Japanese Cruiser Kinugasa
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was the second vessel in the two-vessel of
heavy cruiser A heavy cruiser was a type of cruiser, a naval warship designed for long range and high speed, armed generally with naval guns of roughly 203 mm (8 inches) in calibre, whose design parameters were dictated by the Washington Naval Treat ...
s in 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 ...
. The ship was named after Mount Kinugasa, located in
Yokosuka, Kanagawa is a city in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. , the city has a population of 373,797, and a population density of . The total area is . Yokosuka is the 11th-most populous city in the Greater Tokyo Area, and the 12th in the Kantō region. The city is ...
,
Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
.


Background

''Kinugasa'' and her
sister ship A sister ship is a ship of the same Ship class, class or of virtually identical design to another ship. Such vessels share a nearly identical hull and superstructure layout, similar size, and roughly comparable features and equipment. They o ...
were originally planned as the third and fourth vessels in the of heavy cruisers. However, design issues with the ''Furutaka''s resulted in modifications including twin
turret Turret may refer to: * Turret (architecture), a small tower that projects above the wall of a building * Gun turret, a mechanism of a projectile-firing weapon * Optical microscope#Objective turret (revolver or revolving nose piece), Objective turre ...
s and an aircraft catapult. These modifications created yet more weight to an already top-heavy design, causing stability problems. Nevertheless, ''Kinugasa'' played an important role in the opening stages of
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
.


Service career


Pre-World War II

''Kinugasa'' was completed on 30 September 1927 at the Kawasaki shipyards in
Kobe Kobe ( ; , ), officially , is the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. With a population of around 1.5 million, Kobe is Japan's List of Japanese cities by population, seventh-largest city and the third-largest port city after Port of Toky ...
. Her early service was as flagship of the Fifth Squadron (''Sentai''), and she operated for virtually her entire career with that unit and the Sixth and Seventh Squadrons. In 1928, she became the first Japanese combat ship to carry an
aircraft catapult An aircraft catapult is a device used to help fixed-wing aircraft gain enough airspeed and lift for takeoff from a limited distance, typically from the deck of a ship. They are usually used on aircraft carrier flight decks as a form of assist ...
. During a training exercise on 11 July 1929, the Japanese
submarine A submarine (often shortened to sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. (It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability.) The term "submarine" is also sometimes used historically or infor ...
'' I-55'' accidentally collided with ''Kinugasa'' while using ''Kinugasa'' as a target. ''I-55'' suffered damage to her bow plating in the collision. ''Kinugasa'' served off the
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
coast in 1928–1929 and on several occasions during the 1930s. Placed in reserve in September 1937, ''Kinugasa'' was extensively modernized at the Sasebo Navy Yard and not recommissioned until the end of October 1940.


World War II

In 1941, ''Kinugasa'' was assigned to Cruiser Division 6 (CruDiv6), as
flagship A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of navy, naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically ...
of
Rear Admiral Rear admiral is a flag officer rank used by English-speaking navies. In most European navies, the equivalent rank is called counter admiral. Rear admiral is usually immediately senior to commodore and immediately below vice admiral. It is ...
Aritomo Goto as part of the First Fleet under overall command of
Vice Admiral Vice admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, usually equivalent to lieutenant general and air marshal. A vice admiral is typically senior to a rear admiral and junior to an admiral. Australia In the Royal Australian Navy, the rank of Vice ...
Takasu Shiro. CruDiv 6 consisted of ''Kinugasa'', , and . At the time of the
attack on Pearl Harbor The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Empire of Japan on the United States Pacific Fleet at Naval Station Pearl Harbor, its naval base at Pearl Harbor on Oahu, Territory of ...
, CruDiv6 was engaged in the invasion of Guam, following which it participated in the second invasion of
Wake Island Wake Island (), also known as Wake Atoll, is a coral atoll in the Micronesia subregion of the Pacific Ocean. The atoll is composed of three islets – Wake, Wilkes, and Peale Islands – surrounding a lagoon encircled by a coral reef. The neare ...
. From January–May 1942, ''Kinugasa'' was based out of Truk, in the
Caroline Islands The Caroline Islands (or the Carolines) are a widely scattered archipelago of tiny islands in the western Pacific Ocean, to the north of New Guinea. Politically, they are divided between the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) in the cen ...
where it provided protection for the landings of Japanese troops in the
Solomon Islands Solomon Islands, also known simply as the Solomons,John Prados, ''Islands of Destiny'', Dutton Caliber, 2012, p,20 and passim is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 1000 smaller islands in Melanesia, part of Oceania, t ...
and
New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; , fossilized , also known as Papua or historically ) is the List of islands by area, world's second-largest island, with an area of . Located in Melanesia in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is ...
at
Rabaul Rabaul () is a township in the East New Britain province of Papua New Guinea, on the island of New Britain. It lies about to the east of the island of New Guinea. Rabaul was the provincial capital and most important settlement in the province ...
,
Kavieng Kavieng is the capital of the Papua New Guinean province of New Ireland and the largest town on the island of the same name. The town is located at Balgai Bay, on the northern tip of the island. As of 2009, it had a population of 17,248. Kavi ...
, Buka, Shortland, Kieta,
Manus Island Manus Island is part of Manus Province in northern Papua New Guinea and is the largest of the Admiralty Islands. It is the fifth-largest island in Papua New Guinea, with an area of , measuring around . Manus Island is covered in rugged jungles w ...
,
Admiralty Islands The Admiralty Islands are an archipelago group of 40 islands in the Bismarck Archipelago, to the north of New Guinea in the South Pacific Ocean. These are also sometimes called the Manus Islands, after the largest island. These rainforest-cov ...
and
Tulagi Tulagi, less commonly known as Tulaghi, is a small island in Solomon Islands, just off the south coast of Ngella Sule. The town of the same name on the island (pop. 1,750) was the capital of the British Solomon Islands Protectorate from 1896 t ...
.


Battle of Coral Sea

At the
Battle of the Coral Sea The Battle of the Coral Sea, from 4 to 8 May 1942, was a major naval battle between the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) and naval and air forces of the United States and Australia. Taking place in the Pacific Theatre of World War II, the battle ...
, CruDiv 6 departed Shortland and effected a rendezvous at sea with the light carrier At 11:00 on 7 May 1942, north of Taguli Island, ''Shōhō'' was attacked and sunk by 93
Douglas SBD Dauntless The Douglas SBD Dauntless is a World War II American naval scout plane and dive bomber that was manufactured by Douglas Aircraft from 1940 through 1944. The SBD ("Scout Bomber Douglas") was the United States Navy's main Carrier-based aircraft, ...
dive bomber A dive bomber is a bomber aircraft that dives directly at its targets in order to provide greater accuracy for the bomb it drops. Diving towards the target simplifies the bomb's trajectory and allows the pilot to keep visual contact througho ...
s and
Douglas TBD Devastator The Douglas TBD Devastator is a retired American torpedo bomber of the United States Navy. Ordered in 1934, it first flew in 1935 and entered service in 1937. At that point, it was the most advanced aircraft flying for the Navy, being the firs ...
torpedo bomber A torpedo bomber is a military aircraft designed primarily to attack ships with aerial torpedoes. Torpedo bombers came into existence just before the World War I, First World War almost as soon as aircraft were built that were capable of carryin ...
s from and . The following day, 46 SBDs, 21 TBDs and 15
Grumman F4F Wildcat The Grumman F4F Wildcat is an American carrier-based A carrier-based aircraft (also known as carrier-capable aircraft, carrier-borne aircraft, carrier aircraft or aeronaval aircraft) is a naval aircraft designed for operations from aircra ...
s from ''Yorktown'' and ''Lexington'' severely damaged the carrier above the waterline and forced her retirement. ''Furutaka'' and ''Kinugasa'', undamaged in the battle, escorted ''Shōkaku'' back to Truk. ''Kinugasa'' was withdrawn to Japan in June 1942 for repairs, and returned to Truk by 4 July. Following the major reorganization of 14 July 1942, ''Kinugasa'' came under the newly created Eighth Fleet under Vice Admiral
Gunichi Mikawa was a vice admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) during World War II. Mikawa was the commander of a heavy cruiser force that defeated the United States Navy (USN) and the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) at the Battle of Savo Island in Ironb ...
, based at Rabaul.


The Battle of Savo Island

In the
Battle of Savo Island The Battle of Savo Island, also known as the First Battle of Savo Island and in Japanese sources as the , and colloquially among Allied Guadalcanal veterans as the Battle of the Five Sitting Ducks, was a Naval warfare, naval battle during the So ...
on 9 August 1942, the four heavy cruisers of CruDiv 6 (''Aoba'', ''Kako'', ''Furutaka'' and ''Kinugasa''), the heavy cruiser , light cruisers and and destroyer engaged the Allied forces in a night gun and torpedo action. At about 23:00, ''Chōkai'', ''Furutaka'' and ''Kako'' all launched their reconnaissance
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, ...
s. The circling floatplanes dropped flares illuminating the targets and all the Japanese ships opened fire. The Allied cruisers , , and were sunk. The cruiser was damaged as were the destroyers and . On the Japanese side, ''Chōkai'' was hit three times, ''Kinugasa'' twice (once in her No. 1 Engine Room by an 8-inch shell from ''Vincennes'' that did not explode but caused some damage, killed one man and wounded another,Lacroix & Wells, ''Japanese Cruisers'', p. 307 and one in a storeroom aft that was flooded by a 5-inch shell from ''Patterson''), ''Aoba'' once, and ''Furutaka'' was not damaged. The heavily laden American invasion transports off Guadalcanal were unprotected, but Admiral Mikawa, unaware that Admiral Fletcher had withdrawn his aircraft carriers covering the invasion, feared an air attack at daybreak and ordered a retirement. Captain Sawa of ''Kinugasa'', frustrated, launched a spread of torpedoes from ''Kinugasa''s starboard tubes at the Allied transports distant, but all missed. The following day as CruDiv6 approached Kavieng, ''Kako'' was torpedoed and sunk by the US submarine .


Battle of Cape Esperance

At the
Battle of Cape Esperance The Battle of Cape Esperance, also known as the Second Battle of Savo Island and in Japanese sources as the , took place on 11–12 October 1942, in the Pacific War, Pacific campaign of World War II between the Imperial Japanese Navy and United ...
on 11 October 1942, CruDiv 6's (''Aoba'', ''Furutaka'' and ''Kinugasa''), and destroyers and departed Shortland to provide cover for a troop reinforcement convoy by shelling Henderson Field on Guadalcanal. The fleet was spotted, coming down "the Slot" at , by two Vought OS2U Kingfisher reconnaissance floatplanes. So alerted, the radar-equipped American cruisers , , , and and five destroyers steamed around the end of Guadalcanal to block the entrance to Savo Sound. At 22:35, ''Helena''s radar spotted the Japanese fleet, and the Americans successfully crossed the Japanese "T". Both fleets opened fire, but Admiral Goto, thinking that he was under
friendly fire In military terminology, friendly fire or fratricide is an attack by belligerent or neutral forces on friendly troops while attempting to attack enemy or hostile targets. Examples include misidentifying the target as hostile, cross-fire while ...
, ordered a 180-degree turn that exposed each of his ships to the American broadsides. ''Aoba'' was damaged heavily, and Admiral Goto was mortally wounded. ''Furutaka'' was hit by a torpedo that flooded her forward engine room and was subsequently sunk by , and . ''Kinugasa'' straddled ''Boise'' and ''Salt Lake City'' with 8-inch salvos, knocking out ''Boise''s No. 1 and 2 turrets. ''Kinugasa'' sustained four hits in the engagement. The following morning, ''Kinugasa'' was attacked but not damaged by five American planes, and then returned to Shortland. Just a few days later, on the night of 14/15 October 1942, ''Kinugasa'' returned and together with heavy cruiser bombarded Henderson Field with a total of 752 8-inch shells. This followed the bombardment from battleships and the night before and preceded the bombardment by the heavy cruisers and the following night.


Naval Battle of Guadalcanal

From 24–26 October and 1–5 November, ''Kinugasa'' and ''Chōkai'' provided cover for replacement convoys of troops and equipment to bolster Japanese defenses at Guadalcanal. On 14 November, during the
Naval Battle of Guadalcanal The Naval Battle of Guadalcanal took place from 12 to 15 November 1942 and was the decisive engagement in a series of naval battles between Allies of World War II, Allied (primarily American) and Imperial Japanese Armed Forces, Imperial Japan ...
, ''Kinugasa'' was attacked by
Grumman TBF Avenger The Grumman TBF Avenger (designated TBM for aircraft manufactured by General Motors) is an American World War II-era torpedo bomber developed initially for the United States Navy and Marine Corps, and eventually used by several air and naval a ...
torpedo bombers and Douglas SBD Dauntlesses from and
USMC The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionary ...
Avengers from Guadalcanal on her return trip from an unopposed bombardment of Henderson Field the night before. At 09:36, a 500-pound bomb hit ''Kinugasa''s machine gun mount in front of the bridge, starting a fire in the forward gasoline storage area. Captain Sawa and his
executive officer An executive officer is a person who is principally responsible for leading all or part of an organization, although the exact nature of the role varies depending on the organization. In many militaries and police forces, an executive officer ...
were killed by the bomb, and ''Kinugasa'' gradually began to list to port. Near-misses caused additional fires and flooding and a second attack by 17 more Dauntlesses knocked out ''Kinugasa''s engines and rudder and opened more compartments to the sea. At 11:22, she capsized and sank southwest of
Rendova Island Rendova is an island in Western Province (Solomon Islands), Western Province, in the independent nation of Solomon Islands, in the Pacific Ocean, South Pacific, east of Papua New Guinea. Geography Rendova Island is a roughly rectangular island, ...
at , taking 511 crewmen with her. IJNS ''Kinugasa'' was removed from the Navy list on 15 December 1942.


References


Sources

* * * * *


External links

* *Tabular record
CombinedFleet.com: ''Kinugasa'' history
(Retrieved 4 April 2016.) *Gallery

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kinugasa Aoba-class cruisers Ships built by Kawasaki Heavy Industries 1926 ships Maritime incidents in 1929 World War II cruisers of Japan Cruisers sunk by aircraft Ships sunk by US aircraft Shipwrecks in Ironbottom Sound World War II shipwrecks in the Pacific Ocean Maritime incidents in November 1942