Japanese cruiser Abukuma

nihongo|"IJN Abukuma"|阿武隈 軽巡洋艦| Abukuma keijunyōkan was a "Nagara"-class light cruiser in the Imperial Japanese Navy, named after the Abukuma River in the Tōhoku region of Japan.

Background

"Abukuma" was the sixth (and final) vessel completed in the "Nagara"-class of light cruisers, and like other vessels of her class, she was intended for use as the flagship of a destroyer flotilla, and it was in that role that she participated in the attack on Pearl Harbor.

ervice career

Early career

"Abukuma" was completed at the Uraga Dock Company on 26 May 1925, its commissioning having been delayed due to the Great Kanto Earthquake. In 1932, it was assigned to the Japanese Third Fleet and assigned to patrols off the coast of northern China after the Manchurian Incident. As the war situation with China continued to deteriorate, "Abukuma" was assigned to provide coverage for Japanese transports during the Battle of Shanghai, and remained on station patrolling the China coast and the Yangtze River through 1938.

The Pearl Harbor raid

"Abukuma" set sail from Hitokappu Bay in the Kurile Islands on 26 November 1941 with Vice Admiral Chuichi Nagumo's Carrier Striking Force. She served as the flagship of Rear Admiral Sentaro Omori's Destroyer Squadron 1 ("DesRon1"), consisting of the destroyers "Shiranuhi", "Arare", "Kagero", "Kasumi", "Tanikaze", "Hamakaze", "Isokaze", and "Urakaze".

DesRon1 served as the anti-submarine escort for the six aircraft carriers ("Akagi", "Kaga", "Soryu", "Hiryu", "Shokaku", "Zuikaku"), two battleships ("Hiei" and "Kirishima") and two heavy cruisers ("Tone" and "Chikuma") that carried the offensive power of the Carrier Striking Force. Nearly 360 aircraft were launched against Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941, inflicting terrible da

After the attack on Pearl Harbor, "Abukuma" led DesRon1 with most of the Carrier Striking Force in the return to Japan, and received a hero's welcome on 23 December 1941.

Actions in the South Pacific

In January 1942, DesRon1 escorted invasion fleet for Rabaul, New Britain and Kavieng, New Guinea from its new base at Truk in the Caroline Islands.

In early February, DesRon1 accompanied the Carrier Striking Force in an unsuccessful pursuit of Vice Admiral William F. Halsey Jr’s Task Force 8, after the "USS Enterprise" (CV-6) raided Kwajalein and Wotje in the Marshall Islands. "Abukuma" was then ordered to Palau, from which it accompanied the Carrier Striking Force on the attack on Port Darwin, Australia.

At the end of February and into April, DesRon1 escorted the Carrier Striking Force in attacks on Java in the Dutch East Indies, and Columbo and Trincomalee in Sri Lanka|Ceylon and against other targets in the Indian Ocean, including the Royal Navy aircraft carrier "HMS Hermes". The fleet returned to Singapore on 11 April 1942.

Battle of the Aleutian Islands

In May, "Abukuma" and its destroyer squadron were re-assigned to the Northern Force under Vice Admiral Boshiro Hosogaya, and escorted the light aircraft carriers "Ryujo" and "Junyo", supporting the invasion of Attu and Kiska in the Battle of the Aleutian Islands.

In June and July, DesRon1 returned to Japan to escort a convoy of reinforcements to the two freshly captured islands in the Aleutians. After uneventful patrolling in the Aleutian Islands and Kurile Islands, DesRon1 escorted three more reinforcement and supply convoys to the Aleutians in October, November and December.

The "Abukuma" returned to Sasebo Navy Yard for refit on 12 December 1942, during which time two triple-mount Type 96 25 mm AA guns were installed, and its No. 5 140 mm gun and the quad 13.2 mm machine gun mount in front of the bridge were replaced by a twin 13.2 mm machine gun mount. After refit, "Abukuma" returned to northern waters to continue reinforcement operations to Attu and Kiska in January, February and March 1943.

"Abukuma" participated in the Battle of the Komandorski Islands on 26 March 1943. "Abukuma" was undamaged, but the heavy cruiser "Nachi" was badly damaged and the Japanese Fifth Fleet was forced to abort its supply mission to the Aleutians. The fleet commander, Vice Admiral Hosogaya, disgraced because he had been forced to withdraw by the weaker American fleet, was forced to retire. "Abukuma" was then re-assigned to the Japanese Fifth Fleet under Vice Admiral Shiro Kawase.

From April through May 1943, "Abukuma" underwent refit at the Maizuru Navy Yard, during which time a Type 21 air-search radar was installed, and it was thus not present during "Operation Landcrab", during which US forces recaptured Attu.

In July, "Abukuma" and DesRon1 provided support for the evacuation of Kiska. On 26 July 1943, the "kaibokan" "Kunashiri" collided with the "Abukuma", hitting her starboard quarter, but causing little damage. On 12 September 1943, while cruising off Paramushiro, "Abukuma" suffered slight damage by near misses by bombs from USAAF B-24 Liberator and B-25 Mitchell aircraft.

In dry dock once again from October through November 1943, "Abukuma’s" No. 7 gun mount was removed, and a twin mount of 40 caliber Type 89 127 mm HA guns (unshielded) was fitted, as was a triple-mount Type 96 25 mm AA gun and four single-mount 25 mm AA guns. After refit, "Abukuma" returned to northern waters in December for antisubmarine patrol off Hokkaidō and the Kurile islands to June.

On 21 June 1944, during yet another refit at Yokosuka, a Type 22 surface-search radar was fitted, together with ten more single-mount Type 96 25 mm AA guns. Five single-mount Type 93 13.2 mm machine guns were also added. Repairs were completed by 13 July 1944.

Battle of Surigao Strait

"Abukuma" remained in Japanese home waters through the middle of October, when it is reassigned to sortie with its seven destroyers against the US fleet off Taiwan in October 1944. However, it is re-directed from Mako in the Pescadores to Manila to support Vice Admiral Shoji Nishimura against the American Navy in the Philippines. "Abukuma" was joined by the heavy cruisers "Nachi" and "Ashigara". During October 15-22, this flotilla was spotted by six different American submarines, but only one was able to maneuver close enough to fire torpedoes: the USS "Seadragon "(SS-194). The flotilla was cruising at 19 knots and zigzagging through the Luzon Strait on October 22. The "Seadragon" fired four torpedoes through her stern tubes, but all missed. All six submarines reported the flotilla's course, position and speed to American fleet units approaching the area.

On October 25, "Abukuma" met her fate in the Battle of the Surigao Strait, part of the overall campaign of four naval battles collectively referred to as the Battle of Leyte Gulf. In the pre-dawn hours, the flotilla was attacked by a squadron of American PT Boats. Lieutenant (jg) Mike Kovar's PT-137 fired a torpedo at a destroyer, but it ran deep and passed beneath the target to strike "Abukuma" at 3:25 AM in the No. 1 boiler room, killing 30 crewmen.

"Abukuma" was disabled and fell behind the rest of the flotilla, but after emergency repairs, was able to get under way and by 4:45 AM, she was making 20 knots. By 5:35 AM, "Abukuma" had caught up to the rest of the flotilla. However, she was down at the bow and shipping at least 500 tons of seawater; at 8:30 AM she was ordered to Dapitan for repairs, escorted by the destroyer "Ushio".

On October 26, "Abukuma" was spotted and attacked repeatedly by B-24 Liberator bombers of the 5th Group, 13th Air Force armed with 500-lb (227 kg) bombs. At 10:06 AM she took a direct hit near the No. 3 140 mm turret; at 10:20 two more hits by B-24 bombers of the 33rd Squadron, 22nd Group, 5th Air Force were scored further aft that started fires. The fire spread to the engine rooms and aft torpedo rooms. Power was lost and the ship's speed declined. At 10:37 AM, four Type 93 Long Lance torpedoes in the aft torpedo room exploded with devastating effect. Between 11:00 and 11:30 AM off Negros Island, the crew abandoned ship. At 11:42 AM, she sank by the stern at coord|09|20|N|122|32|E with 250 of her crewmen. "Ushio" rescued her captain and 283 crewmen.

"Abukuma" was removed from the Navy List on 20 December 1944.

List of Captains

Chief Equipping Officer - Capt. Inosuke Tokuda - 20 October 1924 - 26 May 1925

Capt. Inosuke Tokuda - 26 May 1925 - 1 December 1925

Capt. Shiro Otani - 1 December 1925 - 1 November 1926

Capt. Minoru Nagai - 1 November 1926 - 15 November 1927

Capt. Teijiro Toyoda - 15 November 1927 - 10 December 1928

Capt. Fuchitsune Irie - 10 December 1928 - 30 November 1929

Capt. Shinji Nohara - 30 November 1929 - 1 December 1930

Capt. Shichisaburo Koga - 1 December 1930 - 1 December 1931

Capt. Seiichi Iwamura - 1 December 1931 - 15 November 1932

Capt. Kentaro Kojima - 15 November 1932 - 15 November 1933

Capt. Yoshiaki Kohashi - 15 November 1933 - 15 November 1934

Capt. Takeo Kurita - 15 November 1934 - 15 November 1935

Capt. Ruitaro Fujita - 15 November 1935 - 1 December 1936

Capt. Iwao Shimizu - 1 December 1936 - 1 December 1937

Capt. Katsuzo Akiyama - 1 December 1937 - 1 December 1938

Capt. Kikumatsu Tanaka - 1 December 1938 - 15 November 1939

Capt. Shakao Sakiyama - 15 November 1939 - 1 November 1940

Capt. Seiroku Murayama - 1 November 1940 - 20 September 1942

Capt. Shiro Shibuya - 20 September 1942 - 18 August 1943

Capt. Kaname Konishi - 18 August 1943 - 26 March 1944

Capt. Takuo Hanada - 26 March 1944 - 26 October 1944

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 = Evans
first = David
authorlink =
year = 1979
title = Kaigun : Strategy, Tactics, and Technology in the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1887-1941
publisher = Naval Institute Press
location =
id = ISBN 0-87021-192-7
*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 = 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/nagara_c.htm CombinedFleet.com: "Nagara" class
title = Imperial Japanese Navy Page (Combinedfleet.com)
work =
accessdate = 2006-06-14
*Tabular record: [http://www.combinedfleet.com/abukuma_t.htm CombinedFleet.com: "Abukuma" history] (Retrieved 26 January 2007.)

Notes

ee also

*List of World War II ships