Japanese destroyer Amatsukaze (1939)

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]

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]

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. On March 1, Amatsukaze located the submarine USS Perch, and alongside the destroyer Hatsukaze engaged Perch with gunfire and depth charge attacks. The damage crippled Perch, leaving her unable to dive with only one engine working. On March 3, the crippled Perch was finished off by the destroyers Ushio and Yukikaze. Amatsukaze dropped off Op Ten Noort on March 6, where she was converted into the prison ship Tenno Maru and took on over 1,000 prisoners of war.^[4][11][12]

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][13]

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.^[14]

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 diched 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.^[4][15]

Main Article: 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.^[16]

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.^[16]

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.^[17] Captain Hara thought the destroyer Murasame had sank Helena but she survived.^[16]

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.^[18]

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 / 24.500; 118.167). She shot down two of her assailants, but was hit by one or two bombs.^[19] 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.^[20][21]

• 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.
• Masataka Chiyaka; Yasuo Abe (1972). Warship Profile 22; IJN Yukikaze/Destroyer/1939-1970. Profile Publications Ltd.

• CombinedFleet.com: Kagero-class destroyers
• CombinedFleet.com: Amatsukaze history