Japanese destroyer Fujinami
{{Short description|Yūgumo-class destroyer}}
{{More footnotes needed|date=October 2024}}
{{for multi|the Japanese motorcycle rider|Takahisa Fujinami|the Japanese professional wrestler|Tatsumi Fujinami}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2014}}
| {{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image |Ship image= Capt. Matsuzaki and Fujinami.JPG |Ship caption= Fujinami with a portrait of Captain Tatsuji Matsuzaki }} {{Infobox ship career |Hide header= |Ship country= Empire of Japan |Ship flag={{shipboxflag|Empire of Japan|naval}} |Ship name=Fujinami |Ship namesake= |Ship ordered= |Ship builder=Fujinagata Shipyards, Osaka |Ship laid down=25 August 1942 |Ship launched=20 April 1943 |Ship completed= 31 July 1943 |Ship acquired= |Ship commissioned= |Ship decommissioned= |Ship in service= |Ship out of service= |Ship struck= 10 December 1944 |Ship homeport= |Ship honours= |Ship fate= Sunk in action, 27 October 1944 |Ship notes= }} {{Infobox ship characteristics |Hide header= |Header caption= |Ship class= {{sclass|Yūgumo|destroyer}} |Ship displacement= {{convert|2520|LT|t|0|abbr=on}} |Ship length= {{convert|119.15|m|ftin|abbr=on}} |Ship beam={{convert|10.8|m|ftin|abbr=on}} |Ship draught={{convert|3.75|m|ftin|abbr=on}} |Ship propulsion= |Ship speed= {{convert|35|kn|mph km/h|lk=in}} |Ship range= |Ship complement=228 |Ship armament=*6 × 12.7 cm/50 Type 3 naval gun caliber DP guns
|Ship armour= |Ship notes= }} |
{{nihongo|Fujinami|藤波||}} was a {{sclass|Yūgumo|destroyer}} of the Imperial Japanese Navy. Her name means "Purple Wave" or "Waves of Wisterias".[http://www.friesian.com/destroy.htm Destroyers]. The word nami means "wave" (e.g. Tsunami); the word fuji means "wisteria", and can allude to the color purple, the color of wisteria flowers.
Service
She was damaged by a dud aerial torpedo during an air raid at Rabaul on 5 November 1943, with one dead and nine wounded. The ship participated in the Battle of Philippine Sea.
In the Battle of Leyte Gulf, Fujinami escorted the 1st Diversion Attack Force, commanded by Admiral Kurita Takeo. She sustained minor damage from the air attacks on 24–25 October due to near-misses and strafing.
In the Battle off Samar on 25 October Fujinami was detached to assist {{ship|Japanese cruiser|Chōkai||2}}, then she removed survivors and scuttled the cruiser with a torpedo. Some US survivors of the escort carrier {{USS|Gambier Bay|CVE-73|2}} have stated that the commanding officer Cmdr. Tatsuji Matsuzaki restrained his men from firing on them as they floated by Fujinami and was allegedly seen to salute the American sailors.{{citation needed|date=August 2015|reason= No citation provided for this story}}
On 27 October, while steaming to assist the destroyer {{ship|Japanese destroyer|Hayashimo||2}}, Fujinami was sunk by aircraft from the aircraft carrier {{USS|Essex|CV-9|6}}, {{convert|80|mi|km}} north of Iloilo ({{coord|12|0|N|122|30|E|display=inline, title}}). She was lost with all hands, including the Chōkai survivors. The commanding officer was Cmdr. Tatsuji Matsuzaki from 31 July 1943 – 27 October 1944 (KIA).
References
{{reflist}}
Bibliography
- {{cite book|title=Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1922–1946|editor1-last=Chesneau|editor1-first=Roger |publisher=Conway Maritime Press|location=Greenwich, UK|year=1980|isbn=0-85177-146-7|chapter=Japan|first=Ian |last=Sturton|pages=167–217}}
- {{cite book|last=Whitley|first=M. J.|title=Destroyers of World War Two: An International Encyclopedia |year=2000| publisher=Cassell & Co.|location=London|isbn=1-85409-521-8|author-link=Michael J. Whitley}}
External links
- [http://www.combinedfleet.com/yugumo_c.htm CombinedFleet.com: Yūgumo-class destroyers]
- [http://www.combinedfleet.com/fujina_t.htm CombinedFleet.com: Fujinami history]
- [http://www.ouroldnavy.com/fujinami.htm] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090430023904/http://www.ouroldnavy.com/fujinami.htm |date=30 April 2009 }}
{{Yūgumo class destroyer}}
{{October 1944 shipwrecks}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fujinami}}
Category:Yūgumo-class destroyers
Category:World War II destroyers of Japan
Category:Destroyers sunk by aircraft
Category:Shipwrecks in the Sulu Sea
Category:World War II shipwrecks in the Pacific Ocean
Category:Warships lost with all hands
Category:Maritime incidents in October 1944