Japanese destroyer Hamakaze (1940)

The Kagerō class was an enlarged and improved version of the preceding of destroyers. 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. 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 . However, the class proved capable of exceeding on sea trials. The ships were designed with a range of at a speed of . However, the class more accurately proved to have a range of on trials. 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 (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 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 consisted of 16 depth charges. ==Career==

At the time of Hamakazes completion, 30 June 1941, she was appointed to join her already completed sister ships , , and in destroyer division 17, where together they saw a short peacetime career consisting of training duties and revisions to her command structure. However, things changed when from 18–22 November, Hamakaze departed Saeki with the rest of destroyer division 17 for Hitokappu Bay to escort the Kidō Butai aircraft carrier force on a secret mission, a mission which eventually became the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, which occurred on 7 December. As the force did not come under American counterattack, Hamakaze saw no combat, and returned to Japan on the 24th. in preparation for the Attack on Pearl Harbor, November 1941 Throughout January 1942, Hamakaze escorted the aircraft carriers and throughout strikes on Rabaul, and throughout February escorted the carrier fleet during the attack on Port Darwin and failed attempts to track down Allied aircraft carriers, then during the following months Hamakaze escorted the carriers during operations in the Java Sea and the Indian Ocean raid, and escorted the battleships and when they, joined by Urakaze and Tanikaze, bombardment Christmas Island and led to a successful capture of the territory. Hamakaze finally arrived back at Kure on 27 April and was docked for repairs. Despite her active service, she had not managed to fire a single shot in combat. Battle of Kolombangara On the 9th, Hamakaze departed as part of a protection force for Japanese destroyer transport run, leading to the 12th when her formation was intercepted by an Allied cruiser-destroyer force, made up of many of the same ships which partook in the Kula Gulf battle. After setting off her searchlights, Hamakaze joined other destroyers in attacking the Allied ships with their torpedo batteries, severely damaging a light cruiser. Hamakaze took about a half hour to reload her torpedoes and swerve back into firing range. Hamakaze and the other destroyers fired a spread of 38 torpedoes, enabling multiple hits to sink the destroyer and damage two cruisers. Completely out of torpedoes, Hamakaze retreated from the area. All the destroyer transports completed their mission unattacked., 7 April 1945 Operation Ten Go On 7 April 1945, Hamakaze escorted the battleship from the Inland Sea on her Operation Ten-Go attack on the Allied forces on Okinawa. She was sunk by aircraft of Task Force 58 primarily from and sank southwest of Nagasaki (). ==Notes==