Name Isokaze Laid down 25 November 1938 Struck 25 May 1945 Construction started 25 November 1938 Length 118 m | Ordered 1937 Commissioned 30 November 1940 Fate Scuttled, 7 April 1945 Launched 19 June 1939 Beam 11 m | |
 | ||
Isokaze (磯風, "Wind on the Beach") was one of 19 Kagerō-class destroyers built for the Imperial Japanese Navy during the 1930s.
Contents
Design and description
The Kagerō class was an enlarged and improved version of the preceding Asashio class. Their crew numbered 240 officers and enlisted men. The ships measured 118.5 meters (388 ft 9 in) overall, with a beam of 10.8 meters (35 ft 5 in) and a draft of 3.76 meters (12 ft 4 in). They displaced 2,065 metric tons (2,032 long tons) at standard load and 2,529 metric tons (2,489 long tons) at deep load. 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 52,000 shaft horsepower (39,000 kW) for a designed speed of 35 knots (65 km/h; 40 mph). The ships had a range of 5,000 nautical miles (9,300 km; 5,800 mi) at a speed of 18 knots (33 km/h; 21 mph).
The main armament of the Kagerō class consisted of six Type 3 127-millimeter (5.0 in) guns in three twin-gun turrets, one superfiring pair aft and one turret forward of the superstructure. They were built with four Type 96 25-millimeter (1.0 in) 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 610-millimeter (24.0 in) 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
On 7 April 1945, Isokaze escorted the battleship Yamato from the Inland Sea on her Operation Ten-Go attack on the Allied forces on Okinawa. She was struck by aircraft of Task Force 58 and scuttled by the destroyer Yukikaze with gunfire 150 miles (240 km) southwest of Nagasaki (30.46°N 128.92°E / 30.46; 128.92). Of those on board, 20 were killed and rest were rescued by other ships. Yamato's other escorts, including Hamakaze, Asashimo and Yamato herself, were sunk afterwards, Asashimo losing all hands during the encounter.