# Japanese destroyer Isokaze (1939)

Isokaze (磯風, "Wind on the Beach") was one of 19 Kagerō-class destroyers built for the Imperial Japanese Navy during the 1930s.

## Design and description

The Kagerō class was an enlarged and improved version of the preceding Asashio class. Their crew numbered 240 officers and enlisted men. The ships measured 118.5 meters (388 ft 9 in) overall, with a beam of 10.8 meters (35 ft 5 in) and a draft of 3.76 meters (12 ft 4 in). They displaced 2,065 metric tons (2,032 long tons) at standard load and 2,529 metric tons (2,489 long tons) 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 52,000 shaft horsepower (39,000 kW) for a designed speed of 35 knots (65 km/h; 40 mph). The ships had a range of 5,000 nautical miles (9,300 km; 5,800 mi) at a speed of 18 knots (33 km/h; 21 mph).
The main armament of the Kagerō class consisted of six Type 3 127-millimeter (5.0 in) guns in three twin-gun turrets, one superfiring pair aft and one turret forward of the superstructure. They were built with four Type 96 25-millimeter (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 610-millimeter (24.0 in) 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.

## Career

Isokaze was built in the Sasebo Naval Arsenal, laid down on November 25 1938, launched on June 19 1939, and commissioned on November 30 1940. Upon commissioning, Isokaze was assigned to the 17th destroyer division alongside her sistership Urakaze, with the destroyers Tanikaze and Hamakaze becoming eventual additions. Throughout most of 1941, Isokaze transitioned between various naval facilities, and went through many crew adjustments.

### 1942

On November 18 1941, Isokaze departed alongside the rest of the 17th destroyer division to escort the Kido Butai for a mysterious mission, which turned out to be the attack on Pearl Harbor which commenced on December 7, then returned to Kure on the 24rd. Enroute, she joined Hamakaze in attacking an enemy submarine, which they claimed to sink, but this was never confirmed. On January 7 1942, Isokaze escorted the troop ship Nichiro Maru to Truk, then returned to Kure on the 14th, then escorted aircraft carriers during strikes on Rabaul, the raid on Port Darwin, and operations in the Java Sea.
On March 1, Isokaze was operating alongside destroyer division 18 when floatplanes spotted the Dutch freighter Modjokerto. The five destroyers intercepted Modjokerto, and Isokaze joined the destroyers Shiranui and Kasumi in shelling the freighter and sank her in 3 minutes. On the 7th, Isokaze took part in the bombardment of Christmas Island, then escorted the Kido Butai during the Indian Ocean Raid, and finally arrived back at Kure on April 27, and entered drydock from May 5-15. During the battle of Midway from June 4-5, Isokaze was attacked by carrier based aircraft and lightly damaged by bomb near misses, then rescued survivors from the fatally damaged aircraft carrier Soryū then helped to scuttle her with torpedoes.
On the 13th, Isokaze returned to Kure, then on the 22nd entered drydock for repairs, which lasted until July 2. Isokaze spent the rest of the month transiting between bases. On August 24, Isokaze joined the destroyers Kagerō, Kawakaze, Mutsuki, and Yayoi in bombarding Henderson Field. The next day, she escorted the troop convoy force during the battle of the Eastern Solomons, then saw a series of failed troop transport missions. After surviving an encounter with a B-17 bomber, Isokaze escorted a convoy to Rabaul, then on September 11 attempted a troop transport mission, but returned to Rabaul after her consort, the Yayoi, was sunk by B-17 bombers, before seeing several more successful troop transport mission, then in October engaged in patrol duty before escorting carriers at the battle of Santa Cruz on the 26th, then returned to Truk on the 30th. From November 2-7, Isokaze escorted damaged ships to Sasebo for repairs, before being drydocked herself until the 18th, then departed for Yokosuka for troop transport and training missions.

### 1943

At the start of January 1943, Isokaze survived B-17 bomber attacks, then departed Rabaul to escort a large troop convoy to Lae and back. Enroute, the troop ships Myōkō Maru and Nichryu Maru were sunk by air attacks, but the rest if the ships completed their mission. On the 10th, while returning to Rabaul, aircraft spotted an allied submarine, prompting Isokaze to attack the submarine with depth charges to unknown effect at the time. However, it soon became apparent it had an effect as Isokaze noticed a bow emerging from under the waves. This was the USS Argonaut, which prompted Isokaze to join the destroyer Maikaze in blasting Argonaut with their 5-inch (127 mm) guns, sinking the submarine with the loss of all 102 men on board. The convoy arrived at Rabaul that night. Isokaze spent the rest of the month on troop transport missions, them at the beginning of February took part in the evacuation of Guadalcanal, where underway she was mortally wounded by two bomb hits from land based US aircraft, killing 10 men, and in turn Isokaze shot down one enemy bomber. Dead in the water, Isokaze was towed back to the Shortlands, where she was patched up and limped to Truk, where she remained under repairs until March 22, then returned to Kure where she was fully repaired by June 12 and spent the rest of the month on training duties.
Throughout July, Isokaze departed on escorting duties, where she assisted the sinking seaplane tender Nisshin. On August 7, Isokaze was escorting a troop convoy alongside the destroyers Hamakaze, Shigure, and Sazanami when they were attacked by American destroyers in what became known as the battle of Horaniu. Isokaze successfully chased off the enemy destroyers with the help of the other Japanese ships, and in turn took a single 5-inch (127 mm) shell hit, causing minor damage. After repairs, Isokaze took part in more escorting duties and survived several air raids undamaged. On October 7, Isokaze was involved in the battle of Vella Lavella where she briefly engaged US destroyers, but only played a small role in the battle. During the rest of the month, Isokaze engaged in patrol duties around Truk, and on November 4 she struck a mine during convoy escorting duties which forced Isokaze to limp to Truk where she was docked for repairs for the rest of the year, during which her X turret was removed and replaced by AA guns.

### 1944

On January 2 1944, Isokaze departed for Yokosuka, arriving on the next day, then for the rest of the month escorted the transport ship Asaka Maru between Japanese occupied Islands, then spent February and March on fleet patrol and convoy escorting duties. On March 29, Isokaze escorted the battleship Musashi when she was torpedoed by the submarine USS Tunny. Isokaze joined her sistership Urakaze in fending off Tunny with depth charge attacks, then escorted the battleship to repairs. Simultaneously, the destroyer Yukikaze was reassigned to the 17th destroyer division, which had still been going strong with all four ships, Isokaze, Urakaze, Tanikaze, and Hamakaze, still operating together since the beginning of the Pacific war. This came at the protest of Tanikaze's crew, as Yukikaze was beginning to gain a reputation as a "luck vampire", surviving battles completely undamaged as where other ships operating with her were damaged or sunk.
In early April, Isokaze escorted a convoy to Lingga, during which she badly damaged the submarine USS Scamp with depth charges, then spend the rest on the month on training duties, and on May 12 finally departed to escort Japanese warships to Tawitawi, then spend the rest of the month on patrol duties. On June 9, Isokaze departed alongside Tanikaze on submarine patrol duty, during which the Tanikaze crew's words about the Yukikaze seemed to prove true as underway Tanikaze was hit by two torpedoes fired from the submarine USS Harder and rapidly sank with half of her crew. Isokaze departed the scene to avoid being torpedoed, then later returned alongside Urakaze and assisted in rescuing 126 survivors. Tanikaze was the first loss of destroyer division 17. Isokaze dropped off survivors before escorting aircraft carriers at the battle of the Philippine Sea, where she rescued survivors from the sinking aircraft carrier Taihō, then survived attacks from American aircraft carriers. Isokaze returned to Japan after the battle and spend the rest of the month under maintenance, then throughout July took part in troop transport missions, and escorted troop convoys throughout August, and operated with the battleships Fusō and Yamashiro throughout September.

#### Battle of Leyte Gulf

After being drydocked for maintenance, Isokaze arrived at Brunei on October 20, and two days later departed as part of Admiral Kurita's center force for Operation Sho-Go, better known as the battle of Leyte Gulf, with the goal of attacking allied troop convoys destined for the Philippines. Isokaze's crew took several notable photographs of the battle. On the 23rd, attacks by the submarines USS Darter and USS Dace sank the heavy cruisers Atago and Maya and crippled the heavy cruiser Takao, then the next day allied air attacks from aircraft carriers ensued. Isokaze escaped undamaged, but several other ships were damaged, and the battleship Musashi, victim of 17 bombs and 19-20 torpedoes, sank over nine hours.
Isokaze then took part in the fight against the escort carriers and destroyers of Taffy 3 the next day. Isokaze with other destroyers fired torpedoes at the escort carriers but inflicted no damage, before she alone inspected the sinking destroyer USS Hoel, In some form of revenge of US pilots strafing Japanese survivors, Isokaze's crew wished to machine gun the US sailors evacuating the ship. Captain Maeda, while half considering it, ultimately gave into his conscious and ordered an attack off, but Isokaze steamed off without rescuing survivors. Isokaze with other destroyers then engaged the already crippled destroyer USS Johnston, with the ensuing gunfire hits disabling her remaining guns and engine, setting her on fire, and causing her to break in two where she was hit by an 18.1-inch (46 cm) shell from the battleship Yamato earlier in the battle. After the Japanese ships retreated, Isokaze evaded further air attacks without damage, and returned to Brunei on the 28th, enroute being refueled by the battleship Nagato.
In November, the Japanese fleet finally retreated from the Philippines to dash to mainland Japan, where enroute on the 21st, the battleship Kongō and Isokaze's consort throughout the entire war, the Urakaze, were torpedoed and sunk by the submarine USS Sealion, the later with all hands, prompting Isokaze to rescue Kongō survivors. On the 28th, Isokaze was tasked with escorting the incomplete aircraft carrier Shinano through the inland sea. The next day, Shinano was torpedoed and sunk by the submarine USS Archerfish, prompting Isokaze to rescue survivors. Isokaze spend the rest of the year docked on Kure for maintenance.

### 1945

On January 8 1945, Isokaze escorted the Hamakaze, which had been damaged in a collision, to Mako for repairs, then the next day was attacked by American carrier aircraft, but was not damaged. From the 12th to 18th, she escorted the light carrier Ryūhō to Kure, then afterwards joined Hamakaze in training duties until the end of February. Throughout March, Isokaze was for the most part locked in Kure due to American air attacks.

#### Operation Ten Go

Heading into April, an invasion of Okinawa by allied forces was imminent, and while the navy was initially contempt with reserving the handful of ships it possessed for the seemingly inevitable invasion of mainland Japan, Emperor Hirohito requested the navy to do something. Not wanting to disappoint their ruler, the Japanese hatched up a plan, the battleship Yamato was to depart on a one way mission to beach herself on the island to act as a stationary, unsinkable gun fortress to sink US troop ships. Isokaze was one of nine escorts tasked with ensuring Yamato made it to her destination, alongside seven other destroyers and the light cruiser Yahagi. The plan was named Operation Ten Go.
Isokaze departed Japan on April 6 1945, and spent the next few hours practicing torpedo runs on Yamato along with the other destroyers. However, soon afterwards the force was spotted by American aircraft, and tracked by floatplanes for the rest of the day and into the 7th, until noon when the force was attacked by nearly 400 warplanes from American aircraft carriers. Isokaze managed to evade the first several attacks, until noticing Yahagi dead in the water due to a torpedo hit that destroyed her engine room. Rather than fend for herself, Isokaze attempted to assist the crippled Yahagi, which proved to spell her doom as aircraft from the light carriers USS Bataan and USS Belleau Wood noticed the slowing Isokaze and pounced on the easy target, gouging Isokaze with at least two direct bomb hits and several near misses. Destroyed by intense fire and flooding damage, after the main air attacks were over (having sunk Yamato and three other destroyers), the destroyer Yukikaze removed Isokaze's crew, then scuttled her with gunfire, bringing an end to Isokaze's story.
Isokaze's wreckage was located in an underwater survey in May 2016, but the news was not made public until February 10, 2018.