Minekaze

The "large" destroyers were conceived to escort Amagi-class battlecruisers. They featured an extended forecastle, and the bridge was set well back from its break—a bank of torpedo tubes was mounted in the well thus created. The Minekaze class was the first mass-produced Japanese destroyer to be equipped with geared turbines. The lead ship was laid down in April 1918. She escorted aircraft carrier Akagi in the 1930s and patrolled the Chinese coast during the Sino-Japanese War. Throughout World War II, the ship was engaged in patrol and escort duties in the East China Sea and Western Pacific regions.