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JDS Wakaba (DE-261)
Encyclopedia
JDS Wakaba was the former IJN Nashi, a Tachibana-class destroyer
Matsu class destroyer
The were a class of destroyer built for the Imperial Japanese Navy , who referred to them as .-Design basis:The Matsu class were built late in World War II, and they were intended to be more cost-effective in response to the changing character of naval warfare at that time...
. The Nashi was sunk in July 1945, but salvaged in 1954 as the Wakaba, later being refitted as a radar trials ship. As such she was the only ship of the Imperial Japanese Navy
Imperial Japanese Navy
The Imperial Japanese Navy was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1869 until 1947, when it was dissolved following Japan's constitutional renunciation of the use of force as a means of settling international disputes...
to become part of the post-war Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force
Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force
The , or JMSDF, is the naval branch of the Japan Self-Defense Forces, tasked with the naval defense of Japan. It was formed following the dissolution of the Imperial Japanese Navy after World War II....
, and for some time was the biggest ship in the JMSDF.
'Nashi' is a type of pear. 'Wakaba' means "Fresh Verdure" in Japanese, suggesting the "green shoots" of recovery, a symbol of a new start after the war.
World War II
Nashi was completed at Kobe, and under Lieutenant Commander Takada Toshio was assigned to Desron 11, Combined Fleet, for training on 15 March 1945. In May 1945 she was assigned to Destoryer Division 52, Cruiser-Destroyer Squadron 31. Nashi escaped an attack on Kure harbour by B-29's on 22 June 1945, but on 28 July 1945 was sunk at Mitajirizaki, Kure (34°14′N 132°30′E) by aircraft from Halsey's Task Force 38Fast Carrier Task Force
The Fast Carrier Task Force was the main striking force of the United States Navy in the Pacific Ocean theatre of World War II.The Fast Carrier Task Force was known under two designations. The Navy made use of two sets of upper command structures for planning the upcoming operations...
. Takada and most of the crew escaped alive. On 15 September 1945 Nashi was officially struck from the Navy list.
Post war
The ship was refloated on 31 September 1954 and then repaired at Kure before being recommissioned in the JMSDF as the Wakaba on 31 May 1956. She was refitted in 1958 for use as a radar trials ship, and sonar was added in 1960.Wakaba was struck on 31 March 1971, and scrapped in 1972-73.