Japanese destroyer Sawakaze (1919)

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Japanese destroyer Sawakaze (1919) - simplified

Sawakaze was a Minekaze-class destroyer built for the Imperial Japanese Navy in the late 1910s. She was constructed by Mitsubishi at Nagasaki, laid down in January 1918, launched in January 1919, and completed in March 1920. She served with Destroyer Division 2 alongside her sisters Minekaze, Okikaze, and Yakaze.

Design and description
The Minekaze class was designed for higher speed and better seakeeping. Sawakaze measured about 102.5 meters in length, had a beam of about 9.04 meters, and a draft of 2.9 meters. She displaced around 1,366 tons standard and up to 1,676 tons deep load. She was powered by two steam turbines, four Kampon boilers, and two propeller shafts, giving a top speed of about 39 knots and a range of roughly 3,600 nautical miles at 14 knots. The crew numbered about 148.

Her original armament included four 12 cm (4.7 inch) Type 3 guns in single mounts (one forward, one between the funnels, one aft of the rear funnel, and one atop the aft superstructure), three twin 53.3 cm torpedo tubes (one in the well deck and two others aft), and up to 20 naval mines with the possibility of minesweeping gear.

Modifications
In 1939 Sawakaze was converted to an aircraft rescue ship. In 1944–45 her torpedo tubes and most of her guns were removed and replaced with 10 light 25 mm anti-aircraft guns, four depth-charge throwers, and 36 depth charges. In early 1945 she received a rocket launcher and radar, and her top speed dropped to around 16 knots.

Construction and career
Sawakaze was built at the Mitsubishi shipyard in Nagasaki, laid down on 7 January 1918, launched on 7 January 1919, and completed on 6 March 1920. After joining Destroyer Division 2, she operated with her sister ships as part of Japan’s early destroyer force. From 1930 to 1932, her division escorted the carrier Akagi during search-and-rescue operations and took part in river patrol duties during events around the First Shanghai incident. Between 1935 and 1938 she served as a search-and-rescue craft at Tateyama and remained in service after the start of the Second Sino-Japanese War.

Pacific War
At the time of the attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941, Sawakaze was based at Tateyama. She was moved to Yokosuka in March 1942 and performed anti-submarine patrols at the entrance to Tokyo Bay for the rest of the war, with occasional convoy escort missions to places like Muroran or Kobe. From December 1944 she served as a training ship for the Yokosuka Anti-submarine Warfare School. Starting in May 1945 she functioned as a target ship for Kamikaze units. Sawakaze was in Yokosuka when Japan surrendered in August 1945. She was removed from the Navy List on 15 September 1945 and was later scrapped in the late 1940s (around 1947–1948).

Fate
After World War II, Sawakaze was taken off the navy list and subsequently scrapped in the late 1940s.