Urakaze#海軍制度沿革8(1971) p.75『大正三年十二月六日(達一八〇) 艦艇類別等級別表中戦艦ノ部「扶桑」ノ次ニ「、山城、伊勢、日向」ヲ、巡洋戦艦ノ部「金剛」ノ次ニ「、榛名、霧島」ヲ、驅逐艦ノ部「山風」ノ次ニ「、浦風、江風」ヲ、「橘」ノ次ニ「、樺、桂、榊、楓、梅、楠、柏、松、桐、杉」ヲ加フ』("Navy System History 8 (1971) p . 75 December 6, 1913 (Tatsu 180) Table of classification and classification of ships, battleships Fuso, Yamashiro, Ise, Hyuga, battlecruisers Kongo, Haruna, Kirishima, destroyers Yamakaze, Urakaze, Ekaze, Tachibana, Kaba, Katsura, Sakaki, Kaede, Ume, Kusunoki, Kashiwa, Matsu, Kiri, Sugi.") (in Japanese). #日本海軍艦船名考 p. 202 ("Japanese Navy Ship Name Review") (in Japanese). was the lead ship#日本駆逐艦史2012 ("Japanese Destroyer History 2012") p. 48 (in Japanese) of the Imperial Japanese Navy′s s. Completed in 1915, she served during World War I, followed by service on the Yangtze in China during the 1920s and 1930s. She was the only unit of her class to enter Japanese service, the Japanese having sold her only sister ship, Kawakaze, to Italy while Kawakaze was under construction. Urakaze also was the last Japanese destroyer built in a foreign shipyard to enter service in the Imperial Japanese Navy. Stricken in 1936, she thereafter was used for training until she was sunk during World War II in an Allied air raid in 1945. She was refloated and scrapped in 1948.

Construction and commissioning The Government of Japan authorized the construction of Urakaze in its fiscal year 1911 budget and signed a construction contract with the British firm Yarrow Shipbuilders on 27 December 1912.#海軍制度沿革11-2(1972) pp.1068-1069、昭和3年2月14日(内令43)、艦船要目公表範囲 ("Naval System History 11-2 (1972) pp .1068-1069, February 14, 1938 (Civil Order 43), scope of publication of ship details.) (in Japanese). She was laid down at Yarrow's shipyard in Scotstoun, Scotland, on 1 October 1913 as Destroyer No. 35,#海軍制度沿革8(1971)p.327『大正三年九月十二日(達一三七) 軍備補充費ヲ以テ英國耶社ニ於テ製造中ノ第三十五號第三十六號驅逐艦ニ左ノ通命名ス 第三十五號驅逐艦 浦風ウラカセ 第三十六號驅逐艦 江風カワカセ』("Navy System History 8 (1971) p . 327 ``September 12, 1913 (Tas. 137) 35th issue of the manufacturing process at the British company due to armament replenishment costs Name of the 36th Destroyer Sanodori; Destroyer No. 35 Urakaze; Destroyer No. 36 Kawakaze) (in Japanese)#日本駆逐艦物語 ("Japanese Destroyer Story") p. 284 (in Japanese). received the name Urakaze on 12 September 1914, and was registered as a first-class destroyer on 6 December 1914. She was launched on 16 February 1915#T7公文備考20/駆逐艦浦風、江風、製造(1)画像33『大正四年二月十六日倫敦局發(中略)二月十六日午後一時五十分浦風進水式滞ナク済ム右報告ス (了) T7 Kumon Note 20/Destroyer Urakaze, Ekaze, Manufacture (1) Image 33 “February 16, Taisho 4 Rondon Bureau (omitted) February 16th, 1:50 p.m. Urakaze The launch ceremony has been completed and the report has been completed) (in Japanese) and completed on 14 September 1915. Her guns were shipped from Japan and installed at the Yarrow yard and the Japanese negotiated the purchase of ammunition for them from the British firm Armstrong Whitworth, but she was completed without her torpedo tubes.#T4公文備考58/浦風回航記事(1)画像42 ("T4 Kumon Note 58/Urakaze Kaigo Article (1) Image 42") (in Japanese).

Service history Urakaze left the Yarrow shipyard's mooring pond on 15 September 1915 and moored at Greenock, Scotland, the same day.#T4公文備考58/浦風回航記事(1) 画像46-47 ("T4 Kumon Note 58/Urakaze Kaigo Article (1) Images 46-47") (in Japanese). There she filled her fuel tanks with 248 tons of fuel oil and took aboard 50 tons of canned goods, which were loaded on her upper deck.#T4公文備考58/浦風回航記事(1) 画像43,47 ("T4 Kumon Note 58/Urakaze Kaigo Article (1) Image 43,47") (in Japanese).

Delivery voyage

Urakaze began her delivery voyage to Japan on the afternoon of 16 September 1915, departing Greenock bound for Gibraltar, with an itinerary calling for her to make calls at ports in the British Empire along the way.#T4公文備考58/浦風回航記事(1) 画像47-48 ("T4 Kumon Note 58/Urakaze Kaigo Article (1) Images 47-48") (in Japanese). With World War I raging and Japan an active belligerent on the Allied side, she maintained a speed of to reduce the danger of attack by Imperial German Navy submarines.#T4公文備考58/浦風回航記事(1) 画像45 ("T4 Kumon Note 58/Urakaze Kaigo Article (1) Image 45") (in Japanese). She arrived at Gibraltar on the afternoon of 19 September 1915 and refueled.#T4公文備考58/浦風回航記事(1) 画像48-49 ("T4 Kumon Note 58/Urakaze Kaigo Article (1) Images 48-49") (in Japanese).

Urakaze′s fuel consumption was lower than expected, and even after she had left the German submarine threat behind her she maintained — with occasional exceptions — throughout her voyage to Japan as an experiment in the range and endurance of oil-fired ships, refueling as necessary along the way.#T4公文備考58/浦風回航記事(1) 画像44-46 ("T4 Kumon Note 58/Urakaze Kaigo Article (1) Images 44-46") (in Japanese) She resumed her voyage on 21 September 1915, departing Gibraltar to cross the Mediterranean Sea and calling at Valletta, Malta, from before arriving at Port Said, Egypt, on 26 September.#T4公文備考58/浦風回航記事(2) 画像1 ("T4 Kumon Note 58/Urakaze Kaigo article (2) Image 1") (in Japanese).#T4公文備考58/浦風回航記事(2)画像4 ("T4 Kumon Note 58/Urakaze Kaigo article (2) Image 4") (in Japanese) She immediately entered the Suez Canal, completing her transit of the canal with her arrival at Suez Port on 27 September.#T4公文備考58/浦風回航記事(2) 画像5 ("T4 Kumon Note 58/Urakaze Kaigo article (2) Image 5") (in Japanese). She departed Suez Port on 29 September and proceeded southward through the Red Sea, calling at Aden on the southern coast of the Arabian Peninsula from She then began her crossing of the Indian Ocean.#T4公文備考58/浦風回航記事(2) 画像6-7 ("T4 Kumon Note 58/Urakaze Kaigo article (2) Image 6-7") (in Japanese). On 7 October she had to drift for about an hour because of a clogged oil filter, but she soon got back underway and arrived at Bombay, India, later that day.#T4公文備考58/浦風回航記事(2) 画像10 ("T4 Kumon Note 58/Urakaze Kaigo Article (2) Image 10") (in Japanese).

Urakaze departed Bombay on 11 October 1915#T4公文備考58/浦風回航記事(2) 画像14 ("T4 Kumon Note 58/Urakaze Kaigo Article (2) Image 14") (in Japanese). and called briefly at Colombo, Ceylon, on 13 October, and at Singapore from #T4公文備考58/浦風回航記事(2)画像15 ("T4 Kumon Note 58/Urakaze Kaigo Article (2) Image 15") (in Japanese). She then set out across the South China Sea, conducting fuel consumption tests along the way.#T4公文備考58/浦風回航記事(2) 画像16 ("T4 Kumon Note 58/Urakaze Kaigo Article (2) Image 16") (in Japanese) She encountered strong winds on 22 October and rolled 30 degrees, causing her aft mast to collapse.#T4公文備考58/浦風回航記事(2) 画像17 ("T4 Kumon Note 58/Urakaze Kaigo Article (2) Image 17") (in Japanese). She arrived at Hong Kong later that day and made emergency repairs to her mast before departing on 23 October for the last leg of her voyage.#T4公文備考58/浦風回航記事(2) 画像18 ("T4 Kumon Note 58/ Urakaze Kaigo Article (2) Image 18") (in Japanese). She completed it on 27 October 1915 with her arrival at Yokosuka, Japan,#T4公文備考58/浦風回航記事(2) 画像19 ("T4 Kumon Note 58/Urakaze Kaigo Article (2) Image 19") (in Japanese). which became her home port.#戦史叢書31海軍軍戦備1付表第一その二「大正九年三月調艦艇要目等一覧表 その二 駆逐艦」("War History Series 31 Naval Warfare 1 Appendix 1 Part 2 'March 1919 List of Ship Summary Part 2 Destroyers'") (in Japanese).

At Yokosuka, Urakaze′s torpedo tubes were installed and additional work was carried out, temporarily interrupted by a naval review on 4 November 1915.#T4公文備考58/浦風回航記事(2) 画像19-20 ("T4 Kumon Note 58/Urakaze Kaigo Article (2) Image 19-20") (in Japanese).

World War I On 1 December 1915, Urakaze was assigned to the 16th Destroyer Squadron, a component of the 2nd Torpedo Squadron in the 1st Fleet, an element of the Combined Fleet.#海軍制度沿革4-1(1971) ("Naval System History 4-1 (1971)"), pp. 73-75 (in Japanese). The squadron also included the destroyers and .#海軍制度沿革4-1(1971) ("Naval System History 4-1 (1971)") pp. 25-27 (in Japanese). On 13 December 1915, the Combined Fleet was dissolved, and on that date the 16th Destroyer Squadron was transferred to the 2nd Torpedo Squadron in the 2nd Fleet.

On 26 September 1916, the Yokosuka Naval Arsenal was ordered to equip Urakaze with cruise turbines,#T5公文備考26/装備、備付 画像37-38、官房第2895号、1916年(大正5年)9月26日『横鎮長官宛 驅逐艦浦風ヘ巡航「タルビン」装備の件(以下略)』 ("T5 Kumon Note 26/Equipment, attached images 37-38, Secretariat No. 2895, September 26, 1916 (Taisho 5), 'To Director Yokochin, matter of equipping the cruising Talvin to the destroyer Urakaze (hereinafter omitted) )'") (in Japanese). although this work did not take place until 1918.#日本駆逐艦史2012 ("Japanese destroyer history 2012") p. 49 (in Japanese). Meanwhile, the Yokosuka Naval Arsenal carried out other work on Urakaze between 5 December 1916 and 5 June 1917, installing a new engine room ventilation system and other equipment.#横須賀海軍工廠史(2)1983 ("Yokosuka Naval Arsenal History (2) 1983"), p. 454 (in Japanese). During this work, Urakaze left the 16th Destroyer Squadron on 1 April 1917.

The Yokosuka Naval Arsenal finally installed Urakaze′s new cruise turbines in 1918. In February 1919, just after the end of World War I, a new cruise turbine test run report was submitted.#T8公文備考20/試験(1) 画像19 ("T8 Kumon Note 20/Exam (1) Image 19") (in Japanese).

Post-World War I On 1 December 1926, Urakaze was assigned to the 1st Expeditionary Fleet, which was responsible for operations in China,#海軍制度沿革4-1(1971) ("Naval System History 4-1 (1971)") pp.42-43 (in Japanese). and was engaged in patrolling the Yangtze area of China.中川努「主要艦艇艦歴表」#日本海軍全艦艇史資料篇 ("Sutomu Nakagawa 'Main Ship History Table' #Japanese Navy All Ships History Materials Edition"), p. 12 (in Japanese). On 20 May 1933, the 3rd Fleet was organized as a permanent fleet, and Urakaze became a unit of the 3rd Fleet's 11th Squadron.

On 25 May 1936, Urakaze returned to her home port of Yokosuka for the first time in about a year, after her last tour patrolling the Yangtze.帝海ニュース「驅逐艦浦風母港に歸る」『帝國海軍』第二十二卷 第七號（帝國海軍社、昭和11年7月1日発行）("Teikai News 'The Destroyer Urakaze Returns to Home Port,' Imperial Navy, Volume 22, No. 7 (Teikoku Kaisha, published 1 July 1939"), p. 59 (in Japanese). She was stricken from the naval register on 1 July 1936, and on the same day she was handed over to the Yokosuka Special Naval Landing Force,#S11公文備考F8/除籍艦船廃艦処分に関する件画像2『浦風機密第七〇號 昭和十一年七月一日 浦風駆逐艦長 海軍大臣殿 舊駆逐艦引渡ノ件報告 本艦五月十四日附軍務一機密第一七二號ニ依リ本日横須賀海兵團長ニ引渡候』("S11 Kumon Notes F8/ Image 2: Confidential Urakaze No. 70, July 1, 1930 Minister of the Navy, Captain's report on the handover of the Destroyer Urakaze, May 10, 1930, to the commander of the Yokosuka Special Naval Landing Force, Military Service 1-Secret No. 172" (in Japanese). which used her as a training ship. On 1 April 1940, she was renamed Decommissioned Destroyer No. 18, freeing up her former name for use by the new destroyer Urakaze, commissioned later that year.

Decommissioned Destroyer No. 18 was sunk when a bomb hit her during the United States Navy and Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm air raid on Yokosuka on 18 July 1945, during the final weeks of the Pacific campaign of World War II. Sources agree that her wreck was refloated in 1948 and subsequently scrapped, but disagree on details: According to one source, she was scrapped at Uraga between 27 May and 15 August 1948,#終戦と帝国艦艇2011資料2、運輸省海運総局掃海管船部管船課『日本海軍終戦時残存(内地)艦艇処分状況』(1948年3月20日現在) ("The End of the War and Imperial Ships 2011 Material 2, Ministry of Transport, Maritime Directorate General Bureau, Minesweeper Division, Vessel Management Division, 'Disposal Status of Japanese Navy Remaining (inland) Vessels at the End of the War' (as of March 20, 1948)") p. 27 (in Japanese). while another claims that she was refloated on 9 September 1948 and subsequently scrapped by Shinto Iron Works.

References

Bibliography

(Masahide Asai/ed., "Review of Japanese Navy Ships," Tokyo Suikosha, December 1928, in Japanese). (Ministry of the Navy (ed.), History of the Naval System Volume 4-1, Meiji Centennial History Series, Volume 175, Hara Shobo, November 1971 (original 1939) (in Japanese)).