Japanese cruiser Yahagi

The nihongo|IJN Yahagi|矢矧 軽巡洋艦|Yahagi keijunyōkan was an "Agano" class light cruiser which served with the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II.

Background

"Yahagi" was the second of the four vessels completed in the "Agano"-class of light cruisers, and like other vessels of her class, she was intended for use as the flagship of a destroyer flotilla.

ervice career

Early career

Yahagi was completed at Sasebo Navy Yard on 29 December 1943 and was dispatched to Singapore for patrols of Lingga and for training in February 1944. In May, it departed Singapore for Tawi Tawi with the aircraft carriers "Taiho", "Zuikaku" and "Shokaku" and cruisers "Myoko" and "Haguro".

Battles in the Philippines

The Battle of the Philippine Sea occurred on 13 June 1944. Yahagi was in Admiral Jisaburo Ozawa's “Force A” to oppose the American Fifth Fleet in a "decisive battle" off Saipan as command ship for DesDiv 10's "Asagumo", DesDiv 17's "Urakaze", "Isokaze" and "Tanikaze", DesDiv 61's "Wakatsuki", "Hatsuzuki", "Akizuki" and "Shimotsuki", screening the aircraft carriers. On 19 June 1944 the Mobile Fleet's aircraft attacked USN Task Force 58, but suffer overwhelming aircraft losses in the "Great Mariana's Turkey Shoot". "Yahagi" and "Urakaze" rescued 570 crewmen from the carrier "Shokaku" after it was torpedoed by "USS Cavalla".

After dry dock and refitting at Kure from late June – early July 1944, "Yahagi" was fitted with two additional triple-mount Type 96 25 mm AT/AA Gun mounts amidships (bringing its total to 48 barrels) and a Type 13 air-search and a Type 22 surface-search radar set. On 8 July 1944, "Yahagi" departed Kure with troops, and numerous battleships, cruisers and destroyers to return to Singapore.

On 22 October 1944, "Yahagi" was in the Battle of Leyte Gulf in the Second Section of Force "A" of Vice Admiral Takeo Kurita's First Mobile Striking Force: (Center Force), commanding DesRon 10's DesDiv 2's "Kiyoshimo", DesDiv 4's "Nowaki" and DesDiv 17's "Urakaze", "Yukikaze", "Hamakaze" and "Isokaze". It is accompanied by battleships "Kongo" and the "Haruna" and cruisers "Tone", "Chikuma", "Kumano" and "Suzuya". During the Battle of the Sibuyan Sea on 24 October 1944, the fleet endures 11 raids by over 250 Task Force 38 carrier aircraft from the "USS Enterprise (CV-6), USS Essex (CV-9), USS Intrepid (CV-11), USS Franklin (CV-13), USS Lexington (CV-16) and USS Cabot (CVL-28)." Although Japanese battleship "Musashi" was sunk and "Yamato" and "Nagato" were hit, "Yahagi" was unscathed. Likewise in the Battle off Samar on 25 October 1944, "Yahagi" fought its way through the battle without damage. On 26 October 1944, Force A was attacked by 80 carrier aircraft off Panay, followed by 30 USAAF B-24 Liberator heavy bombers and an additional 60 carrier-based aircraft. Throughout these attacks "Yahagi" was not hit and returned to Brunei safely.

End of the Imperial Japanese Navy

On 16 November 1944, DesRon 10 was deactivated and "Yahagi" was assigned as the flagship of Rear Admiral Komura Keizo's new DesRon 2. "Yahagi" was ordered back to Japan on the same day for refit. It remained in Japanese home waters until March 1945.

On 6 April 1945, "Yahagi" received orders for "Operation Ten-Go", to attack the American invasion force on Okinawa. "Yahagi" was ordered to accompany "Yamato" from Tokushima for its final suicide mission against the American fleet.

At 1220 on 7 April 1945 the "Yamato" force was attacked by waves of 386 aircraft (180 fighters, 75 bombers, 131 torpedo planes) from Task Force 58. . Her survivors　could see the "Yamato" in the distance, still apparently steaming south and fighting attacking U.S. aircraft. However, in reality, "Yamato" was only minutes away from sinking. [Hara, "Japanese Destroyer Captain", 298.]

"Yahagi" was removed from the Navy List on 20 June 1945.

List of Captains

Capt. Matake Yoshimura - 29 December 1943 - 20 December 1944

Capt. Tameichi Hara - 20 December 1944 - 7 April 1945

References

Books

*cite book
last = Brown
first = David
authorlink =
year = 1990
title = Warship Losses of World War Two
publisher = Naval Institute Press
location =
id = ISBN 1-55750-914-X
*cite book
last = D'Albas
first = Andrieu
authorlink =
year = 1965
title = Death of a Navy: Japanese Naval Action in World War II
publisher = Devin-Adair Pub
location =
id = ISBN 0-8159-5302-X
*cite book
last = Dull
first = Paul S.
authorlink =
year = 1978
chapter =
title = A Battle History of the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1941-1945
publisher = Naval Institute Press
location =
id = ISBN 0-87021-097-1
*cite book
last = Feifer
first = George
year = 2001
chapter = Operation Heaven Number One
title = The Battle of Okinawa: The Blood and the Bomb
publisher = The Lyons Press
location =
id = ISBN 1-58574-215-5
*cite book
last = Hara
first = Tameichi
authorlink = Tameichi Hara
year = 1961
chapter = The Last Sortie
title = Japanese Destroyer Captain
publisher = Ballantine Books
location = New York & Toronto
id = ISBN 0-345-27894-1 — First-hand account of the battle by the captain of the Japanese cruiser "Yahagi".
*cite book
last = Howarth
first = Stephen
authorlink =
year = 1983
title = The Fighting Ships of the Rising Sun: The drama of the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1895-1945
publisher = Atheneum
location =
id = ISBN 0-68911-402-8
*cite book
last = Jentsura
first = Hansgeorg
authorlink =
coauthors =
year = 1976
chapter =
title = Warships of the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1869-1945
publisher = Naval Institute Press
location =
id = ISBN 0-87021-893-X
*cite book
last = Lacroix
first = Eric
authorlink =
coauthors = Linton Wells
year = 1997
chapter =
title = Japanese Cruisers of the Pacific War
publisher = Naval Institute Press
location =
id = ISBN 0-87021-311-3
*cite book
last = Skulski
first = Janusz
year = 1989
title = The Battleship Yamato
publisher = Naval Institute Press
location = Annapolis, Maryland
id = ISBN 0-87021-019-X
*cite book
last = Spurr
first = Russell
year = 1995
title = A Glorious Way to Die: The Kamikaze Mission of the Battleship Yamato, April 1945
publisher = Newmarket Press
location =
id = ISBN 1-55704-248-9
*cite book
last = Whitley
first = M.J.
authorlink =
coauthors =
year = 1995
chapter =
title = Cruisers of World War Two: An International Encyclopedia
publisher = Naval Institute Press
location =
id = ISBN 1-55750-141-6

External links

*cite web
last = Parshall
first = Jon
coauthors = Bob Hackett, Sander Kingsepp, & Allyn Nevitt
year =
url = http://www.combinedfleet.com/agano_c.htm CombinedFleet.com: "Agano" class
title = Imperial Japanese Navy Page (Combinedfleet.com)
work =
accessdate =
*Tabular record: [http://www.combinedfleet.com/yahagi_t.htm CombinedFleet.com: "Yahagi" history]

Notes

ee also

*List of World War II ships