was third and final vessel in the ''Nokaze'' sub-class, an improvement to the 1st class

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 ...

s, 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 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 ...

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 Class or The Class may refer to: Common uses not otherwise categorized * Class (biology), a taxonomic rank * Class (knowledge representation), a collection of individuals or objects * Class (philosophy), an analytical concept used differentl ...

. ''Numakaze'', built at the Maizuru Naval Arsenal, was the third ship of this sub-class. The destroyer was laid down on 10 August 1921, launched on 25 February 1922 and commissioned on 27 July 1922. On completion, ''Numakaze'' was teamed with , and

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 ...

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 China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

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 is Japan's second largest island and comprises the largest and northernmost prefecture, making up its own region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō from Honshu; the two islands are connected by the undersea railway Seikan Tunnel. The la ...

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 the ship was assigned temporarily to the

IJN 5th Fleet The was a fleet of the Imperial Japanese Navy, active during the early portions of the Second Sino-Japanese War, and again in World War II, primarily in the Aleutian campaign, during which it was augmented and designated the Northern Area Force. ...

for the mission to evacuate surviving Japanese forces from Kiska. On 6 June 1943, ''Numakaze'' suffered damage in a collision with the destroyer . ''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 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 ...

on 5 December as part of the 1st Surface Escort Division escorting a convoy to Taiwan. However, on 18 December 1943, ''Numakaze'', while chasing the wake of 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 ...

, was hit by a torpedo, blew up and sank east-northeast of Naha, Okinawa at position . The destroyer was lost with all hands, including the commanding officer of DesDiv 1, Commander Watanabe Yasumasa. On 5 February 1944 ''Numakaze'' was removed from navy list.Brown. ''Warship Losses of World War II''

Notes

References

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External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Nokaze Minekaze-class destroyers Ships built by Maizuru Naval Arsenal 1922 ships World War II destroyers of Japan Ships sunk by American submarines Second Sino-Japanese War naval ships of Japan World War II shipwrecks in the Philippine Sea Maritime incidents in December 1943 Warships lost with all hands Naval magazine explosions