This week I am taking a look at one of my favourite destroyers currently in World of Warships, the Minekaze. For its tier I feel this is a incredibly competitive ship with its stealthy nature and fast reloading powerful torpedoes.
The Minekaze class destroyers consisted of 15 ships commissioned by the Imperial Japanese Navy whilst the first world war was still at its height. The first world war came to a end but of the ordered Minekaze destroyers were completed. The decision was made to continue their production to replace the already dated destroyers in the Imperial navy at that time. Unlike previous design choices the Japanese moved away from just copying pre existing British designs to take their own approach to creating an effective ship. The decision to lengthening the forecastle with a beak gave vital shielding from dangerous wash to crew members manning torpedo launchers at the front of the ship. This and other design choices made the Minekaze very competitive alongside any other destroyer of that time frame. The Minikazi was primarily designed as a destroyer escort for the Amagi class Battleships. The Amagi in an 'act of god made' was damaged extensively in its construction when a earth quake struck. This ultimately lead to this Battleship being scrapped and the Minekaze destroyers being deployed else where in the Imperial fleet.
The design and construction of the Minikaze Class destroyer came really at the wrong time frame to be of any effect in many of the major world war conflicts. Arriving to late for WW1 and being too outdated for Pacific conflicts by WW2 the service history of the Minikazi ship is somewhat unremarkable. Most of the Minizake Destroyers were relegated to either support ships or patrol boats. Many of of the 15 ships built were sunk by US Subs, used as target practice or taken as prize by other nations.Only a small percentage were eventually scuttled or broken down for scrap.
One of the Minikaze ships the Akikaze was the subject of a War Crime investigation after reports that civilians were strung up by the hands on a gallow, shot dead and then thrown overboard. No action was taken against the ships crew after the Austrailian War Crimes Trial was handed over to the American authorities. The Akikaze found equally gruesome end being eventually sunk by a torpedo hit (which was meant for the aircraft carrier Jun'yo but the Akikaze sacrificed herself to save the carrier) from the USS Pintado, resulting in the loss of all hands.
One of the Minikaze ships the Akikaze was the subject of a War Crime investigation after reports that civilians were strung up by the hands on a gallow, shot dead and then thrown overboard. No action was taken against the ships crew after the Austrailian War Crimes Trial was handed over to the American authorities. The Akikaze found equally gruesome end being eventually sunk by a torpedo hit (which was meant for the aircraft carrier Jun'yo but the Akikaze sacrificed herself to save the carrier) from the USS Pintado, resulting in the loss of all hands.
Here in World of Warships I really enjoy playing this tier 5 Destroyer. The Minekaze seems to be the last destroyer that has a focus on more guns and torpedoes before a lot of anti air starts getting strapped on to subsequent Japanese destroyers higher in the tech tree. Whilst this is good in a support anti air role (which at this tier is largely negated due to most ships having vastly better AA than proceeding tiers but more importantly me turning AA off right at the start) the lack of decient guns for self defence seems to be the major downfall of the Japanese destroyer line. The lack of gun performance is balanced with the having the best Torpedoes currently in the game for its tier.
In World of Warships the Minekaze is a solid destroyer for people that like the stealthy approach to game play. With a surface detectibility range of only 5.9km and a torpedo range of 7 km with its non upgraded torpedoes. These stats enable you to kill without ever been seen unlike the american line where you have to close to dangerously close to make use you your torps. You can upgrade the torpedoes to a 10 km range but this comes with the disadvantage of losing 11 knots of speed. I personally use the faster but lower range torps as I don't like giving people the option of dodging. The Torpedoes reload once every 46 seconds and with 3 separate dual launchers. With controlled fire I never seem to find myself in a position where I am caught out with at least 4 torpedoes ready to fire.
The guns on the Minekaze aren't particularly great. When compared to the Nicholas Destroyer (the equivalent American tier destroyer) the guns are only just a bit smaller being 120mm to the American 127mm but its the rotation speed that really hampers these guns performance. This seems to be the Japanese Nations characteristic with their destroyers having powerful torps but horrendous turret rotation speed.
The Minekaze has great manoeuvrability being over half a second faster rudder shift time than the Nicholas and Gremyashchy destroyers and is also the fastest of its equivalent tiers. These stats gives the Minekaze all the makings of a awesome ambush ship. In a Destroyer, being able to dodge and dish out pain quickly is the important feature to have and for tier 5 I think the Minekaze is probably the best at it.
In a close range knife fight you will probably be throwing this ship around to avoid incoming fire and this is where the slow turret will really start to be a problem. A one on one in close range, the harsh reality is you will probably lose against the American destroyers or cruisers unless you get some torpedoes on target at an early stage. You just won't be able to put the fire down needed to deter their attack. Using your stealth to your advantage will be key to your survival against other destroyers as you have the lowest detectability range and can turn away quickly if you see the odds stacked against you. American destroyers need to hit tier 9 before they can drop torpedoes outside their detectability range so drop torpedoes to force them into evasive manoeuvres and high tail it out of there. Better to run away and drop more torpedoes than stand your ground and be sunk.
Torpedoes on the Japanese ships really make this ship fun to play with. I have missed having the third launcher on the Mitsuki and Hatsuharu as it gives more flexibility on where you can place multiple shot. I remember one particular game where I launched 2 spreads down a channel between 2 islands after being spotted. The enemy ship turned having seen them went right around one of the islands only to find I had launched the final 2 torps to meet him as he nosed round the island. The Mitsuku and Hatsuharu only have 2 launchers (with more torps launched with each launcher so swings and rounds abouts) so I would have had to be more restrained in that kind of attack. Having this option with the Minekaze give more flexibility with your attack choices.
Having centrally mounted torpedoes in the kamikaze something that I like over its American counterpart. The tier 5 Nicholas has more launchers but these are mounted to the sides of the ship. To make use of your larger number of launchers you have to expose both port and starboard lengths of your vessel. Steaming about in this manner tends to make make your attacks movements very predictable which normally leads to you being very dead after taking more fire.
So to conclude this review of this great little destroyer, its a great hit and run ship. With strong torps, low detectability range and god like manoeuvrability its a competitive ship for its tier. Keep your distance from dangerous ships to negate your bad turret rotation speed and attack when the time is right. Its always a mistake in the Minekaze to sail straight in a gun fight to allow your slow turrets to bear on a target. It is generally better to use your small profile and fast reloading torps to your advantage. I have really had fun playing this ship in Co-op and random battles and have had a good amount of success getting a few 5 kill matches (yet I forgot to take a screen shot to prove it... yep noob mistake there but bellow is my max ships sunk. I've had a few 5 kill matches and the Minekaze is definitely responsible for a few along with the Warspite).
I hope you enjoy this little ninja of a ship as much as I have and would like to hear if you share my opinion on this ship. Do you agree that this is a strong ship for its tier, or do you prefer the guns ho approach of the american line? I'd love yo hear your opinions. I look forward to seeing you here later on in the week for an update on my slow but steady progress on my tiger tank.
The guns on the Minekaze aren't particularly great. When compared to the Nicholas Destroyer (the equivalent American tier destroyer) the guns are only just a bit smaller being 120mm to the American 127mm but its the rotation speed that really hampers these guns performance. This seems to be the Japanese Nations characteristic with their destroyers having powerful torps but horrendous turret rotation speed.
The Minekaze has great manoeuvrability being over half a second faster rudder shift time than the Nicholas and Gremyashchy destroyers and is also the fastest of its equivalent tiers. These stats gives the Minekaze all the makings of a awesome ambush ship. In a Destroyer, being able to dodge and dish out pain quickly is the important feature to have and for tier 5 I think the Minekaze is probably the best at it.
In a close range knife fight you will probably be throwing this ship around to avoid incoming fire and this is where the slow turret will really start to be a problem. A one on one in close range, the harsh reality is you will probably lose against the American destroyers or cruisers unless you get some torpedoes on target at an early stage. You just won't be able to put the fire down needed to deter their attack. Using your stealth to your advantage will be key to your survival against other destroyers as you have the lowest detectability range and can turn away quickly if you see the odds stacked against you. American destroyers need to hit tier 9 before they can drop torpedoes outside their detectability range so drop torpedoes to force them into evasive manoeuvres and high tail it out of there. Better to run away and drop more torpedoes than stand your ground and be sunk.
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Torpedoes on the Japanese ships really make this ship fun to play with. I have missed having the third launcher on the Mitsuki and Hatsuharu as it gives more flexibility on where you can place multiple shot. I remember one particular game where I launched 2 spreads down a channel between 2 islands after being spotted. The enemy ship turned having seen them went right around one of the islands only to find I had launched the final 2 torps to meet him as he nosed round the island. The Mitsuku and Hatsuharu only have 2 launchers (with more torps launched with each launcher so swings and rounds abouts) so I would have had to be more restrained in that kind of attack. Having this option with the Minekaze give more flexibility with your attack choices.
Having centrally mounted torpedoes in the kamikaze something that I like over its American counterpart. The tier 5 Nicholas has more launchers but these are mounted to the sides of the ship. To make use of your larger number of launchers you have to expose both port and starboard lengths of your vessel. Steaming about in this manner tends to make make your attacks movements very predictable which normally leads to you being very dead after taking more fire.
So to conclude this review of this great little destroyer, its a great hit and run ship. With strong torps, low detectability range and god like manoeuvrability its a competitive ship for its tier. Keep your distance from dangerous ships to negate your bad turret rotation speed and attack when the time is right. Its always a mistake in the Minekaze to sail straight in a gun fight to allow your slow turrets to bear on a target. It is generally better to use your small profile and fast reloading torps to your advantage. I have really had fun playing this ship in Co-op and random battles and have had a good amount of success getting a few 5 kill matches (yet I forgot to take a screen shot to prove it... yep noob mistake there but bellow is my max ships sunk. I've had a few 5 kill matches and the Minekaze is definitely responsible for a few along with the Warspite).
I hope you enjoy this little ninja of a ship as much as I have and would like to hear if you share my opinion on this ship. Do you agree that this is a strong ship for its tier, or do you prefer the guns ho approach of the american line? I'd love yo hear your opinions. I look forward to seeing you here later on in the week for an update on my slow but steady progress on my tiger tank.
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