Japanese cruiser Kumano

"Kumano" (熊野) was one of four "Mogami"-class cruisers of the Imperial Japanese Navy. She was completed at the Kawasaki Shipyard in Kobe on 31 October 1937. She displaced 13,440 tons with a length of convert|649|ft|10|in|m|abbr=on and a beam of convert|66|ft|3|in|m|abbr=on, and had a top speed of convert|35|kn|km/h. "Kumano" was armed with fifteen 155 mm (6.1 in) guns in 5 turrets (3 forward and two aft), eight 127 mm (5 in) dual-purpose guns, fifty 25 mm anti-aircraft guns, and twelve of the infamous "Long Lance" torpedoes.

Operational history

Present at Midway (4-7 June 1942) as part of Vice Admiral Takeo Kurita's Cruiser Division 7, along with her sisters "Mogami", "Mikuma" (sunk) and "Suzuya", her war-record is otherwise of little interest until 20 June 1944, when she was attacked by U.S. carrier aircraft from USS|Bunker Hill|CV-17|6, USS|Monterey|CVL-26|2, and USS|Cabot|CVL-28|2. During this action, the aircraft carrier "Hiyō" was sunk and the battleship "Haruna" was badly damaged.

Then on 25 October 1944, "Kumano" was part of the Japanese Central Force in the Battle off Samar. The destroyer USS|Johnston|DD-557|6 put a Mk-15 torpedo into her, which literally blew off her bow. As "Kumano" was retiring towards the San Bernardino Strait, she came under aerial attack and suffered minor damage.

The next day, "Kumano" was attacked from aircraft launched by the USS|Hancock|CV-19|6 while in the Sibuyan Sea, and was struck by three 500 lb (226.8 kg) bombs. She survived and sailed to Manila Bay for repairs on her bow and all four boilers. She returned to service and on 6 November 1944 "Kumano" was guarding convoy Ma-Ta 31. The convoy came under attack by a US submarine wolf-pack consisting of the USS|Batfish|SS-310|6, USS|Guitarro|SS-363|2, USS|Bream|SS-243|2, USS|Raton|SS-270|2 and the USS|Ray|SS-271|2. Of the aforementioned US submarines, the "Ray" inflicted the most severe damage on the "Kumano".

In all, the American submarines launched 23 torpedoes towards the convoy, two of which struck the "Kumano". The first hit destroyed her recently replaced bow, and the second damaged her starboard engine room, flooding all four of her engine rooms. She took on an 11-degree list and lost steerage. At 1930, she was towed to Dasol Bay by the cargo ship "Doryo Maru", and from there she was moved to Santa Cruz on the Philippine Island of Luzon.

While undergoing repairs in Santa Cruz on 25 November 1944, "Kumano" came under aerial attack by aircraft launched by the "Ticonderoga". Five torpedoes and four 500 pound bombs struck her, and at 1515 she rolled over and sank in about 31 m (100 ft) of water.

Commanding Officers

* Chief Equipping Officer - Capt. Hikojiro Suga - 1 December 1936 - 31 October 1937
* Capt. Shoji Nishimura - 31 October 1937 - 18 May 1939
* Capt. Sukeyoshi Yatsushiro - 18 May 1939 - 15 November 1939
* Capt. Kaoru Arima - 15 November 1939 - 15 October 1940
* Capt. Mitsuo Kinoshita - 15 October 1940 - 25 May 1941
* Capt. Kikumatsu Tanaka - 25 May 1941 - 27 February 1943
* Capt. Toshio Fujita - 27 February 1943 - 29 March 1944
* Capt. / RADM* Soichiro Hitomi - 29 March 1944 - 25 November 1944 (KIA)

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 = 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

Notes