On 17 February 1944, while evacuating convoys to Yokosuka from Truk following the Allied attack on Truk, Maikaze, the cruiser ship Japanese cruiser Katori 2 , and the auxiliary cruiser Akagi Maru were sunk by gunfire from the cruisers USS Minneapolis CA-36 6 , USS New Orleans CA-32 6 , and the battleship USS New Jersey BB-62 6 40 miles northwest of Truk (coord). ''