Japanese destroyer Momi (1944)
 Momi on September 4, 1944 | |
| Career |  |
|---|---|
| Name: | Momi |
| Ordered: | 1944 |
| Laid down: | February 2, 1944 |
| Launched: | June 16, 1944 |
| Completed: | September 3, 1944 |
| Fate: | Sunk by air attack west of Manila 5 January 1945 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | Matsu-class destroyer |
| Displacement: | 1,262 long tons (1,282 t) standard 1,506 long tons (1,530 t) trial |
| Length: | 100 m (328 ft 1 in) |
| Beam: | 9.35 m (30 ft 8 in) |
| Draft: | 3.3 m (10 ft 10 in) |
| Propulsion: | 2 x Kampon water tube boilers, 2 x Kanpon impulse turbines, 2 shafts, 19,000 shp |
| Speed: | 27.8 knots (32.0 mph; 51.5 km/h) |
| Range: | 3,500 nmi (6,500 km) at 18 kn (21 mph; 33 km/h) |
| Complement: | 211 |
| Armament: | • 3 x 127 mm (5.0 in) Type 89 AA guns • 24 x 25 mm Type 96 AA guns • 4 × 610 mm (24 in) Type 92 torpedo tubes (four Type 93 torpedoes) • 36 x Type 2 depth charges |
Momi (樅, translation: "Fir tree") was a Matsu-class destroyer of the Imperial Japanese Navy, sunk on January 5, 1945 by an American air attack west of Manila, in the South China Sea.
Operational history
On September 27, 1944 off Iturup in the Kurile Islands (45º44'N, 148º41'E), Momi was damaged by a torpedo from the submarine USS Searaven (SS-196). Between October 25 and November 2, together with the destroyer Hinoki, she escorted the aircraft carriers Ryūhō and Kaiyo on a transport mission from Sasebo to Keelung, then returned to Kure.
Momi sortied from Kure on December 16, 1944 as part of the escort for the aircraft carrier Unryū. The remainder of the escort consisted of the destroyers Shigure and Hinoki. Because an American invasion fleet had been spotted approaching the Philippine Islands, Unryū was intended to deliver a squadron of 30 Ohka kamikaze planes to Manila.
The task force sailed west through the Shimonoseki Straits to avoid American submarines, then turned south. On December 19, it encountered the submarine USS Redfish (SS-395), which sank Unryū, then submerged deep to escape the charging Hinoki. Shigure remained in the area to pick up survivors and unsuccessfully track down and sink the American submarine, while Hinoki and Momi shaped course for Japanese-occupied China. From there, they escorted Ikutagawa Maru to Manila, arriving on January 4, 1945.
The two destroyers were then ordered to withdraw to Taiwan, but were caught by American destroyers, including USS Bennion (DD-662), on the afternoon of January 5. They escaped 127 mm (5 in) gunfire and a spread of torpedoes fired from maximum range, but were caught by carrier-based aircraft from Task Force 77. A 454 kg (1,000 lb) bomb from an SBD Dauntless crippled Hinoki at 5:17 PM; and at 7:10 PM, a torpedo from a TBF Avenger struck Momi. She sank with all hands. (14°0′N 120°20′E / 14.000°N 120.333°E)
External links
- "Star-Crossed Sortie: The Last Voyage of Unryū and DesDiv 52" by Anthony Tully (retrieved January 16, 2007)
- "Matsu class 1st class destroyers" (retrieved January 16, 2007)
- IJN Momi: Tabular Record of Movement (retrieved October 20, 2009)
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