Japanese destroyer Asagumo (1937)
 Asagumo underway on 14 September 1939
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
 Empire of Japan | |
| Name | Asagumo |
| Ordered | 1934 Maru-2 Program |
| Builder | Kawasaki Shipbuilding Corporation |
| Laid down | 23 December 1936 |
| Launched | 5 November 1937 |
| Commissioned | 30 March 1938 |
| Stricken | 10 January 1945 |
| Fate | Sunk in Battle of Surigao Strait , 25 October 1944 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type | Asashio-class destroyer |
| Displacement | 2,370 long tons (2,408 t) |
| Length |
|
| Beam | 10.386 m (34 ft 0.9 in) |
| Draft | 3.7 m (12 ft 2 in) |
| Propulsion | 2-shaft geared turbine, 3 boilers, 50,000 shp (37,285 kW) |
| Speed | 35 knots (40 mph; 65 km/h) |
| Range | |
| Complement | 230 |
| Armament |
|
| Service record | |
| Part of: |
|
| Operations: |
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Asagumo (朝雲, Morning Cloud)
History
The Asashio-class destroyers were larger and more capable that the preceding Shiratsuyu class, as Japanese naval architects were no longer constrained by the provisions of the London Naval Treaty. These light cruiser-sized vessels were designed to take advantage of Japan’s lead in torpedo technology, and to accompany the Japanese main striking force and in both day and night attacks against the United States Navy as it advanced across the Pacific Ocean, according to Japanese naval strategic projections.[2] Despite being one of the most powerful classes of destroyers in the world at the time of their completion, none survived the Pacific War.[3]
Asagumo, built at the Kawasaki Shipyards in Kobe was laid down on December 23, 1936, launched on November 5, 1937 and commissioned on March 31, 1938.[4]
Operational history
At the time of the
In early 1942, Asagumo escorted troop convoys to
At the end of May, Asagumo joined the escort for the Midway Invasion Force during the
Returning to Truk later that month, Asagumo provided support in the
Returning to Truk in mid-January 1943 in the company of the aircraft carrier Jun'yō, she conveyed a convoy to Wewak in New Guinea. During the remainder of January and February, she assisted in the evacuation of surviving Japanese forces from Guadalcanal and other points in the Solomon Islands.
During the Battle of the Bismarck Sea of 1–4 March she survived numerous air attacks while rescuing survivors from various sunken vessels. During the remainder of March and first week of April, she made several transport runs to reinforce the Japanese position at Kolombangara. She returned to Yokosuka for repairs on 13 April.
After repairs were completed in late May, Asagumo was based at
Asagumo returned to Truk in early January 1944 to escort the battleship
In October, she was assigned to
It was said[by whom?] that she had rescued survivors of the battleship Fusō.
Her wreck was discovered by RV Petrel in late 2017, with her hull and superstructure mostly intact.[8]
Notes
- ^ Nelson. Japanese-English Character Dictionary. Page 750
- ^ Peattie & Evans, Kaigun .
- ^ Globalsecurity.org, IJN Asashio class destroyers
- ^ Nishidah, Hiroshi (2002). "Asashio class 1st class destroyers". Materials of the Imperial Japanese Navy. Archived from the original on 2012-07-21. Retrieved 2011-03-25.
- ^ Allyn D. Nevitt (1998). "IJN MInegumo: Tabular Record of Movement". combinedfleet.com.
- OCLC 881164955.
- ISBN 1-55750-914-X.
- ^ "Rv Petrel". Archived from the original on 2018-08-15. Retrieved 2018-10-15.
References
- D'Albas, Andrieu (1965). Death of a Navy: Japanese Naval Action in World War II. Devin-Adair Pub. ISBN 0-8159-5302-X.
- Brown, David (1990). Warship Losses of World War Two. Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-55750-914-X.
- ISBN 0-517-56952-3.
- 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. ISBN 978-0-3850-9189-3.
- Whitley, M J (2000). Destroyers of World War Two: An International Encyclopedia. London: Arms and Armour Press. ISBN 1-85409-521-8.
- Cox, Jeffrey R (2014) Rising Sun, Falling Skies: The Disastrous Java Sea Campaign of World War II. Osprey. ISBN 978-1-4728-1060-1