TAMIYA 1/700 SHIMAKAZE DESTROYER

A Record-Setter and One of a Kind

In May 1943, the Japanese Navy's next-generation destroyer Shimakaze was commissioned at Maizuru Naval Arsenal. Her high temperature, high pressure kampon boilers generated 75,000hp and propelled the 3,000-ton Shimakaze at what was a then record speed for a Japanese destroyer of 40.9 knots; she was also an imposing offensive presence, sporting three twin 12.7cm gun turrets and three quintuple torpedo tube mounts. It wasn't long before she saw action, in July 1943 taking part in the evacuation of Japanese troops from Kiska in the Aleutian Islands, and after that she was called further south, where she would eventually meet her end in November 1944, sunk during a transport mission to relieve the embattled garrison of the island of Leyte. The Shimakaze was to end up the only ship of her class, partially due to carriers and their aircraft reducing destroyer effectiveness, and compounded by the lack of production capacity as Japan felt the squeeze of a worsening war situation. Despite her fleeting service life, however, she was still able to prove that she was a worthwhile design, as the fastest and most powerful of the Japanese destroyers.

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