Japanese destroyer Arashi

Kagerō class destroyer

Arashi (嵐) was a of the Imperial Japanese Navy. Arashi played a vital role in World War II by inadvertently guiding US attack planes to the Japanese carrier fleet at the Battle of Midway. Arashi had become separated from the Japanese carrier force while attempting to destroy an American submarine, Nautilus. Following her attacks on Nautilus, Arashi steamed at high speed to rejoin the group. All four IJN carriers were sunk by Douglas SBD Dauntless dive bombers of American aircraft carriers Yorktown and Enterprise, giving the US a decisive victory and checking Japanese momentum in the Pacific War.

The Kagerō class was an enlarged and improved version of the preceding Their crew numbered 240 officers and enlisted men. The ships measured overall, with a beam of and a draft of They displaced at standard load and 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 for a designed speed of The ships had a range of at a speed of
The main armament of the Kagerō class consisted of six Type 3 guns in three twin gun turrets, one superfiring pair aft and one turret forward of the superstructure. They were built with four Type 96 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 torpedo tubes for the oxygen fueled Type 93 "Long Lance" torpedo in two quadruple traversing mounts; one reload was carried for each tube. During the battle Arashis crew picked up, and subsequently murdered, one of the downed airman from Yorktown. He had been made to provide the Japanese with a general description of the make up of the force they had been fighting against, the only clear description of the American carrier forces the Japanese obtained during the battle. According to Admiral Chūichi Nagumo's battle report, the airman died the day following his recovery and was buried at sea. Among other facts the Japanese learned, the report indicated the pilot had been from Chicago. This was in fact Ensign Wesley Osmus, one of the TBD pilots of VT 3. Osmus was flying the last plane in VT 3's formation, and thus was first to be attacked and destroyed as they made their approach. Osmus was picked up later on 4 June and buried 5 June. A U. S. Naval investigation after the war interviewed witnesses who reported that after his interrogation Osmus had been taken to the stern of Arashi and struck in the back of the neck with a fire axe. He clung briefly to the railing, and then was pushed overboard into the sea. An attempt was made to find the captain of Arashi (Commander Watanabe Yasumasa) and try him for war crimes, but it was discovered that he had died later in the conflict (he was Killed In Action as Commander Destroyer Division 1 aboard destroyer Numakaze on 18 December 1943), and the matter was set aside.

Arashi was part of a Japanese convoy that sailed through the Blackett Strait in 1943. It included fellow destroyers Japanese destroyer Amagiri, Japanese destroyer Hagikaze, and Japanese destroyer Shigure. The convoy's lead ship, Amagiri, is famous for being the vessel to ram and sink the American patrol craft PT 109, the PT boat commanded by Lieutenant John F. Kennedy, who would survive the war and go on to become the President of the United States. On 7 August 1943, Arashi was again attempting to land reinforcements to the garrison on New Georgia island as part of a four destroyer fast convoy when she was intercepted by a U. S. destroyer force lying in wait between Kolombangara and Vella Lavella The U. S. forces struck with complete surprise. Arashi along with the destroyers Japanese destroyer Hagikaze and Japanese destroyer Kawakaze were sunk by torpedoes and naval gunfire from U. S. destroyers Dunlap, Craven and Maury in what became known as the Battle of Vella Gulf.