Action Of 11 January 1944 on:
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The action of 11 January 1944 was a minor naval action that resulted in the sinking of the 
''Tally-Ho'' was patrolling from her base at 
On the morning of 11 January, ''Tally-Hos commander, Leslie Bennington, spotted a Mitsubishi F1M2 ''Pete''
HMS Tally-Ho
{{DEFAULTSORT:Action of 1944 01 11 Conflicts in 1944 World War II operations and battles of the Southeast Asia Theatre A Naval battles of World War II involving Japan Penang 1944 in British Malaya Japan–United Kingdom military relations January 1944 in Asia Maritime incidents in January 1944
light cruiser
A light cruiser is a type of small or medium-sized warship. The term is a shortening of the phrase "light armored cruiser", describing a small ship that carried armor in the same way as an armored cruiser: a protective belt and deck. Prior to thi ...
of the Imperial Japanese Navy
The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN; Kyūjitai: Shinjitai: ' 'Navy of the Greater Japanese Empire', or ''Nippon Kaigun'', 'Japanese Navy') was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945, Potsdam Declaration, when it was dissolved followin ...
by the Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...
submarine . ''Kuma'' was being escorted by the destroyer about north-west of Penang
Penang is a Malaysian state located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia along the Strait of Malacca. It has two parts: Penang Island, where the capital city, George Town, is located, and Seberang Perai on the Malay Peninsula. Th ...
, Malaya.
''Tally-Ho'' was patrolling from her base at Trincomalee
Trincomalee (; , ; , ), historically known as Gokanna and Gokarna, is the administrative headquarters of the Trincomalee District and major resort port city of Eastern Province, Sri Lanka, Eastern Province, Sri Lanka. Located on the east coast o ...
, Ceylon
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...
searching for Japanese vessels and on 9 January, sighted the Japanese light cruiser ''Kuma'' off Penang. ''Kuma'' was on anti-submarine warfare
Anti-submarine warfare (ASW, or in the older form A/S) is a branch of underwater warfare that uses surface warships, aircraft, submarines, or other platforms, to find, track, and deter, damage, or destroy enemy submarines. Such operations ar ...
exercises. She was flanked by destroyers and ''Tally-Ho'' could not get within range. She was able to plot the Japanese route in and out of Penang and to take up a suitable position to intercept the cruiser.
On the morning of 11 January, ''Tally-Hos commander, Leslie Bennington, spotted a Mitsubishi F1M2 ''Pete'' floatplane
A floatplane is a type of seaplane with one or more slender floats mounted under the fuselage to provide buoyancy. By contrast, a flying boat uses its fuselage for buoyancy. Either type of seaplane may also have landing gear suitable for land, ...
flying westwards along the route on which the cruiser that had been sighted on 9 January was to be expected. It was felt that this heralded the approach of the cruiser. Just before 09:00, the officer of the watch
Watchkeeping or watchstanding is the assignment of sailors to specific roles on a ship to operate it continuously. These assignments, also known at sea as ''watches'', are constantly active as they are considered essential to the safe operation ...
sighted the masts of the cruiser on the port bow. ''Kuma'' was escorted by the ''Uranami''. Whilst north-west of Penang, at midday, Bennington fired a seven-torpedo
A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, such ...
salvo from . ''Kumas''s lookouts soon spotted the torpedo wakes and Sugino shifted his rudder hard over. ''Kuma'' was hit starboard aft by two torpedoes. Bennington decided to head toward the shallows along the shore. The destroyer ''Uranami'' attacked with 18 depth charges but all missed the submarine. A fire raged on board the ''Kuma'' and she soon began to sink by the stern. As she sank, her depth charges detonated. ''Uranami'' then picked up the survivors, including Sugino, while 138 crewmen were lost. After his success, Bennington managed to slip away and returned to Trincomalee.
Citations
Bibliography
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HMS Tally-Ho
{{DEFAULTSORT:Action of 1944 01 11 Conflicts in 1944 World War II operations and battles of the Southeast Asia Theatre A Naval battles of World War II involving Japan Penang 1944 in British Malaya Japan–United Kingdom military relations January 1944 in Asia Maritime incidents in January 1944