Japanese destroyer Yamagumo (1937)
 Yamagumo underway on 15 September 1939.
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
 Empire of Japan | |
| Name | Yamagumo |
| Ordered | 1934 Maru-2 Program |
| Builder | Fujinagata Shipyards |
| Laid down | 4 November 1936 |
| Launched | 24 July 1937 |
| Commissioned | 15 January 1938 |
| Stricken | 10 January 1945 |
| Fate | Sunk in action, 25 October 1944 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type | Asashio-class destroyer |
| Displacement | 2,370 long tons (2,408 t) |
| Length |
|
| Beam | 10.3 m (33 ft 10 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 | 200 |
| Armament |
|
Yamagumo (山雲, Mountain 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]
Yamagumo, built at the
Operational history
At the time of the
On 15 September 1943 Yamagumo was assigned to the
Subsequently, she was assigned to escort the tanker Nippon Maru in the Marshall Islands area. In December, she returned to Japan with Kongō and Chōgei, returning to Truk in the company of the battleship Yamato at the end of the year.
On 1 January 1944 she suffered light damage when strafed during a
In early April, she escorted the aircraft carrier
. During the Battle of the Philippine Sea of 10–20 June 1944, she was part of Admiral Takatsugu Jōjima’s “Force B”, but did not see combat.During the
Rediscovery
Yamagumo's wreck was discovered along with sister Michishio on 27 November 2017 by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen's research ship RV Petrel. Both wrecks are 1 mile (1.6 km) apart in 380 ft (117 m) of water. Both wrecks were heavily encrusted with marine growth, which combined with their close proximity, made it impossible to distinguish the two ships.[7]
Notes
- ^ Nelson. Japanese-English Character Dictionary. page 346, 942
- ^ 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 2010-09-25.
- ISBN 1-55750-914-X.
- ^ IJN Yamagumo: Tabular Record of Movement.
- ^ "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.
External links
- CombinedFleet.com: Asashio-class destroyers
- Yamagumo history
- GlobalSecurity.org: Asashio class destroyers
