Shimakaze, the only built of her kind, was the fastest large ship of the Imperial Japanese Navy. As part of a three-type modernization of Japanese destroyer roles, Shimakaze served as a Type C, heavy-duty destroyer, utilizing superior speed and more torpedo launch tubes for a quick and decisive torpedo attack before speeding back to safety.
- Type A | Standard destroyers: Yūgumo-class
- Type B | Anti-aircraft destroyers: Akizuki-class
- Type C | Heavy-duty destroyers: Shimakaze-class.
| Pros | Cons |
| Fastest Japanese Bluewater vessel | Main guns are secondary to torpedoes |
| Three quintuple torpedo launchers | Slow turret traverse and no AP rounds |
| 127 mm guns boast good ballistics | Turrets are easily disabled |
| Plenty of 25 mm (Good against PTs & Planes) | 25 mm AA range ( ~3 km) |
Survivability and armour
Shimakaze features an extended Yūgumo-class hull, providing increased displacement to accommodate an additional torpedo launcher, enhanced anti-aircraft armament, and a larger crew (+40 men). Her survivability is bolstered by ammunition storage positioned deep below the waterline, reducing vulnerability to AP shells, and torpedo turrets that shield the tubes from fragmentation damage. However, these three large torpedo turrets occupy significant deck space and remain some of the most vulnerable components on the ship.
Despite her advantages, Shimakaze is relatively underwhelming compared to her peers in the same BR range. She fields fewer crew members on average, has relatively little armor compared to USN or Soviet post-war destroyers equipped with anti-fragmentation protection, and lacks the durability to withstand sustained engagements. While she is one of the largest destroyers ever built, she is still significantly outsized and outgunned by the cruisers she commonly faces.
Mobility
Shimakaze stands out as the fastest Japanese ship ever constructed, capable of reaching an impressive top speed of 40.9 knots (~76 km/h). This remarkable performance was made possible by her experimental high-temperature and high-pressure Kampon boilers, which developed 79,240 shaft horsepower. These boilers powered an advanced turbine design that produced 50% more power than the turbines found in earlier Japanese destroyers.
Armament
Primary armament
Shimakaze is equipped with the 12.7 cm/50 Type 3 naval gun, the primary medium-caliber weapon of the Imperial Japanese Navy since 1928. These guns are notably accurate and boast a higher muzzle velocity compared to most other destroyer guns. However, as Shimakaze frequently encounters end-of-the-line heavy cruisers, her guns are most effective against other destroyers, requiring precise gunnery to maximize their impact. Instead, her torpedoes take center stage as her primary offensive tool for neutralizing opponents. Like her parallel predecessor, the Yūgumo-class, Shimakaze’s main armament is not her standout feature at this BR.
Anti-aircraft armament
Unlike other early refits of Japanese destroyers, which have very little anti-air defence, Shimakaze's 1944 fit significantly bolsters her anti-aircraft defenses with an array of the infamous Type 96 25 mm AA guns. These guns, in large numbers, provide decent air cover and are highly effective against smaller patrol vessels within a range of 2–3 km.
Additionally, she is equipped with a single 13.2 mm heavy machine gun mounted on the stern, though it adds negligible firepower to her arsenal. The 25 mm AA guns are her primary anti-aircraft weapons, but under manual control, they are not grouped with the 13.2 mm gun, which is assigned to a separate weapon group.
Additional armament
Type 93 torpedo:
Shimakaze is equipped with Type 93 Model 3 torpedoes, which are oxygen-powered, offering some of the longest ranges and fastest speeds for torpedoes. While these torpedoes have a reduced range of 15 km compared to the standard 20 km Type 93 Model 1 found on other Japanese ships, they make up for it with a significantly larger warhead—approximately 1,000 kg of TNT compared to the 600 kg of earlier models. This massive explosive payload allows her torpedoes to sink nearly any ship, short of the heaviest cruisers and battleships, with a single hit.
Shimakaze also boasts an impressive total of 15 torpedoes, thanks to her extended hull, which accommodates heavier quintuple launchers and an additional third torpedo turret. This design maximizes the torpedo firepower at her disposal, ensuring her dominance in torpedo warfare.
Type 95 depth charge:
Without submarines, depth charges are situational. When using the stern-mounted depth charges, there's no need to set the activation time higher than the minimum of 3 seconds, as longer settings cause the charges to sink too far from the target. They can be useful for defending Shimakaze against a patrol boat that gets so close that the main guns can't depress far enough and the AA guns are either preoccupied with air threats or temporarily knocked out. The depth charges on throwers are even more situational—they cannot be aimed and have a long flight time, making them ineffective against moving targets. Their fixed 3-second detonation time limits their use to very specific situations, such as hitting enemies behind cover or within the designated kill zone.
Usage in battles
Shimakaze is one of Japan's most formidable destroyers, largely due to her impressive torpedo armament, featuring three quintuple launchers. Only the Italian-built Tashkent and the French Le Fantasque class can rival her in terms of speed. While she is well-rounded in survivability and firepower, she lacks AP ammunition, making her vulnerable to gun-centric destroyers and cruisers unless her maneuverability is fully utilized. Nonetheless, cruisers and bigger must still be cautious of Shimakaze's formidable torpedo arsenal, capable of overwhelming them with a single salvo. This often results in Shimakaze being prioritized as a target once her presence is known.
The Type 93 "Long Lance" torpedo, one of the best in-game, offers exceptional range, speed, and explosive filler—traits rarely combined in a single torpedo. In Arcade Battles, Shimakaze excels, as her ability to respawn torpedoes mid-battle and launch a full salvo at once gives her a significant advantage over other Japanese destroyers, which require additional time to reload their onboard torpedoes between bursts. In contrast, in Realistic Battles, torpedoes must be used more sparingly, as they cannot be reloaded outside of capture zones, and only one torpedo reloads per turret at a time.
Shimakaze is best used as a sniper, leveraging her long-range torpedoes and accurate, high-velocity main guns to engage enemy ships from a distance, while her speed and maneuverability help her avoid return fire. At close range, however, her slow turret traverse, lengthy reload times, and relatively average survivability make her vulnerable, especially against destroyers with more powerful main armament, such as the American destroyers armed with the 5 inch/38 Mk.12 (127 mm).
