Japanese escort Ishigaki
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| Career |  |
|---|---|
| Ordered: | |
| Laid down: | 15 August 1939 |
| Launched: | 14 September 1940 |
| Commissioned: | 15 February 1941 |
| Fate: | Torpedoed by the USS Herring, 31 May 1944 |
| Struck: | 10 July 1944 |
| General Characteristics | |
| Displacement: | 860tons standard |
| Length: | 255 ft (77.7 m) |
| Beam: | 29 ft 10 in (9.1 m) |
| Draft: | 10 ft (3.05 m) |
| Speed: | 19.7 knots |
| Complement: | 150 |
| Armament: | 3 × 4.7 in (120 mm) / 45 cal DP guns, up to 15 × 25 mm AA guns, Up to 60 depth charges and six depth charge throwers one 3.1 in (80 mm) mortar |
Ishigaki was an escort in the service of the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II. Based in the Kuriles, she patrolled and escorted convoys and ships there.
On October 7, 1943 the Ishigaki sank the submarine USS S-44. S-44 discovered a target on her radar that she took to be a lone small freighter. S-44 opened up gunfire with her 4" deck gun on refrigerator ship Koko Maru. Ishigaki, Koko Maru's escort, sighted the sub at 3,300 yards and opened fire on the sub with her bow 4.7" gun. Captain Brown of the S-44 ordered a crash dive, but Ishigaki scored her first hit on S-44's conning tower before she could submerge. S-44 attempted to fight back with her deck gun, but her gunners were blinded by Ishigaki's 75cm searchlight and she scored no hits. Ishigaki then scored her second hit on the sub's battery section. She then turned and all three 4.7" guns began firing at S-44. Soon, she scored several more hits on S-44 which began to sink. Perhaps as many as eight men made it off the sub; Chief Torpedoman's Mate Ernest A. Duva and Radioman Third Class William F. Whitemore were picked up by the Ishigaki.
On May 31, 1944 the Ishigaki was torpedoed by the USS Herring, and had her bow blown off. She managed to drop several depth charges before sinking with a loss of 167 sailors.
