Japanese light cruiser Nagara
| |
| Career |  |
|---|---|
| Ordered: | 1919 Fiscal Year |
| Builder: | Sasebo Naval Arsenal |
| Laid down: | 9 September 1920 |
| Launched: | 25 April 1922 |
| Commissioned: | 21 April 1922[1] |
| Struck: | 10 October 1944 |
| Fate: | Sunk 7 August 1944 torpedoed by submarineUSS Croaker (SS-246) off Amakusa Islands, East China Sea 32°09′N 129°53′E |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type: | Nagara-class cruiser |
| Displacement: | 5,570 long tons (5,659 t) [2] |
| Length: | 162.1 m (532 ft)[2] |
| Beam: | 14.2 m (47 ft)[2] |
| Draft: | 4.8 m (16 ft)[2] |
| Installed power: | 90,000 shp (67,000 kW)[2] |
| Propulsion: | 4 shaft Gihon geared turbines 12 Kampon boilers (oil-burning 10, mixed 2)[2] |
| Speed: | 36 kn (67 km/h)[2] |
| Range: | 5,000 nmi (9,300 km) at 36 kn (67 km/h) [2] (9,000 km at 67 km/h) |
| Complement: | 450[2] |
| Armament: | (as built) 7 × 14 cm/50 3rd Year Type naval guns 2 × 8 cm/40 3rd Year Type naval guns 8 × 61 cm torpedo tubes (12 x Type 91 torpedoes) (2x4)[2] (final) 5 × 14 cm/50 3rd Year Type naval guns 2 × 8 cm/40 3rd Year Type naval guns 22 Type 96 25-mm AA guns (2 triple + 6 twin + 14 single) 10x 13mm AA Guns 8 × 61 cm torpedo tubes (8 x Type 93 torpedos) (2 quad) |
| Armor: | 62 mm (belt) 30 mm (deck)[2] |
| Aircraft carried: | 1 × floatplane |
| Aviation facilities: | 1 aircraft catapult |
Nagara (長良?) was the lead ship of her class of light cruiser in theImperial Japanese Navy.[3] She was named after the Nagara River in the Chūbu region of Japan.
Background[edit]
Nagara as with the other vessels of her class, was intended for use as the flagship of a destroyer flotilla, and it was in that role that she participated in the invasions of the Philippines and the Dutch East Indiesafter the attack on Pearl Harbor.
Design[edit]
Main article: Nagara class cruiser
The Nagara-class vessels were essentially identical to the earlier Kuma-class cruisers, using the same hull design, powerplant and layout of armament. The main differences were in the design of the bridge, which was raised to allow for an aircraft hanger and launch platform above the No.2 gun in front of the bridge. Another change was the installation of the new, larger Type 91 torpedos, which required an extension of the main deck.
All vessels in the class were modified extensively during their operational lives, with no two vessels modified in the same way.[4]
Service career[edit]
Early career[edit]
Nagara was laid down on 9 September 1920, launched on 25 April 1922 and completed at Sasebo Naval Arsenal, and commissioned on 21 April 1922.[2] Soon after commissioning, Nagara was assigned to the Japanese naval base at Port Arthur, from where she patrolled the China coast to Tsingtao. She was commanded by Captain Takeo Takagi from November 1933 to November 1934 and by Captain Sadamichi Kajiokafrom November 1935 to December 1936. As the Second Sino-Japanese War continued to escalate, Nagara was assigned to provide cover for Japanese transports during the Battle of Shanghai,[5] and remained on station patrolling the China coast and the Yangtze River through 1939. With the heavy cruisers Myōkō and Nachi, Nagara participated in theHainan Island Operation in February 1939 under Vice Admiral Nobutake Kondo. From 30 January 1941 to 8 April 1941, Nagara assisted in theInvasion of French Indochina. From 10 June 1941 to 9 September 1941, Nagara provided coverage for the landings of Japanese troops in southern China.
Invasion of the Philippines and Dutch East Indies[edit]
On 10 September 1941. Nagara was assigned to Vice Admiral Ibo Takahashi's 16th Cruiser Division of the IJN 3rd Fleet, together with the heavy cruiser Ashigara, light cruisers Kuma and Natori and the 5th Destroyer Flotilla.[5] On 26 November 1941, as flagship of Rear Admiral Kyuji Kubo's Fourth Surprise Attack Unit,[6] Nagara was based at Palau at the time of theattack on Pearl Harbor.[5]
From 11–12 December 1941, Nagara covered the landings of troops at Legaspi, Luzon, Philippines, returning again from 24–30 December 1941 to cover additional landings at several points on southeast Luzon.[5]
In January 1942, Nagara was tasked with escorting the convoy landing the Sasebo No. 1 Special Naval Landing Force(SNLF) at Menado and Kendari in the Celebes.[5] On 25 January 1942, while at Kendari, the destroyer Hatsuharu collided with Nagara, damaging the cruiser's hull. Rear Admiral Kubo transferred his flag to the Hatsushimo, and Nagara withdrew toDavao for repairs.[5]
Returning to the Celebes on 4 February 1942, Rear Admiral Kubo transferred his flag back to Nagara, which then covered the invasion of Makassar. In the middle of the night of 6 February 1942, the invasion force was sighted by USS Sculpin (SS-191), which mistook the Nagara for a Tenryu-class cruiser and fired two Mark 14 torpedoes; one missed and the other prematurely exploded.[5]
On 17 February 1942, Nagara provided escort for transports with the IJA's 48th Infantry Division for the invasion of Bali andJava. During the operation, the Royal Navy submarine HMS Truant fired six torpedoes at Nagara, but all missed.[5]
On 10 March 1942, the Third Fleet was replaced by the Second Southern Expeditionary Fleet under Vice Admiral Takahashi. Nagara remained in Rear Admiral Kenzaburo Hara's[7] 16th Cruiser Division with light cruisers Kinu and Natori.[5]
On 29 March 1942, Nagara was part of the force sent to capture Christmas Island.[8] During the operation,USS Seawolf (SS-197) fired three torpedoes at Nagara, but all missed.[5]
Nagara departed for Japan on 2 April 1942, where she was in drydock at Maizuru Naval Arsenal from 12 to 24 April 1942.[5]
Nagara was assigned as flagship of Rear Admiral Susumu Kimura's 10th Destroyer Flotilla with the destroyers Nowaki,Arashi, Hagikaze, Maikaze, Makigumo, Kazagumo, Yūgumo, Urakaze, Isokaze, Hamakaze, Tanikaze under the AdmiralChuichi Nagumo's IJN 1st Fleet .[5]
Battle of Midway[edit]
In the Battle of Midway Nagara accompanied Admiral Nagumo's Carrier Striking Force, with the aircraft carriers Akagi,Kaga, Sōryū, Hiryū, battleships Haruna and Kirishima and cruisers Tone and Chikuma. On 4 June 1942 Nagaraunsuccessfully counter-attacked USS Nautilus after the latter attempted to torpedo Kirishima. After Akagi was hit and set afire by dive-bombers from USS Enterprise, Vice-Admiral Nagumo transferred his flag to the Nowaki and then to Nagara.[5]
Nagara returned safely to Japan on 13 June 1942. She brought about 500 wounded to Hashirajima, where they were transferred to the hospital ship Hikawa Maru on 15 June.
| Ryūsaku Yanagimoto | |
|---|---|
Rear Admiral Ryūsaku Yanagimoto
| |
| Native name | 柳本 柳作 |
| Born | September 1, 1894 Hirado, Nagasaki, Japan |
| Died | June 5, 1942 (aged 47)[1] Pacific Ocean |
| Allegiance | Empire of Japan |
| Service/branch |  Imperial Japanese Navy |
| Years of service | 1917 - 1942 |
| Rank | Rear Admiral |
| Commands held | Sōryū |
| Awards | Order of the Rising Sun, 2nd class |
In this Japanese name, the family name is "Yanagimoto".
Ryūsaku Yanagimoto (柳本 柳作 Yanagimoto Ryūsaku?, 1 September 1894 – 5 June 1942) was captain of the Sōryū in the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II.
Biography[edit]
A native of Hirado, Nagasaki Prefecture, Yanagimoto graduated from the 44th class of the Imperial Japanese Naval Academy, placed 21st out of 95 cadets. As a midshipman, he was assigned to the cruiser Tokiwa,battleship Kirishima and cruisers Niitaka and Tsugaru in 1917. Promoted to lieutenant in 1919, he subsequently was assigned to the battleship Katori, followed by the Ise. After attending advanced gunnery school, he was appointed chief gunnery officer on the Asakaze in 1923.
Yanagimoto graduated from the 25th class of the Naval Staff College in 1925, and was promoted to lieutenant commander in 1928, when he was assigned to serve as Vice Chief Gunnery officer on the Hiei. He served in a variety of staff and shore positions from 1929 to 1933. Yanagimoto was sent to the United Kingdom as a military attaché in 1933, and promoted to commander later the same year. He returned to Japan in 1935, and after a number of staff assignments to 1937, he received his first command: the auxiliary seaplane tender Notoro on 1 December 1937. From 1938 through 1941, he was in administrative positions within the Imperial Japanese Navy General Staff.
On 6 November 1941, Yanagimoto was given command of the aircraft carrier Sōryū, on which he participated in the attack on Pearl Harbor in the opening stages of the Pacific War. He was subsequently at the Battle of Wake Island and the Indian Ocean raids. Yanagimoto chose to go down with his ship when Soryu was sunk by United States Navy aircraft at the Battle of Midway. He was posthumously promoted to the rank of rear admiral.
| Hiroaki Abe | |
|---|---|
Hiroaki Abe
| |
| Born | 15 March 1889 Yonezawa, Yamagata, Japan |
| Died | 6 February 1949 (aged 59)[1] |
| Allegiance | Empire of Japan |
| Service/branch | Imperial Japanese Navy |
| Years of service | 1911-1943 |
| Rank | Vice Admiral |
| Commands held | Jintsu, Fusō 8th Cruiser Division, Carrier Fleet Support Force, 11th Battleship Division[2] |
| Battles/wars | World War II * Attack on Pearl Harbor * Battle of Wake Island * Battle of Midway * Battle of the Eastern Solomons * Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands * Naval Battle of Guadalcanal |
In this Japanese name, the family name is "Abe".
Hiroaki Abe (阿部 弘毅 Abe Hiroaki?, 15 March 1889 – 6 February 1949) was an admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II.
Pacific War[edit]
On 15 November 1938, Abe was promoted to the rank of rear admiral. He was thus in command of Cruiser Division 8 (CruDiv8) during the attack on Pearl Harbor, and the subsequent Battle of Wake Island.
During the Guadalcanal campaign, as commander of Combat Division 11 (BatDiv 3 and CruDiv 8), he led his ships as the vanguard group at the Battle of the Eastern Solomons from 23–25 August 1942 and the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islandsfrom 26–28 October. He was promoted to vice admiral on 1 November.[3]
However, during the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal on 12–13 November, when assigned to bombard Henderson Field on Guadalcanal, he broke off his attack after encountering U.S. Navy Rear Admiral Daniel Callaghan's Task Group 67.4 (TG 67.4). Abe lost his flagship, the battleship Hiei, which he ordered scuttled after it had been seriously damaged, as well as two destroyers. Abe himself was injured, while his chief of staff was killed, by machine gunfire from USS Laffey (DD-459), a destroyer which he in turn sank afterwards. His failure to aggressively push through his attack against what appeared to be an inferior enemy force created tremendous controversy, and he was relieved of his command by Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto.
Abe was forced to resign from the Imperial Japanese Navy soon afterward in March 1943. He died in 1949.
His younger brother, Toshio Abe, was also a career navy officer, and was captain of the aircraft carrier Shinano. Toshio went down with Shinano, when she was torpedoed and sunk by USS Archer-Fish (SS-311) while performing trials.
Tone-
Japanese heavy cruiser Tone
| |
| Career (Japan) | |
|---|---|
| Name: | Tone |
| Namesake: | Tone River |
| Ordered: | 1932 Fiscal Year |
| Laid down: | 1 December 1934 |
| Launched: | 21 November 1937 |
| Commissioned: | 20 November 1938[1] |
| Struck: | 20 November 1945 |
| Fate: | sunk 24 July 1945 by USN aircraft at Kure, Hiroshima34°14′N132°30′E |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type: | Tone-class heavy cruiser |
| Displacement: | 11,213 tons (standard); 15,443 (final)[clarification needed] |
| Length: | 189.1 m (620 ft 5 in) |
| Beam: | 19.4 m (63 ft 8 in) |
| Draught: | 6.2 m (20 ft 4 in) |
| Propulsion: | Gihon geared turbines[clarification needed] 8 oil-fired boilers 152,000 shp 4 shafts |
| Speed: | 35-knot (65 km/h) |
| Range: | 8,000 nmi (15,000 km) @18 knots (33 km/h) |
| Complement: | 874 |
| Armament: |
|
| Armor: | 100 mm (3.9 in) (belt) 65-30 mm (2.6-1.2 in) (deck)[2] |
| Aircraft carried: | 6 x Aichi E13A floatplanes |
IJN Tone (利根 重巡洋艦 Tone jūjun'yōkan?) was the lead ship in the two-vessel Tone-class of heavy cruisers in the Imperial Japanese Navy. It was named after the Tone River, in the Kantō region of Japan and was completed on 20 November 1938 at Mitsubishi's Nagasakishipyards. Tone was designed for long-range scouting missions and had a large seaplane capacity. She was extensively employed duringWorld War II usually providing scouting services to their aircraft carriertask forces. She almost always operated in this capacity in conjunction with her sister ship Chikuma.
World War II[edit]
Early Pacific War[edit]
At the end of 1941, Tone was assigned to CruDiv 8 with her sister ship,Chikuma, and was thus present during the attack on Pearl Harbor. That day, 7 December 1941, Tone and Chikuma each launched one Aichi E13A1 "Jake" floatplane for a final weather reconnaissance over Oahu. At 0630, Tone and Chikuma each launched short-range Nakajima E8N"Dave" two-seat floatplanes to act as pickets and patrol south of the Striking Force. Tone's floatplane flew to Lahaina, but found no American fleet units present. During the subsequent attack, the Arizona,Oklahoma, West Virginia and California were sunk and Nevada,Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Maryland and many smaller ships were damaged.
On 16 December, CruDiv 8 was ordered to assist in the second attempted invasion of Wake Island. Tone launched two "Daves" for ASW patrols. After the fall of Wake Island, CruDiv 8 returned to Kure, Hiroshima. By 14 January 1942, CruDiv 8 was based out of Truk in the Caroline Islands, and covered the landings of Japanese troops at Rabaul, New Britain as well as attacks on Lae and Salamaua, New Guinea. On 24 January,Tone's floatplanes attacked the Admiralty Islands. After 1 February air raid on Kwajalein by Vice Admiral William Halsey, Jraboard Enterprise, Tone departed Truk with the Carrier Striking Force in an unsuccessful pursuit. Chikuma and Tone later participated in the Raid on Port Darwin, Australia on 19 February, destroying 15 aircraft and sinking 11 ships. Tonelaunched a floatplane to report in weather conditions prior to the attack, but the plane’s radio failed and it returned without reporting. Later, another floatplane had greater success, and shot down a PBY Catalina of the RAAF.
Battle of the Java Sea[edit]
On 1 March 1942, Tone spotted the old Edsall, 250 miles (400 km) SSE of Christmas Island. Four days later, floatplanes from Tone and Chikuma took part on the strike against Tjilatjap. On 6 March, Tone rescued a British seaman who had been adrift since his ship had been sunk off Java on 27 February.
Indian Ocean Raids[edit]
On 5 April 1942, Tone was part of a major task force which launched 315 aircraft against Columbo, Ceylon. Tenedos,Hector and 27 aircraft were destroyed and over 500 killed in the harbor, while cruisers Cornwall and Dorsetshire were destroyed at sea. Tone and the rest of the task force returned to Japan in mid-April 1942, when it was almost immediately assigned to the unsuccessful pursuit of Admiral Halsey's Task Force 16.2 with the Hornet after the Doolittle Raid.
Battle of Midway[edit]
At the crucial Battle of Midway, Tone and CruDiv 8 was part of Vice Admiral Chūichi Nagumo's Carrier Striking Force. On 4 June, Tone and Chikuma each launched two "Jakes" to search out 300 miles (480 km) for American carriers. Tone's floatplane discovered American ships, but owing to internal bureaucracy in their command structure its report was not immediately delivered to Admiral Nagumo. As a result, he had already ordered his aircraft to prepare for another attack on Midway before he received the report. Tone was attacked by enemy carrier aircraft during the battle, but sustained no damage, except the loss of a "Dave" with its crew. Chikuma and Tone were then detached to support Vice Admiral Boshiro Hosogaya's Aleutian invasion force. However, the anticipated American counter-attack failed to materialize. CruDiv 8 cruised northern waters uneventfully.
Rear Admiral Chuichi Hara assumed command of CruDiv 8 from 14 July 1942. With the US invasion of Guadalcanal,Chikuma and Tone were ordered south again on 16 August with the aircraft carriers Shōkaku, Zuikaku, Zuihō, Jun'yō, Hiyōand Ryūjō. They were joined by the battleships Hiei, Kirishima, seaplane tender Chitose, and cruisers Atago, Maya, Takao,Nagara.
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