Japanese Cruiser Nachi
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was the second vessel completed of the four-member 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 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 ...
(IJN), which were active in
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 ...
. The other ships of the class were , , and . She was named after a mountain in
Wakayama Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Wakayama Prefecture has a population of 876,030 () and a geographic area of . Wakayama Prefecture borders Osaka Prefecture to the north, and Mie Prefecture and Nara Prefecture to ...
.


Background

The ''Myōkō'' class was approved under the 1922–1929 Fleet Modernization Program as the first heavy cruisers to be built by Japan within the design constraints imposed by the
Washington Naval Treaty The Washington Naval Treaty, also known as the Five-Power Treaty, was signed during 1922 among the major Allies of World War I, Allies of World War I, which agreed to prevent an arms race by limiting Navy, naval construction. It was negotiated at ...
, and was the first of the "10,000-ton" cruisers built by any nation.Chesneau, '' All the World’s Fighting Ships'', p. 118.
Naval architect This is the top category for all articles related to architecture and its practitioners. {{Commons category, Architecture by occupation Design occupations Occupations Occupation commonly refers to: *Occupation (human activity), or job, one's rol ...
Vice Admiral
Yuzuru Hiraga Vice Admiral Baron was a career naval officer in the Imperial Japanese Navy, Doctor of Engineering and head of the engineering school of Tokyo Imperial University and a leading Japanese naval architect in the 1910s and 1920s, responsible for desi ...
was able to keep the design from becoming dangerously top-heavy in its early years by continually rejecting demands from the IJN 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.Patton, ''Japanese Heavy Cruisers of World War Two'', pp. 20-36


Design

The ''Myōkō'' class displaced , with a hull design based on an enlarged version of the . ''Nachi'' was long, with a beam of and draft of , and was capable of 35.5 knots. Propulsion was by 12
Kampon The was the externally operating division of the Ministry of the Navy of Japan responsible for the administration of naval vessel construction. From 1923 onward, it took on the role of a research institution for the research and development of n ...
boilers driving four sets of single-impulse, geared turbine engines, with four shafts turning three-bladed propellers. The ship was armored with a side belt, and armored deck, but the
bridge A bridge is a structure built to Span (engineering), span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or railway) without blocking the path underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, whi ...
was not armored. ''Nachi''’s main battery was ten 20 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. Her secondary armament included eight 12.7 cm/40 Type 89 naval guns in four twin mounts on each side, and 12 Type 93 Long Lance torpedoes in four triple launchers positioned below the aircraft deck. ''Nachi'' was also equipped with 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 ...
and carried up to three
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 for scouting purposes. ''Nachi'' was repeatedly modernized and upgraded throughout her career to counter the growing threat of air strikes. She eventually mounted 52 Type 96 25 mm AT/AA Gun guns and two Type 93 13 mm AA guns after her final upgrade. ''Nachi'' was
laid down Laying the keel or laying down is the formal recognition of the start of a ship's construction. It is often marked with a ceremony attended by dignitaries from the shipbuilding company and the ultimate owners of the ship. Keel laying is one ...
at
Kure Naval Arsenal was one of four principal naval shipyards owned and operated by the Imperial Japanese Navy. History The Kure Naval District was established at Kure, Hiroshima in 1889, as the second of the naval districts responsible for the defense of the ...
on 26 November 1924, launched and named on 15 June 1927, and commissioned on 26 November 1928. Although commissioned on 26 November, the ship was far from completed. Due to a political decision, the partially completed cruiser was sent to
Yokosuka 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 i ...
for the coronation
naval review A Naval Review is an event where select vessels and assets of the United States Navy are paraded to be reviewed by the President of the United States or the Secretary of the Navy. Due to the geographic distance separating the modern U.S. Na ...
for
Emperor Hirohito , Posthumous name, posthumously honored as , was the 124th emperor of Japan according to the traditional order of succession, from 25 December 1926 until Death and state funeral of Hirohito, his death in 1989. He remains Japan's longest-reigni ...
on 4 December. Afterwards, she was returned to Kure for the remaining work to be accomplished, and was only ready for service in April 1929. Emperor Hirohito visited the completed vessel at
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 ...
for a cruise on the
Inland Sea An inland sea (also known as an epeiric sea or an epicontinental sea) is a continental body of water which is very large in area and is either completely surrounded by dry land (landlocked), or connected to an ocean by a river, strait or " arm of ...
on 28–29 May as part of his tour of the
Kansai region The or the lies in the southern-central region of Japan's main island Honshū. The region includes the prefectures of Nara, Wakayama, Kyoto, Osaka, Hyōgo and Shiga, often also Mie, sometimes Fukui, Tokushima and Tottori. The metropol ...
of Japan to encourage domestic industrial production.


Operational history


Early service

All of the ''Myōkō'' class were assigned to the
Sasebo Naval District was the third of five main administrative districts of the pre-war Imperial Japanese Navy. Its territory included the western and southern coastline of Kyūshū, the Ryukyu Islands, Taiwan and Korea, as well as patrols in the East China Sea and t ...
, forming ''Sentai''-4 of the
IJN 3rd Fleet The was a fleet of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN), which was created, and subsequently disbanded on six separate occasions and revived on five separate occasions. History Russo-Japanese War First established on 28 December 1903, the 3rd Flee ...
, and trained as a unit during the 1930s. During a naval review off Kobe on 26 October 1930, stack gases caused problems on the bridge, resulting in a lengthening of the forward smokestack by 2.0 m. During the
First Shanghai Incident The January 28 incident or Shanghai incident (January 28 – March 3, 1932) was a conflict between the Republic of China (1912–49), Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. It took place in the Shanghai International Settlement which was un ...
of February 1932, the cruisers escorted the transports conveying elements of the
Imperial Japanese Army The Imperial Japanese Army (IJA; , ''Dai-Nippon Teikoku Rikugun'', "Army of the Greater Japanese Empire") was the principal ground force of the Empire of Japan from 1871 to 1945. It played a central role in Japan’s rapid modernization during th ...
(IJA) to the continent. In December 1932, the cruisers were placed in reserve as the new was commissioned, becoming the new ''Sentai''-4, whereas the ''Myōkō'' class was shifted to ''Sentai''-5. Between 1933 and 1935, all ''Myōkō''-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 gun. ''Nachi'' was commanded by Captain
Teruhisa Komatsu Marquis was an admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy in World War II. Born as HIH Kitashirakawa-no-miya Teruhisa, as the younger son of HIH Prince Kitashirakawa Yoshihisa, his title was devolved from royal status that that of the ''kazoku'' pee ...
from November 1934 to December 1935, followed by Captain
Michitaro Totsuka was a vice admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy in World War II. Biography Tozuka was a native of the former Shibuya, Tokyo, Sendagaya Village in Tokyo, now part of Shibuya, Tokyo, Shibuya. He graduated 33rd out of 149 cadets in the 38th class o ...
to November 1936. In 1936, ''Nachi'' underwent her first modernization program at
Sasebo Naval Arsenal was one of four principal naval shipyards owned and operated by the Imperial Japanese Navy. History The Sasebo Naval District was established at Sasebo, Nagasaki in 1886, as the third of the naval districts responsible for the defense of the ...
. With the start of the
Second Sino-Japanese War The Second Sino-Japanese War was fought between the Republic of China (1912–1949), Republic of China and the Empire of Japan between 1937 and 1945, following a period of war localized to Manchuria that started in 1931. It is considered part ...
in 1937, ''Nachi'' transported the headquarters elements of the IJA's 3rd Division and 6th Infantry Regiment from
Nagoya is the largest city in the Chūbu region of Japan. It is the list of cities in Japan, fourth-most populous city in Japan, with a population of 2.3million in 2020, and the principal city of the Chūkyō metropolitan area, which is the List of ...
to China on 20 August, as part of a large combat force consisting of six cruisers and eight destroyers. In December 1937, ''Nachi'' underwent her second modernization program at Sasebo Naval Arsenal, doubling the number of torpedoes to 16, adding another eight Type 96 25-mm antiaircraft guns and bulges to the hull to improve stability.


Pacific War


Japanese invasions

In late 1941, ''Nachi'' was based at
Mako Guard District The was the major navy base for the Imperial Japanese Navy in Taiwan before and during World War II. Located in Mako , (present-day Makung, Pescadores Islands, Republic of China), the Mako Guard District was responsible for control of the stra ...
in the
Pescadores Islands The Penghu ( , Hokkien POJ: ''Phîⁿ-ô͘''  or ''Phêⁿ-ô͘'' ) or Pescadores Islands are an archipelago of 90 islands and islets in the Taiwan Strait, about west of the main island of Taiwan across the Penghu Channel, coveri ...
, 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 ...
, ''Myōkō'' and ''Nachi'' formed ''Sentai''-5 of the
IJN 3rd Fleet The was a fleet of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN), which was created, and subsequently disbanded on six separate occasions and revived on five separate occasions. History Russo-Japanese War First established on 28 December 1903, the 3rd Flee ...
. ''Sentai''-5 was commanded by Rear Admiral
Takeo Takagi was an admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II. He was the commander of the IJN 6th Fleet, which oversaw the deployment of all submarines. Biography Takagi was a native of Iwaki city, Fukushima prefecture. He was a graduate o ...
, and deployed from
Palau Palau, officially the Republic of Palau, is an island country in the Micronesia subregion of Oceania in the western Pacific Ocean. The Republic of Palau consists of approximately 340 islands and is the western part of the Caroline Islands ...
to provide cover for the landings of Japanese forces under "Operation M" — the invasion of the southern
Philippine Islands The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...
. After covering the landings of Japanese forces at Legaspi on 11 December 1941, ''Myōkō'' and ''Nachi'' returned to Palau, and were then reassigned to Rear Admiral
Raizō Tanaka was a rear admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) during most of World War II. A specialist in the heavy torpedoes that were carried by all the destroyers and cruisers of the IJN, Tanaka mainly commanded destroyer squadrons, with a cruis ...
, whose attack force covered landings at Davao on 19 December and
Jolo Jolo () is a volcanic island in the southwest Philippines and the primary island of the province of Sulu, on which the capital of the same name is situated. It is located in the Sulu Archipelago, between Borneo and Mindanao, and has a populatio ...
on 24 December. On 4 January 1942 ''Nachi'' and the other vessels of Admiral Tanaka’s invasion force were attacked by U.S. Army Air Force
B-17 Flying Fortress The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress is an American four-engined heavy bomber aircraft developed in the 1930s for the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC). A fast and high-flying bomber, the B-17 dropped more bombs than any other aircraft during ...
bombers while at anchor at Davao. ''Myōkō'' was hit by one bomb, causing only superficial damage, but Admiral Tanaka transferred his flag to ''Nachi'', sending ''Myōkō'' back to Sasebo for repairs.


Battle of the Java Sea

In January 1942, ''Nachi'' and ''Haguro'' covered the landings of Japanese troops in the invasion of the
Celebes Sulawesi ( ), also known as Celebes ( ), is an island in Indonesia. One of the four Greater Sunda Islands, and the world's 11th-largest island, it is situated east of Borneo, west of the Maluku Islands, and south of Mindanao and the Sulu Archi ...
in the
Netherlands East Indies The Dutch East Indies, also known as the Netherlands East Indies (; ), was a Dutch Empire, Dutch colony with territory mostly comprising the modern state of Indonesia, which Proclamation of Indonesian Independence, declared independence on 17 Au ...
, followed by the
invasion of Ambon The Invasion of Ambon (Indonesian language, Indonesian: ''Invasi Ambon'') was a combined Indonesian military operation which aimed to seize and annex the self proclaimed Republic of South Maluku. Background Following the Dutch-Indonesian Ro ...
. In the
Battle of the Java Sea The Battle of the Java Sea (, ) was a decisive naval battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II. Allied navies suffered a disastrous defeat at the hand of the Imperial Japanese Navy on 27 February 1942 and in secondary actions over succ ...
, ''Nachi'', ''Haguro'', and participated in the destruction of the last remaining
Allied An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not an explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are calle ...
fleet units in the Netherlands East Indies. On 27 February, the reconnaissance floatplanes from ''Nachi'' spotted the Allied fleet, enabling ''Haguro'' to sink the destroyer with a torpedo and cripped the heavy cruiser with gunfire, and for the
destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, maneuverable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy, or carrier battle group and defend them against a wide range of general threats. They were conceived i ...
to sink the destroyer . For her part of the engagement, ''Nachi'' damaged the heavy cruiser USS ''Houston'' with a pair of 8-inch (203 mm) shell hits at distances beyond 22,000 yards, one passing through the bow, and the other punching through the aft section. Later that same evening, ''Nachi'' and ''Haguro'' tracked down the allied force again and closed to 16,000 yards, firing their torpedo batteries. A torpedo from ''Nachi'' struck the Dutch light cruiser , blowing up her 5.9-inch (15 cm) magazines, tearing the cruiser in two as it sank in two minutes. Several minutes later a torpedo from ''Haguro'' hit the light cruiser , resulting in the cruiser sinking to progressive flooding over nearly three hours, and killing Admiral
Karel Doorman Karel Willem Frederik Marie Doorman (23 April 1889 – 28 February 1942) was a Royal Netherlands Navy officer who during World War II commanded remnants of the short-lived American-British-Dutch-Australian Command naval strike forces in ...
. Two days later, on 1 March, ''Nachi'' and ''Haguro'' and their accompanying destroyers spotted the crippled ''Exeter'' as she attempted to escape the Java Sea, and joined forced with the cruisers ''Myōkō'' and ''Ashigara'' (and their accompanying destroyers). The four cruisers hit ''Exeter'' with shells that disabled her electrical power and guns, set her aflame, and destroyed her remaining boilers, leaving her dead in the water, leading to the allied cruiser's scuttling via her own crew. ''Nachi'' then retreated alongside ''Haguro'', while ''Myōkō'' and ''Ashigara'' both engaged the destroyer , which they overpowered and sank. The destroyer , who was accompanying the two British ships, initially escaped the melee only to be caught and crippled about two hours later by planes from the Japanese light carrier ''Ryūjō'', ''and'' finished off by ''Myōkō'' and ''Ashigara''.


Operations in northern waters

Later in March, ''Nachi'' received a refit at Sasebo for operations in northern waters, and patrolled the
Kurile Islands The Kuril Islands or Kurile Islands are a volcanic archipelago administered as part of Sakhalin Oblast in the Russian Far East. The islands stretch approximately northeast from Hokkaido in Japan to Kamchatka Peninsula in Russia, separating the ...
in April and May. On 26 May, ''Nachi'' departed from
Ōminato Guard District The was the major navy base for the Imperial Japanese Navy in northern Honshu before and during World War II. Located in Mutsu Bay at the present-day city of Mutsu, Aomori Prefecture, the Ōminato Guard District was responsible for control o ...
as flagship of Vice Admiral Boshiro Hosogaya's force for the invasion of the Aleutian islands, and patrolled south of Attu, returning to Ōminato on 23 June. She departed Ōminato to escort another convoy to
Kiska Kiska (, ) is one of the Rat Islands, a group of the Aleutian Islands of Alaska. It is about long and varies in width from . It is part of Aleutian Islands Wilderness and as such, special permission is required to visit it. The island has ...
from 28 June, remaining in the
Aleutian Islands The Aleutian Islands ( ; ; , "land of the Aleuts"; possibly from the Chukchi language, Chukchi ''aliat'', or "island")—also called the Aleut Islands, Aleutic Islands, or, before Alaska Purchase, 1867, the Catherine Archipelago—are a chain ...
until 7 July. After a refit at
Yokosuka Naval Arsenal was one of four principal naval shipyards owned and operated by the Imperial Japanese Navy, and was located at Yokosuka, Kanagawa, Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture on Tokyo Bay, south of Yokohama. History In 1866, the Tokugawa shogunate govern ...
from 14–30 July, ''Nachi'' was reassigned to the
IJN 5th Fleet The was a fleet of the Imperial Japanese Navy, active during the early portions of the Second Sino-Japanese War, and again in World War II, primarily in the Aleutian campaign, during which it was augmented and designated the Northern Area Force. ...
with and . She continued patrols of the Kurile Islands though March 1943, and was sent as an escort for a reinforcement convoy to Attu from 7–10 March. While escorting another convoy towards Attu on 26 March, ''Nachi'' spotted an American force consisting of the cruisers and and destroyers , , , and . Vice Admiral Hosogaya had the cruisers , ''Tama'', and , in addition to two destroyers. However, ''Maya'' was not carrying any aircraft, and ''Nachi'' had left one of her three planes behind for repairs. Hosogaya ordered ''Nachi''s aircraft to launch, but before they did so, he also ordered that the cruiser's main battery open fire. The aircraft on the starboard catapult was damaged by the blast and had to be jettisoned. The remaining aircraft launched and provided reconnaissance during the subsequent
Battle of the Komandorski Islands A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...
. ''Nachi'' launched her Type 93 "Long Lance" torpedoes at the American task force, but failed to hit. In a four-hour gun battle, the Japanese fleet damaged ''Salt Lake City'' and ''Bailey'', but five shells hit ''Nachi'', killing 14 crewmen, and ''Maya'' suffered damage to her number-one gun turret. Hosogaya abandoned the attempt to reinforce Attu, and was relieved of command in disgrace. ''Nachi'' was then repaired at Yokosuka, with eight Type 96 AA guns installed, returning to
Paramushiro Paramushir (, , ) is a volcanic island in the northern portion of the Kuril Islands chain in the Sea of Okhotsk in the northwest Pacific Ocean. It is separated from Shumshu by the very narrow Second Kuril Strait in the northeast , from Antsifer ...
on 15 May, and then returning to Kiska from 10–15 July to evacuate the Japanese garrison. On 6 September, after departing Ōminato, ''Nachi'' was attacked by the
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 ...
, which fired four torpedoes, two of which struck ''Nachi'' in her starboard side, but the torpedoes were duds and damage was minimal. ''Nachi'' remained based at Ōminato through July 1944.


Operations in the Philippines and sinking

''Nachi'' was reassigned to
Kure Naval District was the second of four main administrative districts of the pre-war Imperial Japanese Navy. Its territory included the Inland Sea of Japan and the Pacific coasts of southern Honshū from Wakayama to Yamaguchi prefectures, eastern and northern K ...
from 31 July 1944 and spent the month of August in training. Her antiaircraft defenses were updated with an additional two twin-mount and 20 single-mount Type 96 25-mm autocannon, bringing her final total to 48 barrels in September. In October 1944, she was sent to the Philippines as part of a cruiser force under the command of Vice Admiral
Kiyohide Shima was an admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II. Biography A native of Miyazaki prefecture, Shima was a graduate of the 39th class of the Imperial Japanese Naval Academy in 1911, ranking 69th out of 148 cadets. As a midship ...
. During the
Battle of Leyte Gulf The Battle of Leyte Gulf () 23–26 October 1944, was the largest naval battle of World War II and by some criteria the largest naval battle in history, with over 200,000 naval personnel involved. By late 1944, Japan possessed fewer capital sh ...
from 24 October, ''Nachi'' and ''Ashigara'' were part of Vice Admiral
Shoji Nishimura A is a door, window or room divider used in traditional Japanese architecture, consisting of translucent (or transparent) sheets on a lattice frame. Where light transmission is not needed, the similar but opaque ''fusuma'' is used (/closet ...
’s force, which included the
battleship A battleship is a large, heavily naval armour, armored warship with a main battery consisting of large naval gun, guns, designed to serve as a capital ship. From their advent in the late 1880s, battleships were among the largest and most form ...
s , and the cruiser . On 25 October, after the Battle of Surigao Strait, ''Nachi'' and ''Mogami'' collided, resulting in severe damage to both vessels. ''Nachi'' was forced to retire to Manila to repair damage to her bow. While under repair at Manila on 29 October, ''Nachi'' and '' Kumano'' were attacked by aircraft from USN
Task Force 38 The Fast Carrier Task Force (TF 38 when assigned to Third Fleet, TF 58 when assigned to Fifth Fleet) was a group of ships in World War II. It was the main striking force of the United States Navy in the Pacific War from January 1944 through th ...
. ''Nachi'' was hit by a single bomb to her aircraft deck, and this, as well as strafing attacks, killed 53 crewmen and further delayed repairs. On 5 November, again in Manila Bay, ''Nachi'' was attacked by three waves of U.S. planes from the
aircraft carrier An aircraft carrier is a warship that serves as a seagoing airbase, equipped with a full-length flight deck and hangar facilities for supporting, arming, deploying and recovering carrier-based aircraft, shipborne aircraft. Typically it is the ...
s and . She escaped the first wave undamaged, but was hit by five bombs and two or three torpedoes in the second wave while attempting to get underway. During the third wave, ''Nachi'' was hit by five torpedoes in her port side, which severed her bow and stern, and by an additional 20 bombs and 16 rockets. ''Nachi''s flag commander, Vice Admiral
Kiyohide Shima was an admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II. Biography A native of Miyazaki prefecture, Shima was a graduate of the 39th class of the Imperial Japanese Naval Academy in 1911, ranking 69th out of 148 cadets. As a midship ...
, was ashore for a conference at the time of the attack, but arrived at dockside in time to see his flagship blown apart. The central portion of the vessel sank in of water about northeast of
Corregidor Corregidor (, , ) is an island located at the entrance of Manila Bay in the southwestern part of Luzon in the Philippines, and is considered part of Cavite City and thus the province of Cavite. It is located west of Manila, the nation's capi ...
(around ). The original wartime caption of a picture taken of the sinking ''Nachi'' by ''Lexington'' aircraft reads, Of the crew, 807 were lost, including the
captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...
, while 220 survived and were rescued by the destroyers and .


Wreck

In April and May 1945, divers from made 296 dives on the wreck, salvaging radar equipment, code books, and maps of Japanese fortifications on Luzon and other documents. John Prados, in his book, ''Combined Fleet Decoded'', writes that this was a major intelligence ''coup''. This is also verified by U.S. Navy Master Diver Joseph S. Karneke, who served as the master diver aboard ''Chanticleer'' while diving on the wreck of ''Nachi'', in his book, ''Navy Diver''.


References


Bibliography

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External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Nachi Myōkō-class cruisers Ships built by Kure Naval Arsenal 1927 ships Cruisers of the Imperial Japanese Navy Second Sino-Japanese War cruisers of Japan World War II cruisers of Japan Ships of the Aleutian Islands campaign Shipwrecks in Manila Bay Shipwrecks of the Philippines Cruisers sunk by aircraft Ships sunk by US aircraft Maritime incidents in November 1944