Battle of the Straits of Malacca
The Haguro at sea in 1936.
| date | May 15-16, 1945 |
|---|---|
| place | Strait of Malacca |
| output | British victory |
| Parties to the conflict | |
|---|---|
| Commander | |
| Troop strength | |
| 5 destroyers | 1 heavy cruiser 1 destroyer |
| losses | |
|
1 destroyer damaged |
1 heavy cruiser sunk |
The Battle of the Strait of Malacca , also known as the Battle of Penang ( ペ ナ ン 沖 海 戦 , Penan-oki kaisen ) in Japanese-speaking countries , was a sea battle in the final phase of the Pacific War . It resulted from the British Operation Dukedom , which was specifically searched for the Japanese cruiser Haguro . On May 15, 1945 a British destroyer flotilla was able to sight the Haguro and the destroyer Kamikaze accompanying it and damaged the heavy cruiser so badly with torpedoes and shells that it sank the following day. The Haguro was used since May 1st to supply Japanese troops in the Dutch East Indies and along the Bay of Bengal .
prehistory
After the heavy losses of the Imperial Japanese Navy in the battles in the Philippine Sea and in the Gulf of Leyte , the Japanese fleet was split up into two units: Since all supply and supply routes between Southeast Asia and the main islands of Japan had been cut off, the northern splinter group of the Navy was unable to , which was anchored in the ports of Kure and Nagasaki , were not supplied with oil and naphtha and therefore had to forego all operations due to a lack of fuel. The southern fragmentation, which was stationed in Singapore and Brunei , had enough fuel, but suffered from a lack of ammunition, since ship grenades were only made in Japan.
The cruiser Haguro belonged to the southern naval formation and could no longer operate offensively and was used as a supply ship. Its task was to bring fuel and lines from Malacca to Hong Kong and to break the blockade of the American submarine flotilla in the South China Sea .
battle
On May 9th, the Haguro ran out, accompanied by the destroyer Kamikaze , to evacuate Japanese troops in Port Blair to Singapore and to deliver a few tons of supplies in the port. The small lineup, however, was by two British submarines of the Royal Navy spotted that the position of the destroyer of Admiral reported Laurence Power. Admiral Power immediately started moving its ships, currently stationed in Trincomalee , but the Japanese fleet retreated to Singapore on May 10 to avoid a fight with the British formation. Four days later the Japanese tried again to break the British blockade; However, a few hours after their departure, the Haguro and Kamikaze were sighted and attacked by planes of the 851st Air Squadron, Royal Air Force .
The cruiser's anti-aircraft defenses were able to shoot down an enemy machine, but the Haguro’s commander , Admiral Hashimoto Shintaro , tried again to change course to avoid combat; the Haguro headed for the Strait of Malacca, but was identified and pursued by Admiral Power's 26th destroyer flotilla. After a few hours, the British ships were able to establish contact with the enemy cruiser, and the destroyer Saumarez opened fire on the Haguro on the night of May 15 . The Venus , Verulam , Vigilant and Virago also fired, firing their torpedoes at 1:00 a.m. on May 16 . The Haguro was badly hit by the Saumarez shells and three torpedoes from the other ships, suffered engine damage and had to flood to starboard to maintain balance. At 1:25 a.m., the cruiser was hit by two more torpedoes, and a third struck at 2:03 a.m., smashing the starboard side's engine boilers and causing the Haguro such damage that the cruiser sank six minutes later.
consequences
The backfire of the Haguro had only hit the Saumarez lightly, killing two British sailors. Three more burned to death in the overheated engine room two hours later. On the other hand, 921 sailors as well as Admiral Hashimoto and Admiral Sugiura Kajiu, vice-commander of the cruiser, died on the Japanese ship. The kamikaze suffered some damage and lost six sailors, but was able to escape battle in a mist of rain and later attempted to rescue some survivors of the cruiser's crew.
swell
- E. Lacroix: Japanese Cruisers of the Pacific War . Naval Institute Press, 2005. ISBN 0-87021-311-3 .
- S. Roskill: White Ensign: the British Navy At War, 1939-1945 . United States Naval Institute, 1960.
- J. Winton: The Forgotten Fleet . Michael Joseph Ltd, 2001. ISBN 0-7181-0643-1 .
- J. Winton: Sink the Haguro . Saunders of Toronto Ltd, 2000. ISBN 0-85422-152-2 .
- B. Hackett: IJN Haguro: Tabular Record of Movement - Combinedfleet .
- S. Hough: HMS VIGILANT - Stanhough .
- D. Muir: Order of Battle: Battle off Penang (Loss of IJN Haguro) - Naval Weapons .
- A. Nevitt: IJN Kamikaze: Tabular Record of Movement - Combinedfleet