49464 IJN DESTROYER MINEGUMO

The Minegumo (Japanese: Cloud on the Mountain Top) was a Japanese destroyer, the keel of which was laid in 1937, launched in November 1937, and commissioned in the Imperial Japanese Navy in April 1938. The length of the ship at the time of launching was 118 m, width 10.3 m, and full displacement - 2,600 tons. Destroyer Minegumo's top speed was up to 35 knots. The main armament at the time of the launch was 6 127 mm guns in three twin turrets, and the secondary armament was 3 25 mm cannons, depth charge launchers and eight 610 mm torpedo tubes. The Minegumo was the fourth Asashio-class destroyer. Destroyers of this type were a development of the not very successful Shiratsuyu type. Compared to its predecessors, the main artillery was significantly strengthened, new anti-aircraft armament was added and four-tube torpedo tubes were used. The main disadvantage of the Asashio type was the low maneuverability, but until the outbreak of the war in the Pacific, this error was corrected by using a new type of rudder and redesigning the stern of the ships. Destroyer Minegumo started the war in the Pacific by taking part in convoying landings to the Malaya and the Philippines in December 1941. At the beginning of 1942, he operated in the area of the Dutch East Indies, where in February he successfully took part in the Battle of the Java Sea. In June, she was in the cover duty of Japanese heavy ships during the Battle of Midway - she was not damaged in it. Shortly thereafter, he was on patrol in the area of Kuryla, but from August 1942 he fought in the area of the Solomon Islands archipelago. The destroyer Minegumo was sunk on March 6, 1943 in the Kula Bay.