HASEGAWA
1/700-scale WATER LINE WW2 JAPANESE NAVY DESTROYER IJN MINEGUMO
No.B-11
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Additional Information from
Internet Encyclopedia
Minegumo (Summit Cloud) was the
eighth of ten Asashio-class destroyers built for the Imperial Japanese Navy in
the mid-1930s under the Circle Two Supplementary Naval Expansion Program (Maru
Ni Keikaku).
History
The Asashio-class destroyers
were larger and more capable that the preceding Shiratsuyu class, as Japanese
naval architects were no longer constrained by the provisions of the London
Naval Treaty. These light cruiser-sized vessels were designed to take advantage
of Japan's lead in torpedo technology, and to accompany the Japanese main
striking force and in both day and night attacks against the United States Navy
as it advanced across the Pacific Ocean, according to Japanese naval strategic
projections. Despite being one of the most powerful classes of destroyers in
the world at the time of their completion, none survived the Pacific War.
Minegumo, built at the
Fujinagata Shipyards in Osaka was laid down on 22 March 1937, launched on 4
November 1937 and commissioned on 4 April 1938.
Operational history
At 1800 hours on 23 June 1941,
Minegumo collided with the destroyers Kuroshio and Natsushio in Bungo Channel.
At the time of the attack on
Pearl Harbor, Minegumo, under the command of Lieutenant Commander Suzuki
Yasuatsu, was assigned to Destroyer Division 8 (Desdiv 8), and a member of
Destroyer Squadron 4 (Desron 4) of the IJN 2nd Fleet, escorting Admiral Nobutake
Kondō's Southern Force Main Body out of Mako Guard District as distant cover to
the Malaya and Philippines invasion forces in December 1941.
In early 1942, she escorted
troop convoys to Lingayen, Tarakan, Balikpapan and Makassar in the Netherlands
East Indies. During the Battle of the Java Sea, she engaged in an exchange of
gunnery with the British destroyer HMS Encounter, and suffered light damage
with four crewmen wounded. On 1 March, together with Natsugumo, Minegumo
unsuccessfully attacked the American submarine USS Perch with depth charges.
After participation in the Battle of Christmas Island on 31 March 10 April,
she escorted the damaged cruiser Naka to Singapore, and returned at the end of
the month to the Yokosuka Naval Arsenal for repairs.
At the end of May, Minegumo
joined the escort for the Midway Invasion Force under the overall command of
Admiral Kondo Nobutake during the Battle of Midway. In July, she was sent to
northern waters, patrolling from Ominato Guard District towards the Kurile
Islands. Afterwards, she was sent south to Truk, where she suffered minor
damage on a coral reef on 20 August. She provided support in the Battle of the
Eastern Solomons in August 1942 and escorted the damaged aircraft carrier
Chitose back to Truk. From September, she was assigned to patrols from Truk
towards Shortland, and in October was assigned to "Tokyo Express"
high speed transport operations in the Solomon Islands. On one of these
missions on 5 October, she suffered moderate damage in an air attack, with
serious flooding 150 miles (240 km) off Guadalcanal. She limped back to
Yokosuka for repairs by the end of November.
Repairs completed by 22 February
1943, Minegumo returned with a convoy to Truk. She continued on to Rabaul by 2
March. During another transport run from Rabaul to Kolombangara on 5 March
Minegumo and Murasame are believed to have sunk the submarine USS Grampus.
However, that same night, Murasame and Minegumo were detected by the American
Task Force 68 off Vila, after delivering supplies to the Japanese base there.
Both ships were sunk in the subsequent action (later known as the Battle of
Blackett Strait) at 08°01′S 157°14′E. On Minegumo, 46 crewmen (including her
captain, Lieutenant Commander Yoshitake Uesugi) perished, but 122 survivors
later reached Japanese lines, and two were captured by the Americans. Minegumo
was removed from the navy list on 1 April 1943.