Hagikaze was one of 19 s built for the Imperial Japanese Navy during the 1930s.
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. 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 .
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
Participating in the Battle of Midway, the heavily damaged aircraft carrier was scuttled by Hagikazes two torpedoes, Kaga being fatally damaged by US aircraft from during the battle.
On 7 August 1943, Hagikaze was sunk between Kolombangara and Vella Lavella () during the Battle of Vella Gulf, by torpedoes and gunfire from the US destroyers , , and , with 178 killed.