Japanese cruiser Haguro

"Haguro" (羽黒) was the last of the four-member Myōkō class of heavy cruiser of the Imperial Japanese Navy. She was named after a mountain in Yamagata Prefecture. The other ships of her class were "Myōkō" (妙高), "Nachi" (那智), and "Ashigara" (足柄).

The ships of this class displaced 13,300 tons, were 201 m (661 ft) long, and were capable of 36 kt (67 km/h). They carried two aircraft and their main armament was ten 203 mm (8 in) guns in five twin turrets. At the time they were built, this was the heaviest armament of any cruiser class in the world.

ervice History

"Haguro" was laid down at the Mitsubishi shipyard in Nagasaki on 16 March 1925, launched and named on 24 March 1928, and was commissioned into the Imperial Navy on 25 April 1929. Her service in World War II started in the Dutch East Indies, where she engaged the enemy off Makassar on 8 February 1942. She played a key role in the battle of the Java Sea on 27 February 1942, and was involved in the sinking of HMS|Exeter|68|6 and HMS|Encounter|H10|2 in another action off south Borneo on 1 March 1942.

On 7 May 1942 she participated in the battle of the Coral Sea, moving on to the Solomon Islands where she took part in the battle of the Eastern Solomons on 24 August 1942, the evacuation from Guadalcanal at the end of January 1943, and took light damage in the battle of Empress Augusta Bay on 2 November 1943. On 19 June 1944 she survived the battle of the Philippine Sea, and on 23 October–25 October 1944 she took light damage in the battle of Leyte Gulf.

Fate

In May 1945, "Haguro" was the target of the British "Operation Dukedom" and was ambushed. The 26th Destroyer Flotilla found her with the destroyer "Kamikaze" just after midnight on 16 May 1945, and began the attack. During the battle, the "Kamikaze" was lightly damaged, but "Haguro" was hit by gunfire and three Mark IX Torpedoes. The "Haguro" soon began to slow down and took a 30-degrees list to port.

At 2:32 AM the "Haguro" began to go down stern first in the Malacca Strait, convert|55|mi|km off Penang; "Kamikaze" rescued 320 survivors. Nine hundred men, including Vice Admiral Hashimoto and Rear Admiral Sugiura, perished with her. Rear Admiral Sugiura was later promoted to Vice Admiral posthumously on May 16. The battle was the last gun action ever fought between surface ships.

"Haguro"'s name was stricken from the Naval List on 20 June 1945.

The wreck was discovered in 2003, showing significant superstructure damage from her last and earlier battles.

Commanding Officers

* Chief Equipping Officer - Capt. Keitaro Hara - 1 October 1928 - 25 April 1929
* Capt. Keitaro Hara - 25 April 1929 - 30 November 1929
* Capt. Sekizo Uno - 30 November 1929 - 1 December 1930
* Capt. Sonosuke Kobayashi - 1 December 1930 - 10 October 1931
* Capt. Naokuni Nomura - 10 October 1931 - 14 February 1933
* Capt. Jo Morimoto - 14 February 1933 - 15 November 1933
* Capt. Minoru Yamaguchi - 15 November 1933 - 15 November 1934
* Capt. Michimoto Nakayama - 15 November 1934 - 15 November 1935
* Capt. Baron Tomoshige Samejima - 15 November 1935 - 1 December 1936
* Capt. Muneshige Aoyagi - 1 December 1936 - 1 December 1937
* Capt. Masao Yamamoto - 1 December 1937 - 20 April 1938
* Capt. Saichiro Tomonari - 20 April 1938 - 27 December 1939
* Capt. Masaki Ogata - 27 December 1939 - 15 October 1940
* Capt. Kiyoshi Hamada - 15 October 1940 - 25 July 1941
* Capt. Tomokazu Mori - 25 July 1941 - 20 October 1942
* Capt. / Rear Admiral Jisaku Uozumi - 20 October 1942 - 1 December 1943 (Promoted to Rear Admiral on 1 November 1943.)
* Capt. / Rear Admiral / Vice Admiral* Kaju Sugiura - 1 December 1943 - 16 May 1945 (KIA; promoted to Rear Admiral on 1 May 1945; posthumous promotion to Vice Admiral.)

References

Books

*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 = 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

External links

*cite web
last = Kosour
first = Ladislav
coauthors =
year = 1999-2007
url = http://warships.web4u.cz/shipsplus.php?language=E&stat=JAP&typ=CA&trida=Myoko&id=20458
title = "Haguro"
work = Warships of World War II
accessdate = 2007-02-22
*cite web
last = Parshall
first = Jon
coauthors = Bob Hackett, Sander Kingsepp, & Allyn Nevitt
year =
url = http://www.combinedfleet.com/kaigun.htm
title = Imperial Japanese Navy Page (Combinedfleet.com)
work =
accessdate = 2006-06-14
* [http://www.combinedfleet.com/haguro_t.htm "Haguro"'s history in detail]
* [http://www.mikekemble.com/ww2/haguro.html "Sinking of the Haguro" (very good description)]

Notes