Japanese cruiser Myōkō
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| Career |  |
|---|---|
| Ordered: | Autumn of 1924 |
| Laid down: | October 25, 1924 |
| Launched: | April 16, 1927 |
| Commissioned: | July 31, 1929 |
| Fate: | Scuttled in the Straits of Malacca on June 8, 1946 |
| Struck: | 10 August 1946 |
| General characteristics | |
| Displacement: | 13,300 tons |
| 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 |
Myōkō (妙高?) was the name-ship of the four-member Myōkō class of heavy cruisers of the Imperial Japanese Navy — the other ships of the class being the Nachi, Ashigara, and Haguro.
The ships of this class displaced 13,300 tons, were 204 metres long, and were capable of 36 knots (67 km/h). They carried one aircraft and their main armament was ten 8-inch (203mm) guns.
Myōkō was laid down at the Yokosuka Naval Arsenal on October 25, 1924, launched and named on April 16, 1927, and was commissioned into the Imperial Japanese Navy on July 31, 1929. She was named after a mountain in Niigata Prefecture.
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[edit] Early combat service
The heavy cruisers Myōkō and Nachi formed Cruiser Division Five (CruDiv5), commanded by Rear Adm. Takeo Takagi, part of the Cover Force for "Operation M," the invasion of the southern Philippine Islands. The flagship of the Cover Force was the light aircraft carrier Ryujo, carrying the flag of Vice Adm. Ibo Takahashi. Completing the Cover Force roster were the light cruiser Jintsu and eight destroyers. This force gave cover for the landings at Davao and Legaspi in December 1941.
In a reorganization in late December, CruDiv5 became part of the Attack Force under the Rear Adm. Raizo Tanaka. This included the Ryujo, Chitose, Nagara, Naka five destroyers and seven troop transports.
On January 4, 1942 the Myōkō and the other vessels of the Attack Force were attacked by American B-17 Flying Fortress bombers. The Myōkō was hit by one 227 kg (500 lb) bomb. She was drydocked at Sasebo for repairs.
In the Battle of the Java Sea on March 1, 1942 the Myōkō participated in the destruction of the last remaining Allied fleet units in the East Indies. At 11:50 AM, the Myōkō, Ashigara and two destroyers opened fire on the damaged British heavy cruiser HMS Exeter and her escort of two destroyers. The 8-inch guns of the Myōkō helped to cripple the destroyer HMS Encounter, which had to be scuttled.
Later in March, the Myōkō received a refit at Sasebo; and in April, she participated in the unsuccessful pursuit of the Doolittle raid task force.
In May, Myōkō was part of the escort for the Tulagi invasion force in the Battle of the Coral Sea, under the command of Rear Adm. Chuichi Hara. This force consisted of the aircraft carriers Shōkaku and Zuikaku, the heavy cruisers Myōkō and Haguro, and five destroyers. The Shōkaku was damaged by American aircraft and the Zuikaku lost most of her aircraft in the Battle of the Coral Sea, so the flotilla was forced to withdraw without invading Port Moresby.
In June, CruDiv5 was part of Vice Adm. Nobutake Kondo's Support Force in the Battle of Midway. The force consisted of the battle cruisers Kongo and Hiei, the heavy cruisers Myōkō, Haguro, Atago and Chokai, the light cruiser Yura and seven destroyers. The Support Force did not engage the enemy in this battle.
At the end of June, CruDiv5 supported the reinforcement convoy bound for the freshly captured islands of Attu and Kiska in the Aleutian Islands. The entire task force consisted of the aircraft carrier Zuikaku, the light aircraft carriers Zuiho, Junyo and Ryujo, the heavy cruisers Maya, Takao, Myōkō, Haguro and Nachi, the light cruisers Abukuma, Kiso and Tama, and 15 destroyers.
[edit] The Solomon Islands campaign
On October 11, 1942 the Myōkō sailed from Truk as part of the Second Fleet. This force consisted of the battle cruisers Kongo and Haruna, the heavy cruisers Myōkō, Atago, Chokai and Nachi, the light cruiser Isuzu and 12 destroyers. They were followed by Vice Adm. Chuichi Nagumo's Carrier Striking Force. The mission was the reinforcement and resupply of Japanese troops on the island of Guadalcanal, which had been invaded by American troops in August.
Between January 31 and February 9, 1943 the Myōkō, after a refit at Sasebo, took part in the evacuation of Guadalcanal. The force consisted of the carriers Zuikaku, Zuiho and Junyo, the battle cruisers Kongo and Haruna, heavy cruisers Atago, Takao, Myōkō and Haguro, the light cruisers Nagara and Agano, and 11 destroyers. The Japanese transports were successful in evacuating 11,700 troops from the island.
[edit] Later campaigns
In May 1943, the Myōkō and Haguro sailed north to assist in the evacuation of Kiska. In June, they returned to Sasebo for another refit. The Myōkō was equipped with four twin Type 96 25mm anti-aircraft gun mounts, and a Type 21 air search radar set was also installed.
In response to American carrier aircraft raiding in the Gilbert Islands, Myōkō sortied with Vice Adm. Jisaburo Ozawa's fleet to engage the American carriers. The fleet consisted of the aircraft carriers Shōkaku, Zuikaku and Zuiho, the battleships Yamato and Nagato, heavy cruisers Myōkō, Haguro, Tone, Chikuma, Mogami, Atago, Takao, Chokai and Maya, the light cruiser Agano and 15 destroyers. Despite extensive searches, this force failed to make contact with the American striking force and returned to Truk.
On November 1, the Myōkō and Haguro sailed south from Truk with two destroyers, escorting a supply convoy to Rabaul. From Rabaul, CruDiv5 sailed with the light cruisers Agano and Sendai and six destroyers to escort reinforcements to the island of Bougainville. There were 1,000 Japanese Army troops carried by four fast destroyer transports. The warships sailed ahead of the transports and engaged an American force in the Battle of Empress Augusta Bay at 12:50 AM on November 3.
The American force of four light cruisers and eight destroyers sank the Sendai with 6-inch (152mm) gunfire. While avoiding the American gunfire, Myōkō collided with the destroyer Hatsukaze. The Hatsukaze fell behind the task force as it withdrew and was finished off by American gunfire. The Haguro had received minor damage in the action, and the American destroyer USS Foote was crippled by a Long Lance torpedo.
On November 17, Myōkō arrived at Sasebo for another refit. Eight single-mount 25mm AA guns were added, bringing the total to 24 guns. In January, CruDiv5 (with the Tone and two destroyers) made an uneventful transport run from Truk to Kavieng and back. On February 10, while sailing from Truk to Palau with CruDiv4's Atago and Chokai and eight destroyers, CruDiv5 was attacked by the submarine USS Permit (SS-178). The submarine fired four torpedoes, but they missed.
In March, CruDiv5 and the destroyer Shiratsuyu escorted an empty tanker convoy from Palau to Borneo. On April 6, both cruiser divisions (escorted by two destroyers) were attacked by the submarine USS Dace (SS-247). She fired all six bow torpedo tubes, but missed. The submarine USS Darter (SS-227) also spotted the task force but was unable to maneuver into position for an attack.
[edit] The Battle of the Philippine Sea
In June 1944, CruDiv5 participated in the Battle of the Philippine Sea. The Japanese fleet sailed from its anchorage at Tawi Tawi in response to the American invasion of the Marianas Islands. The Japanese high command was aware that American heavy bombers, based in the Marianas, could eventually reach Japanese factories and shipyards in the Home Islands. This battle was later called the "Great Marianas Turkey Shoot" by American sailors, because over 300 Japanese carrier aircraft were shot down in a single day on June 19.
After participating in the Battle of Leyte Gulf, on her way to Camranh Bay, the Myōkō was hit by one torpedo from a spread of six, fired by USS Bergall (SS-320) at 9:35 PM on December 13, 1944. She was towed by destroyer Ushio and several other ships to Singapore Harbor for repairs, but there were insufficient materials in Singapore to complete the repairs to both Myōkō and Takao, which was also in harbor for repairs.
In February 1945, the harbor commander reported that the Myōkō was irreparable at Singapore without more materials, and impossible to tow to Japan. He recommended that Myōkō be kept in Singapore as a floating AA battery. This suggestion was approved and, although both Myōkō and Takao were targeted by British midget submarine attacks on July 26, Myōkō survived the war. Myōkō formally surrendered to British units on September 21, and was subsequently towed to the Strait of Malacca and scuttled off Port Swettenham, Malaya near submarines I-501 and I-502.
[edit] Commanding Officers
Chief Equipping Officer - Capt. Ietaka Fujisawa - 10 December 1928 - 31 July 1929
Capt. Ietaka Fujisawa - 31 July 1929 - 1 November 1929
Capt. Yoshiyuki Niiyama - 1 November 1929 - 10 November 1929
Capt. Toma Uematsu - 10 November 1929 - 1 December 1930
Capt. Chonan Yamaguchi - 1 December 1930 - 1 December 1931
Capt. Haruma Izawa - 1 December 1931 - 1 December 1932
Capt. Hideo Takahashi - 1 December 1932 - 15 November 1934
Capt. Hidehiko Ukita - 15 November 1934 - 15 November 1935
Capt. Keijiro Goga - 15 November 1935 - 1 December 1936
Capt. Ruitaro Fujita - 1 December 1936 - 25 April 1938
Capt. Zenshiro Hoshina - 25 April 1938 - 15 November 1938
Capt. Kenzo Ito - 15 November 1938 - 20 July 1939
Capt. Koso Abe - 20 July 1939 - 15 November 1939
Capt. Sakan Itagaki - 15 November 1939 - 15 November 1940
Capt. Hideo Yano - 15 November 1940 - 11 August 1941
Capt. Teijiro Yamazumi - 11 August 1941 - 23 March 1942
Capt. Teruhiko Miyoshi - 23 March 1942 - 2 March 1943
Capt. / RADM Katsuhei Nakamura - 2 March 1943 - 5 December 1943 (Promoted to Rear Admiral on 1 November 1943.)
Capt. / RADM Itsu Ishiwara - 5 December 1943 - 15 January 1945 (Promoted to Rear Admiral on 15 October 1944.)
Capt. Sutejiro Onoda - 15 January 1945 - 22 March 1945
Capt. Hokao Kagayama - 22 March 1945 - 15 August 1945
[edit] References
- ^ Lacroix, Japanese Cruisers, p. 808-809.
- 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.
- Parshall, Jon; Bob Hackett, Sander Kingsepp, & Allyn Nevitt. Imperial Japanese Navy Page (Combinedfleet.com). Retrieved on 2006-06-14.
- Myoko tabular record of movement during WWII
[edit] External links
[edit] See also
- JDS Myōkō (DDG-175) (commissioned 1996)
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