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The was a class of fifteen 1st-class destroyers of the Imperial Japanese Navy.〔Jentsura, Warships of the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1869–1945〕 Obsolete by the beginning of the Pacific War, the ''Minekaze''-class ships were relegated to mostly secondary roles, serving throughout the war as patrol vessels, high speed transports, target control vessels, and as ''kaiten'' (suicide torpedo) carriers. Most ultimately were lost to U.S. and British submarines. ==Background== Construction of the large-sized ''Minekaze''-class destroyers was authorized as part of the Imperial Japanese Navy's 8-4 Fleet Program from fiscal 1917–1920, as an accompaniment to the medium-sized with which they shared many common design characteristics.〔Howarth, The ''Fighting Ships of the Rising Sun''〕 Equipped with powerful engines, these vessels were capable of high speeds and were intended as escorts for the projected s, which were ultimately never built.〔Globalsecurity.org, ''IJN Minekaze class destroyers''〕 Two vessels were authorized in fiscal 1917, and an addition five in fiscal 1918. Although none had been completed by the end of World War I, the Japanese Navy decided to continue the project as many older destroyers were in need of replacement. An additional five vessels were ordered in fiscal 1919, and a final three in fiscal 1920. However, the final three vessels were built to a different design and have a different enough silhouette that they can be regarded as a separate sub-class.〔Howarth, ''The Fighting Ships of the Rising Sun''〕 The new destroyers were fast and powerful ships that were equal to any of their foreign contemporaries. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Minekaze-class destroyer」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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