Japanese battleship Haruna
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was a warship 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, when it was dissolved following Japan's surrender ...
during :World War I and :World War II. Designed by the British naval engineer George Thurston and named after
Mount Haruna is a dormant stratovolcano in Gunma, eastern Honshū, Japan. Outline Mount Haruna started to form more than 300,000 years ago and the last known eruption was 550 AD. The volcano has a summit caldera containing the symmetrical cinder cone of ...
, she was the fourth and last
battlecruiser The battlecruiser (also written as battle cruiser or battle-cruiser) was a type of capital ship of the first half of the 20th century. These were similar in displacement, armament and cost to battleships, but differed in form and balance of attr ...
of the , amongst the most heavily armed ships in any navy when built.
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 o ...
in 1912 at the Kawasaki Shipyards in
Kobe Kobe ( , ; officially , ) is the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture Japan. With a population around 1.5 million, Kobe is Japan's seventh-largest city and the third-largest port city after Tokyo and Yokohama. It is located in Kansai region, whi ...
, ''Haruna'' was formally commissioned in 1915 on the same day as her sister ship, . ''Haruna'' patrolled off the Chinese coast during World War I. During gunnery drills in 1920, an explosion destroyed one of her guns, damaged the
gun turret A gun turret (or simply turret) is a mounting platform from which weapons can be fired that affords protection, visibility and ability to turn and aim. A modern gun turret is generally a rotatable weapon mount that houses the crew or mechanis ...
, and killed seven men. During her career, ''Haruna'' underwent two major reconstructions. Beginning in 1926, the Imperial Japanese Navy rebuilt her as a
battleship A battleship is a large armour, armored warship with a main artillery battery, battery consisting of large caliber guns. It dominated naval warfare in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The term ''battleship'' came into use in the late 1 ...
, strengthening her armor and improving her speed and power capabilities. In 1933, her superstructure was completely rebuilt, her speed was increased, and she was equipped with launch catapults for
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, m ...
s. Now fast enough to accompany Japan's growing carrier fleet, ''Haruna'' was reclassified as a
fast battleship A fast battleship was a battleship which emphasised speed without – in concept – undue compromise of either armor or armament. Most of the early World War I-era dreadnought battleships were typically built with low design speeds, s ...
. During the
Second Sino-Japanese War The Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945) or War of Resistance (Chinese term) was a military conflict that was primarily waged between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. The war made up the Chinese theater of the wider Pacific T ...
, ''Haruna'' transported
Imperial Japanese Army The was the official ground-based armed force of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945. It was controlled by the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff Office and the Ministry of the Army, both of which were nominally subordinate to the Emper ...
troops to mainland China before being redeployed to the 3rd Battleship Division in 1941. On the eve of the Japanese
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 ...
, she sailed as part of the Southern Force in preparation for the
Battle of Singapore The Fall of Singapore, also known as the Battle of Singapore,; ta, சிங்கப்பூரின் வீழ்ச்சி; ja, シンガポールの戦い took place in the South–East Asian theatre of the Pacific War. The Empire of ...
. ''Haruna'' fought in almost every major naval action of the Pacific Theater during World War II. She covered the Japanese landings in Malaya (in present-day Malaysia) and the
Dutch East Indies The Dutch East Indies, also known as the Netherlands East Indies ( nl, Nederlands(ch)-Indië; ), was a Dutch colony consisting of what is now Indonesia. It was formed from the nationalised trading posts of the Dutch East India Company, whic ...
(now Indonesia) in 1942 before engaging American forces at the
Battle of Midway The Battle of Midway was a major naval battle in the Pacific Theater of World War II that took place on 4–7 June 1942, six months after Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor and one month after the Battle of the Coral Sea. The U.S. Navy under ...
and during the
Guadalcanal Campaign The Guadalcanal campaign, also known as the Battle of Guadalcanal and codenamed Operation Watchtower by American forces, was a military campaign fought between 7 August 1942 and 9 February 1943 on and around the island of Guadalcanal in the ...
. Throughout 1943, ''Haruna'' primarily remained at Truk Lagoon (
Micronesia Micronesia (, ) is a subregion of Oceania, consisting of about 2,000 small islands in the western Pacific Ocean. It has a close shared cultural history with three other island regions: the Philippines to the west, Polynesia to the east, ...
), Kure Naval Base (near
Hiroshima is the capital of Hiroshima Prefecture in Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 1,199,391. The gross domestic product (GDP) in Greater Hiroshima, Hiroshima Urban Employment Area, was US$61.3 billion as of 2010. Kazumi Matsui ...
),
Sasebo Naval Base U.S. Fleet Activities Sasebo is a United States Navy base, in Sasebo, Japan, on the island of Kyūshū. It provides facilities for the logistic support of forward-deployed units and visiting operating forces of the United States Pacific Fleet a ...
(near
Nagasaki is the capital and the largest city of Nagasaki Prefecture on the island of Kyushu in Japan. It became the sole port used for trade with the Portuguese and Dutch during the 16th through 19th centuries. The Hidden Christian Sites in the ...
), and the Lingga Islands (in present-day Indonesia), and deployed on several occasions in response to American carrier airstrikes on Japanese island bases. ''Haruna'' participated in the
Battle of the Philippine Sea The Battle of the Philippine Sea (June 19–20, 1944) was a major naval battle of World War II that eliminated the Imperial Japanese Navy's ability to conduct large-scale carrier actions. It took place during the United States' amphibious invas ...
and the
Battle of Leyte Gulf The Battle of Leyte Gulf ( fil, Labanan sa golpo ng Leyte, lit=Battle of Leyte gulf; ) 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. It was fo ...
in 1944, engaging American vessels in the latter. In 1945, ''Haruna'' was transferred to Kure Naval Base, where she was sunk by aircraft of
Task Force 38 The Fast Carrier Task Force (TF 38 when assigned to Third Fleet, TF 58 when assigned to Fifth Fleet), was the main striking force of the United States Navy in the Pacific War from January 1944 through the end of the war in August 1945. The tas ...
on 28 July 1945.


Design and construction

''Haruna'' was the fourth and last 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, when it was dissolved following Japan's surrender ...
's ''Kongō''-class
battlecruiser The battlecruiser (also written as battle cruiser or battle-cruiser) was a type of capital ship of the first half of the 20th century. These were similar in displacement, armament and cost to battleships, but differed in form and balance of attr ...
s, a line of
capital ship The capital ships of a navy are its most important warships; they are generally the larger ships when compared to other warships in their respective fleet. A capital ship is generally a leading or a primary ship in a naval fleet. Strategic im ...
s designed by the British naval engineer George Thurston. The class was ordered in 1910 in the Japanese Emergency Naval Expansion Bill after the commissioning of in 1908. The four battlecruisers of the ''Kongo'' class were designed to match the naval capabilities of the other major powers at the time; they have been called the battlecruiser versions of the British (formerly Turkish) battleship .Jackson (2008), p. 27.Gardiner and Gray (1980), p. 234. Their heavy armament and armor protection (which contributed 23.3 percent of their displacement) were greatly superior to those of any other Japanese capital ship afloat at the time. The
keel The keel is the bottom-most longitudinal structural element on a vessel. On some sailboats, it may have a hydrodynamic and counterbalancing purpose, as well. As the laying down of the keel is the initial step in the construction of a ship, in Br ...
of ''Haruna'' was laid down at
Kobe Kobe ( , ; officially , ) is the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture Japan. With a population around 1.5 million, Kobe is Japan's seventh-largest city and the third-largest port city after Tokyo and Yokohama. It is located in Kansai region, whi ...
by Kawasaki on 16 March 1912, with most of the parts used in her construction manufactured in Japan. Due to a shortage of available
slipway A slipway, also known as boat ramp or launch or boat deployer, is a ramp on the shore by which ships or boats can be moved to and from the water. They are used for building and repairing ships and boats, and for launching and retrieving small ...
s, ''Haruna'' and her sister ship were the first two capital ships of the Imperial Japanese Navy to be built in private shipyards. Launched on 14 December 1913, ''Haruna''s
fitting-out Fitting out, or outfitting, is the process in shipbuilding that follows the float-out/launching of a vessel and precedes sea trials. It is the period when all the remaining construction of the ship is completed and readied for delivery to her o ...
began in early 1914. She was completed on 19 April 1915.


Armament

''Haruna''s main battery consisted of eight heavy-caliber main guns in four twin turrets (two forward, two aft). The turrets were noted by the U.S. Office of Naval Intelligence to be "similar to the British 15-inch turrets", with improvements made in flash-tightness. Each of her main guns could fire high-explosive or armor-piercing shells a maximum of at a firing rate of two shells per minute. In keeping with the Japanese doctrine of deploying more powerful vessels before their opponents, ''Haruna'' and her sister ships were the first vessels in the world equipped with guns.Jackson (2000), p. 48. The main guns carried ammunition for 90 salvoes, and had an approximate barrel life of 250 to 280 rounds. In 1941, separate dyes (used to distinguish between shells fired from multiple ships) were introduced for the armor-piercing shells of the four ''Kongo''-class battleships, with ''Haruna''s armor-piercing shells using black dye. Her
secondary battery A rechargeable battery, storage battery, or secondary cell (formally a type of energy accumulator), is a type of electrical battery which can be charged, discharged into a load, and recharged many times, as opposed to a disposable or pri ...
was originally sixteen 50-caliber medium guns in single
casemate A casemate is a fortified gun emplacement or armored structure from which guns are fired, in a fortification, warship, or armoured fighting vehicle.Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary When referring to antiquity, the term "casemate wall" me ...
s (all located amidships), eight guns and eight submerged
torpedo tube A torpedo tube is a cylindrical device for launching torpedoes. There are two main types of torpedo tube: underwater tubes fitted to submarines and some surface ships, and deck-mounted units (also referred to as torpedo launchers) installed aboa ...
s. The six-inch guns could fire five to six rounds per minute, with a barrel life of 500 rounds. The 6"/50 caliber gun was capable of firing both anti-aircraft and anti-ship shells, though the positioning of the guns on ''Haruna'' made antiaircraft firing impractical. During her second reconstruction, the older 3-inch guns were removed and replaced with eight dual-purpose guns. These 5"/40 caliber guns could fire between 8 and 14 rounds per minute, with a barrel life of 800 to 1,500 rounds. The 5"/40 had the widest variety of shot types of ''Haruna''s guns, being designed to fire antiaircraft, antiship, and illumination shells. She was also armed with a large number of antiaircraft machine guns. In 1943, her secondary armament was reconfigured to eight guns, twelve guns, and finally by the end of 1944 one hundred and eight Type 96 antiaircraft
autocannon An autocannon, automatic cannon or machine cannon is a fully automatic gun that is capable of rapid-firing large-caliber ( or more) armour-piercing, explosive or incendiary shells, as opposed to the smaller-caliber kinetic projectiles (bul ...
in 30 triple and 18 single mounts.Stille, p. 16.


Operational history


1915–1926: Battlecruiser

On 19 April 1915, ''Haruna'' was formally commissioned at Kobe. On 13 December 1915, after eight months of trials, she was assigned to the 3rd Battleship Division of the 2nd Fleet. On 9 April 1916, she departed
Sasebo Naval Base U.S. Fleet Activities Sasebo is a United States Navy base, in Sasebo, Japan, on the island of Kyūshū. It provides facilities for the logistic support of forward-deployed units and visiting operating forces of the United States Pacific Fleet a ...
for operations in the
East China Sea The East China Sea is an arm of the Western Pacific Ocean, located directly offshore from East China. It covers an area of roughly . The sea’s northern extension between mainland China and the Korean Peninsula is the Yellow Sea, separated ...
, returning to Japan 10 days later. On 1 December 1916, Captain Saburo Hyakutake assumed command of ''Haruna'' until 15 September 1917, when Captain Naomi Taniguchi replaced him. On 1 December 1917, she was placed in reserve, as hostilities in the Pacific theatre of World War I concluded. On 12 September 1920, ''Haruna'' was involved in gunnery drills off
Hokkaidō is Japan, Japan's Japanese archipelago, second largest island and comprises the largest and northernmost Prefectures of Japan, prefecture, making up its own List of regions of Japan, region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō from Honshu; th ...
when a
breech Breech may refer to: * Breech (firearms), the opening at the rear of a gun barrel where the cartridge is inserted in a breech-loading weapon * breech, the lower part of a pulley block * breech, the penetration of a boiler where exhaust gases leave ...
explosion destroyed the starboard gun of the No. 1 turret, killing seven men and badly damaging the armored roof of the turret. A later investigation by the Imperial Japanese Navy concluded that a faulty fuse ignited the gunpowder bags in the breech, detonating the shell while still in the barrel. The turret was repaired 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 ...
, where the elevation of her 14-inch guns was also increased by seven degrees. Three months later, she was once again placed in reserve. With the conclusion of World War I and the signing of the
Washington Naval Treaty The Washington Naval Treaty, also known as the Five-Power Treaty, was a treaty signed during 1922 among the major Allies of World War I, which agreed to prevent an arms race by limiting naval construction. It was negotiated at the Washington Nav ...
, the size of the Imperial Japanese Navy was significantly lessened, with a ratio of 5:5:3 required between the capital ships of the United Kingdom, the United States, and Japan.Jackson (2000), p. 67. The treaty also banned Japan from building any new capital ships until 1931, with no capital ship permitted to exceed .Jackson (2000), p. 68. Provided that new additions did not exceed , existing capital ships were allowed to be upgraded with improved
anti-torpedo bulge The anti-torpedo bulge (also known as an anti-torpedo blister) is a form of defence against naval torpedoes occasionally employed in warship construction in the period between the First and Second World Wars. It involved fitting (or retrofittin ...
s and deck armor. By the time the Washington Treaty had been fully implemented in Japan, only three classes of World War I-era capital ships remained active: the s, the ''Kongō''-class battlecruisers, and one of the s ().


1926–1933: Reconstruction into battleship

Unable to construct new capital ships until 1931, Japan resorted to upgrading battleships and battlecruisers. In July 1926, ''Haruna'' became the first of Japan's vessels to undergo extensive modernization and modification, in drydock at Yokosuka Naval Arsenal. Over the next two years, her horizontal armor near her ammunition magazines was strengthened, and the machinery spaces within the hull were increased. Anti-torpedo bulges were added along the waterline, as permitted by the Washington Treaty. She was refitted to accommodate three Type 90 Model 0 floatplanes. To increase her speed and power capacities, all 36 Yarrow boilers were removed and replaced with 16 newer boilers, and Brown-Curtis direct-drive turbines were installed. ''Haruna''s forward funnel was removed, and her second funnel was enlarged and lengthened. The modifications to her hull increased her armor weight from 6,502 to 10,313 long tons, directly violating the terms of the Washington Treaty. In July 1928, ''Haruna''—now capable of speeds of —was reclassified as a battleship. Following new sea trials, ''Haruna'' was assigned on 10 December 1928 to the 4th Battleship Division of the 2nd Fleet as the Emperor's special ship.The Emperor's Special Ship was designated as his official means of naval transport throughout the Japanese Empire. For the next 12 months, she operated between Sasebo, Port Arthur, and the East China Sea. On 1 February 1929, Prince Takamatsu, the younger brother of
Emperor Hirohito Emperor , commonly known in English-speaking countries by his personal name , was the 124th emperor of Japan, ruling from 25 December 1926 until his death in 1989. Hirohito and his wife, Empress Kōjun, had two sons and five daughters; he was ...
, was assigned to the crew. On 20 November 1929, she was reassigned to the 1st Battleship Division. She was placed in reserve on 1 December 1930. On 22 April 1930, Japan signed the
London Naval Treaty The London Naval Treaty, officially the Treaty for the Limitation and Reduction of Naval Armament, was an agreement between the United Kingdom, Japan, France, Italy, and the United States that was signed on 22 April 1930. Seeking to address is ...
, placing further restrictions on her maritime forces. In addition to the scrapping of several older battleships, Japan would not be permitted to construct new capital ships until 1937.Jackson (2000), p. 72. After minor fitting-out work, her reconstruction begun in 1926 was declared complete on 1 October 1931. On 8 November 1931, she served as the Emperor's ship during his official visit to
Kumamoto prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyūshū. Kumamoto Prefecture has a population of 1,748,134 () and has a geographic area of . Kumamoto Prefecture borders Fukuoka Prefecture to the north, Ōita Prefecture to the northeast, M ...
. In September 1931, Japan invaded Manchuria. On 25 February 1933, based on the report by the Lytton Commission, the
League of Nations The League of Nations (french: link=no, Société des Nations ) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference th ...
agreed that Japan's invasion had violated Chinese sovereignty. Refusing to accept the organization's judgment, Japan withdrew from the League of Nations the same day. Immediately following, Japan also withdrew from the Washington and London Naval Treaties, thus removing all restrictions on the number and size of her capital ships. ''Haruna'' was reactivated and assigned to the 1st Battleship Division on 20 May 1933.


1933–1941: Fast battleship

On 1 August 1933, ''Haruna'' was drydocked at Kure Naval Arsenal in preparation for upgrades that would enable her to escort Japan's growing fleet of aircraft carriers. Her stern was lengthened by , and her bridge was completely reconstructed according to Japan's pagoda mast style of forward superstructure. Her 16 older boilers were removed and replaced with 11 oil-fired Kampon Boilers and newer geared turbines.
Catapults A catapult is a ballistic device used to launch a projectile a great distance without the aid of gunpowder or other propellants – particularly various types of ancient and medieval siege engines. A catapult uses the sudden release of store ...
and rails were added to support three Nakajima E8N or Kawanishi E7K reconnaissance and spotter
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, m ...
s.Stille, p. 18. ''Haruna''s armor was also extensively upgraded. Her main belt was strengthened to a uniform thickness of 8 inches (up from varying thicknesses of 6 to 8 inches), while diagonal bulkheads of depths ranging from now reinforced the main armored belt.McCurtie, p. 185. The turret armor was strengthened to , while were added to portions of the deck armor. Her ammunition magazine protection was also strengthened to . The reconstruction was finished on 30 September 1934. Capable of more than despite the significant increase in hull displacement, ''Haruna'' was now reclassified as a fast battleship. On 28 October 1935, Captain
Jisaburō Ozawa was an admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, va ...
assumed command of ''Haruna''. On 1 June 1936, she was assigned to the 3rd Battleship Division of the 1st Fleet. Throughout 1937, ''Haruna'' conducted extensive gunnery drills and patrols off the coast of China, primarily in the vicinity of
Tsingtao Qingdao (, also spelled Tsingtao; , Mandarin: ) is a major city in eastern Shandong Province. The city's name in Chinese characters literally means " azure island". Located on China's Yellow Sea coast, it is a major nodal city of the One Belt ...
. On 7 July 1937, Japan officially declared war on China, thus beginning the Sino-Japanese War. One month later, ''Haruna'' transported Japanese Army forces to mainland China in preparation for campaigns into
Chinese Nationalist Chinese nationalism () is a form of nationalism in the People's Republic of China (Mainland China) and the Republic of China on Taiwan which asserts that the Chinese people are a nation and promotes the cultural and national unity of all Chi ...
territory. On 1 December 1937, she was again placed in reserve. On 2 April 1940, she was transferred from Sasebo to Taiwan. She was redesignated as a "special service ship" on 15 November 1940, and five months later was attached to the 3rd Battleship Division of the 1st Fleet, based in Hashirajima.


1941–1942: Early war service

''Haruna'' and ''Kongō'' departed the
Hashirajima is an island in southern Hiroshima Bay of the Inland Sea, Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan. Located southeast of Iwakuni, it is part of the Kutsuna Islands within the Bōyo Islands group. The island covers and as of 2013 had a population of 184 r ...
fleet anchorage on 29 November 1941, to participate in the opening stage 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 vas ...
as part of the Southern (Malay) Force's Main Body, under the overall command of Vice-Admiral
Nobutake Kondō was an admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II. As commander of IJN 2nd Fleet, the Navy's principal detached force for independent operations, Kondō was regarded as second in importance only to Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto. Biog ...
.Stille, p. 19. On 4 December 1941, the Main Body arrived off the coast of Southern
Siam Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...
and Northern Malaya, in preparation for the invasion of Siam and the Malayan Peninsula four days later. When Britain's "Force Z"—consisting of the battleship and the battlecruiser —was quickly defeated by Japan's land-based and carrier aircraft, ''Haruna''s battlegroup withdrew from Malayan waters. The battlegroup subsequently sortied from Indochina for three days in mid-December to protect a reinforcement convoy traveling to Malaya and again on 18 December to cover the Army's landing at
Lingayen Gulf The Lingayen Gulf is a large gulf on northwestern Luzon in the Philippines, stretching . It is framed by the provinces of Pangasinan and La Union and sits between the Zambales Mountains and the Cordillera Central. The Agno River and the Balil ...
in the
Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...
. The Main Body departed
Cam Ranh Bay Cam Ranh Bay ( vi, Vịnh Cam Ranh) is a deep-water bay in Vietnam in Khánh Hòa Province. It is located at an inlet of the South China Sea situated on the southeastern coast of Vietnam, between Phan Rang and Nha Trang, approximately 290 kil ...
in
French Indochina French Indochina (previously spelled as French Indo-China),; vi, Đông Dương thuộc Pháp, , lit. 'East Ocean under French Control; km, ឥណ្ឌូចិនបារាំង, ; th, อินโดจีนฝรั่งเศส, ...
on 23 December bound for Taiwan, arriving two days later. On 11 December 1941, an erroneous report was published in the U.S. media that an American
B-17 The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress is a four-engined heavy bomber developed in the 1930s for the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC). Relatively fast and high-flying for a bomber of its era, the B-17 was used primarily in the European Theater ...
heavy bomber Heavy bombers are bomber aircraft capable of delivering the largest payload of air-to-ground weaponry (usually bombs) and longest range ( takeoff to landing) of their era. Archetypal heavy bombers have therefore usually been among the larg ...
had bombed and mortally damaged ''Haruna'' during battle off Lingayen Gulf off the Philippines. No Japanese battleships were present, and ''Haruna'' was away in the Gulf of Siam at the time. On 18 January 1942, Kondō's Main Force arrived in
Palau Palau,, officially the Republic of Palau and historically ''Belau'', ''Palaos'' or ''Pelew'', is an island country and microstate in the western Pacific. The nation has approximately 340 islands and connects the western chain of the ...
alongside two fast carriers, with the intention of covering Japan's invasion of
Borneo Borneo (; id, Kalimantan) is the third-largest island in the world and the largest in Asia. At the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, in relation to major Indonesian islands, it is located north of Java, west of Sulawesi, and e ...
and the Dutch East Indies. ''Haruna'', , and the fleet carriers and operated to the east of
Mindanao Mindanao ( ) ( Jawi: مينداناو) is the second-largest island in the Philippines, after Luzon, and seventh-most populous island in the world. Located in the southern region of the archipelago, the island is part of an island group of ...
until 18 February 1942, when the Main Body departed Palau in preparation for "Operation J", Japan's invasion of the Dutch East Indies. On 25 February, the 3rd Battleship Division provided cover for air attacks on
Java Java (; id, Jawa, ; jv, ꦗꦮ; su, ) is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea to the north. With a population of 151.6 million people, Java is the world's mo ...
. ''Haruna'' bombarded Christmas Island on 7 March 1942, then returned to
Staring-baai Staring-baai ( Dutch for Staring Bay) is a bay off the southeast peninsula of Sulawesi in Indonesia. It lies slightly southeast of Kendari, the provincial capital of South East Sulawesi, where it opens to the east onto the Banda Sea. During Wo ...
for 15 days of maintenance and rest. In April 1942, ''Haruna'' joined five fleet carriers in attacks on
Colombo Colombo ( ; si, කොළඹ, translit=Koḷam̆ba, ; ta, கொழும்பு, translit=Koḻumpu, ) is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. According to the Brookings Institution, Colombo me ...
in
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 ...
. Following the destruction of on 5 April 1942, ''Haruna'' was sent southwest to locate the remainder of the
British Eastern Fleet The East Indies Station was a formation and command of the British Royal Navy. Created in 1744 by the Admiralty, it was under the command of the Commander-in-Chief, East Indies. Even in official documents, the term ''East Indies Station'' was ...
, under the command of Admiral
James Somerville Admiral of the Fleet Sir James Fownes Somerville, (17 July 1882 – 19 March 1949) was a Royal Navy officer. He served in the First World War as fleet wireless officer for the Mediterranean Fleet where he was involved in providing naval suppo ...
.Boyle (1998), p. 370. On 9 April, one of her floatplanes spotted the carrier south of
Trincomalee Trincomalee (; ta, திருகோணமலை, translit=Tirukōṇamalai; si, ත්‍රිකුණාමළය, translit= Trikuṇāmaḷaya), also known as Gokanna and Gokarna, is the administrative headquarters of the Trincomalee Dis ...
; Japanese airstrikes sank the carrier the same day. Having crippled the offensive capability of Britain's Eastern Fleet, the 3rd Battleship Division returned to Japan on 23 April. ''Haruna'' was drydocked throughout May 1942 for general repairs and refits. On 29 May 1942, ''Haruna'' joined her sister ship as part of Vice-Admiral
Chūichi Nagumo Chūichi Nagumo (, ''Nagumo Chūichi''; 25 March 1887 – 6 July 1944) was an admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) during World War II. Nagumo led Japan's main carrier battle group, the '' Kido Butai'', in the attack on Pearl Harbor, ...
's carrier strike force during the
Battle of Midway The Battle of Midway was a major naval battle in the Pacific Theater of World War II that took place on 4–7 June 1942, six months after Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor and one month after the Battle of the Coral Sea. The U.S. Navy under ...
. On 4 June, she was attacked in multiple airstrikes by American
torpedo bomber A torpedo bomber is a military aircraft designed primarily to attack ships with aerial torpedoes. Torpedo bombers came into existence just before the First World War almost as soon as aircraft were built that were capable of carrying the weight ...
s, but she took no hits and succeeded in shooting down five American aircraft. On 5 June, she took on survivors from the four destroyed Japanese aircraft carriers before returning to Japan. She remained in Japan until September 1942, undergoing minor refits in August of that year. On 6 September, ''Haruna'' transferred to Truk Lagoon alongside the rest of the 3rd Battleship Division, and on 10 September the ship sortied as part of Admiral Kondō's 2nd Fleet into the
Solomon Islands Solomon Islands is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 900 smaller islands in Oceania, to the east of Papua New Guinea and north-west of Vanuatu. It has a land area of , and a population of approx. 700,000. Its capit ...
. On 20 September, the fleet was ordered to return to Truk. In the aftermath of the Battle of Cape Esperance, the Japanese Army opted to reinforce their positions on
Guadalcanal Guadalcanal (; indigenous name: ''Isatabu'') is the principal island in Guadalcanal Province of Solomon Islands, located in the south-western Pacific, northeast of Australia. It is the largest island in the Solomon Islands by area, and the se ...
. To protect their transport convoy from enemy air attack, Admiral Yamamoto sent ''Haruna'' and ''Kongō'', escorted by one light cruiser and nine destroyers, to bombard Henderson Field. Because of their high speed, the two battleships could bombard the field and withdraw before being subjected to air attack from aircraft carriers.Schom, p. 382. On the night of 13–14 October, the two battleships shelled Henderson Field from a distance of , firing 973 14-inch shells. In the most successful Japanese battleship action of the war, the bombardment heavily damaged both runways, destroyed almost all available aviation fuel, incapacitated 48 of the airfield's 90 aircraft, and killed 41 men. The Japanese troop convoy reached the island the next day. During the
Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands The Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands, fought during 25–27 October 1942, sometimes referred to as the Battle of Santa Cruz or Third Battle of Solomon Sea, in Japan as the Battle of the South Pacific ( ''Minamitaiheiyō kaisen''), was the fourt ...
on 26 October 1942, ''Haruna'' was attacked by a
PBY Catalina The Consolidated PBY Catalina is a flying boat and amphibious aircraft that was produced in the 1930s and 1940s. In Canadian service it was known as the Canso. It was one of the most widely used seaplanes of World War II. Catalinas served w ...
flying boat A flying boat is a type of fixed-winged seaplane with a hull, allowing it to land on water. It differs from a floatplane in that a flying boat's fuselage is purpose-designed for floatation and contains a hull, while floatplanes rely on fuselag ...
but received no damage. In mid-November, the battleship and other warships provided distant cover for the ultimately unsuccessful efforts to bombard Henderson Field again and land reinforcements on Guadalcanal. On 15 November 1942, following the Japanese defeat and loss of and during the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal, the 3rd Battleship Division returned to Truk, where it remained for the rest of 1942.


1943: Movement between bases

''Haruna'' engaged no enemy targets during 1943. In late January 1943, she participated in "Operation Ke", as part of a diversionary force and distant cover supporting Japanese destroyers that were evacuating personnel from Guadalcanal. During 15–20 February 1943, the 3rd Battleship Division transferred from Truk to Kure Naval Base. From 23 February to 31 March 1943, ''Haruna'' was drydocked in Kure Naval Arsenal for upgrades, receiving additional Type 96 antiaircraft guns and armor. On 17 May 1943, in response to the American invasion of Attu Island, ''Haruna'' sortied alongside , the 3rd Battleship Division, two fleet carriers, two cruisers and nine destroyers. Three days later, the submarine discovered the task group, but was unable to attack. On 22 May 1943, the task force arrived in Yokosuka, where it was joined by an additional three fleet carriers and two light cruisers; the force was disbanded when Attu fell before the necessary preparations were finished. Throughout June 1943, ''Haruna'' was refitted at Yokosuka. On 18 September 1943, ''Haruna'' left Truk as part of a counterattack force in response to American raids on the Brown Islands in Micronesia, but no contact was made and the ship returned to the base. On 17 October 1943, ''Haruna'' again left Truk as part of an even larger force—five battleships, three fleet carriers, eight heavy cruisers, three light cruisers and numerous destroyers—in response to American raids on Wake Island. When no contact was made the force returned to Truk on 26 October 1943. On 16 December 1943, she arrived at Sasebo for refits and inland-sea training.


1944: Final combat actions

On 25 January 1944, Captain Kazu Shigenaga assumed command of ''Haruna'' while the ship was stationed at Kure. The 3rd Battleship Division departed Kure on 8 March 1944. Arriving at Lingga on 14 March 1944, the division remained for training until 11 May 1944. On 11 May 1944, ''Haruna'' and Admiral Ozawa's Mobile Fleet departed Lingga for Tawi-Tawi, where they were joined by Vice-Admiral Takeo Kurita's "Force C". On 13 June, Ozawa's Mobile Fleet departed Tawitawi for the Mariana Islands. During the
Battle of the Philippine Sea The Battle of the Philippine Sea (June 19–20, 1944) was a major naval battle of World War II that eliminated the Imperial Japanese Navy's ability to conduct large-scale carrier actions. It took place during the United States' amphibious invas ...
, ''Haruna'' escorted Japanese fast carriers, and was hit by two armor-piercing bombs on 20 June 1944 from U.S. carrier aircraft. On 24 June, she was drydocked in Kure for repairs and refitting. In August 1944 she transferred to Lingga. In October 1944, ''Haruna'' departed Lingga in preparation for "Operation Sho-1", Japan's counterattack during the
Battle of Leyte Gulf The Battle of Leyte Gulf ( fil, Labanan sa golpo ng Leyte, lit=Battle of Leyte gulf; ) 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. It was fo ...
, the largest naval engagement in history. On 24 October, ''Haruna'' was lightly damaged by fragments from near misses by American carrier aircraft in the Battle of the Sibuyan Sea. On 25 October, during the Battle off Samar, ''Haruna''—as part of Admiral Kurita's Centre Force—engaged escort carriers and destroyers of the U.S. 7th Fleet's "Taffy 3". Her shells straddled (but did not hit) two American escort carriers, before she dodged torpedoes launched by American destroyers. After a fierce defensive action by the American ships, Admiral Kurita elected to withdraw, ending the battle. Following the Japanese Navy's defeat at Leyte Gulf, ''Haruna'' returned to Brunei and Lingga for repairs. On 22 November 1944, she ran aground on a coral reef near Lingga, suffering serious damage to her watertight compartments and forcing her to return to Sasebo, where the hull was patched and repaired. On 2 December 1944, while returning to Japan from Southeast Asia as part of a task group, she evaded torpedoes fired by an American submarine. On 9 December, three more American submarines intercepted the task group; , , and damaged the carrier and multiple destroyers with torpedoes. Unharmed, ''Haruna'' arrived at Sasebo the following day. At the end of 1944, she transferred to Kure for full repairs and upgrading, having survived a year in which four other Japanese battleships had been lost.


1945: Loss

On 1 January 1945, ''Haruna'' was removed from the deactivated 3rd Battleship Division and transferred to the 1st Battleship Division of the 2nd Fleet. On 10 February, ''Haruna'' was assigned to the Kure Naval District. On 19 March 1945, American carrier aircraft Attack on Kure (March 1945), attacked the remainder of the Japanese Navy at Kure. The base was defended by veteran Japanese fighter instructors flying Kawanishi N1K-J "Shiden" or "George" fighters, led by the man who planned 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 ...
, Minoru Genda. These fighter planes were superior in some respects to America's main fighter, the F6F Hellcat.Reynolds (1982), p. 160. They surprised the attackers, destroyed several American aircraft, and defended the base from the brunt of the attack.Reynolds (1968), p. 338. ''Haruna'' sustained light damage from a single bomb on the starboard side, and remained at Kure.Jackson (2000), p. 128. On 24 July 1945, the U.S. Navy's
Task Force 38 The Fast Carrier Task Force (TF 38 when assigned to Third Fleet, TF 58 when assigned to Fifth Fleet), was the main striking force of the United States Navy in the Pacific War from January 1944 through the end of the war in August 1945. The tas ...
began a series of Bombing of Kure (July 1945), aerial attacks on Kure Naval Base to destroy the last remnants of Japan's navy. The same day, the battleship was sunk,Jackson (2000), p. 129. and ''Haruna'' was hit by a single bomb which caused light damage. Four days later, she sustained eight bomb hits from Task Force 38's aircraft and sank at her moorings at 16:15. In two days of attacks, 65 officers and men of ''Haruna'' were killed. Her remnants were raised from the sea floor in 1946 and ship breaking, broken up over the course of two months.Stille, p. 20. File:Haruna under fitting-out works.jpg, alt=Haruna in the final phases of her construction, with her main guns being attached to the bow turrets, ''Haruna''s fitting-out at Kôbe in October 1914 File:U.S. Navy carrier aircraft attack the Japanese battleship Haruna near Kure, Japan, on 28 July 1945 (80-G-490226).jpg, alt=Haruna anchored near the shore, shortly after two aerial-dropped bombs narrowly missed her, ''Haruna'' at her moorings near Kure, Japan, under attack by U.S. Navy carrier aircraft, 28 July 1945 File:Japanese battleship Haruna under attack on 28 July 1945 (80-G-490224).jpg, under attack by U.S. Navy carrier aircraft, 28 July 1945 at close range. File:Japanese battleship Haruna sunk.jpg, alt=a heavily damaged Haruna, having sunk from the stern, several days after coming under attack at her moorings, ''Haruna'', sunken at her moorings after the attack of 28 July 1945


Explanatory notes


Citations


General references

* Boyle, David (1998). ''World War II in Photographs''. London. Rebo Productions. * Jackson, Robert (2000). ''The World's Great Battleships''. Brown Books. * Jackson, Robert (editor) (2008). ''101 Great Warships''. London: Amber Books. * * McCurtie, Francis (1989) [1945]. ''Jane's Fighting Ships of World War II''. London: Bracken Books. * * * Reynolds, Clark G (1982). ''The Carrier War''. Time-Life Books. * Schom, Alan (2004). ''The Eagle and the Rising Sun: The Japanese-American War, 1941–1943''. Norton & Company. * Steinberg, Rafael (1980) ''Return to the Philippines''. Time-Life Books Inc. * Stille, Cdr Mark (2008). ''Imperial Japanese Navy Battleships 1941–1945''. Oxford: Osprey Publishing. * Swanston, Alexander and Swanston, Malcolm (2007). ''The Historical Atlas of World War II''. London: Cartographica Press Ltd. * Willmott, H.P. and John Keegan, Keegan, John (2002) [1999]. ''The Second World War in the Far East''. Smithsonian Books. LCCN 2004049199.


External links


Wrecked at Kure

Aerial photography after war
{{DEFAULTSORT:Haruna 1913 ships Kongō-class battlecruisers Ships built by Kawasaki Heavy Industries Shipwrecks in the Inland Sea Second Sino-Japanese War naval ships of Japan World War II battleships of Japan World War II shipwrecks in the Pacific Ocean Battleships sunk by aircraft Maritime incidents in July 1945 Ships sunk by US aircraft