The action of 11 January 1944 was a minor naval action that resulted in the sinking of the light cruiser of the Imperial Japanese Navy by the British Royal Navy submarine . ''Kuma'' was being escorted by the destroyer about north-west of

Penang Penang ( ms, Pulau Pinang, is a Malaysian state located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia, by the Malacca Strait. It has two parts: Penang Island, where the capital city, George Town, is located, and Seberang Perai on the Malay ...

Malaya Malaya refers to a number of historical and current political entities related to what is currently Peninsular Malaysia in Southeast Asia: Political entities * British Malaya (1826–1957), a loose collection of the British colony of the Straits ...

. ''Tally-Ho'' was patrolling from her base at Trincomalee,

Ceylon Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

searching for Japanese vessels and on 9 January, sighted the Japanese light cruiser ''Kuma'' off Penang. ''Kuma'' was on anti-submarine warfare exercises. She was flanked by destroyers and ''Tally-Ho'' could not get within range. She was able to plot the Japanese's 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 Captain Leslie William Abel Bennington DSO & Bar, DSC & Two Bars (20 February 1912 – 24 June 1981) was a British Royal Navy officer, who was highly decorated for his actions as a submarine commander during the Second World War. Early life Be ...

, 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 sighted the masts of the cruiser on the port bow. ''Kuma'' had a destroyer—''Uranami''—as an escort. Whilst north west of Penang, at midday, Bennington fired a seven- torpedo salvo from . ''Kumas''s lookouts soon spotted the torpedoes' wakes, and Captain 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'' counterattacked 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 own depth charges detonated. ''Uranami'' then picked up the survivors, including Captain Sugino, while 138 crewmen were lost.Trenowden pg 105 After his success, Bennington managed to slip away and returned to Trincomalee.

References

;Citations ;Bibliography * * * * * ;External links
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 events