 | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 Empire of Japan | |
| Name | Myōkō |
| Namesake | Mount Myōkō |
| Ordered | 1924 |
| Builder | Yokosuka Naval Arsenal |
| Laid down | 25 October 1924 |
| Launched | 16 April 1927 |
| Commissioned | 31 July 1929 |
| Stricken | 10 August 1946 |
| Fate | Scuttled in theStrait of Malacca, 8 July 1946;3°5′N100°40′E / 3.083°N 100.667°E /3.083; 100.667 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type | Myōkō-classcruiser |
| Displacement | 13,500 t (13,300 long tons) |
| Length | 201.7 m (661 ft 9 in) |
| Beam | 20.73 m (68 ft 0 in) |
| Draft | 6.32 m (20 ft 9 in) |
| Propulsion |
|
| Speed | 36knots (41 mph; 67 km/h) |
| Range | 8,000 nmi (15,000 km) at 14 kn (16 mph; 26 km/h) |
| Complement | 773 |
| Armament |
|
| Armor | |
| Aircraft carried | 3 |
| Aviation facilities | 2 aircraftcatapults |
| Service record | |
| Part of |  Imperial Japanese Navy |
| Operations | |
Myōkō (妙高) was thelead ship of the four-memberMyōkō class ofheavy cruisers of theImperial Japanese Navy (IJN), which were active inWorld War II.[2] She was named afterMount Myōkō inNiigata Prefecture. The other ships of the class wereNachi,Ashigara, andHaguro.
Myōkō was approved under the 1922–1929 Fleet Modernization Program, as the first heavy cruiser to be built by Japan within the design constraints imposed by theWashington Naval Treaty, and was the first of the "10,000 ton" cruisers built by any nation.[3]Naval architect Vice AdmiralYuzuru Hiraga was able to keep the design from becoming dangerously top-heavy in its early years by continually rejecting demands from theImperial Japanese Navy General Staff for additional equipment to the upper decks. During modifications and rebuildings in the 1930s, though, the final displacement rose to 15,933 tons, well over the treaty limits.[4]
TheMyōkō class displaced 13,500 t (13,300 long tons), with a hull design based on an enlarged version of theAoba-classcruiser.Myōkō was 203.8 metres (669 ft) long, with abeam of 19.5 metres (64 ft) anddraft of 6.36 metres (20.9 ft), and was capable of 35.5knots (65.7 km/h; 40.9 mph).[4]Propulsion was by 12 Kampon boilers driving four sets of single-impulse, geared-turbine engines, with four shafts turning three-bladed propellers. The ship was armored with a 102 mm (4 in)side belt, and 35 mm (1 in) armoreddeck, but thebridge was not armored.[4]
Myōkō’s main battery was ten20 cm/50 3rd Year Type naval guns, the heaviest armament of any heavy cruiser in the world at the time, mounted in five twin turrets.[4] Her secondary armament included eight12.7 cm/40 Type 89 naval guns in four twin mounts on each side, and 12Type 93 Long Lance torpedoes in four triple launchers positioned below the aircraft deck.Myōkō was also equipped with an aircraftcatapult and carried up to threefloatplanes for scouting purposes.[4]
Myōkō waslaid down at theYokosuka Naval Arsenal on 25 October 1924 andlaunched and named on 16 April 1927 in a ceremony attended byEmperor Hirohito, and wascommissioned into the Imperial Japanese Navy on 31 July 1929.[5] Although the first ship in her class to be laid down, she was the third to be completed.
Myōkō was repeatedly modernized and upgraded throughout her career to counter the growing threat of air strikes. She eventually mounted 52Type 96 25 mm AT/AA Gun guns and two13.2 mm (0.52 in) antiaircraft guns after her final upgrade.[3]
All of theMyōkō-class cruisers were assigned to theSasebo Naval District, formingSentai-4 of theIJN 3rd Fleet, and trained as a unit during the 1930s. During anaval review offKobe on 26 October 1930, stack gases caused problems on the bridge, resulting in a lengthening of the forward smokestack by 2.0 m.[4]
During theFirst Shanghai Incident of February 1932, the cruisers escorted the transports conveying elements of theImperial Japanese Army (IJA) to the continent. In December 1932, theMyōkō-class ships were placed in reserve as the newTakao-class cruisers were commissioned, becoming the newSentai-4, whereas theMyōkō-class ships were shifted toSentai-5.[4] Between 1933 and 1935, allMyōkō-class cruisers were retrofitted with their fixed triple torpedo launchers replaced by two quadruple rotatable launchers, and their secondary guns upgraded from 12 cm/45 10th Year Type naval guns to 12.7 cm/40 Type 89 naval guns.[3] In 1935,Myōkō was damaged in a typhoon as part of theFourth Fleet incident.[6]
During theSecond Sino-Japanese War,Myōkō participated in theAmoy Operation from 10–12 May 1938 as flagship ofSentai-9 of theIJN 5th Fleet[7] along with theHainan Island Operation in February 1939.
A second reconstruction and retrofit was completed in April 1941, doubling the number of torpedoes to 16, adding another eight 25-mm antiaircraft guns, and bulges to the hull to improve stability.[3]
At the time of theattack on Pearl Harbor,Myōkō andNachi formedSentai-5 of the IJN 3rd Fleet.Sentai-5 was commanded by Rear AdmiralTakeo Takagi and deployed fromPalau cover for the landings of Japanese forces under "Operation M" — the invasion of the southernPhilippine Islands. After covering the landings of Japanese forces atLegaspi on 11 December 1941,Myōkō andNachi returned to Palau and were then reassigned to the Rear AdmiralRaizō Tanaka, whose attack force covered landings atDavao on 19 December andJolo on 24 December.[7]
On 4 January 1942,Myōkō and the other vessels of Admiral Tanaka’s invasion force were attacked byUnited States Army Air Forces (USAAF)B-17 Flying Fortress bombers while at anchor at Davao.Myōkō was hit by one 500-pound (227 kg) bomb, causing only superficial damage, but she was drydocked atSasebo Naval Arsenal for repairs.
In theBattle of the Java Sea on 1 March 1942Myōkō,Nachi, andHaguro participated in the destruction of the last remainingAllied fleet units in theNetherlands East Indies. At 11:50,Myōkō,Ashigara and destroyersAkebono andInazuma opened fire on the damaged British heavy cruiserExeter and her escort of two destroyers. During the engagement, the 8-inch guns ofMyōkō combined fire withAshigara to sink the destroyerHMS Encounter, whileNachi andHaguro combined fire to finish offExeter.[7][8]
Later in March,Myōkō received a refit at Sasebo Naval Arsenal. In April, she participated in the unsuccessful pursuit of theDoolittle raid task force.
In May,Myōkō was part of the carrier strike force during theOperation Mo that resulted in theTulagi invasion force and subsequently theBattle of the Coral Sea. She served as a flagship of Vice Admiral Takagi, who was in the overall command of the carrier strike force, which consisted of theaircraft carriersShōkaku andZuikaku, which were under a tactical command of Rear AdmiralChūichi Hara, the heavy cruisersMyōkō andHaguro, and five destroyers.Shōkaku was damaged by American aircraft andZuikaku lost most of her aircraft in the Battle of the Coral Sea, forcing the flotilla to withdraw without invadingPort Moresby.[7]
In June,Myōkō was part of Vice AdmiralNobutake Kondō's support force in theBattle of Midway, which included thebattleshipsKongō andHiei, the heavy cruisersHaguro,Atago andChōkai, the light cruiserYura, the light aircraft carrierZuihō, and seven destroyers. The support force returned toSendai in northern Japan on 23 June without engaging the enemy in this battle, andMyōkō was sent out on 28 June as escort for the reinforcement convoy in theAleutian Islands Campaign. This force included the aircraft carrierZuikaku, the light aircraft carriersZuihō,Jun'yō, andRyūjō, the heavy cruisersMaya,Takao,Myōkō,Haguro, andNachi, and the light cruisersAbukuma,Kiso, andTama.Myōkō returned toHashirajima on 12 July 1942.[7]
On 11 October 1942,Myōkō sailed from Truk as part of theIJN 2nd Fleet. This force also included the battleshipsKongō andHaruna, the heavy cruisersAtago,Chōkai, andNachi, the light cruiserIsuzu, and 12 destroyers. They were followed by Vice AdmiralChuichi Nagumo's carrier strike force. The mission was the reinforcement and resupply of Japanese troops on the island ofGuadalcanal, which had been invaded by American troops in August.Myōkō was attacked on 14 September by a flight of 10 USAAF B-17 bombers, suffering light damage. On 15 October, she participated in ashore bombardment operation against the American-heldHenderson Field together withMaya.
Between 31 January and 9 February 1943,Myōkō, after a refit at Sasebo, took part in theevacuation of Guadalcanal. The force consisted of the carriersZuikaku,Zuihō, andJun'yō, the battleshipsKongō andHaruna, heavy cruisersAtago,Takao,Myōkō, andHaguro, the light cruisersNagara andAgano, and 11 destroyers. The Japanese transports were successful in evacuating 11,700 troops from the island.
In May 1943,Myōkō andHaguro sailed north to assist in theevacuation of Kiska. In June, they returned to Sasebo for another refit.Myōkō was equipped with four twin Type 96 25 mm AT/AA gun mounts, and a Type 21 air searchradar set was also installed.
In response to American carrier aircraft raiding in theGilbert Islands,Myōkō sortied with Vice AdmiralJisaburō Ozawa's fleet to engage the American carriers. The fleet consisted of the aircraft carriersShōkaku,Zuikaku, andZuihō, the battleshipsYamato andNagato, heavy cruisersMyōkō,Haguro,Tone,Chikuma,Mogami,Atago,Takao,Chōkai, andMaya, the light cruiserAgano, and 15 destroyers. Despite extensive searches, this force failed to make contact with the American strike force and returned to Truk.
On 1 November,Myōkō andHaguro sailed south from Truk with two destroyers, escorting a supply convoy toRabaul. From Rabaul,Myōkō sailed with the light cruisersAgano andSendai and six destroyers to escort reinforcements to the island ofBougainville. About 1,000 Japanese Army troops were carried by four fast destroyer transports. The warships sailed ahead of the transports and engaged an American force in theBattle of Empress Augusta Bay at 12:50 on 3 November.
TheAmerican force of four light cruisers and eight destroyers sank theSendai with 6-inch (152 mm) gunfire. While avoiding the American gunfire,Myōkō collided with the destroyerHatsukaze.Hatsukaze fell behind the task force as it withdrew, and was finished off by American gunfire.Haguro had received minor damage in the action, and the American destroyerUSS Foote was crippled by a Long Lance torpedo.
On 17 November,Myōkō arrived at Sasebo for another refit. Eight single-mount 25 mm AA guns were added, bringing the total to 24 guns. In January,Myōkō (withTone and two destroyers) made an uneventful transport run from Truk toKavieng and back. On 10 February, while sailing from Truk to Palau withAtago andChōkai and eight destroyers,Myōkō was attacked by the submarineUSS Permit. The submarine fired four torpedoes, but all missed.
In March,Myōkō and the destroyerShiratsuyu escorted an empty tanker convoy from Palau toBorneo. On 6 April,Myōkō was attacked by the submarineUSS Dace. She fired all sixbow torpedo tubes, but missed. The submarineUSS Darter also spottedMyōkō, but was unable to maneuver into position for an attack.
In June 1944,Myōkō participated in theBattle of the Philippine Sea. The Japanese fleet sailed from its anchorage atTawi Tawi in response to the American invasion of theMarianas Islands. The Japanese high command was aware that American heavy bombers, based in the Marianas, could reach factories and shipyards in theJapanese home islands. This battle was later called the "Great Marianas Turkey Shoot" by American sailors, because over 300 Japanese carrier aircraft were shot down in a single day on 19 June.
Myōkō participated in theBattle of Leyte Gulf as part of Vice AdmiralTakeo Kurita's First Mobile Striking Force (Center Force) consisting of four battleships and 10 cruisers. As the Center Force tried to force a passage through theSibuyan Sea, it was spotted and attacked by USTask Force 38. Although most airstrikes concentrated on the battleshipMusashi,Myōkō was hit by a torpedo aft on the starboard side, which damaged her starboard screws. She broke off and headed for Singapore at a reduced speed of 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph), arriving on 2 November 1944. After temporary repairs, she departed for Japan with a stop atCam Ranh Bay.
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En route to Cam Ranh Bay,Myōkō was hit by one torpedo from a spread of six, fired by the submarineUSS Bergall at 17:35 on 13 December 1944 on her aft port side, blowing away her stern, and leaving her unable to steer. She went dead in the water. Despite the extensive damage to the aft, one port screw remained operable and she could make 6 knots (11 km/h; 6.9 mph). Unable to steer, she was towed by destroyerUshio (which assisted in damagingBergall, which survived and returned to Fremantle) and several other ships to Singapore harbor for repairs, but materials in Singapore were insufficient to complete the repairs for bothMyōkō andTakao, the latter which had been severely damaged by two submarine-launched torpedoes prior to the Sibuyan Sea battle.
In February 1945, the harbor commander reported thatMyōkō was irreparable at Singapore without more materials, and impossible to tow to Japan. He recommended thatMyōkō be kept in Singapore as a floating antiaircraft battery, and this suggestion was approved. BothMyōkō andTakao were targeted by Britishmidget submarine attacks on 26 July, but survived the war.
Myōkō formally surrendered toRoyal Navy units on 21 September 1945, and was subsequently towed to theStrait of Malacca and scuttled off Port Swettenham, Malaya (near present-dayPort Klang,Malaysia) at3°5′N100°40′E / 3.083°N 100.667°E /3.083; 100.667 on 8 July 1946, near submarinesI-501 andI-502.
Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in December 1944 | |
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| Shipwrecks |
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| Other incidents |
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