Japanese cruiser Haguro
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| Career |  |
|---|---|
| Ordered: | Autumn of 1924 |
| Laid down: | 16 March 1925 |
| Launched: | 24 March 1928 |
| Commissioned: | 25 April 1929 |
| Fate: | Sunk in the Indian Ocean on 16 May 1945 |
| Struck: | 20 June 1945 |
| General Characteristics | |
| Displacement: | 13,300 tons |
| Length: | 661 ft 9 in (201.70 m) |
| Beam: | 68 ft 0 in (20.73 m) |
| Draught: | 20 ft 9 in (6.32 m) |
| Propulsion: | 4-shaft geared turbines, 12 boilers, 130,000 shp |
| Speed: | 36 knots (67 km/h) |
| Range: | 8,000 nm at 14 kt |
| Complement: | 773 |
| Armour: | Main belt 4 in, 1⅜ in main deck, 1 in turrets, 3 in barbettes |
| Armament: | Ten 8 inch (203 mm) guns, six 4.7 inch (-1934) or eight 5 inch (1935-) |
| Aircraft: | two |
Haguro (羽黒) was the last of the four-member Myōkō class of heavy cruiser of the Imperial Japanese Navy. She was named after a mountain in Yamagata Prefecture. The other ships of her class were Myōkō (妙高), Nachi (那智), and Ashigara (足柄).From 1941 to 1944, it was captained by Captain M. Terado
The ships of this class displaced 13,300 tons, were 201 metres long, and were capable of 36 knots (67 km/h). They carried one aircraft and their main armament was ten 8 inch (203 mm) guns.
Haguro was laid down at the Mitsubishi shipyard in Nagasaki on 16 March 1925, launched and named on 24 March 1928, and was commissioned into the Imperial Navy on 25 April 1929. Her service in World War II started in the Dutch East Indies, where she engaged the enemy off Makassar on 8 February 1942, played a role in the sinking of HMS Exeter and HMS Encounter in the battle of the Java Sea on 27 February 1942, and was engaged in another action off south Borneo on 1 March 1942. On 7 May 1942 she participated in the battle of the Coral Sea, moving on to the Solomon Islands where she took part in the battle of the Eastern Solomons on 24 August 1942, the evacuation from Guadalcanal at the end of January 1943, and took light damage in the battle of Empress Augusta Bay on 2 November 1943. On 19 June 1944 she survived the battle of the Philippine Sea, and on 23 October – on 25 October 1944 she took light damage in the battle of Leyte Gulf.
In May 1945, Haguro was the target of the British Operation Dukedom and was ambushed. The 26th Destroyer Fotilla found her with the destroyer Kamikaze and began the attack. During the battle, the Kamikaze was lightly damaged, but Haguro was hit by gunfire and three Mark IX Torpedoes. The Haguro soon began to slow down and took a 30-degrees list to port.
At 0232 the Haguro began to go down bow first in the Malacca Strait, 55 miles off Penang, on 16 May 1945, Kamikaze rescued 320 survivors. Nine hundred men, including Vice Admiral Hashimoto and Rear Admiral Shiguira, perished with her. Rear Admiral Shiguira was later promoted to Vice Admiral posthumously in May 16.
Haguro's name was stricken from the Naval List on 20 June 1945.
The wreck was discovered in 2003, showing significant superstructure damage from her last and earlier battles.
Contents |
[edit] References
[edit] Books
- D'Albas, Andrieu (1965). Death of a Navy: Japanese Naval Action in World War II. Devin-Adair Pub. ISBN 081595302X.
- Dull, Paul S. (1978). A Battle History of the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1941-1945. Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-097-1.
- Lacroix, Eric, Linton Wells (1997). Japanese Cruisers of the Pacific War. Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0870213113.
[edit] External links
- Parshall, Jon; Bob Hackett, Sander Kingsepp, & Allyn Nevitt. Imperial Japanese Navy Page (Combinedfleet.com). Retrieved on 2006-06-14.
- Haguro's history in detail
- Sinking of the Haguro (very good description)
[edit] Notes
| Myōkō-class cruiser |
| List of ships of the Japanese Navy |
