Minekaze-class destroyer

Minekaze at Yokosuka on 30 August 1932
Class overview
NameMinekaze class
Builders
Operators
Preceded byMomi class
Succeeded byWakatake class
SubclassesNokaze class
In commission1919–1946
Completed15
Lost11
Retired4
General characteristics
TypeDestroyer
Displacement
Length
  • 97.5 m (319 ft 11 in) (pp)
  • 102.6 m (336 ft 7 in) (o/a)
Beam9 m (29 ft 6 in)
Draught2.9 m (9 ft 6 in)
Installed power
  • 4 boilers
  • 38,500 ihp (28,700 kW)
Propulsion2 shafts; 2 geared steam turbines
Speed39 knots (72 km/h; 45 mph)
Range3,600 nmi (6,700 km; 4,100 mi) at 14 knots (26 km/h; 16 mph)
Complement148
Armament

The Minekaze class (峯風型駆逐艦, Minekazegata kuchikukan) was a class of fifteen 1st-class destroyers built for the Imperial Japanese Navy. Obsolete by the beginning of the Pacific War, the Minekaze-class ships were then relegated to mostly secondary roles, serving throughout the war as patrol vessels, high speed transports, target control vessels, and as kaiten (suicide torpedo) carriers. Most ultimately were lost to U.S. and British submarines. The basic design of the Minekaze was used for the next three classes of Japanese destroyers, a total of 36 ships.