Japanese destroyer Numakaze

Career
Name:	Numakaze
Ordered:	1918 fiscal year
Builder:	Maizuru Naval Arsenal
Laid down:	August 10, 1921
Launched:	February 25, 1922
Commissioned:	July 24, 1922
Struck:	February 5, 1944
Fate:	Sunk in action, December 18, 1943
General characteristics
Class and type:	improved Minekaze-class destroyer
Displacement:	1,215 long tons (1,234 t) normal, 1,650 long tons (1,680 t) full load
Length:	97.5 m (320 ft) pp, 102.6 m (337 ft) overall
Beam:	8.9 m (29 ft)
Draught:	2.9 m (9.5 ft)
Propulsion:	2-shaft Mitsubishi-Parsons geared turbines, 4 boilers 38,500 ihp (28,700 kW)
Speed:	39 knots (72 km/h)
Range:	3600 nm @ 14 knots (6,700 km at 26 km/h)
Complement:	148
Armament:	4 × Type 3 120 mm 45 caliber naval gun 6 × 21 in (533 mm) torpedo tubes (plus 2 reloads) 2 × 7.7 mm machine guns 16 Type 1 naval mines
Service record
Operations:	Second Sino-Japanese War Pacific War

Numakaze (沼風, Marsh Wind ^?)^[1]was third and final vessel in the Nokaze sub-class, an improvement to the Minekaze-class 1st class destroyers, built for the Imperial Japanese Navy immediately following World War I. Advanced for their time, these ships served as first-line destroyers through the 1930s, but were considered obsolescent by the start of the Pacific War.

History

Construction of the large-sized Minekaze-class destroyers was authorized as part of the Imperial Japanese Navy's 8-4 Fleet Program from fiscal 1917 with nine vessels, and fiscal 1918 with an additional six vessels. However, the final three vessels in the fiscal 1918 were built to a different design and have a different enough silhouette that many authors consider them to be a separate class. ^[2] Numakaze, built at the Maizuru Naval Arsenal, was the third ship of this sub-class. It was laid down on August 10, 1921, launched on February 25, 1922 and commissioned on July 27, 1922. ^[3]

On completion, Numakaze was teamed with Namikaze, Nokaze and flagship Kamikaze to form Destroyer Division 1 (第一駆逐艦). In 1938-1939, the Division was assigned to patrols of the northern and central China coastlines in support of Japanese combat operations in the Second Sino-Japanese War

World War II history

At the time of the attack on Pearl Harbor, Numakaze was based at the Ōminato Guard District in northern Japan, and was assigned to patrols of the Hokkaidō and Chishima Islands coastlines.

During the Battle of Midway in May 1942, Numakaze was assigned to the reserve force for the Aleutian Islands Operation, which did not leave Japanese waters. Afterwards, she returned to patrol and escort duties based out of Ōminato through July 1943, when it was assigned temporarily to the IJN 5th Fleet for the mission to evacuate surviving Japanese forces from Kiska. On June 6, 1943, Numakaze suffered damage in a collision with Shirakumo. Numakaze continued to be based at Ōminato for patrol and escort in northern waters until December 1943.

In December 1943, Numakaze was reassigned to the Combined Fleet, departing from Moji on December 5 as part of the 1st Surface Escort Division escorting a convoy to Taiwan. However, on December 18, 1943, Numakaze, while chasing the wake of USS Grayback (SS-208), was hit by a torpedo, blew up and sank east-northeast of Naha, Okinawa at position 26°29′N 128°26′E / 26.483°N 128.433°E / 26.483; 128.433Coordinates: 26°29′N 128°26′E / 26.483°N 128.433°E / 26.483; 128.433. The destroyer was lost with all hands, including the commanding officer of DesDiv 1, Commander Watanabe Yasumasa. ^[4]

On February 5, 1944 Numakaze was removed from navy list. ^[5]

References

• Brown, David (1990). Warship Losses of World War Two. Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-55750-914-X. 
• Howarth, Stephen (1983). The Fighting Ships of the Rising Sun: The Drama of the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1895–1945. Atheneum. ISBN 0689114028. 
• Jentsura, Hansgeorg (1976). Warships of the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1869–1945. US Naval Institute Press. ISBN 087021893X. 
• Nelson, Andrew N. (1967). Japanese–English Character Dictionary. Tuttle. isbn 0804804087. 
• Watts, Anthony J (1967). Japanese Warships of World War II. Doubleday. ASIN B000KEV3J8. 
• Whitley, M J (2000). Destroyers of World War Two: An International Encyclopedia. London: Arms and Armour Press. ISBN 1854095218. 

External links

• Nishidah, Hiroshi (2002). "Minekaze class 1st class destroyers". Materials of the Imperial Japanese Navy. http://homepage2.nifty.com/nishidah/e/stc0418.htm. 
• Jones, Daniel H. (2003). "IJN Minekaze, Kamikaze and Mutsuki class Destroyers". Ship Modeler's Mailing List (SMML). http://smmlonline.com/articles/minekaze/minekaze.html. 
• Nevitt, Allyn D. (1997). "IJN Numakaze: Tabular Record of Movement". Long Lancers. Combinedfleet.com. http://www.combinedfleet.com/numaka_t.htm. Retrieved 2008-06-11. 

Notes

1. ^ Nelson. Japanese-English Character Dictionary. pages 539, 960
2. ^ Jones, Daniel H. (2003). "IJN Minekaze, Kamikaze and Mutsuki class Destroyers". Ship Modeler's Mailing List (SMML). http://smmlonline.com/articles/minekaze/minekaze.html. 
3. ^ Nishidah, Hiroshi (2002). "Minekaze class 1st class destroyers". Materials of the Imperial Japanese Navy. http://homepage2.nifty.com/nishidah/e/stc0418.htm. 
4. ^ Nevitt, Allyn D. (1997). "IJN Numakaze: Tabular Record of Movement". Long Lancers. Combinedfleet.com. http://www.combinedfleet.com/numaka_t.htm. 
5. ^ Brown. Warship Losses of World War II