escape the increasingly dangerous area.[4][8][11] All was quiet on the 2nd, but on the night of the 3rd, Captain Hara from the bridge noticed a dim flickering light which dissipated after a few moments and viewed it though his binoculars. This was a sailor lighting a cigar aboard the deck of the crippled American submarine USS Perch. On March 1, Perch had been forced to dive and was damaged by depth charge attacks from the destroyers Minegumo and Natsugumo, then the next day was further crippled by attacks from the destroyers Ushio and Sazanami, leaving her unable to dive and functioning on one engine, cutting her speed to 5 knots. Amatsukaze sped to 30 knots as four torpedoes fired by Perch missed, and in turn Amatsukaze confirmed 3 hits. Her consort, the destroyer Yukikaze joined into the battering, and the combined damaged forced Perch to scuttle herself. The following morning, Captain Hara called Amatsukaze's crew on deck, congratulating them for their kill and deciding to ban smoking on the deck due to the experience. Amatsukaze continued patrol duties for the rest of the month, but did not encounter another submarine.[4][8][11][12][13]
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On March 31, Amatsukaze took part in shore bombardment duties on Christmas Island, which contained very rich Phosphate ore deposits. Even before the landings were completed, British soldiers surrendered and began loading ore on to the Japanese troop ships. On April 1, Amatsukaze witnessed the light cruiser Naka's bow being blown off by a torpedo fired from the submarine USS Shad, before escorting her to Singapore. From April 25 to May 3, Amatsukaze was drydocked in Kure for maintenance, before between May 21-25, she steamed from Kure to Saipan.[4][14]
Amatsukaze was tasked with escorting a troop convoy during the Battle of Midway for a potential invasion of Midway Island, June 4-7. However, she saw no combat as the events of the battle were radioed to her. Captain Hara listened as the battle turned into a devastating defeat, with four aircraft carriers and a heavy cruiser sunk to US carrier attack. Admiral Yamamoto initially ordered the surface force to attack American warships, but within 2 hours the order was recalled. On the 7th, Amatsukaze assisted the sinking aircraft carrier Akagi.[15]
On August 16, Amatsukaze escorted the Japanese fleet to Truk, before departing for the Guadalcanal campaign. On August 24, Amatsukaze escorted a decoy aircraft carrier force during the battle of the Eastern Solomans, and evaded the incoming land-based and carrier-based air attacks. Amatsukaze was not damaged but witnessed the sinking of the light carrier Ryūjō to aircraft from the carrier USS Saratoga. In the battle's aftermath, she rescued Ryūjō survivors and the crew of a ditched Zuikaku bomber. Amatsukaze took part in patrol duties off Truk throughout September, before scouting for a US seaplane base from October 12-13. On the 15th, she joined up with Admiral Kondō's carrier force and escorted them in what became known as the battle of Santa Cruz. On the 26th, air attacks from US carriers damaged several Japanese warships but scored no sinkings, and Amatsukaze was not damaged. In turn, the Japanese planes sank the aircraft carrier USS Hornet and the destroyer USS Porter, and damaged several other US warships, ending the battle in a Japanese victory. Amatsukaze returned to Truk, where she spent the rest of the month.[4][16]
Naval battle of Guadalcanal
Main Article: Naval battle of Guadalcanal
In Truk, Amatsukaze grouped with a large Japanese task force. With a goal of conducting another major bombardment on Henderson Field, a former Japanese air base which was captured by US forces and being used against Japanese shipping to great effect, the main ships of the force consisted of the battleships Hiei and Kirishima, each armed with eight 14-inch (356 mm) guns and a variety of smaller guns. Hiei served as Admiral Abe's flagship. Escorting the force came the light cruiser Nagara, and a total of eleven destroyers, including Amatsukaze. The force departed on the 9th of November 1942. While the destroyers initially operated in a standard formation, sailing in the direction of a near blinding rain squall had managed to break up the formation and leave the destroyers operating in small clusters, in turn leaving Amatsukaze operating alongside the destroyers Yukikaze and Teruzuki in the center left of the force.[17][18]
In the early morning of the 13th, the force was enroute when by 1:25, signs of enemy ships began to appear. A force of two heavy cruisers, three light cruisers, and eight destroyers had intercepted the force. By 1:48, Hiei and the destroyer Akatsuki illuminated the light cruiser USS Atlanta, starting the battle in a point blank range skirmish which resulted in Akatsuki's sinking. Amatsukaze's group was in the heat of the action, and while Yukikaze and Teruzuki rushed to engage the enemy, Amatsukaze was blocked by the destroyers Ikazuchi and Inazuma which were preparing a counterattack to the US ships that sank Akatsuki (successfully sinking Atlanta). Even then, shells aimed by the destroyer USS Cushing that missed Hiei came close to Amatsukaze which splashed her with water, but before she could be damaged, Yukikaze and Teruzuki located and sank Cushing.[17][19]
Sinking of USS Barton
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Eventually, the way was cleared and Captain Hara ordered Amatsukaze to charge at full speed to engage and sink enemy warships, hoping to put his knowledge in torpedo warfare to use. As Amatsukaze sailed passed Hiei into firing range, star shells fired from Nagara illuminated a cluster of American destroyers peppering Hiei with shellfire, consisting of USS Fletcher, Monssen, Aaron Ward, and Barton. At about 5,000 meters, Amatsukaze closed the range as the torpedo crew readied a spread of eight type 93 torpedoes. At 3,000 meters, after plenty of targeting adjustments, these torpedoes were launched, and Captain Hara's training in torpedo warfare paid off. Aaron Ward and Monssen barely avoided being torpedoed, with excellent maneuvering still only allowing them to just evade the long lances. Barton was not as lucky, she was forced to slow down to avoid colliding with the maneuvering Aaron Ward, and before she could regain speed, two of Amatsukaze's torpedoes made their mark, one hitting the engine room and the other hitting the boiler room. Barton erupted in a massive explosion of flames and steam and blew in half, sinking within minutes with the loss of 164 men.[4][20][21]
Torpedoing the USS Juneau
Amatsukaze then retreated to Hiei's location to reload her torpedoes, which she undertook for several minutes. Eventually, Amatsukaze spotted the destroyer Yūdachi under fire from the light cruiser USS Juneau. No hits were scored, but in an attempt to cover Yūdachi, Amatsukaze closed the range to hit Juneau with her freshly reloaded torpedoes. Four torpedoes were let out, and some 3 minutes later, one of them hit Juneau's port side. The torpedo broke her keel, disabled all electrical power, and left her limping at 13 knots, forcing the cruiser to withdraw from the battle. Had Amatsukaze fired a full spread of eight torpedoes, she likely would have directly sunk Juneau then and there, but it didn't matter as later that morning, the still crippled Juneau was finished off by another torpedo fired from the submarine I-26 that hit nearly the exact same position Amatsukaze's torpedo hit, breaking her in half and sinking her with the loss of most of her crew. Aboard Juneau, all five of the Sullivan brothers died. Frank, Mat, and Joe died when she was torpedoed either by Amatsukaze or I-26, Al drowned the next day, and George survived for four or five days, before suffering from delirium as a result of hypernatremia climbed over the side of the raft he had occupied and fell into the water and was presumed dead. This led to the Sole Survivor Policy, that if all but one sibling is killed in combat, the remaining sibling is honorably discharged.[20][19]
Further actions
After helping to sink Juneau, Amatsukaze attempted to regroup with Hiei, who's flames from cruiser and destroyer gunfire made her the only recognizable ship. However, before she could do so, she nearly collided with a mysterious "ghost ship". It had no signs of activity, and Captain hara didn't recognize the ship's silhouette, initially believing the submarine tender Jingei had somehow stumbled her way into the battle. However, upon the searchlight's activation, he realized the mysterious ship was none other than the crippled heavy cruiser USS San Francisco, so badly mauled by Hiei and Kirishima's gunfire she didn't even resemble a warship, yet miraculously remained afloat. Amatsukaze's last remaining torpedoes were fired, and enthusiastic gun crews fired her six 12.7 cm (5 in) guns for the first time of the battle, the range was so close that allegedly almost every shell hit its target, setting her aflame. However, much to Hara's surprise, no torpedo explosions were seen or heard as he realized he forgot a safety feature that prevented the type 93 torpedoes from exploding within 500 meters to prevent friendly fire, thus none of the torpedoes damaged San Francisco.[20]
In his frustration, Hara then forgot that the searchlights were still turned on. Ordering them shut off, it was too late as the bright light attracted the attention of the light cruiser USS Helena. 6-inch (152 mm) gunfire rained around Amatsukaze, and as she attempted to lay a smokescreen the third salvo landed a hit to the fire director station, killing everyone inside, followed by another 6-inch (152 mm) shell hitting radio room. Three more hits followed through, disabling Amatsukaze's hydraulics system which jammed her guns and her steering wheel. 43 men were dead. However, salvation would come as a trio of Japanese destroyers, Asagumo, Murasame, and Samidare (which were far off from the action until this point) finally made it to the battle and charged Helena, taking her attention away from Amatsukaze and allowing her to hide a behind a smokescreen as Hara watched Murasame "torpedo and sink" Helena (she actually survived the battle without significant damage).[17][22]
Aftermath of the battle
Despite the damage, Amatsukaze's engine was intact, and her crew managed to manually control the rudder near the ship's stern and hid in her smokescreen for emergency repairs. As this happened, her crew saw quite the display as they witnessed Asagumo, Murasame, and Samidare, after allegedly sinking Helena, blasting the destroyer USS Monssen at point blank range and sinking her in a one-sided massacre. With the battle coming to an end, Amatsukaze withdrew from the fight cruising at 20 knots. With the break of daylight, she had a minor encounter with US planes, but the bombers poorly aimed their arsenal and missed. No follow up air attacks ensued, because all air attacks were focused on Hiei, crippled by shell hits from San Francisco that jammed her rudder, and they successfully finished her off. Eventually, Amatsukaze was suddenly met by a destroyer, but this happened to be the Yukikaze attempting to assist Hiei. In stark contrast, she had survived the battle completely undamaged, and for her part helped to sink the destroyers USS Cushing and USS Laffey (torpedoing the latter). They passed each other as crews on deck exchanged greetings. Through excellent crewmanship, and luck, Amatsukaze managed to make it to Truk on the 14th, and was welcomed a warm embrace by the sailors of ships anchored in the port.[20]
Upon arrival at Truk, funeral proceedings were enacted for the 43 men that died aboard the ship to Helena's gunfire before departing for Kure, arriving on November 18, where she was immediately put under repair. During these repairs, Tameichi Hara was reassigned to the destroyer Shigure on January 10 1943, and he was replaced by commander Tanaka Masao. In the meantime, Amatsukaze received new triple AA mounts installed on her bridge and near the aft funnel, and she received basic sets of spotting radar. In February, these repairs were completed, and on the 5th Amatsukaze finally left Kure to escort the Kumano to Truk, arriving on the 10th, which was followed up with a troop transport run to Wewak, then towing the disabled destroyer Harusame to Truk. Amatsukaze stayed anchored in Truk for a time, and from March 19 to April 3, she escorted a tanker convoy to Palau. Throughout the next few months, Amatsukaze engaged in a series of escorting missions for large troop convoys from Palau Wewak and Hansa Bay, ending in the month of July. On August 1, Amatsukaze returned to Kure and was docked for maintenance, where she received type 22 radar mountings.[4][23]
From August 16-23, Amatsukaze departed alongside the battleship Yamato enroute for Truk, and from September 18-25, she departed as part of the overall Japanese fleet attempting to counterattack American aircraft carrier raids, but the force did not see action. From October 21-27, Amatsukaze escorted the tanker Hoyo Maru from Truk to Eniwetok in support of the fleet operating in the Marshalls, and on November 2 she departed on an aircrew transport mission to Rabaul, and enroute assisted the damaged tanker Nissho Maru. On November 11, Tanaka was promoted from a commander to a captain, followed immediately by escorting convoys to Palau and back to Truk from the 12th to 24th. Amatsukaze rounded out 1943 by escorting the light carrier Chitose and the supply ship Irako from Truk to Yokosuka from December 7-14.[4]
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). She shot down two of her assailants, but was hit by one or two bombs.[24] 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.[25][26]
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