The Japanese destroyer was one of 15 s built for the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) in the late 1910s. The ship was converted into a patrol boat in 1940 and then into a destroyer transport the next year. After the start of the Pacific War, she participated in the Philippines Campaign in late 1941, the Dutch East Indies campaign in early 1942 and played a minor role in the Battle of Midway in mid-1942 before she was sunk by an American submarine in early 1943.
The Minekaze class was designed with higher speed and better seakeeping than the preceding s.[1] The ships had an overall length of 102.5m (336.3feet) and were 94.5m (310feet) between perpendiculars. They had a beam of 9.04m (29.66feet), and a mean draft of 2.9m (09.5feet). The Minekaze-class ships displaced 1366sp=usNaNsp=us at standard load and 1676sp=usNaNsp=us at deep load.[2] They were powered by two Parsons geared steam turbines, each driving one propeller shaft, using steam provided by four Kampon water-tube boilers. The turbines were designed to produce 38500shp, which would propel the ships at 39kn. On her sea trials, Shimakaze reached a speed of from 40652shp.[3] The ships carried 4010NaN0 of fuel oil which gave them a range of 3600nmi at . Their crew consisted of 148 officers and crewmen.[4]
The main armament of the Minekaze-class ships consisted of four 12adj=onNaNadj=on Type 3 guns in single mounts; one gun forward of the superstructure, one between the two funnels, one aft of the rear funnel, and the last gun atop the aft superstructure. The guns were numbered '1' to '4' from front to rear. The ships carried three above-water twin sets of 53.3adj=onNaNadj=on torpedo tubes; one mount was in the well deck between the forward superstructure and the forward gun and the other two were between the aft funnel and aft superstructure. They could also carry 20 mines[4] as well as minesweeping gear.[5]
In 1937–38, Shimakaze was one of the ships that had her hull strengthened, funnel caps added and her fuel capacity reduced to 230LT. In 1940, she was converted into a patrol boat that displaced 1700LT. This entailed the removal of two of her boilers, which cut her horsepower in half and reduced her speed to, the removal of two 12 cm guns and two torpedo tube mounts. These were replaced by ten license-built 25mm Type 96 light AA guns and 16 depth charges.[4] The following year, the ship was rebuilt as a destroyer transport able to carry two and accommodate 250 troops. To make room for these, her stern was cut down to the waterline for a ramp and her aftmost 12 cm gun, the remaining torpedo tubes and the depth charges were removed.
Shimakaze, built at the Maizuru Naval Arsenal, was laid down on 5 September 1919, launched on 31 March 1920 and completed on 15 November 1920.[6] Upon commissioning, the ship was assigned to Yokosuka Naval District as part of Destroyer Division 3 under the IJN 2nd Fleet. On 11 October 1928, in Uraga Channel, while on night training maneuvers, Shimakaze collided with her sister ship, resulting in significant damage to her port side, and requiring extensive repairs.
During the Battle of Shanghai on 25 September 1937, while engaged in operations on the Huangpu River during the Second Sino-Japanese War, Shimakaze came under fire from troops of the Chinese National Revolutionary Army, wounding Destroyer Division 3 commanding officer Lieutenant Commander Prince Fushimi Hiroyoshi. From 1938 to 1939, Shimakaze was assigned to patrols of the northern and central China coastlines in support of Japanese combat operations in the Second Sino-Japanese War. In December 1938, Destroyer Division 3 was disbanded, and Shimakaze was reassigned to the reserves.
In April 1940, after extensive modifications, Shimakaze was returned to active duty as a No.1-class patrol boat, and renamed . After the start of the Pacific War on 7 December 1941, Patrol Boat No. 1 was assigned to patrols and escort missions in the Philippines, Netherlands East Indies and Solomon Islands. On 12 January 1943, while escorting the fleet oiler Akebono in the Bismarck Archipelago, she was torpedoed and sunk by the submarine near Kavieng, New Ireland at position -2.85°N 192°W. Patrol Boat No.1 was removed from the Navy List on 10 February 1943.