was the third of ten s built for 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, Potsdam Declaration, when it was dissolved followin ...

in the mid-1930s under the Circle Two Supplementary Naval Expansion Program (''Maru Ni Keikaku'').

History

The ''Asashio''-class destroyers were larger and more capable that the preceding , as Japanese naval architects were no longer constrained by the provisions of the

London Naval Treaty The London Naval Treaty, officially the Treaty for the Limitation and Reduction of Naval Armament, was an agreement between the United Kingdom, Empire of Japan, Japan, French Third Republic, France, Kingdom of Italy, Italy, and the United Stat ...

. These

light cruiser A light cruiser is a type of small or medium-sized warship. The term is a shortening of the phrase "light armored cruiser", describing a small ship that carried armor in the same way as an armored cruiser: a protective belt and deck. Prior to thi ...

-sized vessels were designed to take advantage of Japan’s lead in

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

technology, and to accompany the Japanese main striking force and in both day and night attacks against the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

as it advanced across the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...

, according to Japanese naval strategic projections. Despite being one of the most powerful classes of destroyers in the world at the time of their completion, none survived the

Pacific War The Pacific War, sometimes called the Asia–Pacific War or the Pacific Theatre, was the Theater (warfare), theatre of World War II fought between the Empire of Japan and the Allies of World War II, Allies in East Asia, East and Southeast As ...

. ''Michishio'', built at the

Fujinagata Shipyards was a shipyard and railroad car manufacturer in Osaka, Japan. History Fujinagata claimed to have been founded in 1689, making it one of the oldest shipbuilders in Japan. Originally called ''Hyōgo-ya'', and located in central Osaka, it was cont ...

Osaka is a Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the List of cities in Japan, third-most populous city in J ...

was laid down on 5 November 1935, launched on 15 March 1937 and commissioned on 31 October 1937.

Operational history

On commissioning, ''Michishio'' was assigned to support Japanese combat operations in the

Second Sino-Japanese War The Second Sino-Japanese War was fought between the Republic of China (1912–1949), Republic of China and the Empire of Japan between 1937 and 1945, following a period of war localized to Manchuria that started in 1931. It is considered part ...

from November to December 1937. However, following reports of operational problems with her

sister ship A sister ship is a ship of the same Ship class, class or of virtually identical design to another ship. Such vessels share a nearly identical hull and superstructure layout, similar size, and roughly comparable features and equipment. They o ...

, she was withdrawn to

Sasebo Naval Arsenal was one of four principal naval shipyards owned and operated by the Imperial Japanese Navy. History The Sasebo Naval District was established at Sasebo, Nagasaki in 1886, as the third of the naval districts responsible for the defense of the ...

for modifications and replacement of her engines. At the time of the

attack on Pearl Harbor The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Empire of Japan on the United States Pacific Fleet at Naval Station Pearl Harbor, its naval base at Pearl Harbor on Oahu, Territory of ...

, ''Michishio'' was assigned to Destroyer Division 8 (Desdiv 8), and a member of Destroyer Squadron 2 (Desron 2) of the

IJN 2nd Fleet The was a fleet of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) created as a mobile strike force in response to hostilities with Russia, and saw action in every IJN military operation until the end of World War II. History Established on 27 October 1903, ...

, escorting Admiral

Nobutake Kondō was an admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II. As commander of IJN 2nd Fleet, the Navy's principal detached force for independent operations, Kondō was regarded as second in importance only to Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto. Biog ...

's Southern Force Main Body out of

Mako Guard District The was the major navy base for the Imperial Japanese Navy in Taiwan before and during World War II. Located in Mako , (present-day Makung, Pescadores Islands, Republic of China), the Mako Guard District was responsible for control of the stra ...

as distant cover to the

Malaya Malaya refers to a number of historical and current political entities related to what is currently Peninsular Malaysia in Southeast Asia: Political entities * British Malaya (1826–1957), a loose collection of the British colony of the Straits ...

and

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

invasion forces in December 1941. ''Michishio'' escorted a troop convoy from Mako towards

Singora Songkhla (, ), also known as Singgora or Singora ( Pattani Malay: ซิงกอรอ, Singoro), is a city (''thesaban nakhon'') in Songkhla Province of southern Thailand, near the border with Malaysia. Songkhla lies south of Bangkok and ...

, then put into

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

on 5 January 1942. She escorted another troop convoy to Davao, and then accompanied the Ambon invasion force (31 January), the

Makassar Makassar ( ), formerly Ujung Pandang ( ), is the capital of the Indonesian Provinces of Indonesia, province of South Sulawesi. It is the largest city in the region of Eastern Indonesia and the country's fifth-largest urban center after Jakarta, ...

invasion force (8 February ) and the

Bali Bali (English:; Balinese language, Balinese: ) is a Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia and the westernmost of the Lesser Sunda Islands. East of Java and west of Lombok, the province includes the island of Bali and a few smaller o ...

Lombok Lombok, is an island in West Nusa Tenggara province, Indonesia. It forms part of the chain of the Lesser Sunda Islands, with the Lombok Strait separating it from Bali to the west and the Alas Strait between it and Sumbawa to the east. It is rou ...

invasion force (18 February). On the night of 19 February, ''Michishio'' participated in the

Battle of Badoeng Strait The Battle of Badung Strait was a naval battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II, fought on the night of 19/20 February 1942 in Badung Strait (not to be confused with the West Java city of Bandung) between the American-British-Dutch-Aust ...

. ''Michishio'' was guarding the transport ''Sagami Maru'' off

when an

Allied An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not an explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are calle ...

fleet attacked. ''Michishio'' was caught in crossfire by four

destroyers and severely damaged, with 13 crewmen dead and 83 injured. She was towed by the destroyer to Makassar for repairs. In March, after emergency repairs at Makassar, ''Michishio'' returned to

Yokosuka Naval Arsenal was one of four principal naval shipyards owned and operated by the Imperial Japanese Navy, and was located at Yokosuka, Kanagawa, Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture on Tokyo Bay, south of Yokohama. History In 1866, the Tokugawa shogunate govern ...

for further repairs, which lasted to the end of October. Returning to active duty at

Rabaul Rabaul () is a township in the East New Britain province of Papua New Guinea, on the island of New Britain. It lies about to the east of the island of New Guinea. Rabaul was the provincial capital and most important settlement in the province ...

at the end of October, ''Michishio'' was assigned to three "

Tokyo Express The Tokyo Express was the name given by Allied forces to the use of Imperial Japanese Navy ships at night to deliver personnel, supplies, and equipment to Japanese forces operating in and around New Guinea and the Solomon Islands during the ...

" transport runs in early November. During the

Naval Battle of Guadalcanal The Naval Battle of Guadalcanal took place from 12 to 15 November 1942 and was the decisive engagement in a series of naval battles between Allies of World War II, Allied (primarily American) and Imperial Japanese Armed Forces, Imperial Japan ...

on 14 November, she was damaged by United States Navy aircraft, and had to be towed to

Shortland Island Shortland Island (once known as ''Alu'') is the largest island of the Shortland Islands archipelago, in the Western Province (Solomon Islands), Western Province of Solomon Islands, at . The original name was a Melanesian word, while the curren ...

for repairs. However, field repairs proved impossible, and she was towed to Rabaul, then to Truk, and finally to Yokosuka, arriving on 17 March 1943. ''Michishio'' remained under repair at Yokosuka Naval Arsenal to 14 November, during which time one of her main

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 mechanis ...

s was replaced by two triple Type 96 AA guns. She returned to Truk at the end of 1943 and escorted the

cruiser A cruiser is a type of warship. Modern cruisers are generally the largest ships in a fleet after aircraft carriers and amphibious assault ships, and can usually perform several operational roles from search-and-destroy to ocean escort to sea ...

s and on a mission to

Kavieng Kavieng is the capital of the Papua New Guinean province of New Ireland and the largest town on the island of the same name. The town is located at Balgai Bay, on the northern tip of the island. As of 2009, it had a population of 17,248. Kavi ...

at the end of the year. In January 1944, ''Michishio'' returned to

Kure Naval District was the second of four main administrative districts of the pre-war Imperial Japanese Navy. Its territory included the Inland Sea of Japan and the Pacific coasts of southern Honshū from Wakayama to Yamaguchi prefectures, eastern and northern K ...

together with the battleship , and escorted a troop convoy back to Truk at the end of that month. For the end two months, she served largely as escort for the battleship During the

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

, ''Michishio'' was in Admiral

Takatsugu Jōjima was an admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II. Biography Jōjima was from Saga Prefecture. He was a graduate of the 40th class of the Imperial Japanese Naval Academy in 1912, where he placed 111th out of 144 cadets. He se ...

's “Force B”, but did not see combat during that battle. Afterwards, she assisted the torpedoed tanker ''Itsukushima Maru'' at

Negros Island Negros (, , ) is the fourth largest and third most populous island in the Philippines, with a total land area of . The coastal zone of the southern part of Negros is identified as a site of highest marine biodiversity importance in the Coral T ...

, and escorted the battleship from Davao to Kure. She accompanied the battleship in August from Sasebo to Singapore and then escorted supply convoys to

Brunei Brunei, officially Brunei Darussalam, is a country in Southeast Asia, situated on the northern coast of the island of Borneo. Apart from its coastline on the South China Sea, it is completely surrounded by the Malaysian state of Sarawak, with ...

. During the Battle of Surigao Strait, ''Michishio'' was in Admiral

Shōji Nishimura was an admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II. Biography Nishimura was from Akita prefecture in the northern Tōhoku region of Japan. He was a graduate of the 39th class of the Imperial Japanese Naval Academy in 1911, ranki ...

's Southern Force. On 25 October, she was struck by a torpedo fired by , and then finished off by at position . ''Michishio'' was removed from the

navy list A Navy Directory, 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 authorities of a co ...

on 10 January 1945.

Rediscovery

''Michishio's'' wreck was discovered along with sister ''Yamagumo'' on 27 November 2017 by

Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company, technology conglomerate headquartered in Redmond, Washington. Founded in 1975, the company became influential in the History of personal computers#The ear ...

co-founder

Paul Allen Paul Gardner Allen (January 21, 1953 – October 15, 2018) was an American businessman, computer programmer, and investor. He co-founded Microsoft, Microsoft Corporation with his childhood friend Bill Gates in 1975, which was followed by the ...

's research ship RV Petrel. The wrecks are 1 mile (1.6 km) apart in 380 ft (117 m) of water. Both wrecks are heavily encrusted with marine growth which, combined with their close proximity, made it impossible to distinguish the two.

Notes

References

* * * * * * * *

External links

CombinedFleet.com: ''Asashio''-class destroyers

{{DEFAULTSORT:Michishio Asashio-class destroyers Second Sino-Japanese War naval ships of Japan World War II destroyers of Japan 1937 ships Maritime incidents in October 1944 World War II shipwrecks in the Philippine Sea Shipwreck discoveries by Paul Allen Ships built by Fujinagata Shipyards 2017 archaeological discoveries