Japanese destroyer Naganami
Naganami was a of the Imperial Japanese Navy.
Design and description
The Yūgumo class was a repeat of the preceding with minor improvements that increased their anti-aircraft capabilities. Their crew numbered 228 officers and enlisted men. The ships measured overall, with a beam of and a draft of. They displaced at standard load and 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 for a designed speed of.The main armament of the Yūgumo class consisted of six Type 3 guns in three twin-gun turrets, one superfiring pair aft and one turret forward of the superstructure. The guns were able to elevate up to 75° to increase their ability against aircraft, but their slow rate of fire, slow traversing speed, and the lack of any sort of high-angle fire-control system meant that they were virtually useless as anti-aircraft guns. They were built with four Type 96 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 torpedo tubes in a two quadruple traversing mounts; one reload was carried for each tube. Their anti-submarine weapons comprised two depth charge throwers for which 36 depth charges were carried.
Construction and career
Naganami was laid down on 5 April 1941, launched on 5 March 1942, and finally commissioned on 30 June 1942 at Osaka, where Commander Kumabe Tsutae was appointed control of the destroyer. Naganami spent the first 3 weeks of her career as a guardship in local waters, before departing Japan for the first time on 20 July as an escort to the transport ship Hakusan Maru from Yokosuka to Kiska where she delivered supplies to the crippled destroyer Shiranui (1938)|Shiranui], returning on 4 August. At the end of the month, Naganami was assigned to destroyer division 31 along with her sistership Makinami, and immediately embarked training duties alongside the battleships Kongō and Haruna, before patrolling off Truk naval base from 6-10 September, and spending the rest of the month anchored in Truk.The start of October saw the destroyer Takanami (1942)|Takanami] appointed as flagship of destroyer division 31, and the 13th-14th saw Naganami escort Kongō and Haruna during the bombardment of Henderson Field; Naganami took no part in the bombardment but successfully chased off attacking torpedo boats with Makinami and Takanami. The three destroyers would however join the heavy cruisers Myōkō and Maya and the light cruiser Isuzu in another attack on Henderson Field and contributed 253 5-inch shells to the bombardment. On the 26th, Naganami escorted the Japanese fleet at the battle of Santa Cruz, operating with the support ships, and watched the battle turn into a Japanese victory which sank the aircraft carrier USS Hornet and the destroyer USS Porter. From 3-5 November, Naganami escorted the heavy cruisers Maya and Suzuya (1934)|Suzuya] from Truk to the Shortlands before departing for a supply run to Guadalcanal. This was interrupted by air attacks from Henderson Field which mildly damaged Naganami and Takanami with bomb near misses and killed 4 sailors of Naganami and 13 of Takanami, but they continued the mission and dropped off their load safely.
During the 30 November 1942 Battle of Tassafaronga, Naganami led a supply-drum transport run to Guadalcanal, and engaged a U.S. cruiser-destroyer group. During this action, she possibly torpedoed the cruisers, and/or.
On 23 October 1944, during the Leyte Gulf">Leyte (island)">Leyte Gulf, Naganami escorted Admiral Kurita's 1st Diversion Attack Force. During this time period she assisted in the rescue of the survivors of the cruiser, later transferring them to the battleship. She escorted the damaged cruiser back to Brunei. During the escort, she tried to destroy Darter but she was rather unsuccessful at it, and just left afterwards.
On 10 November 1944 Naganami joined the escort of troop convoy TA No. 3 as it approached Ormoc, of what was then known as the Ormoc Bay">Ormoc City">Ormoc Bay. She was sunk by aircraft of Task Force 38 on 11 November in Ormoc Bay, west of Leyte. An explosion amidships broke the ship in two. Her sister, destroyers and were all sunk along with Naganami, as were three transports.