The largest war in history - World War II, all kinds of ** have emerged, and some of them have always stood tall in the war. One of them is the Japanese destroyer Yukikaze.
In the fifteenth year of the Showa era, the Yukikaze was launched, bringing a mysterious curse on the sea, and has become synonymous with the lucky ship and the broom star. Why does the Yukikaze have both titles?
Below, let's explore the most famous destroyer of World War II, the Japanese Yukikaze. Construction of the Yukikaze began in 1938 and was launched and named on March 24, 1939.
The Japanese word for "yukikaze" means "strong wind mixed with snowflakes". However, what the Japanese did not expect was that the Yukikaze turned out to be a strong wind that could blow the Combined Fleet to pieces, leaving little left.
In 1949, the Yukikaze was officially completed and joined the Combined Fleet, a seemingly promising destroyer that later brought the Japanese Combined Fleet to its demise.
The Yanyang-class destroyer Xuefeng, brave and fearless, is the main lightning strike force of the Combined Fleet. Her mission is to charge into battle and clear the way for the team with powerful ** equipment.
The Yukikaze has been through numerous battles, the most representative of which is the landing in the Philippines. At that time, the Japanese ** squadron was attacked by the US Air Force in the waters off Mindanao, and the heavy cruiser Myoko was unfortunately severely damaged.
Surprisingly, however, the Yukikaze escaped the air raid unscathed. This feat won praise from the Japanese fleet, who expressed their admiration for the handling skills of the Yukikaze's crew.
In the Battle of Surabaya, the Yukikaze sank the American submarine Shirakaba. In the battle in New Guinea, the Yukikaze once again showed her outstanding performance. No matter the time and place, the Snow Wind is a brave warrior in battle, using her strength and courage to win the victory for the team.
In 1942, the Battle of Midway broke out, and the U.S. Navy waited for work, and finally the main force of the Japanese team suffered heavy losses. The Yukikaze did not play its due auspicious advantage in the Battle of Midway, so it decided to join the Battle of Kuah Island and provide support for the Japanese Combined Fleet as an escort ship.
However, the Shohe was seriously damaged by several bombs, and the Zuihe carrier-based aircraft unit was completely lost. Since then, the Japanese naval aviation has fallen into a slump. In the process, the Yukikaze was unscathed and was seen by some superstitious people as a destroyer with doom.
In November 1942, the Japanese Combined Fleet again sent the battleships Hiei and Kirishima in an attempt to shell the Henderson airfield on Kuah Island. The Yukikaze acted as an escort ship, operating alongside the Hiei and Kirishima.
However, the Hiei was unfortunately attacked by a U.S. patrol ship and fell into a downwind state, being hit by more than 85 shells, and the crew was either killed or wounded. Despite the heavy losses of the Hiei, the Yukikaze managed to rescue the officers who had fallen into the water and returned safely to the base with only a few skin injuries.
This battle reaffirmed the Snowwind's prowess and earned it the nickname "Friendly Killer".
In 1943, the battleship Yukikaze was refurbished and brought back to life. This time its mission was to escort the battleship Musashi and the light cruiser Oyodo to the Rabaul base for battle.
On the way to your destination, everything went smoothly. After arriving at the Rabaul base, the Yukikaze was reassigned to the Kuah Island retreat. In this battle, the destroyer Cirrus Cloud, which was traveling with the Yukikaze, unfortunately sank to the bottom of the sea, and other ships such as the Tornado, the Dancing Wind, the River Breeze, the Kuroshio Tide, and the Alum Wind were also severely damaged, however, the Yukikaze once again completed its mission unscathed in this battle.
In the Battle of Bismarck in March, although all four destroyers of the Japanese fleet were sunk, the Yukikaze and the army units on board were unscathed and successfully rescued most of the friendly troops who fell overboard.
The cycle of history is amazing. In June of the same year, during the Battle of Colognebanya, the Yukikaze, with the cooperation of the destroyers in formation, successfully damaged three American light cruisers, however, the cruiser "flagship" sank to the bottom of the sea.
The rest of the story, as in the past, the Yukikaze and the Japanese ships Yuki, Kumano, Myoko, and Tianjin Kaze were eventually sent to the bottom of the sea by the U.S. military.
And the Yukikaze became the only surviving ship of the 16th Japanese destroyer fleet. At the end of the war, many Japanese naval officers and sailors were frightened and confused by the Yukikaze, believing it to be the "broom star" of the 16th Fleet, and regarded it as a symbol of disaster.
However, the Yukikaze did not change its "magic", and after being incorporated into the 17th Fleet, the fleet repeatedly suffered heavy losses and sank in subsequent battles, proving the "prophecy" of the Yukikaze.
In any case, the lessons of history cannot be ignored. We should learn from the experience of the past in order to avoid repeating the mistakes of the past. Only in this way will we be able to succeed in our future developments.
In the naval battle of Leyte Gulf between the United States and Japan, the Japanese ** team suffered heavy losses, among which the Musashi and Zuizuru were sunk, and the Reiya, which was waiting for rescue, was also sunk, and only the Yukikaze survived.
This is enough to show that the prophecy that "whoever the Snow Wind protects will surely sink" is accurate. Therefore, the U.S. military even joked, "If there are a few more Yukikaze, World War II may end early."
According to post-war statistics, the Yukikaze was bombed by more than 15,000 aircraft, but only one threatened it.
Surprisingly, during one of the battles, the Yukikaze encountered a torpedo fired by the Japanese side. But it is incredible that when the torpedo hit the Yukikaze, the Yukikaze was not damaged, and when it hit the Japanese ** "First Frost" in the same water area, the latter suffered a serious **.
It's a lot of good luck!The Yukikaze is undoubtedly the perfect combination of a ship of luck and a broom star.