was a of the

Imperial Japanese Navy The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN; Kyūjitai: Shinjitai: ' 'Navy of the Greater Japanese Empire', or ''Nippon Kaigun'', 'Japanese Navy') was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945, when it was dissolved following Japan's surrender ...

. She was among the several ships sunk during

Operation Ten-Go , also known as Operation Heaven One (or Ten-ichi-gō 天一号), was the last major Japanese naval operation in the Pacific Theater of World War II. The resulting engagement is also known as the Battle of the East China Sea. In April 1945, the ...

by attacking US aircraft in 1945.

Service career and fate

On 29 February 1944, while escorting a large convoy en route to Truk, ''Asashimo'' detected the

submarine A submarine (or sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability. The term is also sometimes used historically or colloquially to refer to remotely op ...

making a night surface approach on the convoy. ''Rock'' fired a spread of four torpedoes from her stern tubes at the closing ''Asashimo'' without scoring a hit. Illuminated by the destroyer's searchlight, and under fire from the ship's 5-inch (130 mm) guns, ''Rock'' dived. For four hours ''Asashimo'' continued

depth charge A depth charge is an anti-submarine warfare (ASW) weapon. It is intended to destroy a submarine by being dropped into the water nearby and detonating, subjecting the target to a powerful and destructive Shock factor, hydraulic shock. Most depth ...

attacks, without success. That night ''Rock'' surfaced and found that her periscopes were excessively damaged and that her bridge had been riddled with shrapnel. The damage necessitated a return to

Pearl Harbor Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the Naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the Re ...

for repairs. Later that night, the busy ''Asashimo'' sank the submarine . Japanese records indicate that one of their convoys, Matsu No. 1, was attacked by a submarine on 29 February 1944 in the patrol area assigned to ''Trout''. Carrying the 29th Infantry Division of the

Kwantung Army ''Kantō-gun'' , image = Kwantung Army Headquarters.JPG , image_size = 300px , caption = Kwantung Army headquarters in Hsinking, Manchukuo , dates = April ...

from

Manchuria Manchuria is an exonym (derived from the endo demonym " Manchu") for a historical and geographic region in Northeast Asia encompassing the entirety of present-day Northeast China (Inner Manchuria) and parts of the Russian Far East (Outer Manc ...

Guam Guam (; ch, Guåhan ) is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. It is the westernmost point and territory of the United States (reckoned from the geographic cent ...

, Matsu No. 1 consisted of four large transports escorted by three ''Yūgumo''-class destroyers of Destroyer Division 31: ''Asashimo'', , and . The submarine badly damaged one large passenger-cargo ship and sank the 7,126-ton transport ''

Sakito Maru ''Sakito Maru'' ( ja, 崎戸丸) was a 7,126-ton Japanese troop transport that operated during World War II. She was sunk on 1 March 1944 with great loss of life. Construction ''Sakito Maru'' was built in 1939 by the Mitsubishi Zosen Kaisha in ...

''. About 2,200 of the 3,500 men aboard the ''Sakito Maru'' died, which included a large portion of the 18th Infantry Regiment. ''Asashimo'' detected the submarine and dropped 19 depth charges. Oil and debris came to the surface and the destroyer dropped a final depth charge on that spot. The submarine was using Mk. XVIII electric torpedoes, and it was also possible that one of those had made a circular run and sunk the boat, as happened with . ''Asashimo'' participated in the

Battle of the Philippine Sea The Battle of the Philippine Sea (June 19–20, 1944) was a major naval battle of World War II that eliminated the Imperial Japanese Navy's ability to conduct large-scale carrier actions. It took place during the United States' amphibious invas ...

. During the

Battle of Leyte Gulf The Battle of Leyte Gulf ( fil, Labanan sa golpo ng Leyte, lit=Battle of Leyte gulf; ) was the largest naval battle of World War II and by some criteria the largest naval battle in history, with over 200,000 naval personnel involved. It was fou ...

, she rescued survivors of the cruiser on 23 October. At the

Battle of Ormoc Bay The Battle of Ormoc Bay was a series of air-sea battles between Imperial Japan and the United States in the Camotes Sea in the Philippines from 9 November-21 December 1944, at Ormoc, part of the Battle of Leyte in the Pacific campaign of World ...

, she was the only destroyer to survive the Convoy TA no. 4 Battle. On 26 December 1944, she assisted in scuttling the destroyer and rescued 167 crewmen, plus her C.O. and Comdesdiv2. On 6 April 1945, ''Asashimo'' escorted the

battleship A battleship is a large armored warship with a main battery consisting of large caliber guns. It dominated naval warfare in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The term ''battleship'' came into use in the late 1880s to describe a type of ...

from the

Inland Sea An inland sea (also known as an epeiric sea or an epicontinental sea) is a continental body of water which is very large and is either completely surrounded by dry land or connected to an ocean by a river, strait, or "arm of the sea". An inland se ...

towards

Okinawa is a prefecture of Japan. Okinawa Prefecture is the southernmost and westernmost prefecture of Japan, has a population of 1,457,162 (as of 2 February 2020) and a geographic area of 2,281 km2 (880 sq mi). Naha is the capital and largest city ...

. She was sunk on 7 April by aircraft of

Task Force 58 The Fast Carrier Task Force (TF 38 when assigned to Third Fleet, TF 58 when assigned to Fifth Fleet), was the main striking force of the United States Navy in the Pacific War from January 1944 through the end of the war in August 1945. The task ...

, from the

aircraft carrier An aircraft carrier is a warship that serves as a seagoing airbase, equipped with a full-length flight deck and facilities for carrying, arming, deploying, and recovering aircraft. Typically, it is the capital ship of a fleet, as it allows a ...

after falling astern of the ''Yamato'' task force due to engine trouble, southwest of

Nagasaki is the capital and the largest city of Nagasaki Prefecture on the island of Kyushu in Japan. It became the sole port used for trade with the Portuguese and Dutch during the 16th through 19th centuries. The Hidden Christian Sites in the ...

. All of her 326 crew members - as well as Commander Destroyer Division 21 (Captain Hisao Kotaki) - lost their lives. The others, including the destroyer , were sunk during the same attack, also by aircraft of ''San Jacinto'', but several destroyers, such as survived with heavy damage. ''Asashimo'' was sunk at ().

References

External links

CombinedFleet.com: ''Yūgumo''-class destroyers
{{DEFAULTSORT:Asashimo Yūgumo-class destroyers World War II destroyers of Japan Destroyers sunk by aircraft 1943 ships World War II shipwrecks in the East China Sea Warships lost with all hands Maritime incidents in April 1945 Ships sunk by US aircraft Ships built by Fujinagata Shipyards

Service career and fate

See also

References

External links