Japanese destroyer Fubuki
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 Fubuki |
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| Career |  |
|---|---|
| Laid down: | June 19, 1926 |
| Launched: | November 15, 1927 |
| Commissioned: | August 10, 1928 |
| Fate: | Sunk in the Battle of Cape Esperance on October 11, 1942 |
| General characteristics | |
| Displacement: | 2,050 tons |
| Length: | 378 ft 3 in (115.3 m) |
| Beam: | 34 ft (10.4 m) |
| Draft: | 10 ft 6 in (3.2 m) |
| Propulsion: | 4 × Kampon type boilers, 2 × Parsons geared turbines, 2 × shafts at 50,000 shp (37 MW) |
| Speed: | 38 knots (70 km/h) |
| Range: | 5,000 nm at 14 knots (9,200 km at 26 km/h) |
| Complement: | 197 |
| Armament: | 6 × 127 mm (5 in) / 50 caliber DP guns (3×2) up to 22 × 25 mm AA guns up to 10 × 13 mm AA guns, 9 × 610 mm (24 in) torpedo tubes 36 × depth charges |
Fubuki (Japanese: 吹雪, meaning "snowstorm") was a Fubuki-class destroyer of the Imperial Japanese Navy. She was a veteran of many of the major battles of the first year of the war, and was sunk in Ironbottom Sound during the Battle of Cape Esperance in World War II.
[edit] Combat record
On 20-26 November 1941 Fubuki steamed with Destroyer Division 3 ("Desron 3") from Kure to the port of Samah on Hainan Island. From 4 December 1941 to 30 January 1942 Desron escorted the heavy cruisers Suzuya, Kumano, Mogami and Mikuma out of Samah and Camranh Bay in support of Malaya, British Borneo and Anambas Islands invasion operations; Fubuki also briefly escorted troop convoys during this period.
On 10 January, Fubuki assisted the destroyers Asakaze and Hatakaze in rescuing survivors of the torpedoed transport Akita Maru. On 27 January she participated in the Battle off Endau, and assisted in sinking the British destroyer HMS Thanet. On 13-18 February, Fubuki was with the Bangka-Palembang invasion forces, and took part in attacks on Allied shipping fleeing from Singapore: Fubuki assisted in the sinking or capture of at least seven vessels.
On 27 February, Fubuki joined the Western Java invasion force. On 1 March, she was involved in the Battle of Sunda Strait, where she assisted in the sinking of the Australian cruiser HMAS Perth and the American heavy cruiser USS Houston (CA-30). The crew of Fubuki has been accused of launching the torpedo spread that accidentally sank four Japanese transports and a minesweeper, but recent research indicates Mogami the more likely agent.
On 12 March, Fubuki escorted Admiral Ozawa's cover force for the Northern Sumatra invasions. On 23 March, she escorted Admiral Ozawa's cover force for the Andaman Islands invasion; then she served patrol and escort duties out of Port Blair during the Japanese raids into the Indian Ocean. On 13-22 April she steamed from Singapore via Camranh Bay to Kure, then docked for maintenance.
On 4-5 June, Desron 3 participated in the Battle of Midway as an escort for Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto's Main Body. Fubuki provided antiaircraft protection during the American air attacks, which sank the Mikuma and badly damaged the Mogami.
On 30 June-2 July, Desron 3 escorted a troop convoy from Kure to Amami-O-Shima, then conducted antisubmarine patrolling there. On 17-31 July, the squadron steamed from Amami-O-Shima via Mako, Singapore and Sabang to Mergui (Burma) for Indian Ocean raiding operations, which were aborted due to the American invasion of Guadalcanal. On 8-17 August, the squadron steamed from Mergui via Makassar to Davao.
On 19-23 August, Desron 3 escorted a troop transport convoy from Davao to Truk, and was then sent into the Solomon Islands theater of operations. On 25-27 August, the squadron steamed from Truk to Rabaul. On 27-31 August, it escorted the transport Sado Maru from Rabaul to the Shortland Islands, followed by a pair of troop transport run to Guadalcanal.
On 2 September the squadron conducted an attack mission on Henderson Field at Guadalcanal, shelling the airfield to cover for the Tsugaru troop transport run. There was another troop transport run on 5 September and another attack mission on 8 September. On 12-13 September, Fubuki provided gunfire support against US Marine positions on Guadalcanal in support of the Kawaguchi offensive. This was followed by five more troop transport runs to Guadalcanal on 13 September, 16 September, 1 October, 4 October and 7 October.
On 11 October, in the Battle of Cape Esperance, Fubuki's luck finally ran out. She was sunk by gunfire of a US cruiser-destroyer group, off Cape Esperance (09-06 S, 159-38 E). There were 109 survivors from her crew who were later rescued by the American destroyer USS McCalla (DD-488), and the destroyer/minesweepers USS Hovey (DMS-11) and USS Trever (DMS-16). Lt. Cmdr. Shizuo Yamashita was killed in action.
[edit] Commanding Officers
Chief Equipping Officer - Cmdr. Tokujiro Yokoyama - 1 February 1928 - 10 July 1928
Cmdr. Tokujiro Yokoyama - 10 July 1928 - 10 December 1928
Cmdr. Yuzo Ishido - 10 December 1928 - 30 November 1929
Lt. Cmdr. Tsutatsu Higuchi - 30 November 1929 - 31 October 1931
Cmdr. Keizo Sato - 31 October 1931 - 1 July 1932
Cmdr. Hachiro Naotsuka - 1 July 1932 - 15 November 1933
Lt. Cmdr. / Cmdr. Yasuji Hirai - 15 November 1933 - 15 October 1935 (Promoted to Commander on 15 November 1934.)
Cmdr. Torajiro Sato - 15 October 1935 - 9 November 1935
Cmdr. Hironosuke Ueda - 9 November 1935 - 15 November 1936
Lt. Cmdr. / Cmdr. Kiyoto Kagawa - 15 November 1936 - 15 November 1937 (Promoted to Commander on 1 December 1936.)
Lt. Cmdr. Tomozo Fujita - 15 November 1937 - 4 February 1938
Lt. Cmdr. Tatsutaro Yamada - 4 February 1938 - 15 November 1938
Lt. Cmdr. Tsuneo Orita - 15 November 1938 - 15 December 1938
Cmdr. Kiichiro Wakida - 15 December 1938 - 10 October 1939
Lt. Cmdr. Shizuo Okayama - 10 October 1939 - 15 October 1940
Lt. Cmdr. Shizuo Yamashita - 15 October 1940 - 11 October 1942 (KIA)
[edit] References
- Long Lancers: IJN Fubuki: Tabular Record of Movement
- Fubuki in Naval History of World Wars
- LemaireSoft's Fubuki, N°35
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