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Matsu

CountryJapan
Ship ClassMatsu-class Destroyer
BuilderMaizuru Naval Arsenal
Laid Down8 Aug 1943
Launched3 Feb 1944
Commissioned28 Apr 1944
Sunk4 Aug 1944
Displacement1,282 tons standard; 1,530 tons full
Length328 feet
Beam30 feet
Draft10 feet
MachineryTwo Kampon water tube boilers, two Kampon impulse turbines, two shafts
Power Output19,000 shaft horsepower
Speed28 knots
Range3,500nm at 18 knots
Crew211

Contributor:

ww2dbaseMatsu was the lead ship of her class of destroyers. She was commissioned in 1944 with Lieutenant Commander Tsuneo Yonei in command as a member of Destroyer Squadron 11 of the Combined Fleet. After training missions, she was assigned to Lieutenant Commander Gen Yoshinaga on 1 Jun. On 15 Jul, she was assigned to the Destroyer Division 43 of Destroyer Squadron 11. On 29 Jul, she departed from Tateyama, Chiba, Japan as the flagship of Rear Admiral Ichimatsu Takahashi of the 2nd Convoy Escort Group, which contained all of Destroyer Squadron 11's ships. This group escorted Convoy No. 4804 to Chichi Jima, arriving on 1 Aug. On 4 Aug, she led the escorting warships back toward Japan. The group of warships was spotted by an American search plane of Task Group 58.1, and a carrier air strike soon followed. Matsu was struck by a torpedo launched from a TBF Avenger aircraft, slowing her down. American destroyers arrived on the scene shortly after, with USS Cogswell, USS Ingersoll, and USS Knapp firing on Matsu, outgunning Matsu 15 to 3. Furthermore, Matsu's weaponry, completely specialized for anti-aircraft purpose, were completely open, thus the gun crews were quickly cut down by the high explosive shells from the American ships, significantly decreasing her ability to fight back. She was eventually sunk about 81 kilometers northwest of Chichi Jima with only six survivors. Both Lieutenant Commander Yoshinaga and Rear Admiral Takahashi were killed.

ww2dbaseSources: Nihon Kaigun, Wikipedia.

Last Major Revision: Dec 2008

Matsu Operational Timeline

28 Apr 1944 Matsu was commissioned into service.




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Visitor Submitted Comments

1. Yuchen Liang says:
5 Mar 2024 04:04:08 PM

The Matsu and Tachibana class destroyers were officially termed as second-rate destroyers, but the term only applies to destroyers under 1000 tons displacement. Therefore, they should be first-rate destroyers.

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