Japanese Destroyer Nowaki (1940)

was a of the Imperial Japanese Navy.

Design and description

The ''Kagerō'' class was an enlarged and improved version of the preceding . Their crew numbered 240 officers and enlisted men. The ships measured overall, with a beam of and a draft of . They displaced at standard load and at deep load.Whitley, pp. 200–01 The ships had two Kampon geared steam turbines, each driving one propeller shaft, using steam provided by three Kampon water-tube boilers. The turbines were rated at a total of for a designed speed of . The ships had a range of at a speed of .Jentschura, Jung & Mickel, p. 148

The main armament of the ''Kagerō'' class consisted of six Type 3 guns in three twin-gun turrets, one superfiring pair aft and one turret forward of the superstructure. They were built with four Type 96 anti-aircraft guns in two twin-gun mounts, but more of these guns were added over the course of the war. The ships were also armed with eight torpedo tubes for the oxygen-fueled Type 93 "Long Lance" torpedo in two quadruple traversing mounts; one reload was carried for each tube. Their anti-submarine weapons comprised 16 depth charges.

Construction and career

The destroyer was ordered in 1937. ''Nowaki'' was laid down on 8 November 1939 and launched on 17 September 1940. The ship was commissioned into the IJN on 28 April 1941, and she was assigned as the third ship of the 4th destroyer division (''Arashi, Hagikaze, Nowaki,'' '' Maikaze''). In the lead up to the second world war, ''Nowaki'' steamed through the Terashima Strait and regrouped with Admiral Kondō's fleet.

Start of WW2

With the start of the Pacific War on 7 December 1941, ''Nowaki'' steamed with the fleet to support the invasion of the Philippines, and it was the next day she scored her first victory on an enemy ship. The Norwegian cargo ship ''Helius'' was located by the 4th destroyer division, prompting ''Nowaki'' and ''Hagikaze'' to inspect her, and ordered ''Helius'' to regroup with the fleet, capturing the vessel, escorting her to Japanese waters where she was renamed the ''Setsuzan Maru'' and transferred to the Imperial Japanese Army. For the following days, ''Nowaki'' provided distant cover for the Japanese troop convoys invading the Philippines, and escorted the Malaya troop convoys. With the Philippines successfully captured, ''Nowaki'' switched her focus to the Dutch East Indies, escorting invasion convoys for Staring Bay, and operating in Dutch waters as distance support.

Battle of Tjilatjap

In early March of 1942, the Dutch East Indies had just fallen into Japanese hands, and many allied ships were fleeing to safety in Australia. ''Nowaki'' and ''Arashi'' were assigned to operate alongside the heavy cruisers , , and in hunting down these ships and prevent them from further serving the enemy. On the 1st, They were immediately successful in this role when ''Nowaki'' and ''Arashi'' located the Dutch freighters ''Tomohon'' and ''Pagiri'', and with gunfire sank both vessels without a fight. Later that day, ''Nowaki'' and ''Arashi'' located and sank the British minesweeper ''Scott Harley'' and the Dutch cargo ship ''Toradja'', then halted and captured the Dutch steamship ''Bintoehan''.

The next day, ''Nowaki'' and ''Arashi'' sank the Norwegian cargo ship ''Prominent.'' However, greater action was destined to ensue as they joined the heavy cruiser ''Maya'' as they were informed that land based aircraft had spotted an enemy warship. This was the destroyer HMS ''Stronghold'', and the three ships sped to intercept the enemy. At 17:43, the trio spotted their target and closed the range, then at 18:21, ''Maya'' opened fire at 16,300 yards, while ''Nowaki'' and ''Arashi'' unleashed their combined twelve 5-inch (127 mm) guns at 11,300. They immediately closed the range as ''Stronghold'' began to take hits aft and flooding began to slow the ship. Over the course of a half hour, ''Maya'' closed to 3,000 yards, and ''Nowaki'' and ''Arashi'' to 2,000 yards. ''Stronghold'' was completely disabled, on fire, and slipping beneath the waterline as the abandon ship order was issued and the destroyer sank at 19:00 with the loss of 70 men. ''Nowaki'' fired 345 5-inch (127 mm) shells, ''Arashi'' 290, and ''Maya'' 635.

On 3 March, ''Nowaki'' and ''Arashi'' tracked down the gunboat USS ''Asheville'', which was also located by Japanese aircraft. After locating ''Asheville'', they believed it was a merchant vessel and prepared a capture, only for ''Asheville'' to open fire with her three 4-inch (102 mm) guns to little effect. In respence, ''Nowaki'' and ''Arashi'' closed to point blank range and dumped 300 5-inch (127 mm) rounds. ''Asheville's'' forecastle and bridge were almost entirely shot away, and the gunboat sank by the stern over a half hour with the loss of 170 sailors. ''Arashi'' only had room for a single survivor, Fed L Brown, who later died in a prisoner of war camp in March of 1945.

Finally on 4 March, ''Nowaki'' found herself involved in an attack on an allied convoy destined for Australia, where she helped to sink the British oil tanker ''Francol'', the minesweepers ''M-3'' and ''M-51'', and the depot ship ''Anking''. A half hour later, the sloop HMAS ''Yarra'' bravely attempted to defend the remaining ships against her attackers, which prompted the gunfire of ''Nowaki, Takao,'' and ''Atago'' to blast ''Yarra'' and sink her in a blaze of glory. ''Atago'' and ''Arashi'' then captured the Dutch steamships ''Tjisaroea'' and ''Duymer Van Twist''.

After either helping to sink or capture 13 enemy ships, the depleted ''Nowaki'' returned to Staring Bay on the 7th, then from the 18th to 3 April escorted ''Atago'' on an inspection cruise across Tarakan, Balikpapan, Makassar, Singapore, and Penang. ''Nowaki'' finally returned to the homeland on 18 April, and was drydocked in Yokosuka for a much needed refit.

Battle of Midway

''Main Article: Battle of Midway''

At the start of June, destroyer division 4 left Yokosuka for a planed invasion of Midway Island; the Japanese aircraft carriers '' Akagi, Kaga, Sōryū,'' and '' Hiryū'' would lure out American aircraft carriers, and combined air and surface attacks would sink them in a decisive battle, while a large troop convoy would land in the Midway Atoll and capture the island. In what became the battle of Midway, ''Nowaki'' and the rest of the 4th destroyer division were assigned directly as anti-aircraft escorts to the carriers, and sailed with Admiral Nagumo's main strike force. As the carriers attacked Midway Island, the submarine USS ''Nautilus'' attacked the fleet, ''Arashi'' failed to depth charge and sink the submarine, which enabled ''Arashi'' to be spotted by a wave of planes from the aircraft carrier USS ''Enterprise'' and followed back to the main formation. The initial air attacks from USS ''Hornet'' were propelled, but a flight of dive bombers from the aircraft carriers Enterprise and USS ''Yorktown'' bombed ''Akagi, Kaga,'' and ''Sōryu'', ''Hiryū'' initially survived and helped to sink ''Yorktown'', but was herself sunk by ''Yorktown'' and ''Enterprise'' dive bombers.

''Nowaki's'' crew could only watch as ''Akagi, Kaga,'' and ''Sōryū'' exploded after being hit by US aircraft. Nagumo had continued a rearming process to land based weaponry in spite of knowledge of a potential enemy task force, and the bomb hits detonated the thousands of pounds worth of explosives inside the fight deck. All damage control efforts to save the ships failed, and there was only one thing left to do. ''Nowaki'' removed Admiral Nagumo from the destroyed ''Akagi'' and acted as Japanese flagship for the remainder of the battle, before helping to scuttle the dying ''Akagi'' with her torpedoes. Other destroyers did the same to the other carriers, ending arguably the most devastating Japanese defeat of the entire war.

Solomon Islands

After the battle, ''Nowaki'' transferred ''Nagumo'' to the light cruiser '' Nagara'', then escorted the light carrier ''Zuihō'' to the Aleutian Islands, where she spent the next few days on patrol duty, before finally returning to Yokosuka. On 14 July, the 4th destroyer division was reassigned to destroyer squadron 10, and on 16 August departed Kure to escort the Japanese fleet to Truk, arriving at their destination on the 21st. A week later, the Japanese aircraft carriers ''Shōkaku'' and ''Zuikaku'' and their escorts fought the American aircraft carriers ''Enterprise'' and USS ''Saratoga'' at the battle of the Eastern Solomons, with ''Nowaki'' again serving as an anti-aircraft platform. No waves of aircraft attacked the main fleet this time, but ''Saratoga'' aircraft still sank the light carrier '' Ryūjō'' of the decoy force, while land based aircraft sank the destroyer '' Mutsuki'' and the troop transport ''Kinyu Maru'', ending the battle in an American victory as ''Nowaki'' and her companions returned to Truk.

From 1-9 September, ''Nowaki'' escorted the tanker ''Toa Maru'' - which was towing the crippled and disabled destroyer '' Shirakumo'' - to the Shortlands and back, and spent the rest of the months on patrol duty off Truk. The first half of October saw troop transport missions to Guadalcanal, where an air raid lightly damaged ''Nowaki'' with near misses, killing 11 and wounding 19, before escorting the supply group which supported the Japanese aircraft carriers at the battle of Santa Cruz. Waves of aircraft from ''Shōkaku, Zuikaku, Junyō,'' and ''Zuihō'' crippled the aircraft carrier USS ''Hornet'' (later finished off by destroyers '' Akigumo'' and '' Makigumo'') and the destroyer USS ''Porter'''','' and damaged multiple other American ships would suffering a single loss, ending the battle in a Japanese victory. Afterwards, she escorted the badly damaged ''Shōkaku'' to Kure, before departing for Rabaul as a consort to the escort carrier '' Akitsu Maru''. At the start on December, ''Nowaki'' took part in a troop transport mission to Guadalcanal.

On 7 December 1942, ''Nowaki'' was underway as part of a troop transport mission to Guadalcanal when land-based aircraft attacked the formation, and ''Nowaki'' was singled out. A bomb near miss land right next to the ship's starboard center; so close it effectively acted as a torpedo hit. The engine and boilers were completely flooded, and ''Nowaki'' stopped dead in the water. The destroyer ''Naganami'' took ''Nowaki'' under tow, while the destroyers ''Arashi'' and ''Ariake'' escorted them to the Shortlands. From the 13th to the 18th, ''Maikaze'' further towed the crippled ''Nowaki'' to Truk, where over the next month she was patched up to just about get her engines up and running. From 16-24 February, ''Nowaki'' escorted a convoy to Yokosuka, where she could receive more permanent repairs. The damage was so devastating, ''Nowaki'' spent until early August docked in Yokosuka under repair, where she was refitted with type 13 and 22 search radars and multiple new AA gun placements.

Operation Hailstone

''Nowaki'' fled Truk on 17 February 1944 in the midst of the massive American air and surface attack known as Operation Hailstone and escaped pursuit by US Task Force 50.9 with minor splinter damage despite being straddled several times by 16 inch salvos from and at extreme range.

Philippine Sea and Leyte Gulf

Returning to the Central Pacific after repairs in Japan, ''Nowaki'' took part in the Battle of the Philippine Sea.

In the Battle off Samar on 25 October 1944, ''Nowaki'' took part in the torpedo attack on the U.S. escort carriers and assisted in sinking the destroyer . Later, she removed survivors from the cruiser and scuttled her with torpedoes, although recent studies suggests that she only managed to arrive in time to rescue the survivors, as ''Chikuma'' herself had sunk beforehand. The next day, ''Nowaki'' was isolated from the rest of the centerforce when she was met by the gunfire of the light cruisers , , and . Lit aflame and badly crippled by gunfire, ''Nowaki'' was finished off by torpedoes from the destroyer , east-southeast of Legaspi (). There were no survivors, including the rescued ''Chikuma'' sailors.

See also

* List of ships of the Imperial Japanese Navy

Notes

References

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*
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* Hammel, Eric: ''Carrier Clash: The Invasion of Guadalcanal & The Battle of the Eastern Solomons August 1942''. St. Paul, Minnesota: Zenith Press. .

External links

CombinedFleet.com: ''Kagero''-class destroyersImperial Japanese Navy Major Weapons - ''Nowaki''

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nowaki
Kagerō-class destroyers
World War II destroyers of Japan
World War II shipwrecks in the Philippine Sea
1940 ships
Warships lost in combat with all hands
Maritime incidents in October 1944
Ships built by Maizuru Naval Arsenal