The attack on Yokosuka was an air raid conducted by the
United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
on 18 July 1945 during the last weeks of the
Pacific War
The Pacific War, sometimes called the Asia–Pacific War, was the theater of World War II that was fought in Asia, the Pacific Ocean, the Indian Ocean, and Oceania. It was geographically the largest theater of the war, including the vast ...
. The was the raid's main target, though anti-aircraft positions and other warships 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 prefecture on Tokyo Bay, south of Yokohama.
History
In 1866, the Tokugawa shogunate government established the ...
were also attacked. Other U.S. Navy and
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...
aircraft struck airfields in the
Tokyo
Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...
area.
While ''Nagato'' was only lightly damaged, the American aircraft sank a
destroyer
In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, manoeuvrable, long-endurance warship intended to escort
larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against powerful short range attackers. They were originally developed in ...
, a
submarine
A submarine (or sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability. The term is also sometimes used historically or colloquially to refer to remotely op ...
and two escort vessels and damaged five small vessels. The Allied pilots also claimed the destruction of several
locomotive
A locomotive or engine is a rail transport vehicle that provides the Power (physics), motive power for a train. If a locomotive is capable of carrying a payload, it is usually rather referred to as a multiple unit, Motor coach (rail), motor ...
s and 43 Japanese aircraft as well as damage to another 77 aircraft. Japanese anti-aircraft guns shot down twelve American and two British aircraft.
Background
During July 1945 the
U.S Third Fleet, which was led by Admiral
William Halsey
William Frederick "Bull" Halsey Jr. (October 30, 1882 – August 16, 1959) was an American United States Navy, Navy admiral during World War II. He is one of four officers to have attained the rank of five-star Fleet admiral (United States), f ...
, conducted a series of
air raids and
naval bombardments against targets in
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
. These attacks were made by the Third Fleet's striking force,
Task Force 38 (TF 38), which was commanded by Vice Admiral
John S. McCain and included nine fleet carriers, six light carriers and their escorts. Almost one thousand aircraft were embarked on board these carriers. On 10 July TF 38's aircraft struck airfields around Tokyo and claimed to have destroyed 340 Japanese aircraft on the ground and two in the air.
[Royal Navy (1995), p. 218] No Japanese aircraft responded to this attack as they were being held in reserve to mount large-scale suicide attacks on the Allied fleet
during the expected invasion of the country later in 1945. Following this raid, the Third Fleet conducted raids on Hokkaido and northern Honshu on 14 and 15 July which sank large numbers of ships and destroyed 25 aircraft on the ground. The American warships then sailed south and on 16 July were joined by the
British Pacific Fleet's (BPF's) main striking force, which was designated
Task Force 37
Task Force 37 (TF 37) was a United States Navy task force active during World War II. Task Force numbers were in constant use, and there were several incarnations of TF 37 during World War II. The British Pacific Fleet
The British Pacific Flee ...
(TF 37), and comprised three aircraft carriers and their escorts.
By July 1945 the
Imperial Japanese Navy's (IJN's) remaining large warships were unable to put to sea due to shortages of fuel and the dangers of attack from Allied aircraft and submarines. While most of these warships were anchored near the major naval base at
Kure
is a port and major shipbuilding city situated on the Seto Inland Sea in Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan. With a strong industrial and naval heritage, Kure hosts the second-oldest naval dockyard in Japan and remains an important base for the Japan M ...
and other locations in the
Seto Inland Sea
The , sometimes shortened to the Inland Sea, is the body of water separating Honshū, Shikoku, and Kyūshū, three of the four main islands of Japan. It serves as a waterway connecting the Pacific Ocean to the Sea of Japan. It connects to Osaka ...
, ''Nagato'' and several smaller warships were stationed 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 prefecture on Tokyo Bay, south of Yokohama.
History
In 1866, the Tokugawa shogunate government established the ...
in
Tokyo Bay
is a bay located in the southern Kantō region of Japan, and spans the coasts of Tokyo, Kanagawa Prefecture, and Chiba Prefecture. Tokyo Bay is connected to the Pacific Ocean by the Uraga Channel. The Tokyo Bay region is both the most populous a ...
.
[Tully (2003), "Nagato's Last Year: July 1945 – July 1946"] At this time the battleship was
moored
A mooring is any permanent structure to which a vessel may be secured. Examples include quays, wharfs, jetties, piers, anchor buoys, and mooring buoys. A ship is secured to a mooring to forestall free movement of the ship on the water. An ''an ...
alongside a pier facing northwest and covered in
camouflage
Camouflage is the use of any combination of materials, coloration, or illumination for concealment, either by making animals or objects hard to see, or by disguising them as something else. Examples include the leopard's spotted coat, the ...
that was intended to make her difficult for aircraft to spot. All of ''Nagato''s
secondary armament
Secondary armament is a term used to refer to smaller, faster-firing weapons that were typically effective at a shorter range than the main (heavy) weapons on military systems, including battleship- and cruiser-type warships, tanks/armored ...
and about half her
anti-aircraft guns
Anti-aircraft warfare, counter-air or air defence forces is the battlespace response to aerial warfare, defined by NATO as "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It includes surface based, ...
had been removed and emplaced on nearby hills from where they could provide protection to the naval base. Although the battleship's
boiler
A boiler is a closed vessel in which fluid (generally water) is heated. The fluid does not necessarily boil. The heated or vaporized fluid exits the boiler for use in various processes or heating applications, including water heating, central h ...
s were not lit, she received steam and power from the
submarine chaser
A submarine chaser or subchaser is a small naval vessel that is specifically intended for anti-submarine warfare. Many of the American submarine chasers used in World War I found their way to Allied nations by way of Lend-Lease in World War II.
...
''Fukugawa Maru No. 7'' and an auxiliary boiler located on the pier. The destroyer was also docked nearby in a position where she was able to protect the battleship with her 25 mm anti-aircraft guns.
''Nagato''s presence at Yokosuka was revealed to the Allies by photographs taken during the 10 July raid on the Tokyo area.
On 16 July Halsey and Vice Admiral
Bernard Rawlings, the commander of TF 37, met to plan raids on the Tokyo area. Halsey was determined to sink the remnants of the IJN, and placed a particularly strong emphasis on attacking ''Nagato'' as she had been Admiral
Isoroku Yamamoto's flagship during the
attack on Pearl Harbor
The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service upon the United States against the naval base at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii, j ...
in December 1941.
[Tillman (2010), p. 210] Due to the battleship's position within a well defended harbor, the Third Fleet's planners assessed that aircraft which attempted the straight and level flight needed to launch
torpedo
A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, and with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, su ...
es against her would suffer heavy losses, and so decided to use
dive bombing
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 throughou ...
tactics instead.
As the landward side of the naval base was mountainous, the approaches which could be used by dive bombers were limited.
Attack
On 17 July the American and British fleet attempted to strike the Yokosuka Naval Arsenal and other targets in the Tokyo area. While two waves of aircraft were dispatched, the attack was frustrated by heavy cloud over the region and further attacks were canceled. The aircraft which reached the Tokyo area struck airfields north of the city and caused little damage.
[Royal Navy (1995), p. 220] While the naval base was not attacked, it was overflown by an American
fighter and its defenders were readied to respond to attacks.
On the night of 17–18 July American and British warships bombarded the city of
Hitachi
() is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate corporation headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. It is the parent company of the Hitachi Group (''Hitachi Gurūpu'') and had formed part of the Ni ...
.
The next day, the Allied fleet sailed south looking for weather which was better suited to conducting flight operations. Conditions improved during the morning, and at 11:30 am the day's air strikes began to launch. The British aircraft of TF 37 were dispatched against airfields in the Tokyo area. The size of this attack was considerably reduced from what was planned, however, as the fuel system on board had become contaminated with water and the carrier could only launch six
Vought F4U Corsair
The Vought F4U Corsair is an American fighter aircraft which saw service primarily in World War II and the Korean War. Designed and initially manufactured by Chance Vought, the Corsair was soon in great demand; additional production contracts ...
fighters.
[Royal Navy (1995), p. 221] TF 38's main effort was directed against Yokosuka Naval Arsenal, with ''Nagato'' being designated the raid's primary target. A smaller number of American aircraft were also dispatched to raid Japanese air fields.
[Hoyt (1982), p. 55]
The attack on Yokosuka began at about 3:30 pm on 18 July.
The first wave of American aircraft attacked the anti-aircraft batteries around the naval base, and succeeded in neutralizing them. Following this, the aircraft of
VF-88 attacked ''Nagato'' with bombs.
[Morison (1960), p. 316] A 500-pound
general-purpose bomb
A general-purpose bomb is an air-dropped bomb intended as a compromise between blast damage, penetration, and fragmentation in explosive effect. They are designed to be effective against enemy troops, vehicles, and buildings.
Characteristics ...
struck the battleship's
bridge
A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...
, killing her commanding officer, Rear Admiral
Otsuka Miki as well as the
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, o ...
and at least nine other men.
Another 500 pound bomb later struck ''Nagato'' and detonated near her officer's
mess
The mess (also called a mess deck aboard ships) is a designated area where military personnel socialize, eat and (in some cases) live. The term is also used to indicate the groups of military personnel who belong to separate messes, such as the o ...
, killing about 22 sailors and knocking out four 25 mm guns. The only other direct hit on the ship was made by a shell or rocket which did not explode. In addition, 60 bombs landed in the harbor near ''Nagato'', causing breaches to her
double hull
A double hull is a ship hull design and construction method where the bottom and sides of the ship have two complete layers of watertight hull surface: one outer layer forming the normal hull of the ship, and a second inner hull which is some dis ...
which let 2,000 tons of water into the ship. By the time the attack concluded at 4:10 pm, 35 of the battleship's 967 officers and men had been killed. The overall damage to the ship was later assessed as being light.
American aircraft also attacked several other ships docked at Yokosuka. The unfinished ''Yaezakura'' broke in two and sank after being bombed, and the submarine was destroyed by another bomb; at the time the submarine's crew was ashore and did not suffer any fatalities.
Two escort vessels and a torpedo boat were also sunk.
In addition to these losses, five other ships, including the obsolete destroyer and training ships and , were damaged.
Despite their proximity to ''Nagato'', ''Fukugawa Maru No. 7'' and ''Ushio'' were not damaged.
The British and United States aircraft dispatched against airfields claimed to have destroyed 43 Japanese aircraft and damaged another 77. The pilots of these aircraft also claimed the destruction of several railway locomotives.
Allied losses in the attacks made on 18 July were 12 U.S. Navy aircraft, two Royal Navy aircraft and 18 aircrew.
The Allied pilots were disappointed they had not sunk ''Nagato''.
Aftermath
Following its attacks on the Tokyo Bay area on 18 July, the Allied fleet sailed away from Japan to be refueled. Its next attacks were made against the main body of the IJN in Kure and the Inland Sea
on 24, 25 and 28 July. These raids sank three battleships, an aircraft carrier and several other warships but cost the Allies 133 aircraft and 102 aircrew killed. The Third Fleet and elements of the BPF continued strikes against targets in Japan until the
end of the war on 15 August 1945.
[Morison (1960), pp. 331–335]
After the attack on Yokosuka, the ''Nagato''s crew removed all casualties from the ship and conducted limited repairs. Some of the ship's
ballast tank
A ballast tank is a compartment within a boat, ship or other floating structure that holds water, which is used as ballast to provide hydrostatic stability for a vessel, to reduce or control buoyancy, as in a submarine, to correct trim or list, ...
s were also flooded to give the impression that she had been sunk. During the early hours of 2 August ''Nagato'' was ordered to put to sea to intercept an Allied force. However, this sortie was canceled before she had completed preparations to leave port as the report of Allied ships was determined to be false.
At the time of the
surrender of Japan
The surrender of the Empire of Japan in World War II was announced by Emperor Hirohito on 15 August and formally signed on 2 September 1945, bringing the war's hostilities to a close. By the end of July 1945, the Imperial Japanese Navy ...
on 15 August 1945 ''Nagato'' was the only IJN battleship still afloat.
On 30 August the ship was surrendered to the U.S. Navy. She was one of the target ships for the two
atomic bomb
A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission (fission bomb) or a combination of fission and fusion reactions (thermonuclear bomb), producing a nuclear explosion. Both bomb ...
tests conducted at
Bikini Atoll
Bikini Atoll ( or ; Marshallese: , , meaning "coconut place"), sometimes known as Eschscholtz Atoll between the 1800s and 1946 is a coral reef in the Marshall Islands consisting of 23 islands surrounding a central lagoon. After the Second ...
on 1 and 28 July 1946 during
Operation Crossroads
Operation Crossroads was a pair of nuclear weapon tests conducted by the United States at Bikini Atoll in mid-1946. They were the first nuclear weapon tests since Trinity in July 1945, and the first detonations of nuclear devices since the ...
, and sank there during the night of 29–30 July.
References
Bibliography
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Yokosuka, attack on
1945 in Japan
Japan campaign
Naval battles of World War II involving Japan
Naval battles of World War II involving the United States
Yokosuka
is a city in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan.
, the city has a population of 409,478, 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 ...
Yokosuka, Kanagawa
Naval aviation operations and battles
July 1945 events in Asia