''(Island Wind)'' was an experimental

destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, manoeuvrable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against powerful short range attackers. They were originally developed in ...

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 ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, and intended as the

lead ship The lead ship, name ship, or class leader is the first of a series or class of ships all constructed according to the same general design. The term is applicable to naval ships and large civilian vessels. Large ships are very complex and may ...

in a projected new "Type C" of destroyers. She was the only destroyer to be armed with 15

torpedo tube A torpedo tube is a cylindrical device for launching torpedoes. There are two main types of torpedo tube: underwater tubes fitted to submarines and some surface ships, and deck-mounted units (also referred to as torpedo launchers) installed aboa ...

s, each capable of firing the deadly Type 93 "Long Lance"

torpedo A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, and with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, su ...

. The ship also served as a testbed for an enormously powerful, high-temperature, high-pressure

steam turbine A steam turbine is a machine that extracts thermal energy from pressurized steam and uses it to do mechanical work on a rotating output shaft. Its modern manifestation was invented by Charles Parsons in 1884. Fabrication of a modern steam turbin ...

that was able to develop . This made her one of the fastest destroyers in the world: her design speed was , but on trials she made .

Background

Ordered in 1939 under the

4th Naval Armaments Supplement Programme The was one of the armaments expansion plan of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN). Background In 1939, the IJN started new naval armaments expansion plan. It extended to 80 warships and 75 Naval Air Groups by 1.6 billion JPY. Table of vessels No ...

, ''Shimakaze'' was

laid down Laying the keel or laying down is the formal recognition of the start of a ship's construction. It is often marked with a ceremony attended by dignitaries from the shipbuilding company and the ultimate owners of the ship. Keel laying is one o ...

Maizuru Naval Arsenal was one of four principal naval shipyards owned and operated by the Imperial Japanese Navy. History The Maizuru Naval District was established at Maizuru, Kyoto Prefecture in 1889, as the fourth of the naval districts responsible for the defense ...

in August 1941 and completed on 10 May 1943. Under the 1941 5th Naval Armaments Supplement Programme, a total of 16 ''Shimakaze''-class destroyers were budgeted, with long term plans to build a total of 32 vessels to equip four destroyer squadrons. However, the complexity of the design, coupled with the lack of industrial capacity and resources during the

Pacific War The Pacific War, sometimes called the Asia–Pacific War, was the theater of World War II that was fought in Asia, the Pacific Ocean, the Indian Ocean, and Oceania. It was geographically the largest theater of the war, including the vast ...

prevented these plans from being realized.

Design

''Shimakaze'' was based on a lengthened version of the design, with an additional 25 feet of length to mount an additional quintuple torpedo launcher amidships. The additional weight caused the design to be top-heavy, so no torpedo reloads were carried; however, with a broadside of three quintuple mounts which could be trained to either port or starboard, ''Shimakaze'' had one of the largest torpedo capacities of any World War II destroyer. The

main battery A main battery is the primary weapon or group of weapons around which a warship is designed. As such, a main battery was historically a gun or group of guns, as in the broadsides of cannon on a ship of the line. Later, this came to be turreted ...

used on the ''Yugumo''-class of six

Type 3 127 mm 50 caliber naval gun The 12.7 cm/50 Type 3 naval gun was a medium-caliber naval gun of the Imperial Japanese Navy used during World War II. It was the standard weapon for Japanese destroyers between 1928 and 1944 (except ''Akizuki'' and ''Matsu'' classes). It h ...

s in three twin-

gun turret A gun turret (or simply turret) is a mounting platform from which weapons can be fired that affords protection, visibility and ability to turn and aim. A modern gun turret is generally a rotatable weapon mount that houses the crew or mechani ...

s, one

superfiring Superfiring armament is a naval military building technique in which two (or more) turrets are located in a line, one behind the other, with the second turret located above ("super") the one in front so that the second turret can fire over the ...

pair aft and one turret forward of the

superstructure A superstructure is an upward extension of an existing structure above a baseline. This term is applied to various kinds of physical structures such as buildings, bridges, or ships. Aboard ships and large boats On water craft, the superstruct ...

, was retained as well as the anti-aircraft battery of two twin-mount Type 96 AA guns, and anti-submarine capability of 18

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. She was also equipped with a Type 22 radar. Her new experimental high temperature and pressure

Kampon The was the externally operating division of the Ministry of the Navy of Japan responsible for the administration of naval vessel construction. From 1923 onward, it took on the role of a research institution for the research and development of n ...

boilers developed , powering a new type of turbine, which generated 50 percent more power than typical turbines used in previous destroyers. She was expected to reach a speed of 39 kn. However, during her trials on 7 April 1943, she was clocked at , faster than initially planned. In June 1944, during repairs and refit in Japan, her anti-aircraft capacity was enhanced with the additional set of triple Type 96 guns, seven single Type 96 guns, and one single Type 93 13mm machine gun, together with a Type 13 radar.

Service history

On completion at Maizuru on 10 May 1943, ''Shimakaze'' was assigned to the

IJN 1st Fleet The was the main battleship fleet of the Imperial Japanese Navy. History First established on 28 December 1903, the IJN 1st Fleet was created during the Russo-Japanese War when the Imperial General Headquarters divided the Readiness Fleet into ...

, and participated in the evacuation of Japanese troops from

Kiska Island Kiska ( ale, Qisxa, russian: Кыска) is one of the Rat Islands, a group of the Aleutian Islands of Alaska. It is about long and varies in width from . It is part of Aleutian Islands Wilderness and as such, special permission is required ...

towards the end of the Aleutian Islands campaign from July to August, serving as

flagship A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically the fi ...

for the screening force. In September and October, she was used to escort vessels between Yokosuka and Truk, and at the end of October escorted the fleet from Truk to

Eniwetok Enewetak Atoll (; also spelled Eniwetok Atoll or sometimes Eniewetok; mh, Ānewetak, , or , ; known to the Japanese as Brown Atoll or Brown Island; ja, ブラウン環礁) is a large coral atoll of 40 islands in the Pacific Ocean and with it ...

due to increasing American air raids. She continued to serve as an escort to ships between Truk and Rabaul and between Truk and Yokosuka though November, and during December and January 1944 she escorted tankers between Truk,

Saipan Saipan ( ch, Sa’ipan, cal, Seipél, formerly in es, Saipán, and in ja, 彩帆島, Saipan-tō) is the largest island of the Northern Mariana Islands, a Commonwealth (U.S. insular area), commonwealth of the United States in the western Pa ...

Palau Palau,, officially the Republic of Palau and historically ''Belau'', ''Palaos'' or ''Pelew'', is an island country and microstate in the western Pacific. The nation has approximately 340 islands and connects the western chain of the Caro ...

, Davao and

Balikpapan Balikpapan is a seaport city in East Kalimantan, Indonesia. Located on the east coast of the island of Borneo, the city is the financial center of Kalimantan. Balikpapan is the city with the largest economy in Kalimantan with an estimated 2 ...

. She was refitted at

Kure Naval Arsenal was one of four principal naval shipyards owned and operated by the Imperial Japanese Navy. History The Kure Naval District was established at Kure, Hiroshima in 1889, as the second of the naval districts responsible for the defense of the J ...

from 17 March to 12 April 1944. From 20 April to 12 June, she was part of the escort to the and from Kure to

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...

, followed by

Biak Biak is an island located in Cenderawasih Bay near the northern coast of Papua (province), Papua, an Indonesian province, and is just northwest of New Guinea. Biak is the largest island in its small archipelago, and has many atolls, reefs, and c ...

to cover the aborted evacuation of Japanese forces. Afterwards, she returned to Kure Naval Arsenal for repairs and enhancement of her anti-aircraft weaponry. In July, she escorted troop transports to

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 ...

and continued on to Lingga, arriving in

Brunei Brunei ( , ), formally Brunei Darussalam ( ms, Negara Brunei Darussalam, Jawi alphabet, Jawi: , ), is a country located on the north coast of the island of Borneo in Southeast Asia. Apart from its South China Sea coast, it is completely sur ...

on 20 October. She was present at the 23–25 October

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 ...

, although she played no role in the battle except for picking up survivors from the sunken

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 ...

and cruiser ''Maya''. Overloaded with survivors, she stayed at the rear of the fleet during the

Battle off Samar The Battle off Samar was the centermost action of the Battle of Leyte Gulf, one of the largest naval battles in history, which took place in the Philippine Sea off Samar Island, in the Philippines on October 25, 1944. It was the only major ...

and was unable to use her vaunted torpedo broadside. However, she did suffer minor damage due to air attacks and a minor collision with . She returned to Manila on 31 October. On 4 November, ''Shimakaze'' was appointed flagship of Destroyer Squadron 2 under the command of

Rear Admiral Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to a major general and air vice marshal and above that of a commodore and captain, but below that of a vice admiral. It is regarded as a two star "admiral" rank. It is often regarde ...

Mikio Hayakawa Mikio (written: , , , , , , , , , in hiragana or in katakana) is a masculine Japanese given name. Notable people with the name include: *, Japanese politician *, Japanese comedian *, Japanese composer, music arranger and producer *, Japanese pol ...

, and assigned to escort a troop convoy from Manila to

Ormoc Ormoc (IPA: �oɾˈmok, officially the City of Ormoc ( ceb, Dakbayan sa Ormoc; war, Syudad han Ormoc; fil, Lungsod ng Ormoc), is a 1st class independent component city in the Eastern Visayas region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 ce ...

. She was attacked by American aircraft from

Task Force 38 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 ...

on 11 November 1944 during 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 ...

, and disabled by strafing and near misses early in the attack. She drifted and burned for several hours before exploding and sinking at . A total of 131 survivors were rescued, but this total also included crewmen from , so the total from ''Shimakaze'' is unknown. Admiral Hayakawa was killed in action. ''Shimakaze'' was removed from the

navy list A Navy Directory, formerly the Navy List or Naval Register is an official list of naval officers, their ranks and seniority, the ships which they command or to which they are appointed, etc., that is published by the government or naval author ...

on 10 January 1945.

Wreck

''Shimakaze'' was discovered by a

Paul Allen Paul Gardner Allen (January 21, 1953 – October 15, 2018) was an American business magnate, computer programmer, researcher, investor, and philanthropist. He co-founded Microsoft Corporation with childhood friend Bill Gates in 1975, which h ...

-led expedition aboard in Ormoc Bay on 1 December 2017, 715 ft (218 m) below the surface. She was a mangled wreck but the three quintuple torpedo tube launchers confirmed her identity. Photographs from the wreck also debunked the assertion that she had had one of her turrets removed in an early 1944 refit.

Ships in class

References

Sources

* *''Collection of writings by Sizuo Fukui Vol.5, Stories of Japanese Destroyers'', Kōjinsha (Japan) 1993, *''The Maru Special, Japanese Naval Vessels No.41 Japanese Destroyers I'', Ushio Shobō (Japan), July 1980, Book code 68343-42 *

External links

MaritimeQuest Shimakaze Page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shimakaze (1942) World War II destroyers of Japan Destroyers of the Imperial Japanese Navy Ships built by Maizuru Naval Arsenal Experimental ships Science and technology in Japan Destroyers sunk by aircraft World War II shipwrecks in the Philippine Sea 1942 ships Maritime incidents in November 1944 Ships sunk by US aircraft Shipwreck discoveries by Paul Allen 2017 archaeological discoveries Naval magazine explosions