Lt. Cmdr. Kouhei Hanami had ordered top speed for the run back to Rabaul that night, August 2-3, 1943. Amagiri, one of the finest class of destroyers in the world, had been reduced to escorting troop convoys to the beleagured Japanese garrison on Kolombangara. Last month, on a similar run, she had run into some American cruisers and destroyers, and lost ten of her crew. No doubt, her officers and men wanted to make full speed that night.
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Sunk at the Battle of the Bismarck Sea

Asashio played a role in many of the early crucial battles of the Pacific War, including the invasion of Java, the attack on Midway, and the struggle for Guadalcanal, until she met her end in the Bismarck Sea in March, 1943. In early 1942, she used her night-fighting skills and “Long Lance” torpedoes to good effect, but a year later, American material and technological advantages did her in.
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Equipped with eight dual-purpose 100mm guns, Teruzuki was designed to provide anti-aircraft support for transports and capital ships. She was sunk in operations off Guadalcanal in December 1942.

On 31 August 1942, Teruzuki was completed at Nagasaki; her first captain was Commander Orita Tsuneo. In mid-October she steamed from Yokosuka and joined the fleet north of the Solomons, engaged in the long-running battle for Guadalcanal. On 26-27 October, Teruzuki took part in the Battle of Santa Cruz, escorting Admiral Nagumo’s Striking Force. A near-miss from a bomb from a PBY caused some hull damage and killed seven crew.
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Among the shipwrecks of Palau is the Wakatake, a 287 foot long Japanese destroyer. Her final resting place is west of Babeldaob near the West Passage. The Wakatake was attacked by aircraft from the carriers Lexington, Belleau Wood and Langley as part of Task Force 58, on March 30, 1944.

Completed in 1922, the Wakatake class destroyers, were like the larger contemporary Minekaze design, transitional types — differing from Japan’s British-style destroyers of WWI, but not as refined as the later Fubuki and Kagero classes. Called “Second Class” destroyers, the Wakatakes were 287 feet long, displacing 770 tons, drawing just over 8 feet. Powered by three oil-burning turbine engines generating 21,500 horsepower, the speedy Wakatakes could do 31.5 knots. Small, thin-skinned, ships, they were “all punch,” with four torpedo tubes, ten depth charges, and three 4.7 inch guns, mounted on the centerline for shooting on either side. With a flaring bow cut away sharply just forward of the torpedo tubes, an otherwise long flush deck, and two stacks, the Wakatake made a minimalist, functional appearance. They were the last of the small “Second Class” destroyers.

Photos of Wakatake, WW2 Japanese destroyer

They were outdated when World War II started and only performed second line duties during the conflict.

Plan view of Wakatake, WW2 IJN destroyer

SPECIFICATIONS (per contemporary USN Naval Recognition Manual)

Length – 287′ overall, 282′ at waterline
Beam – 26’6″
Draft – 8’3″
Displacement – 770 standard tons

ARMAMAMENT
Three 4.7-inch guns (Max. elevation 40 degrees; max range 19,000 yards)
Two anti-aircraft machine guns
Four 21″ torpedo tubes
Ten depth charges

PROPULSION
Machinery – Parsons Geared Turbine
Boilers- 3 Kampon
Fuel – Oil, 275 tons
Designed HP – 21,500
Maximum speed – 31.5 knots

Hatsuharu was the lead ship of her class in the Imperial Japanese Navy. Her name means “Spring Rains”.

Hatsuharu spent most of the war escorting larger warships and transports throughout the “Greater Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere,” as Japan called its empire. She escorted tanker convoys to Davao, Balikpapan, Makassar, and Tarakan in early 1942. Later in the year, the destroyer made transport runs to Kiska, getting hit on October 17 by US Army B-26s, taking a direct hit on her stern that wrecked the rudder and killed four crew. For most of 1943, she was under repair and refit, the large guns in her after turret being replaced by triple 25mm anti-aircraft guns. From October 1943 through November 1944, Hatsuharu again performed escort duties, to destinations such as Singapore, Truk, Formosa, Manila, and Iwo Jima.
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