Japanese cruiser Haguro

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 This article or section includes a list of references or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks in-text citations.
You can improve this article by introducing more precise citations.
Cruiser Haguro
Career RN Ensign
Ordered: Autumn of 1924
Laid down: 16 March 1925
Launched: 24 March 1928
Commissioned: 25 April 1929
Fate: Sunk in the Indian Ocean by gunfire
& torpedoes on 16 May 1945
Struck: 20 June 1945
General characteristics
Length: 201.70 m (661 ft 9 in)
Beam: 20.73 m (68 ft 0 in)
Draught: 6.32 m (20 ft 9 in)
Propulsion: 4-shaft geared turbines,
12 boilers,
130,000 shp
Speed: 67 km/h (36 kts)
Range: 8,000 nm at 14 kts
Complement: 773
Armour: Main belt 100 mm (4 in), main deck 37 mm (1⅜ in), turrets 25 mm (1 in), barbettes 75 mm (3 in)
Armament: 10 × 203 mm (8 in) guns (5×2),
6 × 120 mm (4.7 in) (-1934) or 8 ×
127 mm (5 in) (1935-) guns;
2 × 13 mm machine guns
12 × 610 mm (24 in) torpedo tubes[1]
Aircraft: 2

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).

The ships of this class displaced 13,300 tons, were 201 m (661 ft) long, and were capable of 36 kt (67 km/h). They carried two aircraft and their main armament was ten 203 mm (8 in) guns in five twin turrets. At the time they were built, this was the heaviest armament of any cruiser class in the world.

Contents

[edit] Service History

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. She played a key role in the battle of the Java Sea on 27 February 1942, and was involved in the sinking of HMS Exeter and HMS Encounter 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.

[edit] Fate

In May 1945, Haguro was the target of the British Operation Dukedom and was ambushed. The 26th Destroyer Flotilla found her with the destroyer Kamikaze just after midnight on 16 May 1945, 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 2:32 AM the Haguro began to go down stern first in the Malacca Strait, 55 miles off Penang; Kamikaze rescued 320 survivors. Nine hundred men, including Vice Admiral Hashimoto and Rear Admiral Sugiura, perished with her. Rear Admiral Sugiura was later promoted to Vice Admiral posthumously on May 16. The battle was the last gun action ever fought between surface ships.

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.

Haguro under attack at Rabaul on 2 November 1943, showing damage received in the battle of Empress Augusta Bay that morning.
Haguro under attack at Rabaul on 2 November 1943, showing damage received in the battle of Empress Augusta Bay that morning.
USAAF gun camera footage of the Haguro under attack at Rabaul
USAAF gun camera footage of the Haguro under attack at Rabaul

[edit] Commanding Officers

Chief Equipping Officer - Capt. Keitaro Hara - 1 October 1928 - 25 April 1929

Capt. Keitaro Hara - 25 April 1929 - 30 November 1929

Capt. Sekizo Uno - 30 November 1929 - 1 December 1930

Capt. Sonosuke Kobayashi - 1 December 1930 - 10 October 1931

Capt. Naokuni Nomura - 10 October 1931 - 14 February 1933

Capt. Jo Morimoto - 14 February 1933 - 15 November 1933

Capt. Minoru Yamaguchi - 15 November 1933 - 15 November 1934

Capt. Michimoto Nakayama - 15 November 1934 - 15 November 1935

Capt. Baron Tomoshige Samejima - 15 November 1935 - 1 December 1936

Capt. Muneshige Aoyagi - 1 December 1936 - 1 December 1937

Capt. Masao Yamamoto - 1 December 1937 - 20 April 1938

Capt. Saichiro Tomonari - 20 April 1938 - 27 December 1939

Capt. Masaki Ogata - 27 December 1939 - 15 October 1940

Capt. Kiyoshi Hamada - 15 October 1940 - 25 July 1941

Capt. Tomokazu Mori - 25 July 1941 - 20 October 1942

Capt. / RADM Jisaku Uozumi - 20 October 1942 - 1 December 1943 (Promoted to Rear Admiral on 1 November 1943.)

Capt. / RADM / VADM* Kaju Sugiura - 1 December 1943 - 16 May 1945 (KIA; promoted to Rear Admiral on 1 May 1945; posthumous promotion to Vice Admiral.)

[edit] References

[edit] Books

  • D'Albas, Andrieu (1965). Death of a Navy: Japanese Naval Action in World War II. Devin-Adair Pub. ISBN 0-8159-5302-X. 
  • 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 0-87021-311-3. 

[edit] External links

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Lacroix, Japanese Cruisers, p. 808-809.
v • d • e
Myōkō-class cruiser

Myōkō | Ashigara | Nachi | Haguro
List of ships of the Japanese Navy