Japanese destroyer Oite (1924)

Oite (追風) was the sixth vessel of the Kamikaze-class destroyers built for the Imperial Japanese Navy following World War I. Advanced for their time, these ships served as first-line destroyers through the 1930s, but were considered obsolescent by the start of the Pacific War.

History
Construction of the large-sized Kamikaze-class destroyers was authorized as part of the Imperial Japanese Navy's 8-4 Fleet Program from fiscal 1921–1923, as a follow on to the Minekaze-class destroyer, with which they shared many common design characteristics. Oite, built at the Uraga Dock Company was laid down on March 16, 1923, launched on November 27, 1924 and commissioned on October 30, 1925. Originally commissioned simply as “Destroyer No. 11”, it was assigned the name Oite on August 1, 1928.

World War II history
At the time of the attack on Pearl Harbor, Oite was assigned to Destroyer Division 29 of Desron 6 in the IJN 4th Fleet, based at Truk. She participated in the Battle of Wake Island, suffering minor damage from American coastal artillery while unsuccessfully attempting to land a Special Naval Landing Forces unit on December 11, with 14 crewmen injured. During the second invasion attempt on December 23, Oite landed its forces without damage.

From January through March 1942, Oite provided cover for Japanese forces during "Operation R" (the invasion of Rabaul, New Britain) and "Operation SR" (the invasion of Lae and Salamaua), returning to Sasebo Naval Arsenal for repairs in April. In late April, Oite escorted a convoy from Sasebo to Truk. During the Battle of the Coral Sea from May 7–8, 1942, Oite was assigned to the "Operation Mo" invasion force for Port Moresby in New Guinea. When that operation was cancelled, she was reassigned to the Solomon Islands sector, patrolling from Rabaul and escorting an airfield construction crew from Truk to Bougainville and Guadalcanal. In August 1942, Oite made a “Tokyo Express” troop transport run to Guadalcanal, but at the end of the month was reassigned to cover troop landings on Nauru and Ocean Island during "Operation RY".

In September 1942, Oite made patrols in the central Pacific, and escorted troop convoys from Palau to the Solomons through September 1943.

Oite was struck by a torpedo on September 21, 1943, while escorting a convoy from Truk, via Saipan to Yokosuka, but the torpedo was a dud and did only minor damage. Oite continued in the escort role through February 1944 between the Japanese home islands and Saipan, and between Saipan and Rabaul, with increasing losses to American submarines.

On February 16, 1944 Oite was escorting the damaged cruiser JAPANESE CRUISER Agano to Japan from Truk when Agano was torpedoed and sunk by the United States Navy submarine USS Skate (SS-305). Oite rescued 523 of Agano's crew and turned back towards Truk. However, just as Oite was entering Truk harbor on February 18, the Japanese base was struck by United States Navy aircraft in Operation Hailstone. Oite was torpedoed, broke in half and sank almost immediately with loss of 172 of 192 crewmen and all 523 survivors of Agano.

Oite was struck from the navy list on March 31, 1944.

The remains of Oite were found in March 1986 at a depth of around 200 ft of water, in two sections approximately 40 feet apart. The bow section is upside down, with the bridge buried in mud; the afterpart lies on the bottom upright.