was an experimental

destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, maneuverable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy, or carrier battle group and defend them against a wide range of general threats. They were conceived i ...

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, Potsdam Declaration, when it was dissolved followin ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, and intended as the

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

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 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, with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, such ...

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

steam turbine A steam turbine or steam turbine engine is a machine or heat engine that extracts thermal energy from pressurized steam and uses it to do mechanical work utilising a rotating output shaft. Its modern manifestation was invented by Sir Charles Par ...

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, ''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 ...

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 defen ...

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 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 ...

, 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 naval gun or group of guns used in volleys, as in the broadsides of cannon on a ship of the line. Later, th ...

used on the ''Yugumo''-class of six Type 3 127 mm 50 caliber naval guns 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 mechanis ...

s, one

superfiring Superfiring armament is a naval design technique in which two or more turrets are located one behind the other, with the rear turret located above ("super") the one in front so that it can fire over the first. This configuration meant that both ...

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 designed to destroy submarine A submarine (often shortened to sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. (It differs from a submersible, which has more limited ...

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 int ...

, and participated in the evacuation of Japanese troops from

Kiska Island Kiska (, ) 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 to visit it. The island ha ...

towards the end of the

Aleutian Islands campaign The Aleutian Islands campaign () was a military campaign fought between 3 June 1942 and 15 August 1943 on and around the Aleutian Islands in the American theater (World War II), American Theater of World War II during the Pacific War. It was t ...

from July to August, serving as

flagship A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of navy, 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 ...

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; , , or , ; known to the Japanese as Brown Atoll or Brown Island; ) is a large coral atoll of 40 islands in the Pacific Ocean and with its 296 people (as of 2021) forms a legi ...

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 () is the largest island and capital of the Northern Mariana Islands, an unincorporated Territories of the United States, territory of the United States in the western Pacific Ocean. According to 2020 estimates by the United States Cens ...

Palau Palau, officially the Republic of Palau, is an island country in the Micronesia subregion of Oceania in the western Pacific Ocean. The Republic of Palau consists of approximately 340 islands and is the western part of the Caroline Islands ...

, 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 20 ...

. 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 ...

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, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...

, followed by

Biak Biak is the main island of Biak Archipelago located in Cenderawasih Bay near the northern coast of Papua (province), Papua, an Indonesian province, and is just northwest of New Guinea. Biak has many atolls, reefs, and corals. The largest popula ...

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 most commonly refers to: * Okinawa Prefecture, Japan's southernmost prefecture * Okinawa Island, the largest island of Okinawa Prefecture * Okinawa Islands, an island group including Okinawa itself * Okinawa (city), the second largest city in th ...

and continued on to Lingga, arriving in

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 ...

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

Battle of Leyte Gulf The Battle of Leyte Gulf () 23–26 October 1944, 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. By late 1944, Japan possessed fewer capital sh ...

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

battleship A battleship is a large, heavily naval armour, armored warship with a main battery consisting of large naval gun, guns, designed to serve as a capital ship. From their advent in the late 1880s, battleships were among the largest and most form ...

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 battle in history, largest naval battles in history, which took place in the Philippine Sea off Samar (island), Samar Island, in the Philippin ...

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. Shimakaze 1944-11-11

On 4 November, ''Shimakaze'' was appointed flagship of Destroyer Squadron 2 under the command of

Rear Admiral Rear admiral is a flag officer rank used by English-speaking navies. In most European navies, the equivalent rank is called counter admiral. Rear admiral is usually immediately senior to commodore and immediately below vice admiral. It is ...

Mikio Hayakawa, and assigned to escort a troop convoy from Manila to

Ormoc Ormoc (IPA: �oɾˈmok, officially the City of Ormoc (; ; ), is a independent component city in the Eastern Visayas region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 230,998 inhabitants, making it the second mo ...

. 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 a group of ships in World War II. It was the main striking force of the United States Navy in the Pacific War from January 1944 through th ...

on 11 November 1944 during the Battle of Ormoc Bay, 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, 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.

Wreck

''Shimakaze'' was discovered by a

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 ...

-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 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