The Japanese destroyer was a of the Imperial Japanese Navy. One of a class of eight 2nd-class destroyers, the ship was built by the Fujinagata Shipyard in Osaka,

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. She was laid down on 16 May 1922, launched 19 March 1923, and commissioned 20 August 1923 as ''Dai-18-Go Kuchikukan'',Whitley 2000, p. 109 the name being changed to ''Karukaya'' on 1 August 1928.

Design

The ''Wakatake''-class destroyers were essentially slightly modified ships with a deeper draft to improve handling characteristics in heavy seas, particularly against rolling. Weaponry layout, general arrangement and silhouette were all identical with the ''Momi'' class. The small displacement and shallow draft of the ''Wakatake'' class limited their use as fleet escorts. As with the ''Momi'' class, in the 1920s and 1930s, they were mainly used in Chinese coastal waters. ''Karukaya'' was refitted in the winter of 1941–1942, with one of its 120 mm guns being replaced by six 25 mm Type 96 anti-aircraft cannon in two triple mounts, together with several machine guns. The destroyer's minelaying and sweeping gear was removed to allow four depth charge throwers and up to 48

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 ...

s to be fitted.

World War II

''Karukaya'' was assigned to the 32nd Destroyer Division on the outbreak of the war in the Pacific, and spent the early months of the war protecting shipping traffic in the Tsushima Straits.Nevitt, Allyn D
"They Also Served: The Second-Class Destroyers"
''Combinedfleet.com''. 1997. Retrieved 21 April 2012. On 10 April 1942, the 1st Surface Escort Division of the Southwest Area Fleet was created, and Destroyer Division 32, including ''Karukaya'' was assigned to it to provide protection for convoys against Allied

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 ...

activity. They initially escorted convoys running between

Moji Moji may refer to: * ''Onji'' or ''hyōon moji'' (表音文字), phonic characters used in counting beats in Japanese poetry * Moji-ku, Kitakyūshū, ward (district) of the city of Kitakyūshū, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan ** Moji Station in that wa ...

in Japan, Taiwan and the Philippines, but later added routes to Singapore, French Indochina, the

Netherlands East Indies The Dutch East Indies, also known as the Netherlands East Indies ( nl, Nederlands(ch)-Indië; ), was a Dutch colony consisting of what is now Indonesia. It was formed from the nationalised trading posts of the Dutch East India Company, which ...

, and Palau. In the course of this service ''Karukaya'' set a record by successfully completing 54 convoy escorts before her loss.

Loss

''Karukaya'' was torpedoed and sunk by the

in the South China Sea west of Luzon on 10 May 1944, at .

References

Notes

Sources

* Gardiner, Robert and Randal Gray. ''Conway's All The World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921''. London: Putnam, 1985. . * Whitley, M.J. ''Destroyers of World War Two: An International Encyclopedia''. London: Cassell, 2000. . {{DEFAULTSORT:Karukaya 1923 ships Wakatake-class destroyers World War II destroyers of Japan Ships sunk by American submarines Maritime incidents in May 1944 Shipwrecks in the South China Sea Shipwrecks of the Philippines Ships built by Fujinagata Shipyards