Action Of 8 June 1945

The action of 8 June 1945, sometimes called the Sinking of ''Ashigara'' was a naval action that resulted in the sinking of the heavy cruiser of the Imperial Japanese Navy by the British Royal Navy submarine . ''Ashigara'' was transporting Japanese troops from Dutch East Indies for the defence of Singapore, and the sinking resulted in a heavy loss of life.

Background

''Ashigara'' departed Batavia (present-day Jakarta) on 7 June 1945 for Singapore with 1,600 troops and 480 tons of supplies on board to reinforce the defence of that city. She was escorted by the destroyer , which had survived the Japanese defeat in the Malacca Strait. Their planned route was north from Batavia, then NNW through the Bangka Strait between Sumatra and Bangka Island, then north to Singapore.

The U.S. Navy submarine USS ''Blueback'' observed their departure but was unable to maneuver into an attack position. ''Bluebacks contact report was passed on to HMS ''Trenchant'', under the command of Cdr Arthur Hezlet. In company with the submarine (Lt G. C. Clarabut), ''Trenchant'' took up position on the northern approaches of Bangka Strait - ''Trenchant'' just inside the strait, south of Hendrik Klippen Shoal, while ''Stygian'' patrolled north of the shoal. Both submarines were on the surface. To get into position, ''Trenchant'' had to negotiate a minefield laid earlier by the Royal Netherlands Navy submarine HNLMS ''O 19''.

The action

On 8 June 1945 at 0423, ''Kamikaze'' was spotted by ''Trenchant'', which in turn was spotted by the Japanese destroyer at 0436. ''Kamikaze'' began firing her guns at ''Trenchant'', and the submarine fired a single torpedo from her stern tubes; however, both ships missed each other and also lost contact. ''Trenchant'' immediately sent a contact report to ''Stygian'', reporting that she had been detected by the destroyer, then changed position to east of the shoal and dived at 0702. Hezlet spotted ''Kamikaze'' again at 0955 heading north, but disappearing from sight at 1030.

''Stygian'' saw star shells fired by ''Kamikaze'' at 0439 during the short engagement with ''Trenchant'', and also received the contact report. She remained north of the shoal, judging correctly that ''Trenchant'' was clear of the enemy, since there was no further gunfire, and no depth charge detonations had been heard, then dived at 0722. At 1015 she spotted ''Kamikaze'' heading north, along with patrolling Japanese aircraft. At 1050, after ''Kamikaze'' changed course back to the south, ''Stygian'' fired two torpedoes at her at a range of , but the destroyer spotted the torpedo tracks and took evasive action, causing both torpedoes to miss. ''Kamikaze'' counterattacked the submarine with depth charges, causing minor damage to ''Stygian'', but then lost contact, with depth-charge explosions becoming more and more distant.

Aboard ''Trenchant'', Hezlet now spotted the masts and upper works of ''Ashigara'' through his periscope at 1148, bearing 177 degrees at a range of , heading northwest on a course of 330 degrees at a speed of . ''Trenchant'' did not close the range, assuming that ''Ashigara'' would come closer to her by taking the more open water east of the shoal (closer to Bangka Island), but instead the heavy cruiser chose to pass through the very restricted water west of the shoal, closer to the Sumatra coast. It soon became clear to Hezlet that he could not reach a firing position closer to ''Ashigara'' than , almost at the maximum range of his torpedoes.Compton-Hall pg 112

At such a distance, Hezlet had to quickly make precise calculations before his chance of an attack disappeared. At 1209 ''Trenchant'' fired a full bow salvo of eight torpedoes from abaft the cruiser's starboard beam at a range of aimed individually from a quarter of length ahead to a quarter of a length astern. Because of the Sumatran shoreline to port ''Ashigara'' could only change course to starboard 20 degrees and increased speed to in an attempt to comb the torpedo tracks. However, this was not enough to evade the attack, and after three minutes five torpedoes struck ''Ashigara'' on the starboard side, causing severe damage and setting her on fire. ''Trenchant''s company queued to view through the search periscope, but the periscope attracted fire from ''Ashigaras anti-aircraft guns. Hezlet then turned ''Trenchant'' to bring her stern tubes to bear and fired two more torpedoes at 1224, but missed. Torpedoes fired by ''Ashigara'' at ''Trenchant''s periscope missed, but a fire caused by the first hits had spread rapidly through ''Ashigara'' causing a huge pall of smoke to obscure Hezlet's view.

''Kamikaze'' had returned to the area and dropped three patterns of depth charges, but these were no closer than from ''Trenchant''. ''Ashigara'' capsized to starboard at 1239, and ''Kamikaze'' picked up survivors, assisted by two local vessels. ''Trenchant'' remained submerged and escaped to the north of Bangka Strait, returning to Subic Bay, Philippines on 20 June 1945, followed by ''Stygian'' on 27 June 1945.

Aftermath

Losses in the sinking were heavy; out of 1,600 troops, only 400 were saved, while 850 of her crew were rescued, including Captain Miura. ''Ashigara'' had been the last remaining major Japanese warship in the area after the cruiser was sunk the previous month by British destroyers. After her sinking, the 10th Area Fleet based out of Singapore was left with ''Kamikaze'' as its only significant surface ship.Jackson p 302

The sinking of ''Ashigara'' earned Hezlet a bar to his DSO and the U.S. Legion of Merit. HMS ''Trenchant'' flew the Jolly Roger as a tribute to her success when she reached her base at Trincomalee. Tactically it was one of the most brilliant submarine attacks of the war in terms of range.

See also

* List by death toll of ships sunk by submarines

References

Citations

Bibliography

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External links

British submarines of World War II , HMS Trenchant







sci.military.naval › Sinking of Japanese cruiser Ashigara

{{DEFAULTSORT:Action of 1945 06 08
Conflicts in 1945
Maritime incidents in June 1945
World War II naval operations and battles of the Southeast Asia Theatre
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Naval battles of World War II involving Japan
Java Sea
Submarine warfare in World War II
June 1945 events in Asia