Japanese destroyer Minekaze

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Career
Scale model of the Minekaze
Ordered:	1917
Laid down:	20 April 1918 Maizuru Naval Yard
Launched:	8 February 1919
Commissioned:	29 March 1920
Fate:	Torpedoed and sunk by USS Pogy (SS-266) off Taiwan on 10 February 1944.
Struck:	31 March 1944
General Characteristics
Displacement:	1,215 tons
Length:	336 ft 6 in
Beam:	29 ft
Draught:	10 ft
Propulsion:	4 Kanpon boilers running 2 Parsons geared turbines 2 shafts @ 38,500 SHP
Speed:	up to 39 knots
Range:	4,000 NM @ 15 knots
Complement:	148
Armament:	four 4.7"/45 cal. S.P. guns six 21" torpedo tubes in three twin mountings two 7.7mm machine guns

The Minekaze 峯風 ('Summit Wind') was the first of thirteen Minekaze class destroyers to be built for the Imperial Japanese Navy immediately following the First World War. Advanced for their time, these ships served as first-line destroyers throughout the 1920s and 1930s until gradually replaced by newer types. Obsolescent by the Second World War, Minekaze performed patrol and convoy escort duties until ultimately being sunk on 10 February 1944 in the North Pacific, 7 miles SE of Wu-shih Pi, Taiwan (23.12N - 121.30E) by the submarine USS Pogy (SS-266).

[edit] World War II career of Minekaze

5 October 1941: Departed Chinkai for antisubmarine patrols in waters between Korea and Japan.

10 April 1942: Reassigned to the Sasebo Naval District for patrol/convoy escort duties out of that base.

25 September 1942: Departed Sasebo escorting convoys to Saipan, Truk and Rabaul.

12 November 1942: Arrived at Sasebo for maintenance and resupply.

27 November 1942: Departed Sasebo for patrol/escort duties in the East China Sea.

1 December 1942: Arrived at Sasebo for repairs.

11 April 1943: Departed Sasebo, then resumed East China Sea patrol/escort duties.

1 February 1944: Assigned to 1st Surface Escort Division, General Escort Command.

5 February 1944: Departed Moji Kitakyushu escorting convoy.

10 February 1944: Sunk by the submarine USS Pogy off Taiwan. Number of survivors unknown.

31 March 1944: Removed from Navy List.

Commanding Officers

Chief Equipping Officer - Lt. Cmdr. Shinpei Kida - 1 April 1919 - 29 May 1920

Lt. Cmdr. / Cmdr. Shinpei Kida - 29 May 1920 - 1 December 1922 (Promoted to Commander on 1 December 1920.)

Lt. Cmdr. / Cmdr. Sadae Chiya - 1 December 1922 - 1 December 1924 (Promoted to Commander on 1 December 1923.)

Lt. Cmdr. Shoji Homoto - 1 December 1924 - 1 December 1925

Cmdr. Isao Todo - 1 December 1925 - 1 December 1926

Lt. Cmdr. Tetsuri Kobayashi - 1 December 1926 - 1 December 1927

Lt. Cmdr. Keikichi Chigusa - 1 December 1927 - 10 December 1928

Lt. Cmdr. Tsutomu Shibata - 10 December 1928 - 30 November 1929

Lt. Cmdr. Masami Ban - 30 November 1929 - 20 November 1930

Lt. Cmdr. Torazo Kozai - 20 November 1930 - 1 December 1932

Lt. Cmdr. Moichi Narita - 1 December 1932 - 15 November 1934

Lt. Cmdr. Keisaku Mori - 15 November 1934 - 1 April 1935

In Reserve - 1 April 1935 - 15 June 1936

Cmdr. Minegoro Kameyama - 15 June 1936 - 1 March 1937

Lt. Cmdr. Koushichi Sugioka - 1 March 1937 - 25 August 1938

Lt. Cmdr. Yasuatsu Suzuki - 25 August 1938 - 10 November 1938

In Reserve - 10 November 1938 - 15 November 1940

Lt. Cmdr. Takuji Mori - 15 November 1940 - 10 April 1941

Lt. Cmdr. Masaaki Kimotsuki - 10 April 1941 - 10 September 1941

Lt. Cmdr. Tomokazu Wakasugi - 10 September 1941 - 1 August 1942

Lt. Cmdr. Ietaka Otsuka - 1 August 1942 - 18 May 1943

Lt. / Lt. Cmdr. Morio Goga - 18 May 1943 - 1 December 1943 (Promoted to Lieutenant Commander on 1 November 1943.)

Lt. Cmdr. Masajiro Imaizumi - 1 December 1943 - 10 February 1944 (KIA)

[edit] References

Hansgeorg Jenschura, Dieter Jung, and Peter Mickel Warships of the Imperial Japanese Navy 1869-1945 , U.S. Naval Institute Press, Maryland, 1977.
Watts, A. J. Japanese Warships of World War II, Ian Allen, London, 1967.
http://www.combinedfleet.com/kaigun.htm

Minekaze-class destroyer