Japanese destroyer Minekaze

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Minekaze at Yokosuka, 30 August 1932
History
Empire of Japan
NameMinekaze
Ordered1917 Fiscal Year
BuilderMaizuru Naval Arsenal
Laid down20 April 1918
Launched8 February 1919
Completed29 May 1920
Stricken31 March 1944
FateSunk on 10 February 1944
General characteristics
Class and typeMinekaze-class destroyer
Displacement
  • 1,366 t (1,344 long tons) (normal)
  • 1,676 t (1,650 long tons) (
    deep load
    )
Length
  • 97.5 m (319 ft 11 in) (pp)
  • 102.5 m (336 ft 3 in) (
    o/a
    )
Beam9.04 m (29 ft 8 in)
Draft2.9 m (9 ft 6 in)
Installed power
Propulsion2 shafts; 2 × Kampon geared steam turbines
Speed39 knots (72 km/h; 45 mph)
Range3,600 nmi (6,700 km; 4,100 mi) at 14 knots (26 km/h; 16 mph)
Complement148
Armament
  • 4 × single
    12 cm (4.7 in) Type 3 guns
  • 3 × twin 53.3 cm (21.0 in) torpedo tubes
  • 20 × mines
Service record
Operations:

The Japanese destroyer Minekaze (峯風, Summit Wind) was the

Formosa
.

Design and description

The Minekaze class was designed with higher speed and better

Kampon water-tube boilers. The turbines were designed to produce 38,500 shaft horsepower (28,700 kW), which would propel the ships at 39 knots (72 km/h; 45 mph). The ships carried 401 metric tons (395 long tons) of fuel oil which gave them a range of 3,600 nautical miles (6,700 km; 4,100 mi) at 14 knots (26 km/h; 16 mph). Their crew consisted of 148 officers and crewmen.[3]

The main armament of the Minekaze-class ships consisted of four

12-centimeter (4.7 in) Type 3 guns in single mounts; one gun forward of the superstructure, one between the two funnels, one aft of the rear funnel, and the last gun atop the aft superstructure. The guns were numbered '1' to '4' from front to rear. The ships carried three above-water twin sets of 53.3-centimeter (21.0 in) torpedo tubes; one mount was in the well deck between the forward superstructure and the forward gun and the other two were between the aft funnel and aft superstructure. They could also carry 20 mines[3] as well as minesweeping gear.[4]

In 1937–38, Minekaze was one of the ships that had her hull strengthened, funnel caps added and her fuel capacity reduced to 279 metric tons (275 long tons). Early in the war, Nos. 2 and 3 guns and both sets of aft torpedo tubes were removed in exchange for four

AA guns. These changes reduced their speed to 35 knots (65 km/h; 40 mph).[4]

Construction and career

Minekaze, built at the

launched on 8 February 1919 and completed on 29 May 1920.[5] Upon commissioning, Minekaze was teamed with sister ships Sawakaze, Okikaze, and Yakaze, at the Sasebo Naval District to form Destroyer Division 2 under the 2nd Fleet
.

From 1930 to 1932, Destroyer Division 2 was assigned to the

Yangzi River in China. In 1937–38, Minekaze was assigned to patrols of the northern and central China
coastlines in support of Japanese efforts in the Second Sino-Japanese War.

Pacific War

At the time of the

Navy List.[6]

Notes

  1. ^ Gardiner & Gray, p. 243
  2. ^ Whitley, p. 168
  3. ^ a b Jentschura, Jung & Mickel, p. 141
  4. ^ a b Watts & Gordon, p. 258
  5. ^ Watts & Gordon, p. 257
  6. ^ Nevitt

References

  • Gardiner, Robert & Gray, Randal, eds. (1985). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press.
    ISBN 0-85177-245-5
    .
  • 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
    .
  • 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
    .
  • Nevitt, Allyn D. (1997). "IJN Minekaze: Tabular Record of Movement". Long Lancers. Combinedfleet.com. Retrieved 10 November 2015.
  • Watts, Anthony J. & Gordon, Brian G. (1971). The Imperial Japanese Navy. Garden City, New York: Doubleday.
    ISBN 0385012683
    .
  • Whitley, M. J. (1988). Destroyers of World War Two. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press.
    ISBN 0-87021-326-1
    .

External links
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