The Kagerō class was an enlarged and improved version of the preceding . Their crew numbered 240 officers and enlisted men. The ships measured 118.5m (388.8feet) overall, with a beam of 10.8m (35.4feet) and a draft of 3.76m (12.34feet).[1] They displaced 2065t at standard load and 2529t at deep load.[2] 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 52000shp for a designed speed of 35kn. The ships had a range of 5000nmi at a speed of .[3]
The main armament of the Kagerō class consisted of six Type 3 1271NaN1 guns in three twin-gun turrets, one superfiring pair aft and one turret forward of the superstructure. They were built with four Type 96 251NaN1 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 610mm torpedo tubes for the oxygen-fueled Type 93 "Long Lance" torpedo in two quadruple traversing mounts; one reload was carried for each tube.[2] Their anti-submarine weapons comprised 16 depth charges.[3]
Maikaze saw various escorting duties throughout the Indian Ocean in the early parts of 1942 and served as a carrier escort during the Battle of Midway, where she helped to scuttle the Japanese aircraft carrier Akagi. After surviving a bombing raid during convoy escorting that sank the troop ships Nichiryu Maru and Myoko Maru on 7 January 1943, Maikaze saw more convoy escorting until the start of 1944.[4]
On 17 February 1944, while evacuating convoys to Yokosuka from Truk following the Allied attack on Truk, Maikaze, the cruiser, and the auxiliary cruiser Akagi Maru were sunk by gunfire from the cruisers,, and the battleship 40miles northwest of Truk (7.75°N 171°W). Maikaze herself was sunk with all hands, including Commander Destroyer Division 4 (Captain Kenma Isohisa).