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 Yamagumo underway on 15 September 1939. | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 Empire of Japan | |
| Name | Yamagumo |
| Ordered | 1934 Maru-2 Program |
| Builder | Fujinagata Shipyards |
| Laid down | 4 November 1936 |
| Launched | 24 July 1937 |
| Commissioned | 15 January 1938 |
| Stricken | 10 January 1945 |
| Fate | Sunk in action, 25 October 1944 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type | Asashio-classdestroyer |
| Displacement | 2,370 long tons (2,408 t) |
| Length |
|
| Beam | 10.3 m (33 ft 10 in) |
| Draft | 3.7 m (12 ft 2 in) |
| Propulsion | 2-shaft geared turbine, 3 boilers, 50,000 shp (37,285 kW) |
| Speed | 35knots (40 mph; 65 km/h) |
| Range | |
| Complement | 200 |
| Armament |
|
Yamagumo (山雲,Mountain Cloud)[1] was the sixth of tenAsashio-classdestroyers built for theImperial Japanese Navy in the mid-1930s under theCircle Two Supplementary Naval Expansion Program (Maru Ni Keikaku).
TheAsashio-class destroyers were larger and more capable that the precedingShiratsuyu-class, as Japanese naval architects were no longer constrained by the provisions of theLondon Naval Treaty. Theselight cruiser-sized vessels were designed to take advantage of Japan’s lead intorpedo technology, and to accompany the Japanese main striking force and in both day and night attacks against theUnited States Navy as it advanced across thePacific Ocean, according to Japanese naval strategic projections.[2] Despite being one of the most powerful classes of destroyers in the world at the time of their completion, none survived thePacific War.[3]
Yamagumo, built at theFujinagata Shipyards waslaid down on 4 November 1936,launched on 24 July 1937 and commissioned on 15 January 1938.[4]
At the time of theattack on Pearl Harbor,Yamagumo, under the command of Lieutenant Commander Yasuji Koga, wasflagship of the 3rd Special Attack Force in theinvasion of the Philippines, covering landings atCamiguin Island andLingayen. However, on 31 December, she suffered severe damage after striking a Japanesenaval mine. She was towed toHong Kong for repairs in early February, and then limped toYokosuka Naval Arsenal by 7 April. She remained under repair until 15 May 1942 but remained based at Yokosuka through the end of August 1942. She made one escort mission toSaipan at the end of December 1942. In February 1943, while attempting to escortTatsuta Maru toTruk, she was unable to prevent the formerluxury liner from being torpedoed by the submarineUSS Tarpon with the loss of 1,400 lives just east-southeast ofMikurajima.
On 15 September 1943Yamagumo was assigned to theIJN 3rd Fleet, and escorted a convoy fromShanghai toRabaul, returning to Shanghai on 18 October. She duplicated the mission in November, after which she was assigned to escort the submarine tenderChōgei and cruiserKashima from Truk toKure. On 19 November 1943, she sank the submarineUSS Sculpin withdepth charges. The 42 survivors were rescued and taken as prisoners-of-war (POWs), then were transferred to the escort carrierChūyō, until she was sunk by the submarineUSS Sailfish, in which 20 out of 21 went down with the ship. Only 1 was rescued and returned to Japan along with the other 21 survivors aboardUnyō to serve as POWs until the end of the war.
Subsequently, she was assigned to escort the tankerNippon Maru in theMarshall Islands area. In December, she returned to Japan withKongō andChōgei, returning to Truk in the company of the battleshipYamato at the end of the year.
On 1 January 1944 she suffered light damage when strafed during aTokyo Express troop transport mission toKavieng. She was escort for the tankerKokuyo Maru in January, and made three additional troop transport runs in the Solomon Islands area in February. On 23 February, she returned to Yokosuka together with the transportAsaka Maru. While at Yokosuka, she was overhauled, and one of her maingun turrets was replaced by two tripleType 96 AA guns.
In early April, she escorted the aircraft carrierZuihō toGuam, and back to Kure. In May, she escorted the carriersJun'yō,Hiyō andRyūhō toTawitawi, and the battleshipsYamato andMusashi toBiak. During theBattle of the Philippine Sea of 10–20 June 1944, she was part of AdmiralTakatsugu Jōjima’s “Force B”, but did not see combat.
During theBattle of Leyte Gulf of 22–25 October 1944 she was part of AdmiralShōji Nishimura’s “Southern Force”. In theBattle of Surigao Strait, she was hit by torpedoes fired by the destroyerUSS McDermut, and exploded, sinking at position10°25′N125°23′E / 10.417°N 125.383°E /10.417; 125.383.[5] There were only two survivors.[6] She was removed from thenavy list on 10 January 1945.
Yamagumo's wreck was discovered along with sisterMichishio on 27 November 2017 byMicrosoft co-founderPaul Allen's research shipRV Petrel. Both wrecks are 1 mile (1.6 km) apart in 380 ft (117 m) of water. Both wrecks were heavily encrusted with marine growth, which combined with their close proximity, made it impossible to distinguish the two ships.[7]
