Japanese destroyer Hagikaze
Encyclopedia
Hagikaze was a of the Imperial Japanese Navy
Imperial Japanese Navy
The Imperial Japanese Navy was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1869 until 1947, when it was dissolved following Japan's constitutional renunciation of the use of force as a means of settling international disputes...
. Participating at the Battle of Midway
Battle of Midway
The Battle of Midway is widely regarded as the most important naval battle of the Pacific Campaign of World War II. Between 4 and 7 June 1942, approximately one month after the Battle of the Coral Sea and six months after Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor, the United States Navy decisively defeated...
, the heavily damaged was scuttled by her two torpedoes, Kaga being fatally damaged by US aircraft of during the battle.
On 7 August 1943, Hagikaze was sunk between Kolombangara
Kolombangara
Kolombangara is an island in the New Georgia Islands group of the Solomon Islands in the southwestern Pacific Ocean...
and Vella Lavella
Vella Lavella
Vella Lavella is an island in the Western Province of the Solomon Islands. It lies to the west of New Georgia, but is considered one of the New Georgia Group...
(07°50′S 156°55′E) during the Battle of Vella Gulf
Battle of Vella Gulf
The was a naval battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II fought on the night of 6-7 August 1943, in Vella Gulf between Vella Lavella Island and Kolombangara Island in the Solomon Islands of the Southwest Pacific....
, by torpedoes and gunfire from the US destroyers , , and , with 178 killed.