Qualla: Japanese Destroyer Hokaze

Japanese Destroyer Hokaze: Introduction

Thu, 09 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Unknown author, Public domain. By July 1944, Hokaze was running on borrowed time. Commissioned in 1921 as a cutting-edge fleet destroyer, she had been obsolete for years by the time World War II began, relegated to convoy escort duty in increasingly dangerous waters. On July 2, she departed Ambon on a 'Tokyo Express' run -- a high-speed supply dash to deliver critically needed provisions to beleaguered Japanese forces in New Guinea. Four days later, an American submarine found her in the Celebes Sea off Sangir Island. Her captain, Lieutenant Commander Eiichi Someya, went down with his ship.

Image: Unknown author | Public domain

Japanese Destroyer Hokaze: A Destroyer of the Old Guard

Thu, 09 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Unknown author, Public domain. Hokaze was the twelfth vessel of the Minekaze class, authorized under the Imperial Japanese Navy's 8-4 Fleet Program in the years following World War I. Built at the Maizuru Naval Arsenal, she was laid down on November 30, 1920, launched on July 12, 1921, and commissioned on Dece...

Image: Unknown author | Public domain

Japanese Destroyer Hokaze: Escort Duty Across the Pacific

Thu, 09 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Unknown author, Public domain. When Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, Hokaze was assigned to Carrier Division 4. She escorted aircraft carriers between Sasebo, Takao (modern Kaohsiung), Palau, and the Kure Naval District. In early 1942, she accompanied a carrier to Truk. By late May, she was operating from the Omin...

Image: Unknown author | Public domain

Japanese Destroyer Hokaze: Torpedoed Twice

Thu, 09 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Unknown author, Public domain. On July 1, 1943, Hokaze was the sole escort for a three-ship convoy in the Makassar Strait when an American submarine attacked. A torpedo struck Hokaze, inflicting moderate damage. Two of the convoy's merchant ships -- a tanker and a freighter -- were also hit. Hokaze remained fu...

Image: Unknown author | Public domain

Japanese Destroyer Hokaze: The Last Run to New Guinea

Thu, 09 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Unknown author, Public domain. On July 2, 1944, Hokaze departed Ambon loaded with emergency supplies, tasked with a Tokyo Express run to New Guinea -- the kind of high-speed armed transport mission that had become synonymous with desperate logistics. Four days later, on July 6, an American submarine caught her...

Image: Unknown author | Public domain