View source for Japanese destroyer Kamikaze (1922)

{{short description|Destroyer of the Imperial Japanese Navy}}
{{Other ships|Japanese destroyer Kamikaze}}

{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image=Kamikaze II.jpg
|Ship caption=''Kamikaze'' underway on 23 December 1922
}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Hide header=
|Ship country=[[Empire of Japan]]
|Ship flag={{shipboxflag|Empire of Japan|naval}}
|Ship name=''Kamikaze''
|Ship namesake=
|Ship ordered=
|Ship awarded=
|Ship builder=[[Mitsubishi Heavy Industries|Mitsubishi]], [[Nagasaki]]
|Ship original cost=
|Ship yard number=
|Ship way number=
|Ship laid down= 15 December 1921 as ''Destroyer No. 1''
|Ship launched= 25 September 1922 
|Ship sponsor=
|Ship christened=
|Ship completed=19 December 1922 
|Ship commissioned=
|Ship decommissioned= 
|Ship renamed=''Kamikaze'', 1 August 1928
|Ship struck= 5 October 1945
|Ship fate=*Wrecked, 7 June 1946
*[[ship breaking|Scrapped]], 1947
|Ship notes=
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Hide header=
|Header caption=
|Ship class= {{sclass|Kamikaze|destroyer (1922)|0}} [[destroyer]]
|Ship displacement=*{{convert|1422|t|LT|abbr=on}} (normal)
*{{convert|1747|t|LT|abbr=on|0}} ([[deep load]])
|Ship length=*{{convert|97.5|m|ftin|abbr=on}} ([[Length between perpendiculars|pp]])
*{{convert|102.5|m|ftin|abbr=on}} ([[o/a]])
|Ship beam={{convert|9.1|m|ftin|abbr=on}}
|Ship draft={{convert|2.9|m|ftin|abbr=on}}
|Ship power=*{{convert|38500|shp|kW|lk=in|abbr=on}}
*4 × Kampon [[water-tube boiler]]s
|Ship propulsion=2 shafts; 2 × Kampon geared [[steam turbine]]s
|Ship speed= {{convert|37.3|kn|lk=in}} 
|Ship range={{convert|3600|nmi|abbr=on|lk=in}} at {{convert|14|kn}}
|Ship complement=148
| Ship armament=*4 × single [[Type 3 120 mm 45 caliber naval gun|{{convert|12|cm|abbr=on|1}} Type 3 guns]]
*3 × twin {{convert|53.3|cm|abbr=on}} [[torpedo tube]]s
}}
{{Infobox service record
|is_ship=yes
|label= 
|partof=Destroyer Division 1
|codes=
|commanders=
|operations=[[Battle of the Malacca Strait]]
|victories=
|awards=
}}
|}
The '''Japanese destroyer''' {{Nihongo|'''''Kamikaze'''''|神風|"Divine Wind" or "[[Kami|Spirit]] Wind"}} was the [[lead ship]] of nine {{sclass|Kamikaze|destroyer (1922)|0}} [[destroyer]]s built for the [[Imperial Japanese Navy]] (IJN) during the 1920s. At the beginning of the Pacific War in December 1941, the ship was assigned to the [[Ōminato Guard District]]. She remained in northern Japanese waters until mid-1942 when she participated in the [[Aleutian Islands Campaign]]. ''Kamikaze'' continued to patrol northern Japanese waters until early 1945 when she was transferred to the [[Singapore]] area.

==Design and description==
The ''Kamikaze'' class was an improved version of the {{sclass|Minekaze|destroyer|2}}s. The ships had an [[length overall|overall length]] of {{convert|102.5|m|ftin|sp=us}}<ref>Watts & Gordon, pp. 263–64</ref> and were {{convert|97.5|m|ftin|sp=us}} [[between perpendiculars]]. They had a [[beam (nautical)|beam]] of {{convert|9.1|m|ftin|sp=us}}, and a mean [[draft (hull)|draft]] of {{convert|2.9|m|ftin|sp=us}}. The ''Kamikaze''-class ships displaced {{convert|1422|t|LT|sp=us|0}} at [[Displacement (ship)#Standard displacement|standard load]] and {{convert|1747|t|LT|sp=us|0}} at [[deep load]].<ref name=w1>Whitley, p. 189</ref> They were powered by two [[Parsons Marine Steam Turbine Company|Parsons]] geared [[steam turbine]]s, each driving one [[propeller shaft]], using steam provided by four [[Kampon]] [[water-tube boiler]]s. The turbines were designed to produce {{convert|38500|shp|kW|lk=in}}, which would propel the ships at {{convert|37.3|kn|lk=in}}. During sea trials, the ships comfortably exceeded their designed speeds, reaching {{convert|38.7|to|39.2|kn}}.<ref name=gg5>Gardiner & Gray, p. 245</ref> The ships carried {{convert|420|t|LT|0|sp=us}} of [[fuel oil]] which gave them a range of {{convert|3600|nmi|lk=in}} at {{convert|14|kn}}. Their crew consisted of 148 officers and crewmen.<ref name=j5>Jentschura, Jung & Mickel, p. 142</ref>

The main armament of the ''Kamikaze''-class ships consisted of four [[Type 3 120 mm 45 caliber naval gun|{{convert|12|cm|sp=us|adj=on|1}} Type 3 guns]] in single mounts; one gun forward of the [[superstructure]], one between the two [[funnel (ship)|funnel]]s and the last pair back to back atop the aft superstructure. The guns were numbered '1' to '4' from front to rear. The ships carried three above-water twin sets of {{convert|53.3|cm|sp=us|adj=on|1}} [[torpedo tube]]s; one mount was between the forward superstructure and the forward gun and the other two were between the aft funnel and aft superstructure.<ref name=j5/>

Early in the war, the No. 4 gun and the aft torpedo tubes were removed in exchange for four depth charge throwers and 18 depth charges. In addition 10 license-built [[Type 96 25 mm AT/AA Gun|{{convert|25|mm|abbr=on}} Type 96]] light [[AA gun]]s were installed.<ref>Whitley, pp. 189–90</ref> These changes increased their displacement to {{convert|1523|t|LT|sp=us|0|disp=flip}}. Survivors had their light AA armament augmented to be between thirteen and twenty 25&nbsp;mm guns and four [[Hotchkiss M1929 machine gun|{{convert|13.2|mm|abbr=on|1}} Type 93]] [[anti-aircraft machinegun]]s by June 1944. These changes reduced their speed to {{convert|35|kn}}.<ref name=j5/>

==Construction and career==
''Kamikaze'', built by [[Mitsubishi Heavy Industries|Mitsubishi]] at their [[shipyard]] in [[Nagasaki]], was [[laid down]] on 15 December 1921, [[Ship launching|launched]] on 25 September 1922 and completed on 19 December. Originally commissioned simply as ''Destroyer No.&nbsp;1'', she was assigned the name ''Kamikaze'' on 1 August 1928.<ref>Watts & Gordon, p. 264</ref> On completion, ''Kamikaze'' was assigned to Destroyer Division 1, based in the Ōminato Guard District and charged with the defense of Japan’s northern waters.

===Pacific War===
At the time of the [[attack on Pearl Harbor]], ''Kamikaze'' was still based at Ōminato, and was assigned to patrols from the [[Kurile Islands|Chishima Islands]] to the southern coasts of [[Hokkaidō]]. In June 1942, ''Kamikaze'' helped provide cover for the Japanese forces during [[Battle of Dutch Harbor|Operation AL]], the diversionary invasion of the [[Aleutian Islands]] during the [[Battle of Midway]].  Following the [[Aleutian Islands Campaign]], ''Kamikaze'' patrolled from Hokkaidō through the Aleutians through the end of the year. Throughout 1943 and 1944, she was assigned to patrols of [[Soya Strait]] and [[Tsugaru Strait]] and to escort ship convoys to remote outposts in the Kurile islands.<ref name=ne/>

On 23 October 1944, she left Kataoka Bay Naval Base, [[Shimushu|Shimushu Island]], [[Kuril Islands]] for [[Otaru]] in convoy WO-303 consisting of transports {{ship|Japanese transport ship|Hakuyo Maru|1942|2}}, ''Hokoku Maru'', and ''Umegawa Maru'', and {{sclass|Etorofu|escort ship|1}} ''Fukue''.<ref name=CF-Fukue>{{cite web |url=http://www.combinedfleet.com/Fukue_t.htm|title=Kaibokan! IJN Escort Fukue: Tabular Record of Movement|first1=Bob |last1=Hackett |first2=Sander |last2=Kingsepp |work=combinedfleet.com |year=2012 |access-date=10 March 2020}}</ref> The transports were filled with naval personnel and fishery workers being removed to the homeland for the winter from the islands of [[Shimushu]] and [[Paramushiro]].<ref name=CF-Fukue/> On 25 October 1944, the convoy was attacked by the submarine {{USS|Seal|SS-183|6}}. ''Hakuyo Maru'' was torpedoed and sunk west of the [[Kuril Islands]] with 1,415 lives lost.<ref name=CF-Fukue/><ref>{{Cite web|title=  Chapter VII: 1944 |website=Hyperwar - The Official Chronology of the U.S. Navy during World War II|url=https://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USN/USN-Chron/USN-Chron-1945.html  }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Chronological List of Japanese Merchant Vessel Losses   |website=Joint Army-Navy Assessment Committee|url= https://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/Japan/IJN/JANAC-Losses/JANAC-Losses-4.html }}</ref> The ''Seal'' evaded depth charging by ''Kamikaze'' and ''Fukue'' and the remainder of the convoy reached Otaru unharmed.<ref name=CF-Fukue/>

However, from January 1945, ''Kamikaze'' was reassigned to the [[Combined Fleet]] and relocated to [[Moji-ku, Kitakyūshū|Moji]] in [[Kyūshū]]. On 26 January 1945, she departed with a convoy from Moji bound for [[Singapore]], but was assigned detached duty at the [[Mako Guard District|Mako]] in the [[Pescadores]]. On 14 February she formed part of the escort for both {{sclass|Ise|battleship}}s which were sailing from Singapore to Japan as part of [[Operation Kita]]. On 20 February, she rescued the survivors of the torpedoed destroyer {{ship|Japanese destroyer|Nokaze||2}}, continuing on to Singapore by 22 February.<ref name=ne>Nevitt</ref>

In May 1945, ''Kamikaze'' sortied twice from Singapore as escort to the cruiser {{ship|Japanese cruiser|Haguro||2}} on emergency transport missions to the beleaguered Japanese garrison in the [[Andaman Islands]]. During the second sortie, on 16 May, ''Haguro'' was [[Battle of the Malacca Strait|sunk in surface action]] with the [[Royal Navy]], and ''Kamikaze'' suffered 27 crewmen killed and 14 injured in battle with the British destroyer group.<ref>Winton</ref> Damage to the ship was light, and ''Kamikaze'' rescued 320 survivors from ''Haguro'' before returning to Singapore.

In June 1945, ''Kamikaze'' sortied from Singapore to [[Batavia, Dutch East Indies|Batavia]] as escort to the cruiser {{ship|Japanese cruiser|Ashigara||2}}. During the return voyage on June&nbsp;8, ''Ashigara'' was torpedoed,<ref>[http://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/server/show/nav.2558 Submarine History: Submarine Service: Operations and Support: Royal Navy] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070220150129/http://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/server/show/nav.2558 |date=2007-02-20 }}</ref> and ''Kamikaze'' rescued 853&nbsp;crewmen and 400&nbsp;soldiers before returning to Singapore.<ref>Dull. ''A Battle History of the Imperial Japanese Navy''</ref> Later that month, as ''Kamikaze'' was escorting the tanker {{ship|Japanese oiler|Tōhō Maru|1944|2}} to [[French Indochina]], ''Tōhō Maru'' was sunk in an attack by [[United States Army Air Forces]] [[B-24 Liberator]] bombers, and ''Kamikaze'' rescued 200 survivors.<ref>{{cite web |title=Toho Maru: Tabular Record of Movement |url=http://www.combinedfleet.com/Toho2_t.htm |website=Combined Fleet |access-date=24 October 2019}}</ref>

''Kamikaze'' successfully completed several more escort operations through the remainder of June and July. Notably, she engaged the submarine {{USS|Hawkbill|SS-366|6}} on July 18. The submarine attempted to torpedo a convoy off the coast of Malaya. The torpedoes missed and ''Kamikaze'' gave chase, dropping several depth charges that severely damaged the submarine and partially blew her out of the water. ''Hawkbill'' was able to get away, and after the war the ships' captains, Hitoshi Kasuga and Worth M. Scanland exchanged letters praising each other. At the time of the [[surrender of Japan]], she was still based in Singapore, and was turned over to British authorities there.

===Post-war===
''Kamikaze'' was struck from the [[Navy List]] on 5 October 1945. She was subsequently demilitarized and used as a repatriation vessel returning Japanese military personnel back to the [[Japanese home islands]] from Singapore, [[Bangkok]] and [[Saigon]] in late 1945 and early 1946. ''Kamikaze'' ran aground and was wrecked on 7 June 1946 while coming to the rescue of former {{ship|Japanese escort|Kunashiri||2}}, another repatriation vessel, off [[Omaezaki, Shizuoka|Cape Omaezaki]], [[Shizuoka Prefecture]] at coordinates {{coord|34|38|N|138|8|E |display=inline,title|region:JP-22_type:city |name=Omaezaki City}}. The severity of the wreck damage resulted in the decision to scrap the vessel on site in 1947.

==Notes==
{{reflist|30em}}

==References==
*{{cite book |editor1-last=Gardiner|editor1-first=Robert|editor2-last=Gray|editor2-first=Randal|title=Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921|year=1985|location=Annapolis, Maryland|publisher=Naval Institute Press|isbn=0-85177-245-5|name-list-style=amp}}
*{{cite book
 | last = Howarth  
 | first = Stephen
 | year = 1983
 | title = The Fighting Ships of the Rising Sun: The Drama of the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1895–1945
 | publisher = Atheneum 
 | isbn = 0-689-11402-8
}}
*{{cite book| last1 = Jentschura| first1 = Hansgeorg| first2 = Dieter |last2=Jung|first3=Peter |last3=Mickel| year = 1977| title = Warships of the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1869&ndash;1945| publisher = United States Naval Institute| location = Annapolis, Maryland| isbn = 0-87021-893-X|name-list-style=amp}}
* {{cite web| url= http://www.combinedfleet.com/kamika_t.htm | title= IJN ''Kamikaze'': Tabular Record of Movement | last= Nevitt | first= Allyn D. | year= 1998|access-date=10 November 2015 | work= Long Lancers | publisher=Combinedfleet.com}}
*{{cite book|last1=Watts|first1=Anthony J.|title=The Imperial Japanese Navy|date=1971|publisher=Doubleday|location=Garden City, New York|isbn= 0385012683|last2=Gordon|first2=Brian G.|name-list-style=amp}}
* {{cite book|last=Whitley|first=M. J.|title=Destroyers of World War Two|publisher=Naval Institute Press|year=1988|isbn=0-87021-326-1|location=Annapolis, Maryland}}
* {{cite book | last = Winton | first = John | year = 1981| title = Sink the Haguro | publisher = Saunders of Toronto| isbn = 0-85422-152-2}}

{{Kamikaze class destroyer (1922)}}
{{1946 shipwrecks}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kamikaze (1922)}}
[[Category:Kamikaze-class destroyers (1922)]]
[[Category:Ships built by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries]]
[[Category:1922 ships]]
[[Category:World War II destroyers of Japan]]
[[Category:Shipwrecks in the Philippine Sea]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in 1946]]
[[Category:Ships of the Aleutian Islands campaign]]