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Japanese destroyer Uzuki (1925)
Encyclopedia
was one of twelve destroyer
s, built for the Imperial Japanese Navy
following World War I
. Advanced for their time, these ships served as first-line destroyers through the 1930s, but were considered obsolescent by the start of the Pacific War
.
from fiscal 1923. The class was a follow-on to the earlier and Kamikaze class destroyers, with which they shared many common design characteristics. Uzuki, built at the Ishikawajima Shipyards
in Tokyo
, was laid down on January 11, 1924, launched on October 15, 1925 and commissioned on September 14, 1926. Originally commissioned simply as “Destroyer No. 25”, it was assigned the name Uzuki on August 1, 1928.
In the late 1930s, Uzuki participated in combat actions in the Second Sino-Japanese War
, covering the landings of Japanese troops in central and southern China
, and the Invasion of French Indochina.
, Uzuki was part of Desron 23 under Carrier Division 2 in the IJN 1st Air Fleet, and deployed from Hahajima in the Ogasawara Islands as part of the Japanese invasion force for the Invasion of Guam
. She returned to Truk in early January 1942 to covering the landings of Japanese forces during ”Operation R”
at Kavieng
, New Ireland
on January 23, returning to Truk one month later. In March, Uzuki assisted in covering landings of Japanese forces during ”Operation SR”
in the northern Solomon Islands
, Lae
and Admiralty Islands
. It was reassigned to the IJN 4th Fleet
on April 10. During the Battle of the Coral Sea
from May 7–8, 1942, Uzuki was assigned to escort the tanker Hoyo maru in the Shortlands
area, and returned to Sasebo Naval Arsenal
for refitting on May 28. By the end of June, Uzuki was based at Truk, and assigned to escort convoys carrying airfield construction crews from Truk to Bougainville and Guadalcanal
, and patrols around Rabaul
. During the invasion of Buka
(July 21–22), Uzuki was strafed by Allied aircraft, with loss of 16 crewmen. On August 11, Uzuki sortied from Rabaul to rescue the survivors of the cruiser . At the end of August, while on a “Tokyo Express
” transport run to Guadalcanal, Uzuki suffered damage from a near miss in an attack by USAAF B-17 Flying Fortress bombers, and returned via Rabaul, Truk and Saipan
back to Sasebo for repairs on September 14.
Uzuki was assigned to the IJN 8th Fleet
on December 1, 1942, and escorted the aircraft carrier
from Yokosuka to Truk, and a troop convoy from Truk to Rabaul at the end of the year. However, at Rabaul on December 25, Uzuki suffered heavy damage in a collision with the torpedoed transport Nankai Maru, and was taken in tow by and back to Rabaul for emergency repairs. While at Rabaul, it was further damaged in an air raid on January 5, 1943. The destroyer towed Uzuki to Truk for further repairs, and then Uzuki returned to Sasebo under her own power by July 3. Once repairs were completed in mid-October, Uzuki returned to Truk and escorted and , both loaded with troops, back to Rabaul. On October 23–24, Uzuki sortied to Jacquinot Bay
on New Britain
to rescue the survivors of her sister ship
. Uzuki continued to make “Tokyo Express” transport runs throughout the Soloman Islands to the end of November. On November 24–25, Uzuki engaged US Navy destroyers at the Battle of Cape St. George
, during the Japanese evacuation of Buka, but without damage. In December, Uzuki was assigned to escort tankers from Rabaul to Truk and Palau
and back.
In January 1944, Uzuki escorted the cruiser back to Japan. After refit at Sasebo Naval Arsenal, Uzuki escorted troop convoys from Yokosuka to Palau, Yap, Saipan and Truk through the end of June. During the Battle of the Philippine Sea
(June 19–20), Uzuki was part of the Second Supply Force. On June 20, she rescued the crew of the transport Genyo maru, and sank the crippled transport with gunfire. Uzuki continued to escort convoys from Kure
to Manila
and Singapore
to the middle of November. On July 18, she was assigned to Combined Fleet
, and on November 20, was re-assigned to the IJN 5th Fleet
.
On December 12, while escorting a troop convoy from Manila to Ormoc, Uzuki was torpedoed by the PT boat
s PT-490 and PT-492, 50 miles (80.5 km) northeast of Cebu
at 11°03′N 124°23′E, exploding and sinking with all hands.
Uzuki was struck from the navy list
on January 10, 1945.
Destroyer
In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast and maneuverable yet long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against smaller, powerful, short-range attackers. Destroyers, originally called torpedo-boat destroyers in 1892, evolved from...
s, built for 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...
following World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. Advanced for their time, these ships served as first-line destroyers through the 1930s, but were considered obsolescent by the start of the Pacific War
Pacific War
The Pacific War, also sometimes called the Asia-Pacific War refers broadly to the parts of World War II that took place in the Pacific Ocean, its islands, and in East Asia, then called the Far East...
.
History
Construction of the Mutsuki-class destroyers was authorized as part of the Imperial Japanese Navy's build up following the abandonment of the Washington Naval TreatyWashington Naval Treaty
The Washington Naval Treaty, also known as the Five-Power Treaty, was an attempt to cap and limit, and "prevent 'further' costly escalation" of the naval arms race that had begun after World War I between various International powers, each of which had significant naval fleets. The treaty was...
from fiscal 1923. The class was a follow-on to the earlier and Kamikaze class destroyers, with which they shared many common design characteristics. Uzuki, built at the Ishikawajima Shipyards
IHI
The acronym IHI can refer to:* Ishikawajima-Harima Heavy Industries, a Japanese company which produces ships, aero-engines, and other transport-related machinery* Information Holdings Inc., part of The Thomson Corporation since 2004...
in Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
, was laid down on January 11, 1924, launched on October 15, 1925 and commissioned on September 14, 1926. Originally commissioned simply as “Destroyer No. 25”, it was assigned the name Uzuki on August 1, 1928.
In the late 1930s, Uzuki participated in combat actions in the Second Sino-Japanese War
Second Sino-Japanese War
The Second Sino-Japanese War was a military conflict fought primarily between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. From 1937 to 1941, China fought Japan with some economic help from Germany , the Soviet Union and the United States...
, covering the landings of Japanese troops in central and southern China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, and the Invasion of French Indochina.
World War II history
At the time of the attack on Pearl HarborAttack on Pearl Harbor
The attack on Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike conducted by the Imperial Japanese Navy against the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on the morning of December 7, 1941...
, Uzuki was part of Desron 23 under Carrier Division 2 in the IJN 1st Air Fleet, and deployed from Hahajima in the Ogasawara Islands as part of the Japanese invasion force for the Invasion of Guam
Battle of Guam (1941)
The First Battle of Guam, was an engagement during the Pacific War in World War II, and took place on 8 December 1941 on Guam in the Mariana Islands between the Empire of Japan and the United States...
. She returned to Truk in early January 1942 to covering the landings of Japanese forces during ”Operation R”
Battle of Rabaul (1942)
The Battle of Rabaul, also known by the Japanese as Operation R, was fought on the island of New Britain in the Australian Territory of New Guinea, in January and February 1942. It was a strategically significant defeat of Allied forces by Japan in the Pacific campaign of World War II...
at Kavieng
Kavieng
Kavieng is the capital of the Papua New Guinean province of New Ireland and the largest town on the island of the same name. The town is located at Balgai Bay, on the northern tip of the island. As of 2000, it had a population of 10,600....
, New Ireland
New Ireland (island)
New Ireland is a large island in Papua New Guinea, approximately 7,404 km² in area. It is the largest island of the New Ireland Province, lying northeast of the island of New Britain. Both islands are part of the Bismarck Archipelago, named after Otto von Bismarck, and they are separated by...
on January 23, returning to Truk one month later. In March, Uzuki assisted in covering landings of Japanese forces during ”Operation SR”
Invasion of Lae-Salamaua
The Invasion of Lae-Salamaua, called Operation SR by the Japanese, was an operation by Imperial Japanese forces to occupy the Salamaua-Lae area in the Territory of New Guinea 8–13 March 1942 during the Pacific campaign of World War II...
in the northern Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands is a sovereign state in Oceania, east of Papua New Guinea, consisting of nearly one thousand islands. It covers a land mass of . The capital, Honiara, is located on the island of Guadalcanal...
, Lae
Lae
Lae, the capital of Morobe Province, is the second-largest city in Papua New Guinea. It is located at the start of the Highlands Highway which is the main land transport corridor from the Highlands region to the coast...
and Admiralty Islands
Admiralty Islands
The Admiralty Islands are a group of eighteen islands in the Bismarck Archipelago, to the north of New Guinea in the south Pacific Ocean. These are also sometimes called the Manus Islands, after the largest island. These rainforest-covered islands form part of Manus Province, the smallest and...
. It was reassigned to the IJN 4th Fleet
IJN 4th Fleet
The was a fleet designation of the Imperial Japanese Navy. The Fourth Fleet designation was used during three separate periods. The initial designation was for a group of ships that were assigned to work together during the Russo-Japanese conflict and the period of its immediate aftermath...
on April 10. During the Battle of the Coral Sea
Battle of the Coral Sea
The Battle of the Coral Sea, fought from 4–8 May 1942, was a major naval battle in the Pacific Theater of World War II between the Imperial Japanese Navy and Allied naval and air forces from the United States and Australia. The battle was the first fleet action in which aircraft carriers engaged...
from May 7–8, 1942, Uzuki was assigned to escort the tanker Hoyo maru in the Shortlands
Shortland Island
Shortland Island is the largest island of the Shortland Islands, Solomon Islands, at . Named by John Shortland....
area, and returned to Sasebo Naval Arsenal
Sasebo Naval Arsenal
was one of four principal naval shipyards owned and operated by the Imperial Japanese Navy. -History:The Sasebo Naval District was established at Sasebo, Nagasaki in 1886, as the third of the naval districts responsible for the defense of the Japanese home islands. After the establishment of the...
for refitting on May 28. By the end of June, Uzuki was based at Truk, and assigned to escort convoys carrying airfield construction crews from Truk to Bougainville and Guadalcanal
Guadalcanal
Guadalcanal is a tropical island in the South-Western Pacific. The largest island in the Solomons, it was discovered by the Spanish expedition of Alvaro de Mendaña in 1568...
, and patrols around Rabaul
Rabaul
Rabaul is a township in East New Britain province, Papua New Guinea. The town was the provincial capital and most important settlement in the province until it was destroyed in 1994 by falling ash of a volcanic eruption. During the eruption, ash was sent thousands of metres into the air and the...
. During the invasion of Buka
Buka Island
Buka Island is the second largest island in the Papua New Guinean province of Bougainville.- History :Buka was first occupied by humans in paleolithic times, some 30,000 years ago...
(July 21–22), Uzuki was strafed by Allied aircraft, with loss of 16 crewmen. On August 11, Uzuki sortied from Rabaul to rescue the survivors of the cruiser . At the end of August, while on a “Tokyo Express
Tokyo Express
The Tokyo Express was the name given by Allied forces to the use of Imperial Japanese Navy ships at night to deliver personnel, supplies, and equipment to Japanese forces operating in and around New Guinea and the Solomon Islands during the Pacific campaign of World War II...
” transport run to Guadalcanal, Uzuki suffered damage from a near miss in an attack by USAAF B-17 Flying Fortress bombers, and returned via Rabaul, Truk and Saipan
Saipan
Saipan is the largest island of the United States Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands , a chain of 15 tropical islands belonging to the Marianas archipelago in the western Pacific Ocean with a total area of . The 2000 census population was 62,392...
back to Sasebo for repairs on September 14.
Uzuki was assigned to the IJN 8th Fleet
IJN 8th Fleet
The was a fleet of the Imperial Japanese Navy established during World War II.-History:Established on 14 July 1942, the IJN 8th Fleet was a headquarters unit established to direct Japanese naval operations in the Solomon Islands and New Guinea...
on December 1, 1942, and escorted the aircraft carrier
Aircraft carrier
An aircraft carrier is a warship designed with a primary mission of deploying and recovering aircraft, acting as a seagoing airbase. Aircraft carriers thus allow a naval force to project air power worldwide without having to depend on local bases for staging aircraft operations...
from Yokosuka to Truk, and a troop convoy from Truk to Rabaul at the end of the year. However, at Rabaul on December 25, Uzuki suffered heavy damage in a collision with the torpedoed transport Nankai Maru, and was taken in tow by and back to Rabaul for emergency repairs. While at Rabaul, it was further damaged in an air raid on January 5, 1943. The destroyer towed Uzuki to Truk for further repairs, and then Uzuki returned to Sasebo under her own power by July 3. Once repairs were completed in mid-October, Uzuki returned to Truk and escorted and , both loaded with troops, back to Rabaul. On October 23–24, Uzuki sortied to Jacquinot Bay
Jacquinot Bay
Jacquinot Bay is a bay in East New Britain Province, southeastern New Britain, Papua New Guinea, at . It is near the mountain where twenty-eight people died in a plane crash in November, 1945....
on New Britain
New Britain
New Britain, or Niu Briten, is the largest island in the Bismarck Archipelago of Papua New Guinea. It is separated from the island of New Guinea by the Dampier and Vitiaz Straits and from New Ireland by St. George's Channel...
to rescue the survivors of her sister ship
Sister ship
A sister ship is a ship of the same class as, or of virtually identical design to, another ship. Such vessels share a near-identical hull and superstructure layout, similar displacement, and roughly comparable features and equipment...
. Uzuki continued to make “Tokyo Express” transport runs throughout the Soloman Islands to the end of November. On November 24–25, Uzuki engaged US Navy destroyers at the Battle of Cape St. George
Battle of Cape St. George
The Battle of Cape St. George was a naval battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II fought on 25 November 1943, between Cape St. George, New Ireland, and Buka Island . It was the last engagement of surface ships in the Solomon Islands campaign.-Background:Americans had landed troops on...
, during the Japanese evacuation of Buka, but without damage. In December, Uzuki was assigned to escort tankers from Rabaul to Truk and Palau
Palau
Palau , officially the Republic of Palau , is an island nation in the Pacific Ocean, east of the Philippines and south of Tokyo. In 1978, after three decades as being part of the United Nations trusteeship, Palau chose independence instead of becoming part of the Federated States of Micronesia, a...
and back.
In January 1944, Uzuki escorted the cruiser back to Japan. After refit at Sasebo Naval Arsenal, Uzuki escorted troop convoys from Yokosuka to Palau, Yap, Saipan and Truk through the end of June. During the Battle of the Philippine Sea
Battle of the Philippine Sea
The Battle of the Philippine Sea was a decisive naval battle of World War II which effectively eliminated the Imperial Japanese Navy's ability to conduct large-scale carrier actions. It took place during the United States' amphibious invasion of the Mariana Islands during the Pacific War...
(June 19–20), Uzuki was part of the Second Supply Force. On June 20, she rescued the crew of the transport Genyo maru, and sank the crippled transport with gunfire. Uzuki continued to escort convoys from Kure
Kure Naval District
was the second of four main administrative districts of the pre-war Imperial Japanese Navy. Its territory included the Inland Sea of Japan and the Pacific coasts of southern Honshū from Wakayama to Yamaguchi prefectures, eastern and northern Kyūshū and Shikoku....
to Manila
Manila
Manila is the capital of the Philippines. It is one of the sixteen cities forming Metro Manila.Manila is located on the eastern shores of Manila Bay and is bordered by Navotas and Caloocan to the north, Quezon City to the northeast, San Juan and Mandaluyong to the east, Makati on the southeast,...
and Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
to the middle of November. On July 18, she was assigned to Combined Fleet
Combined Fleet
The was the main ocean-going component of the Imperial Japanese Navy. The Combined Fleet was not a standing force, but a temporary force formed for the duration of a conflict or major naval maneuvers from various units normally under separate commands in peacetime....
, and on November 20, was re-assigned to the IJN 5th Fleet
IJN 5th Fleet
The was a fleet of the Imperial Japanese Navy, active during the early portions of the Second Sino-Japanese War, and again in World War II, primarily in the Battle of the Aleutian Islands.-China Expeditionary Fleet:...
.
On December 12, while escorting a troop convoy from Manila to Ormoc, Uzuki was torpedoed by the PT boat
PT boat
PT Boats were a variety of motor torpedo boat , a small, fast vessel used by the United States Navy in World War II to attack larger surface ships. The PT boat squadrons were nicknamed "the mosquito fleet". The Japanese called them "Devil Boats".The original pre–World War I torpedo boats were...
s PT-490 and PT-492, 50 miles (80.5 km) northeast of Cebu
Cebu
Cebu is a province in the Philippines, consisting of Cebu Island and 167 surrounding islands. It is located to the east of Negros, to the west of Leyte and Bohol islands...
at 11°03′N 124°23′E, exploding and sinking with all hands.
Uzuki was struck from the navy list
Navy List
A Navy List or Naval Register is an official list of naval officers, their ranks and seniority, the ships which they command or to which they are appointed, etc., that is published by the government or naval authorities of a country....
on January 10, 1945.