Japanese destroyer Hagikaze

Hagikaze (萩風) was one of 19 Kagerō-class destroyers built for the Imperial Japanese Navy during the 1930s.

Design and description
The Kagerō class was an enlarged and improved version of the preceding Asashio-class destroyer. Their crew numbered 240 officers and enlisted men. The ships measured 118.5 m overall, with a beam of 10.8 m and a draft of 3.76 m. They displaced 2065 t at standard load and 2529 t at deep load. 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 52000 shp for a designed speed of 35 kn. The ships had a range of 5000 nmi at a speed of 18 kn.

The main armament of the Kagerō class consisted of six Type 3 127 mm guns in three twin-gun turrets, one superfiring pair aft and one turret forward of the superstructure. They were built with four Type 96 25 mm 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 610 mm torpedo tubes for the oxygen-fueled Type 93 "Long Lance" torpedo in two quadruple traversing mounts; one reload was carried for each tube. Their anti-submarine weapons comprised 16 depth charges.

Construction and career
Participating in the Battle of Midway, the heavily damaged aircraft carrier JAPANESE AIRCRAFT CARRIER Kaga was scuttled by Hagikaze's two torpedoes, Kaga being fatally damaged by US aircraft from USS Enterprise (CV-6) during the battle.

On 7 August 1943, Hagikaze was sunk between Kolombangara and Vella Lavella (-7.83333°N, 156.91667°W) during the Battle of Vella Gulf, by torpedoes and gunfire from the US destroyers USS Dunlap (DD-384), USS Craven (DD-382), and USS Maury (DD-401), with 178 killed.