The Curse of the Snow Wind
Real name Yukikaze destroyer? Alias Grim Reaper, Xiangrui, Kappa? Birthday March 24th? Age 73? 118cm tall? Weight 200000kg? Originating in the area of Maizuru Naval Yard in the central and western regions of Japan's Honshu Island? Main area of activity: World War II Pacific Theater? Affiliation: Imperial Japanese Navy, Republic of China Navy? Personal status: served after the war until 1971, when it was dismantled
The "Snow Wind" is the eighth ship of the Yang Yan-class destroyer, which was started in 1940, but the originally ordinary Snow Wind has had an extraordinary experience, and when she was born, no one knew that this was a broom star with a terrible curse that could suck the luck of all the ships around her into her. Pen "Fun" Pavilion www.biquge.info After the outbreak of the Pacific War, "Yukikaze" was incorporated into the 4th Assault Force of the 3rd Fleet and participated in the attack on Luzon Island in the Philippines, the support for the Ramon Bay landing operation, the occupation of Sulawesi, and the Battle of Surabaya (Battle of Surabaya). After that, the 3rd Fleet of the 10th South Pacific Theater was transferred to escort the "Xianghe" and "Zuihe" sisters. On November 12, 1942, during the 3rd Battle of the Solomon. The "Yukikaze" and 13 other destroyers and the light cruiser "Nagara" defended the two battleships, "Kirishima" and "Hiei". The battle ended in the defeat of the Americans, but the Japanese also had 2 destroyers sunk, 1 battleship, 1 cruiser, and 3 destroyers wounded. Among them, "Hiei", as the main object of Yukikaze's protection, not only suffered heavy losses in the first battle, but was also attacked by the US military the next day and had to commit suicide. The "Snow Wind" ship was unscathed in this battle, which opened the prelude to the auspicious history of its countless dead wingmen.
On March 1, 1943, Yukikaze escorted a convoy of convoys bound for New Guinea in the Bismarck Sea. As a result of the US air raids for several days, the Japanese lost a total of four destroyers, "Shirayuki", "Asahio", "Shizukaze", and "Arasao", as well as seven transport ships, and suffered heavy casualties. However, the "Snow Wind" and the 1 infantry brigade it carried did not suffer any losses, and by the way, a large group of friendly soldiers overboard. On 12 July, the "Snow Wind" ship, which was equipped with a new radar and sonar, successfully spotted the US military in a night battle on Bangala Island in Cologne. The US forces fired a torpedo at the "Xuefeng," but because it was too deep, the torpedo slid under the "Xuefeng" and hit the light patrol of the flagship "Shentong" next to it. The "Snow Wind" safely transported 1,200 army soldiers to land after the battle. On June 19, 1944, in the Battle of the Philippine Sea (Battle of the Mariana Sea), the Japanese lost three aircraft carriers, "Shozuru", "Taiho", and "Flying Eagle", two oil tankers and more than 600 aircraft, and the other four aircraft carriers "Hayabusa", "Ryuho", "Chiyoda", and "Zuizuru", as well as the battleships "Ise" and "Maya" were also wounded to varying degrees. And the "Snow Wind" ship did not even have shrapnel rubbed a piece. On October 20, 1944, the Battle of Leyte Gulf, known as the largest in human history, began. The Japanese army lost heavy patrols "Atago" and "Maya"; battleships "Musashi", "Yamashiro", "Fuso"; aircraft carriers "Chitose", "Zuizuru", "Zuiho", "Chiyoda"; Aviation battleship "Ise", as well as several other cruisers and destroyers. And "Snow Wind" was unscathed in this battle, and also picked up a large group of friendly crew members who fell overboard.
On 21 November, the "Snow Wind" and the wingman "Pufeng" escorted the battleship "King Kong" back to China when they were attacked by the US submarine "Sea Lion" in the Taiwan Strait. The torpedoes of the "King Kong" and "Pufeng" were sunk, and the "Xuefeng" was safe and sound, and the sailors of the two sunken ships were rescued with ease and returned home safely. By this time, the reputation of the "Broom Star" of the "Snow Wind" had already spread in the Navy. However, the upper echelons of the navy did not believe evil: on November 29, the world's largest aircraft carrier "Shinano" was escorted by "Yukikaze" and two other destroyers in the Seto Inland Sea, which was converted from the hull of the Yamato-class No. 3 ship. The "Yukikaze" curse soon came into play: the U.S. submarine "Shooting Fish" spotted the "Shinano" and fired six torpedoes, four of which hit Shinano. Due to the unfinished hull and the inexperience of the damage management personnel, the Shinano soon sank due to excessive flooding, becoming the shortest-lived aircraft carrier in the history of the Navy - less than 20 hours from its maiden voyage to its sinking. "Yukikaze" had no choice but to lead two wingmen to carry out their best rescue work, and the crew of "Shinano" on the deck returned safely. In the months that followed, the U.S. military launched large-scale air raids on Japanese military ports. In the previous air raids, the "Snow Wind" fired more than 10,000 antiaircraft shells, but was not directly hit by a single bomb. On April 7, 1945, the Japanese Navy gathered its remaining forces and launched a desperate suicide attack "Operation Kikusui", and "Yukikaze" was incorporated into the Combined Fleet to escort the flagship "Yamato". In the repeated bombing by US planes, the cruiser "Yasu" and the destroyers "Hamakaze," "Isokaze," "Asakaze," and "Kasumi" were all sunk or heavily damaged and sunk themselves. But none of the dozens of bombs from the air hit the "Snow Wind" correctly, and only 3 of the hundreds of crew members were killed and 15 were injured. In this battle, the Combined Fleet was almost completely annihilated. After the four remaining destroyers escaped back to Sasebo, they found that there was an unexploded U.S. bomb in the granary of "Yukikaze". If the bomb exploded, it could blow through the bottom of the "Snow Wind" and sink it directly - but it was a dud. After Kikusui, the Japanese Navy existed in name only. The few remaining warships survived in various military ports. "Xuefeng" has experienced dozens of large-scale air raids by enemy aircraft with a total of 15,000 sorties, but only one bomb was hit, and it was a dud! During an air raid, "Xuefeng" accidentally hit a mine laid by his house in order to avoid a bomb, but the mine fuse failed! And the "first frost" next to it also hit a mine and sank on the spot. At the outbreak of the Pacific War, Japan had a total of 82 destroyers of various types, and by the end of the war, only one "Yukikaze" had survived. Not only that, but as a veteran warship with a range of 124,800 miles and participated in most of the major battles of the Pacific War, the "Snow Wind" almost never suffered serious damage. In the entire war, less than 10 members of the "Snow Wind" crew died, 2 people were missing, and all 4 captains died well. The Japanese Navy called "Yukikaze" an "immortal bird" and a "miracle destroyer", but the crews of other ships hated "Yukikaze" very much, because few warships that attacked with it could come back safely, and in the middle of the war, the Shiro-class destroyer "Shiyu" was called "Kure Port Snow Wind, Sasebo Shiyu", and the two plus the Yangyan-class destroyer "Nobun" were called "Three Xiangrui", but compared to the "Shiyu" who ran away without caring about anything, and the "Nofen" who specialized in replenishing guns, "Yukikaze" accumulated a lot of yin virtues. That's why you can live until after the war.
After the end of World War II, "Xuefeng" was selected by the Republic of China as a compensation ship and renamed "Danyang", but on the day of delivery, Liu Deng's army jumped thousands of miles into Dabie Mountain, opening the prelude to the PLA counteroffensive, and its "auspicious" nature continued to be retained, and the "Chongqing" cruiser with which it cooperated in the Jinzhou Campaign sank after the uprising. After the Liberation War, "Xuefeng" became the flagship of the Navy of the Republic of China, and after 1966 it was changed to a training ship. Unable to bear the curse of "Yukikaze", ****** finally made a decision to dismantle "Yukikaze" in 1971, and on the day the order was delivered, the ****** group was kicked out of the United Nations, and on the day of the dismantling of "Yukikaze", ****** was ill in an unexpected car accident. The "Yukikaze" anchor and steering wheel were given to Japan in December 1971, and as a result, the Japanese financial crisis broke out in '72. It is currently located in the Maritime Self-Defense Force Technical School and Education Reference Center on Etajima.