Nihon Kaigun 1946

No idea why they're showing up like that; I have them saved as bitmaps on my computer. Anyway, here are a few more for your enjoyment, ideas for two of which came from Craig Burke's page "Furashita's Fleet" on combinedfleet.com. Enjoy!

-Matt

Battlecruiser Chichibu, armed with 4 x 16-inch and 3 x 6.1-inch guns.

Aircraft cruiser Sagami.

And finally we have the Nadakaze-class destroyers, along with their entire story.

The Nadakaze-class was commissioned starting in March 1943, and - in conjunction with the Kageros, Yugumos, and Akizukis - formed the backbone of the IJN's wartime destroyer force. And small wonder; each ship boasted four sextuple torpedo mounts, for a total of twenty-four tubes per ship. Like the forthcoming Matsus, their funnels were spaced wider apart so as to prevent the engines from being completely knocked out by bomb hits, and when Nadakaze reached an astonishing 41 knots on acceptance trials, the IJN knew they had a winner.

The first indication the Allies had of the power of these vessels came in July 1943, when Nadakaze, Umigiri, Yamagiri, and a newly-commissioned Tanigiri smashed an Allied cruiser force off Kolombangara in the Solomons. The Japanese vessels were hammered by gunfire due to the Allies' superior radar, but by the time the Allied cruisers had opened fire, ninety-six 'Long Lance' torpedoes were speeding their way toward their targets. As the first torpedoes struck, the tide quickly swung in favor of the IJN, and by the end of the battle, the four Japanese ships - albeit considerably damaged from gunfire - were withdrawing at nearly 40 knots, leaving behind an Allied force in chaos. Along with three of four destroyers, light cruisers Honolulu, Helena, and St. Louis were ripped open from stem to stern by torpedoes and sank within minutes. Only destroyer Fletcher remained to rescue hundreds of sailors floundering in the water, her crew wondering what the hell had just happened.

More of these vessels followed, and by late June 1944, twelve more of these powerful super-destroyers - Kawagiri, Taekaze, Kiyokaze, Satokaze, Murakaze, Yamasame, Akisame, Natsusame, Hayasame, Takashio, Akishio, and Harushio - had joined the fleet. However, Taekaze had barely made it to the front lines before being sunk by a submarine in September 1943, earning the unenviable distinction of being the first of her class to be sunk.

Further losses followed: Umigiri and Kawagiri were sunk in a night surface action off Bougainville in November 1943 in one of the last battles of the Solomons campaign. In January 1944, while escorting a convoy, newly-commissioned Yamasame struck a mine laid by a U.S. submarine off the entrance to Tokyo Bay, detonating her forward magazine and causing her to disappear with all hands, while submarines claimed both Yamagiri and Tanigiri off Malaya later the same month.

The U.S. air raid on Truk saw Kiyokaze damaged in a surface action while trying to escape, but her 40-knot speed managed to get her to safety. Sister ship Natsusame, however, wasn't so lucky; her speed had been cut in half by a torpedo hit earlier, and she quickly fell prey to the guns of battleship New Jersey. Nevertheless, she didn't go quietly, defiantly launching a full spread of torpedoes at Spruance's ships before succumbing to her wounds. Her few survivors screamed ecstatic 'banzais' from the oil-covered water as the torpedoes found and obliterated destroyer Burns and heavy cruiser Minneapolis, and severely damaged battleship Iowa, sending her back to the States for lengthy repairs and causing her to miss a date with destiny four months later...

The period of March - June 1944 saw Hayasame sunk by a submarine off the entrance to the Tawitawi anchorage in April 1944, while brand-new Akishio was sunk while escorting a convoy en route to join the rest of Combined Fleet at Singapore. Six of the seven surviving ships - newly-commissioned Harushio had not yet left home waters - escorted the fleet during the Battle of the Philippine Sea, and thankfully all came home unscathed save for slight damage from strafing.

When the U.S. invaded the Philippines in October 1944, a further three ships - Wakashio, Kitakaze, and Hayakaze - had been commissioned, but Kitakaze was sunk by submarine within three weeks of entering service. The remaining nine vessels - a tenth, Natsukaze would not leave home waters until after the battle - sortied with the fleet on what everyone hoped would be a successful mission to save the Philippines from being taken.

It turned out to be a slaughter for the IJN, but the U.S. paid a heavy price as well. In the air strikes of 24 October, Wakashio was counted among those lost, while Akisame and Harushio were massacred along with the rest of Nishimura's force in Surigao Strait. However, both ships managed to launch their torpedoes before being pounded under the waves, and chaos reigned when the torpedoes found their targets, sinking heavy cruiser Portland and battleships Idaho, California, and West Virginia.

The following day, Kurita's force was surprised by Halsey's fleet - he'd sent the carriers to smash Ozawa, but kept the strong surface ships back - in what came to be known as the Battle of the San Bernardino Strait. Every battleship fanatic's dream was realized as Yamato and Musashi went head-to-head with Halsey's flagship New Jersey and battleships Washington and Alabama. Nadakaze, Kiyokaze, Satokaze, and Murakaze charged the U.S. ships, and launched a full spread of ninety-six 'Long Lancers' before making smoke and turning away. Both Nadakaze and Murakaze escaped, but Kiyokaze and Satokaze were smashed by the guns of various U.S. cruisers and sank with heavy casualties.

Their torpedoes, however, sped on their way, and slammed into the U.S. heavy surface ship group with devastating results. Heavy cruiser Baltimore exploded and sank with all hands, and light cruisers Cleveland and Birmingham were ripped open and mortally wounded, as was Washington. Alabama took three hits, but her stockier-shaped hull and better armor allowed her to limp away. Halsey's flagship New Jersey was ripped open by four torpedoes, but it looked like she was going to make it...until a salvo from Yamato arrived and a single 18.1-inch AP shell managed to punch through the armor around a sixteen-inch magazine. The rainy battlefield suddenly lit up as the Iowa-class battleship erupted and vanished behind a huge column of smoke. Neither side knew what had happened until the smoke parted briefly...long enough for the other ships to catch a glimpse of New Jersey's bow high in the air and in the midst of capsizing. Chaos erupted on both sides as various American ships made smoke and withdrew and ecstatic Japanese skippers broadcast the news to their crews.

Even though a smashing victory had occurred, causing the Americans to withdraw from Leyte and General Douglas MacArthur's reputation to be all but ruined, the Americans had still managed to take Morotai, and various carrier forces continued to harrass Japanese ships in the Philippines for some time. Takashio was caught and sunk with all hands by a small American cruiser-destroyer force while searching for survivors from heavy cruiser Aoba, light cruiser Kinu, and destroyer Uranami, while U.S. carrier planes hounded Hayakaze until she ran aground and was then pounded to pieces as a stationary bombing target.

Of the three surviving ships of the class - Natsukaze greeted the survivors of Leyte Gulf upon return to Lingga - only veteran Nadakaze would ever see the homeland again. The trio departed Lingga escorting various elements of Combined Fleet home to Japan in late November 1944, and both Murakaze and Natsukaze were sunk within five days of each other, leaving Nadakaze and newly-commissioned Fuyukaze as the sole survivors until Hatsunatsu was commissioned the following month. Nadakaze's luck finally ran out in late February 1945, when she was sunk by a submarine.

By April 1945, the final two ships of the class - Hatsuaki and Hayaharu - had been completed, and the remaining four joined Yamato and Musashi on the Morotai bombardment mission. Both Hatsunatsu and Hatsuaki would be counted among the ships lost, and Fuyukaze didn't complete repairs until July 1945. Three months later she became the sole survivor of the class when Hayaharu was sunk by a mine. Fuyukaze would live until April 1946, when she too was finally sunk by a submarine off Lingga.

Shipbucket

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