Haguro (ship, 1928)
 Heavy cruiser Haguro 1931
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The Haguro ( Japanese. 羽 黒 ) was a Japanese heavy cruiser of the Myōkō class , which was used by the Imperial Japanese Navy in the Pacific War. It was named after the Haguro-san . In the Pacific War, the ship was involved in the fighting at Kaiserin Augusta Bay before it was sunk on May 16, 1945.
Planning and construction
The 10,000-ton cruisers of the Myōkō-class were designed as the first heavy cruisers in Japan after the Washington Agreement of 1922, taking advantage of the upper limit of the caliber of the heavy artillery of 203 mm.
With the Japanese state budget of 1923, the construction of the ship was approved; it was then laid down on March 16, 1925 at the Mitsubishi shipyard in Nagasaki . Since the building was temporarily suspended due to strikes, it was not launched until March 24, 1928. On April 25, 1929 the Haguro was put into service. In the 1930s, the cruiser was modernized several times, especially in 1936. Like all Japanese heavy cruisers, Haguro was also retrofitted with radar, in 1943 with the multi-purpose search radar type 21 (foremast), which in 1944 was equipped with two sea search and fire control systems type 22 (on both sides the bridge) and an aerial warning radar type 13 (at the front of the main mast) and passive systems (E-27) were added.
The heavy cruiser was 201.70 meters long, 20.73 meters wide and had a draft of 6.32 meters. The crew was 773 men. The four steam turbine sets had a maximum output of 9568 kW (13,000 hp) each; they allowed the ship a maximum speed of 33 knots. It was driven by four propellers . 2,214 tons of heating oil were available for the twelve boilers . At a speed of 14 kn, a distance of 14,900 nautical miles was theoretically possible.
Armament
The armed Haguro with ten 203 mm guns, six 120 mm guns (up to 1934), or eight 127-mm guns (1935) and at least two 13-mm machine guns , which in 1935 by two 13 -mm quadruplets have been reinforced. However, the light flak had already been increased to twelve tubes before the war (four twins of the 25 mm Hotchkiss mounts used as standard, plus two 13 mm twins) and was then continuously reinforced until 1944 (final endowment Haguro from July 1944: 52 tubes 25 mm in four triplets, eight twins and 24 single mounts). In addition, like its sister ships, the ship had a varying number of 610 mm torpedo tubes in sets of four: after the first conversion there were two quadruples, after the second conversion shortly before the war, then four quadruples (16 tubes), all of which also have Schnell - Reload sets were available, so that the enormous number of 32 torpedoes was available in battle. In 1944, to compensate for the additional weight of the retrofits (light flak, radar) the torpedo tube doping was halved again (the eighth sets were given). There were also two aircraft catapults and regularly three seaplanes on board.
Armor
The armor thickness was 51 to 76 mm on deck and 76 mm thick in the waterline with torpedo bulges and on the turrets of the heavy artillery.
Calls
Java lake
During the three-day clashes over the Battle of the Java Sea from February 27 to March 1, 1942, the Haguro fired a total of 890 of its 20.3 cm shells, damaging the cruisers HMS Exeter and Hr. Ms. De Ruyter . She also launched a total of 20 Type 93 torpedoes , which the cruiser Hr. Ms. De Ruyter and the destroyer Hr. Ms. Kortenaer sank. The 20.3 cm pipes were shot out after the battle and were replaced.
Rabaul
After several missions in the Pacific, the Haguro was parked with the Myōkō in October 1943 after Rabaul . As an escort for a supply convoy for Bougainville , she was slightly damaged on November 1st by an American 250 kg bomb dropped by a B-24 bomber that exploded on the water next to the ship . In the ensuing naval battle at Kaiserin Augusta Bay , the Haguro was hit by ten shells, but the crew only had one death to complain about, and the damage to the ship was minimal, as most of the shells that hit the ship were duds .
Following the plan of Operation Cartwheel , the Americans tried to isolate and neutralize the Japanese naval base in Rabaul. In the course of this operation, the 3rd Bomb Group of the American Air Force carried out an attack on Simpson Harbor on November 2, 1943, which was the anchorage for Japanese naval units. Five squadrons with a total of around 70 B-25 bombers attacked the ships at the anchorage at low altitude. However, the two cruisers were not hit.
Leyte
In October 1944, the Haguro was one of the numerous ships of the Imperial Navy that were assigned to prevent an American landing in the Philippines . In the now looming sea and air battle in the Gulf of Leyte , she belonged to the Japanese main force, an association of cruisers and destroyers grouped around the two super battleships of the Yamato class . As the unit was approaching, it was attacked by submarines on October 23, 1944 in Palawan Street. In the starboard column of the formation, the cruiser Maya was hit by three torpedoes immediately behind the Haguro , while the Haguro was able to outmaneuver two more torpedoes. The next day the flagship of the cruiser group, the Myōkō , was damaged by an aircraft torpedo, and the Haguro became the new flagship of Vice Admiral Hashimoto .
On October 25, the remnants of the Japanese main force finally met American ships off Samar. The Haguro received in the following discussion of American ships and aircraft a direct hit by a bomb on Tower "B". The bomb penetrated the tower roof and killed 30 sailors, but an explosion of the ammunition stocks below the tower was prevented.
After the attack was canceled, the cruiser withdrew to Brunei , from where it was later transferred to Singapore .
Downfall
From Singapore , the Haguro was used as the only operational heavy unit of the Japanese Navy in the area for supply tasks for Japanese garrisons. On May 14 and 15, 1945, she was pursued by several Allied combat groups, including the French battleship Richelieu , when the cruiser, together with the destroyer Kamikaze, tried to supply the garrison on the Andaman Islands . After Japanese reconnaissance planes discovered enemy ships, Vice Admiral Hashimoto canceled the mission and turned back.
On the night of May 15-16, 1945, the Haguro was captured in the battle in the Strait of Malacca by the British 26th destroyer flotilla , which also included the heavy cruiser Cumberland . The Haguro achieved some grenade hits on the destroyer Saumarez , but was then hit by three torpedoes and quickly got a 30 ° - flip side to the port side .
At 02:32 which sank Haguro with the tail ahead 55 nautical miles ahead of Penang . The Kamikaze was able to take 320 survivors on board, while 900 men, including Vice Admiral Hashimoto and Rear Admiral Sugiura, went down with the ship.
The Haguro was removed from the Japanese fleet list on June 20, 1945 .
wreck
The wreck of the Haguro was discovered in December 2002 by a team led by the Australian diver Kevin Denlay and the condition was documented in March 2003 by video recordings. The Haguro lies at a depth of around 68 meters and sits upright on the sea floor.
Evidence and references
Remarks
- ↑ for 1940 after Japanese Cruisers of the Pacific War. P. 812 - Construction dates before modernization are described in the class article.
literature
- Myoko class. Gakken Pacific War Series, number 27, Gakken, Tokyo 1997, ISBN 4-05-602067-1 .
- Eric LaCroix, Linton Wells: Japanese Cruisers of the Pacific War. US Naval Institute Press, 1997, ISBN 0-87021-311-3 .
- John Winton: Sink the Haguro: Last Destroyer Action of the Second World War , 1981, Saunders of Toronto Ltd., ISBN 0-85422-152-2
Web links
- Detailed list of events (sorted by year) (English)
- Documentation of the wreck the Haguro (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Japanese Cruisers of the Pacific War. P. 813.
- ↑ Japanese Cruisers of the Pacific War. P. 298.
- ↑ ibiblio.org, viewed April 20, 2012
- ↑ Haguro wreck , sighted on September 22, 2010