Takao (ship, 1932)
 Heavy cruiser Takao
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The Takao ( Japanese 高雄 ) was a heavy cruiser of the Imperial Japanese Navy . The ship was named after Mount Takao near Kyoto .
Calls
Java and Aleutian Islands
At the beginning of World War II, the Takao was assigned to the 4th Cruiser Division, along with her sister ships Maya and Atago . In late December 1941, she gave support fire during the invasion of the Philippines . In the spring of 1942, the Takao operated in the Java Sea and was involved in the Japanese invasion of Java in early March. On March 1, a Takao plane bombed a Dutch freighter. A day later, the Takao sank the American destroyer Pillsbury together with her sister ships Atago and Maya and the destroyers Nowaki and Arashi . There were no survivors. On March 4, the Japanese ships began extending from Tjilatjap to Fremantle retreating replenishment oiler of the Australian Navy , and sunk all ships of only by the Sloop Yarra protected, small convoys.
In June 1942 the Takao was deployed near the Aleutian Islands . There she took part in the attack on Dutch Harbor as a backup of two aircraft carriers and later supported the invasions of Japanese troops on Attu and Kiska . Several of their aircraft on board were shot down during the attack on Dutch Harbor. Their anti-aircraft defenses shot down an American B-17 bomber during the same mission .
Guadalcanal
During the fighting for Guadalcanal in August 1942, the Takao reinforced the Japanese defenders. The mission eventually led to participation in the Second Sea Battle off Guadalcanal , where the Takao accompanied the battleship Kirishima together with the Atago and encountered two American battleships. In the course of the fight the Japanese were able to damage the South Dakota badly, but the Kirishima was so badly damaged by the Americans that it had to be abandoned the next morning. The Takao got away without damage.
In 1943, the Takao was attacked by dive bombers in the port of Rabaul , causing severe damage and a lengthy repair phase in Japan.
Leyte
During the sea and air battle in the Leyte Gulf , the Takao was hit on October 23, 1944 by two torpedoes from the submarine USS Darter . The takao was listed and several boiler rooms were full. However, she was still able to save herself in the port of Singapore because the Darter ran into a reef in pursuit of the battered cruiser and the only other American submarine in the vicinity had to come to her aid.
Downfall
In the port, the severity of the damage was recognized and the cruiser was converted into an anti-aircraft platform. On this occasion, the Takao was also given a camouflage (similar to the painting of the Myōkō , but more complex). In Singapore, the Takao was finally the target of the British command operation Operation Struggle on July 31, 1945 , which attacked ships in the port of Singapore with micro-submarines. Six stick mines attached to the hull of the cruiser blasted a 10 m × 20 m hole in the side wall and finally put the ship out of action. On September 5, 1945, the Japanese occupation surrendered to the British.
After the war, the Takao served as a training target and was finally sunk by the cruiser HMS Newfoundland on October 19, 1946 .
Evidence and references
Remarks
- ↑ for July 1939 according to Japanese Cruisers of the Pacific War , p. 289
Individual evidence
- ^ Japanese Cruisers of the Pacific War , p. 280
literature
- Eric LaCroix, Linton Wells: Japanese Cruisers of the Pacific War : US Naval Institute Press, 1997, ISBN 0-87021-311-3 .
- Takao class . Gakken Pacific War Series, number 13. Gakken, Tokyo 1997, ISBN 4-05-601685-2 .
Web links
- Tabular usage history of the taka at combinedfleet.com