I remember reading of this battle in "Japanese Destroyer Captain" by Hara Tameichi. He was the CO of Amatsukaze at the time of this engagement and he made a big deal about how terrible and wasteful the torpedo use was. The Japanese were logistically nowhere near their expected rivals, especially the United States. Those Long Lances were costly for them back in those days and could not afford such waste.

That book is great, BTW. An outstanding account of the naval war from someone that was in command at the tactical level and not sitting back in a command post at Truk, Rabaul, or back in mainland Japan, nor sitting in one of the battleships which didn't do shit for most of the war. He's very even in praise and criticism for both Japanese and Allied navies in the battles he was a part of. What's more important, is that the book was from an IJN officer, giving an important POV of the war from the Japanese perspective. In english language books, this is rare. I'd give more info but it would spoil it.

Also, I'd be curious to see any material about Yukikaze's wartime narrative. Other than English Wikipedia which has barely anything on her, English sources on Yukikaze is scarce and minimal at best.

firefly99 said:

I remember reading of this battle in "Japanese Destroyer Captain" by Hara Tameichi. He was the CO of Amatsukaze at the time of this engagement and he made a big deal about how terrible and wasteful the torpedo use was. The Japanese were logistically nowhere near their expected rivals, especially the United States. Those Long Lances were costly for them back in those days and could not afford such waste.

Well, if I remember correctly the lousy accuracy of the torpedoes was caused mainly by the fact most of them were fired outside the recommended range. Hara himself fired his torpedoes the closest which was still 20% outside of optimal position, and HE was the one who created those calculation before the war, becoming the leading DD torpedo expert of the IJN.

Also, I'd be curious to see any material about Yukikaze's wartime narrative. Other than English Wikipedia which has barely anything on her, English sources on Yukikaze is scarce and minimal at best.

Not really a narrative, but combinedfleet has a record of her movements:

http://www.combinedfleet.com/yukika_t.htm

aceofspudz said:

Not really a narrative, but combinedfleet has a record of her movements:

http://www.combinedfleet.com/yukika_t.htm

Thanks. I came across that very interesting site long ago. Saw that part for Yukikaze. It's just I was looking for more in depth stuff. There's probably Japanese language sources that just haven't made their way into other languages.