View source for Japanese destroyer Minegumo (1937)

{{short description|Asashio-class destroyer}}
{{other ships|Japanese destroyer Minegumo}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2020}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image= IJN DD Minegumo 1937 launching.jpg
|Ship caption= ''Minegumo'' launch on 4 November 1937
}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Hide header=
|Ship country= [[Empire of Japan]]
|Ship flag={{shipboxflag|Japan|naval}}
|Ship name= ''Minegumo''
|Ship namesake=
|Ship ordered=1934 Maru-2 Program
|Ship builder=[[Fujinagata Shipyards]]
|Ship laid down= 22 March 1937
|Ship launched= 4 November 1937
|Ship completed= 
|Ship commissioned= 4 April 1938
|Ship decommissioned= 
|Ship struck= 1 April 1943
|Ship motto=
|Ship nickname=
|Ship honours=
|Ship fate= Sunk in [[Battle of Blackett Strait]], 5 March 1943
|Ship notes=
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Hide header=
|Header caption=
|Ship class= {{sclass|Asashio|destroyer}}
|Ship displacement= {{convert|2370|LT|t|0|abbr=on}}
|Ship length=*{{convert|111|m|ft|abbr=on}} [[Length between perpendiculars|pp]]
*{{convert|115|m|ftin|abbr=on}}waterline
*{{convert|118.3|m|ftin|abbr=on}} OA 
|Ship beam= {{convert|10.386|m|ftin|abbr=on}} 
|Ship draft= {{convert|3.7|m|ftin|abbr=on}} 
|Ship propulsion= 2-shaft geared turbine, 3 boilers, {{convert|50000|shp|kW|0|abbr=on}}
|Ship speed= {{convert|35|kn|mph km/h|lk=in}}
|Ship range=*{{convert|5700|nmi|km|abbr=on|lk=in}} at {{convert|10|kn|km/h|abbr=on}}
*{{convert|960|nmi|km|abbr=on|lk=in}} at {{convert|34|kn|km/h|abbr=on}}
|Ship complement=230
|Ship sensors=
|Ship EW=
|Ship armament=*6 × [[12.7&nbsp;cm/50 Type 3 naval gun|12.7&nbsp;cm/50 Type 3]] [[dual purpose gun|DP]] guns
*up to 28 × [[Type 96 25 mm AT/AA Gun|Type 96 AA guns]]
*up to 4 × [[13.2 mm Hotchkiss machine gun|Type 93 AA guns]]
*8 × {{convert|24|in|mm|0|abbr=on}} [[torpedo tube]]s
*36 [[depth charge]]s
|Ship armor=
|Ship notes=
}}
{{Infobox service record
|is_ship=yes
|label= 
|partof=
|codes=
|commanders=
|operations=*[[Battle of Tarakan (1942)]]
*[[Battle of the Java Sea]] (1942)
*[[Battle of Midway]] (1942)
*[[Battle of the Eastern Solomons]] (1942)
*[[Battle of Blackett Strait]] (1943)
|victories=
|awards=
}}
|}

{{nihongo|'''''Minegumo'''''|峯雲|Summit Cloud}}<ref>Nelson. ''Japanese-English Character Dictionary''. page 349, 942</ref> was the eighth of ten {{sclass|Asashio|destroyer}}s built for the [[Imperial Japanese Navy]] in the mid-1930s under the [[2nd Naval Armaments Supplement Programme (Japan, 1934)|Circle Two Supplementary Naval Expansion Program]] (''Maru Ni Keikaku'').

==History==
The ''Asashio''-class destroyers were larger and more capable that the preceding {{sclass|Shiratsuyu|destroyer|4}}, as Japanese naval architects were no longer constrained by the provisions of the [[London Naval Treaty]]. These [[light cruiser]]-sized vessels were designed to take advantage of Japan's lead in [[torpedo]] technology, and to accompany the Japanese main striking force and in both day and night attacks against the [[United States Navy]] as it advanced across the Pacific Ocean, according to Japanese naval strategic projections.<ref>Peattie & Evans, ''Kaigun'' .</ref> Despite being one of the most powerful classes of destroyers in the world at the time of their completion, none survived the [[Pacific War]].<ref>Globalsecurity.org, IJN Asashio class destroyers</ref>

''Minegumo'', built at the [[Fujinagata Shipyards]] in [[Osaka]] was [[Keel laying|laid down]] on 22 March 1937, [[Ship launching|launched]] on 4 November 1937 and commissioned on 4 April 1938.<ref>{{cite web | url= http://homepage2.nifty.com/nishidah/e/stc0427.htm | title= Asashio class 1st class destroyers | last= Nishidah | first= Hiroshi | year= 2002 | work= Materials of the Imperial Japanese Navy | access-date= 25 March 2011 | archive-url= https://archive.today/20120721073917/http://homepage2.nifty.com/nishidah/e/stc0427.htm | archive-date= 21 July 2012 | url-status= dead }}</ref>

==Operational history==
At 1800 hours on 23 June 1941, ''Minegumo'' collided with  the destroyers {{ship|Japanese destroyer|Kuroshio||2}} and {{ship|Japanese destroyer|Natsushio||2}} in [[Bungo Channel]].

At the time of the [[attack on Pearl Harbor]], ''Minegumo'', under the command of Lieutenant Commander Suzuki Yasuatsu, was assigned to Destroyer Division 8 (Desdiv 8), and a member of Destroyer Squadron 4 (Desron 4) of the [[IJN 2nd Fleet]], escorting Admiral [[Nobutake Kondō]]'s Southern Force Main Body out of [[Mako Guard District]] as distant cover to the [[Battle of Malaya|Malaya]] and [[Battle of the Philippines (1941-42)|Philippines]] invasion forces in December 1941.<ref>{{cite web| url= http://www.combinedfleet.com/minegu_t.htm | title= IJN ''MInegumo'': Tabular Record of Movement |author=Allyn D. Nevitt  |year= 1998 |publisher=combinedfleet.com }}</ref>

In early 1942, she escorted troop convoys to [[Lingayen, Pangasinan|Lingayen]], [[Battle of Tarakan (1942)|Tarakan]], [[Balikpapan]] and [[Makassar]] in the [[Netherlands East Indies]]. During the [[Battle of the Java Sea]], she engaged in an exchange of gunnery with the [[United Kingdom|British]] destroyer {{HMS|Encounter|H10|6}}, and suffered light damage with four crewmen wounded. On 1 March, together with {{ship|Japanese destroyer|Natsugumo|1937|2}}, ''Minegumo'' unsuccessfully attacked the American submarine {{USS|Perch|SS-176|6}} with [[depth charge]]s. After participation in the [[Battle of Christmas Island]] on 31 March – 10 April, she escorted the damaged cruiser {{ship|Japanese cruiser|Naka||2}} to [[Singapore]], and returned at the end of the month to the [[Yokosuka Naval Arsenal]] for repairs.

At the end of May, ''Minegumo'' joined the escort for the Midway Invasion Force under the overall command of Admiral [[Kondo Nobutake]] during the [[Battle of Midway]]. In July, she was sent to northern waters, patrolling from [[Ominato Guard District]] towards the [[Kurile Islands]]. Afterwards, she was sent south to [[Chuuk Lagoon|Truk]], where she suffered minor damage on a [[coral reef]] on 20 August. She provided support in the [[Battle of the Eastern Solomons]] in August 1942 and escorted the damaged aircraft carrier {{ship|Japanese aircraft carrier|Chitose||2}} back to Truk. From September, she was assigned to patrols from Truk towards [[Shortland Island|Shortland]], and in October was assigned to "[[Tokyo Express]]" high speed transport operations in the [[Solomon Islands]]. On one of these missions on 5 October, she suffered moderate damage in an air attack, with serious flooding {{convert|150|mi|km}} off [[Guadalcanal]]. She limped back to Yokosuka for repairs by the end of November.

Repairs completed by 22 February 1943, ''Minegumo'' returned with a convoy to Truk. She continued on to [[Rabaul]] by 2 March. During another transport run from Rabaul to [[Kolombangara]] on 5 March ''Minegumo'' and {{ship|Japanese destroyer|Murasame|1935|2}} are believed to have sunk the submarine {{USS|Grampus|SS-207|6}}. However, that same night, ''Murasame'' and ''Minegumo'' were detected by the American Task Force 68 off [[Vila, Solomon Islands|Vila]], after delivering supplies to the Japanese base there. Both ships were sunk in the subsequent action (later known as the [[Battle of Blackett Strait]]) at {{coord|08|01|S|157|14|E |type:event_region:SB-WE_dim:300km |display=inline,title}}.<ref>{{cite book | last = Brown | first = David| year = 1990 | title = Warship Losses of World War Two| publisher=Naval Institute Press| isbn = 1-55750-914-X}}</ref> On ''Minegumo'', 46 crewmen (including her captain, Lieutenant Commander Yoshitake Uesugi) perished, but 122 survivors later reached Japanese lines, and two were captured by the Americans. ''Minegumo'' was removed from the [[navy list]] on 1 April 1943.

== See also ==
* [[Battle of Blackett Strait|The Battle of Blackett Strait]]

==Notes==
{{reflist}}

== References ==
*{{cite book | last = D'Albas | first = Andrieu| year = 1965 | title = Death of a Navy: Japanese Naval Action in World War II  | publisher=Devin-Adair Pub| isbn = 0-8159-5302-X}}
*{{cite book | last = Brown | first = David| year = 1990 | title = Warship Losses of World War Two| publisher=Naval Institute Press| isbn = 1-55750-914-X}}
*{{cite book | last = Hammel | first = Eric | authorlink = Eric M. Hammel | year = 1988 | title = Guadalcanal: Decision at Sea : The Naval Battle of Guadalcanal, Nov.&nbsp;13–15, 1942 | publisher = Pacifica Press | location = (CA) | isbn = 0-517-56952-3 | url = https://archive.org/details/guadalcanaldecis00hamm }}
*{{cite book | last = Howarth | first = Stephen | year = 1983| title = The Fighting Ships of the Rising Sun: The Drama of the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1895–1945 | publisher=Atheneum | isbn = 0-689-11402-8}}
*{{cite book| last = Jentsura | first = Hansgeorg | year = 1976 | title = Warships of the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1869–1945 | publisher=US Naval Institute Press  | isbn = 0-87021-893-X }}
*{{cite book | last = Nelson | first = Andrew N. | year = 1967 | title = Japanese–English Character Dictionary | publisher = Tuttle | isbn = 0-8048-0408-7 | url = https://archive.org/details/modernreadersjap00nels }}
*{{cite book | last = Watts | first = Anthony J | year = 1967 | title = Japanese Warships of World War II | publisher=Doubleday | isbn =  978-0-3850-9189-3}}
*{{cite book | last = Whitley | first = M J | title = Destroyers of World War Two: An International Encyclopedia | publisher=Arms and Armour Press | year = 2000 | location = London | isbn = 1-85409-521-8 }}

==External links==
*[http://www.combinedfleet.com/asashi_c.htm CombinedFleet.com: ''Asashio''-class destroyers]
*[http://www.combinedfleet.com/minegu_t.htm CombinedFleet.com: ''Minegumo'' history]
*[http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/japan/asashio-dd.htm GlobalSecurity.org: ''Asashio'' class destroyers]
*[http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/sh-fornv/japan/japsh-m/minegumo.htm Naval Historical Center entry on the ''Minegumo'']

{{Asashio class destroyer}}
{{June 1941 shipwrecks}}
{{March 1943 shipwrecks}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Minegumo}}
[[Category:Asashio-class destroyers]]
[[Category:World War II destroyers of Japan]]
[[Category:Shipwrecks in the Solomon Sea]]
[[Category:1937 ships]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in June 1941]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in March 1943]]
[[Category:Ships built by Fujinagata Shipyards]]