Japanese Cruiser Natori

was a light cruiser in the Imperial Japanese Navy. The ship was named after the Natori River in Miyagi prefecture, Japan. ''Natori'' was the third vessel completed in the ''Nagara'' class of light cruisers. Like other vessels of her class, she was intended for use as the flagship of a destroyer flotilla.

Construction and career

Early career

''Natori'' was completed at Mitsubishi's Nagasaki shipyard on 15 September 1922. Soon after commissioning, ''Natori'' was assigned to patrols off the China coast. From 1938, the cruiser was based in Taiwan, and helped cover the landings of Japanese troops in southern China.

In 1940, a border dispute between Siam and French Indochina erupted into armed conflict. A Japanese-sponsored "Conference for the Cessation of Hostilities" was held at Saigon and preliminary documents for a cease-fire between the governments of General Philippe Pétain's Vichy France and the Kingdom of Siam were signed aboard ''Natori'' on January 31, 1941.

Early stages of the Pacific War

On 26 November 1941, ''Natori'' became flagship of Rear Admiral Kenzaburo Hara's Destroyer Squadron 5 under Vice Admiral Ibo Takahashi's Third Fleet and was assigned to the No.1 Surprise Attack Unit of the Philippine Seizure Force. At the time of the attack on Pearl Harbor, ''Natori'' was escorting six transports carrying elements of the IJA's 48th Infantry Division from Mako, Pescadores to Aparri, northern Luzon. The landing force was attacked by three USAAF B-17 Flying Fortress bombers of the 14th Squadron on 10 December 1941, which damaged ''Natori'' and the escorting destroyer with near misses. After repairs at Mako, ''Natori'' ferried 27 transports with the 47th Infantry Regiment of the 48th Infantry Division and the 4th Tank Regiment to Lingayen Gulf in late December.

On 26 December 1941, ''Natori'' was reassigned to the No. 2 Escort Unit with the light cruiser , and tasked with escorting 43 transports of the Third Malaya Convoy to Singora.

Battle of the Sunda Strait

''Natori'' was later assigned escort duties to cover the invasion force for the Dutch East Indies, and participated in the Battle of Sunda Strait on 28 February 1942.

''Natori'' with Destroyer Division 5's , Destroyer Division 11's , , Destroyer Division 12's and and Destroyer Division 27's with Cruiser Division 7's and deployed north and west of the landing areas. The heavy cruiser and the light cruiser sortied for Tjilatjap via the Sunda Strait and attacked Japanese troop transports screened only by , and . The destroyers made smoke to mask the transports. ''Fubuki'' charged ''Houston'' and ''Perth'' and launched torpedoes.

At 2300, the Third Escort Force's ''Natori'' and her destroyers arrived with the Western Support Force's ''Mogami'', ''Mikuma'' and . ''Shiratsuyu'' opened fire on the Allies. ''Natori'', with ''Hatsuyuki'' and ''Shirayuki'', then opened fire and rapidly closed the range. At 2308, the Allied cruisers turned northeast and ''Natori'' and her destroyers headed southeast in three columns. Between 2310 and 2319 they launched 28 torpedoes at the Allies. ''Perth''s gunfire damaged ''Harukaze''s rudder and ''Shirayuki''s bridge.

At 2319, ''Mikuma'' and ''Mogami'' each fired six Type 93 "Long Lance" torpedoes at ''Perth'' from about and opened main battery fire from about , assisted by searchlights on their destroyers. At 2327, ''Mogami'' fired six Long Lances at ''Houston''. They missed, but hit the Army transports ''Sakura Maru'', ''Horai Maru'', ''Tatsuno Maru'' and the Commander-in-Chief of the invading Japanese 16th Army, Lieutenant General Hitoshi Imamura's transport ''Ryujo Maru''.

At 2326, ''Harukaze'' and ''Hatakaze'' launched torpedoes. At 2330, ''Shirakumo'' and ''Murakumo'' also launched torpedoes. Altogether, the Japanese launched about 90 torpedoes in the engagement. ''Perth'', low on ammunition, was making when the first torpedo hit her forward engine room. Two more torpedoes hit her forward magazine and aft under "X" turret, and she sank east-northeast of St. Nicholas Point at after a fourth torpedo hit. At 0045, ''Houston'' sank at .

On 10 March 1942, ''Natori'' was assigned to Cruiser Division 16 with the light cruiser . After the occupation of Java, ''Natori'' participated in the Battle of Christmas Island. At Christmas Island on 1 April 1942 the submarine fired three torpedoes at ''Natori'', but all missed. The cruiser which was hit starboard near her No. 1 boiler was not so lucky, and had to be towed back to Bantam Bay by ''Natori''.

In April, ''Natori'' was assigned to patrols of the Java Sea, which continued into June. After a refit back at Maizuru, ''Natori'' returned to the Java Sea and Timor Sea until December, with occasional calls at Mergui in Burma, Penang, Singapore and Davao.

On 21 December 1942, ''Natori'' embarked a Special Naval Landing Force, which it disembarked at Hollandia, New Guinea.

On 9 January 1943, southeast of Ambon, ''Natori'' was sighted by the submarine at about . ''Tautog'' fired two torpedoes which hit ''Natori'' in the stern. It broke off and carried away her rudder. In the next few minutes, as ''Natori'' got underway at reduced speed, ''Tautog'' fired two more torpedoes, but they either missed or were duds and ''Natori'' managed to escape.

Refitting

On 21 January 1943, while at Ambon, ''Natori'' was damaged by a near-miss starboard side by a bomb dropped by a Consolidated Aircraft B-24 Liberator bomber of the 90th Bomb Group's 319th Bomb Squadron. The bomb opened plates and caused the No. 2 boiler room to flood. ''Natori'' departed Ambon that day for repairs at Makassar, but repair proved impossible, so ''Natori'' continued on to Seletar Naval Base, Singapore. Repairs were not completed until 24 May 1943, but by then a decision was made to send ''Natori'' back to Japan for further repairs and modernization

At Maizuru Naval Arsenal, ''Natori''s No. 5 and No. 7 140 mm guns were removed as were her catapult and derrick. A twin Type 89 127 mm HA gun was fitted, as were two triple mount Type 96 25 mm AA guns. This brought ''Natori''s 25 mm AA suite to fourteen barrels (2×3, 2×2, 4×1). A Type 21 air-search radar was fitted and hydrophones were installed at her bow. Repairs and modernization were completed on 1 April 1944, and ''Natori'' was assigned as the flagship of the Central Pacific Fleet's Destroyer Squadron 3.

Actions in the Philippines

On 5 June 1944, ''Natori'' embarked an Imperial Japanese Army detachment from Kure to Davao, Mindanao where the cruiser disembarked the Army detachment and embarked other troops for Palau, arriving on 17 June 1944 (the day before the Battle of the Philippine Sea. ''Natori'' remained at Davao in late June through August as a guard ship.

On 20 July 1944, the submarine patrolling off Davao spotted ''Natori'' making , but was unable to gain a favorable firing position. ''Natori'' arrived in Palau 21 July 1944 to help evacuate 800 Japanese and Korean "comfort women" to Davao.

On 18 August 1944, east of Samar, ''Natori'' was accompanying the transport ''T.3'' to Palau when they were spotted by the submarine east of San Bernardino Strait. ''Hardhead'' identified the target as a battleship and closed for a surface attack. One torpedo of its first salvo of five Mark 23 torpedoes fired at hit ''Natori'' portside in a boiler room. She stopped dead in the water and was hit starboard amidships with one of a second salvo of four Mark 18 torpedoes.

At 0704, ''Natori'' sank at , taking 330 crewmen including Captain Kubota with her. The destroyers and rescued 194 survivors, and the submarine recovered four more survivors in a rubber raft. On 12 September 1944, almost a month after her sinking, the destroyer captured a lifeboat with another 44 survivors from ''Natori'' aboard.

According to survivor Matsunaga Ichirô, three cutters from Natori containing 180 survivors rowed 13 days from the site of the sinking to a Japanese torpedo-boat station located on the northeastern tip of Mindanao Island near Surigao.

''Natori'' was removed from the Navy List on 10 October 1944.

Notes

References

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Further reading

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* First-hand account of the sinking of the ''Natori'' by one of the surviving crew.
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External links

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* Tabular record
Imperial Japanese Navy Page: ''Natori'' history
(Retrieved 26 January 2007.)

{{DEFAULTSORT:Natori
1922 ships
Maritime incidents in August 1944
Nagara-class cruisers
Second Sino-Japanese War cruisers of Japan
Ships built by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries
Ships sunk by American submarines
World War II cruisers of Japan
World War II shipwrecks in the Philippine Sea