Japanese cruiser Ōyodo
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was a light cruiser built for 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 ...
(IJN) 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 vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, and was the only ship of her class completed before the end of the war. Designed to command submarine operations, she was obsolete upon completion in 1943. The ship was used as a transport and to escort the navy's
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 for the rest of the year. ''Ōyodo'' was lightly damaged by American aircraft in early January 1944 during one transport mission and returned home several months later to begin conversion to serve as the
flagship A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically the fi ...
of the Combined Fleet. The ship reverted to her previous roles when the headquarters of the Combined Fleet was moved ashore in September. The following month, she participated in the Battle off Cape Engaño, where she escorted the Japanese carriers attempting to decoy the American carrier fleet supporting the
invasion of Leyte An invasion is a military offensive in which large numbers of combatants of one geopolitical entity aggressively enter territory owned by another such entity, generally with the objective of either: conquering; liberating or re-establishing con ...
away from the landing beaches. Afterwards, the ship was transferred to
Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, south-eastern region of Asia, consistin ...
and engaged American forces in the Philippines in December where she was slightly damaged by American bombers. In early 1945, ''Ōyodo'' participated in
Operation Kita was conducted by the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) during the Pacific War in February 1945. Its purpose was to return two hybrid battleship-aircraft carriers and four escort ships to Japan from Singapore, where they had been based since Novembe ...
, during which she transported
aviation gasoline Avgas (aviation gasoline, also known as aviation spirit in the UK) is an aviation fuel used in aircraft with spark-ignited internal combustion engines. ''Avgas'' is distinguished from conventional gasoline (petrol) used in motor vehicles, whi ...
and other strategic materials back to Japan. The ship was damaged by American carrier aircraft in March and repairs were completed two months later. She was sunk with the loss of about 300 men during American airstrikes in July. After the war, ''Ōyodo'' was salvaged and
scrapped Scrap consists of recyclable materials, usually metals, left over from product manufacturing and consumption, such as parts of vehicles, building supplies, and surplus materials. Unlike waste, scrap has monetary value, especially recovered me ...
in 1947–1948.


Background

The IJN's concept of submarine warfare was to use long-range submarines in squadrons (''
sentai In Japanese, is a military unit and may be literally translated as "squadron", " task force", " division (of ships)", "group" or "wing". The terms "regiment" and "flotilla", while sometimes used as translations of ''sentai'', are also used to ...
'') to attack enemy units at extended ranges. These submarines would be coordinated by a cruiser, which would use reconnaissance aircraft to provide targeting information. Originally, it was intended that the s would be able to serve in this role, but they proved unsatisfactory. By the late 1930s, the Japanese Navy had defined the need for seven cruisers to support its seven submarine squadrons. Funding for the first two vessels was approved under the 1939 4th Replenishment Program, of which only one, ''Ōyodo'', was begun. Construction of the second ship, intended to be named ''Niyodo'', was suspended on 6 November 1941 because ''Ōyodo'' still occupied her intended slipway and was finally cancelled on 3 August 1942.


Design and description

''Ōyodo''s design was derived from that of the ''Agano''s. ''Ōyodo'' retained the same general hull design with a
flush deck Flush deck is a term in naval architecture. It can refer to any deck of a ship which is continuous from stem to stern. History The flush deck design originated with rice ships built in Bengal Subah, Mughal India (modern Bangladesh), resulting i ...
and bulbous bow, but her
superstructure A superstructure is an upward extension of an existing structure above a baseline. This term is applied to various kinds of physical structures such as buildings, bridges, or ships. Aboard ships and large boats On water craft, the superstruct ...
and armament differed to suit her different role.Lengerer, p. 102 ''Ōyodo'' had a length of overall, a
beam Beam may refer to: Streams of particles or energy *Light beam, or beam of light, a directional projection of light energy **Laser beam *Particle beam, a stream of charged or neutral particles **Charged particle beam, a spatially localized grou ...
of and a draft of . The ship displaced and had a metacentric height of at
deep load The displacement or displacement tonnage of a ship is its weight. As the term indicates, it is measured indirectly, using Archimedes' principle, by first calculating the volume of water displaced by the ship, then converting that value into wei ...
. Her crew numbered 33 officers and 532 enlisted men as completed. ''Ōyodo'' was powered by four geared
steam turbine A steam turbine is a machine that extracts thermal energy from pressurized steam and uses it to do mechanical work on a rotating output shaft. Its modern manifestation was invented by Charles Parsons in 1884. Fabrication of a modern steam turbin ...
sets, each driving a single three-bladed
propeller A propeller (colloquially often called a screw if on a ship or an airscrew if on an aircraft) is a device with a rotating hub and radiating blades that are set at a pitch to form a helical spiral which, when rotated, exerts linear thrust upon ...
, using steam provided by six Kampon
water-tube boiler A high pressure watertube boiler (also spelled water-tube and water tube) is a type of boiler in which water circulates in tubes heated externally by the fire. Fuel is burned inside the furnace, creating hot gas which boils water in the steam-gene ...
s that operated at a pressure of and a temperature of . The turbines were designed to produce for a speed of . The ship exceeded her designed speed during her
sea trial A sea trial is the testing phase of a watercraft (including boats, ships, and submarines). It is also referred to as a " shakedown cruise" by many naval personnel. It is usually the last phase of construction and takes place on open water, and ...
s reaching from . She stowed of
fuel oil Fuel oil is any of various fractions obtained from the distillation of petroleum (crude oil). Such oils include distillates (the lighter fractions) and residues (the heavier fractions). Fuel oils include heavy fuel oil, marine fuel oil (MFO), bun ...
, which gave her a range of at . ''Ōyodo'' had three
turbo generator A turbo generator is an electric generator connected to the shaft of a steam turbine or gas turbine for the generation of electric power. Large steam-powered turbo generators provide the majority of the world's electricity and are also used b ...
s of capacity and two diesel generators.


Armament and fire control

The ship's main battery comprised six 50-
caliber In guns, particularly firearms, caliber (or calibre; sometimes abbreviated as "cal") is the specified nominal internal diameter of the gun barrel Gauge (firearms) , bore – regardless of how or where the bore is measured and whether the f ...
155 mm (6.1 in) 3rd Year Type guns in two triple-
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 mechani ...
s
superfiring Superfiring armament is a naval military building technique in which two (or more) turrets are located in a line, one behind the other, with the second turret located above ("super") the one in front so that the second turret can fire over the ...
forward of the superstructure.Lengerer, p. 106 The gun was originally developed as a dual-purpose (anti-surface and
anti-aircraft 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, ...
) weapon for the ; when they had their triple 155 mm turrets replaced with twin 203 mm (8 in) turrets, the now-surplus turrets were mounted on ''Ōyodo'' (as well as the s). Their slow rate of fire of 5 rounds per minute and limited elevation (up to only 55 degrees) made them unsuitable for the anti-aircraft role. The guns fired shells at a
muzzle velocity Muzzle velocity is the speed of a projectile (bullet, pellet, slug, ball/shots or shell) with respect to the muzzle at the moment it leaves the end of a gun's barrel (i.e. the muzzle). Firearm muzzle velocities range from approximately to i ...
of to a maximum range of at +45 degrees of elevation. Each gun was provided with 150 rounds. ''Ōyodo''s heavy anti-aircraft battery consisted of eight 65-caliber 100 mm (3.9 in) Type 98 dual-purpose guns in four twin mounts. The mounts had a range of elevation from -10 degrees to +90 degrees and the guns had a muzzle velocity of with their projectiles. They had a range of and a height of at maximum elevation. The anti-aircraft armament was completed by eighteen 60-caliber Type 96 light AA guns in six triple mounts. Firing shells at a muzzle velocity of . These guns had an effective range of , and an effective ceiling of at an elevation of 85 degrees. The maximum effective rate of fire was only between 110 and 120 rounds per minute because of the frequent need to change the fifteen-round magazines. The ship was equipped with a director-control tower above the
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 ...
with a Type 94 gunnery
director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''Di ...
controlling the main armament. The director was fitted with a rangefinder and the upper gun turret mounted a rangefinder. The Type 98 10 cm guns were controlled by a pair of Type 94 directors positioned at the base of the bridge and the light AA guns were provided with three Type 95 directors, all on the forward superstructure.


Aircraft

Like the heavy cruisers, the ''Ōyodo''-class ships were intended to be scouting cruisers and hence the entire deck of the ship aft of the superstructure was devoted to aircraft facilities. The weight saved by not fitting
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 was invested instead in a
hangar A hangar is a building or structure designed to hold aircraft or spacecraft. Hangars are built of metal, wood, or concrete. The word ''hangar'' comes from Middle French ''hanghart'' ("enclosure near a house"), of Germanic origin, from Frankish ...
that could house four
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, ...
s, with two more stowed on deck, and a heavy-duty
catapult 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 stored p ...
that was necessary for the new
Kawanishi E15K The Kawanishi E15K ''Shiun'' (紫雲, " Violet Cloud") was a single-engined Japanese reconnaissance floatplane of World War II. The Allied reporting name for the type was "Norm" after Squadron Leader Norman O. Clappison of the RAAF, a member of ...
''Shiun'' floatplane ( Allied reporting name "Norm") that was intended to perform reconnaissance for the submarine flotilla in areas where the enemy had
air superiority Aerial supremacy (also air superiority) is the degree to which a side in a conflict holds control of air power over opposing forces. There are levels of control of the air in aerial warfare. Control of the air is the aerial equivalent of c ...
. To achieve this, the plane was designed with two retractable underwing stabilizing floats and a large central float that could be jettisoned to increase speed. However, the aircraft performed poorly and only fifteen were completed before it was canceled in February 1944. ''Ōyodo'' did carry two or three Aichi E13A "Jake"
reconnaissance In military operations, reconnaissance or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enemy forces, terrain, and other activities. Examples of reconnaissance include patrolling by troops (skirmisher ...
floatplanes during her career.


Protection

The ship's armor was designed to protect against 155 mm shells and bombs dropped from an altitude of . It had a waterline belt had a maximum thickness of of copper alloy
homogeneous armor Rolled homogeneous armour (RHA) is a type of vehicle armour made of a single steel composition hot-rolled to improve its material characteristics, as opposed to layered or cemented armour. Its first common application was in tanks. After World ...
that protected the propulsion machinery and the bomb
magazine A magazine is a periodical publication, generally published on a regular schedule (often weekly or monthly), containing a variety of content. They are generally financed by advertising, purchase price, prepaid subscriptions, or by a combinatio ...
; it extended above the
waterline The waterline is the line where the hull of a ship meets the surface of the water. Specifically, it is also the name of a special marking, also known as an international load line, Plimsoll line and water line (positioned amidships), that indi ...
and below. The armored deck rested on the upper edge of the belt armor and was thick except over the bomb magazine where it increased to . The ends of the belt armor were closed off by transverse bulkheads that also increased to 50 mm adjacent to the bomb magazine. The magazine itself had 35 mm sides and a 25 mm front. The steering gear aft was protected by an armored box with sides, a front and a 25 mm rear. Forward of the boiler rooms, the fire-control center, the 25 mm and 155 mm magazines had armored sides. The latter magazine had plates that tapered to 40 mm at their lower edge. The armor on the other compartments was 60 mm thick reducing to 30 mm at the bottom. The roof of these spaces was 50 mm thick over the 155 mm magazines and reduced to 28 mm over the other compartments. The main gun turrets were protected by 25 mm homogeneous armor plates and their
barbette Barbettes are several types of gun emplacement in terrestrial fortifications or on naval ships. In recent naval usage, a barbette is a protective circular armour support for a heavy gun turret. This evolved from earlier forms of gun protection ...
s had 20 mm or 25 mm thick plates. The sides of the
conning tower A conning tower is a raised platform on a ship or submarine, often armored, from which an officer in charge can conn the vessel, controlling movements of the ship by giving orders to those responsible for the ship's engine, rudder, lines, and gro ...
were 40 mm thick and it had a roof 20 mm thick.


Construction and career

Following the
Japanese ship-naming conventions Japanese ship names follow different conventions from those typical in the West. Merchant ship names often contain the word ''maru'' at the end (meaning ''circle''), while warships are never named after people, but rather after objects such as mount ...
for light cruisers, the ship was named after the
Ōyodo River The is a river which runs through Kagoshima Prefecture and Miyazaki Prefecture in Japan and ultimately drains into the Pacific Ocean. River communities The river passes through or forms the boundary of the following communities: ;Kagoshima ...
in
Kyūshū is the third-largest island of Japan's five main islands and the most southerly of the four largest islands ( i.e. excluding Okinawa). In the past, it has been known as , and . The historical regional name referred to Kyushu and its surround ...
. ''Ōyodo'' was
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 ...
at
Kure Naval Arsenal was one of four principal naval shipyards owned and operated by the Imperial Japanese Navy. History The Kure Naval District was established at Kure, Hiroshima in 1889, as the second of the naval districts responsible for the defense of the J ...
on 14 February 1941, launched on 2 April 1942 and completed on 28 February 1943 under the command of
Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...
Sadatoshi Tomioka. Completed without any radar, a Type 21 early-warning radar was installed in April 1943 while the ship was still working up. The war had developed in ways unanticipated by the IJN and her designed role as a submarine flotilla flagship was no longer possible or even appropriate, so the navy settled on using her as an ordinary light cruiser or as a transport. On 1 April, she was assigned to the Third Fleet and was transferred to the Main Body, Mobile Force, a month later. In response to the invasion of Attu Island on 11 May, ''Ōyodo'' rendezvoused with three battleships, two
aircraft carrier An aircraft carrier is a warship that serves as a seagoing airbase, equipped with a full-length flight deck and facilities for carrying, arming, deploying, and recovering aircraft. Typically, it is the capital ship of a fleet, as it allows a ...
s and five heavy cruisers 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 ...
on 22 May. The Americans recaptured Attu before the fleet could depart to counterattack. The following month the ship received a brief refit in Kure. She loaded troops and supplies on 9 July at Shinagawa and, arrived at Truk, Caroline Islands, on 15 July before continuing on to
Rabaul Rabaul () is a township in the East New Britain province of Papua New Guinea, on the island of New Britain. It lies about 600 kilometres to the east of the island of New Guinea. Rabaul was the provincial capital and most important settlement in ...
where she arrived on the 21st, returning to Truk five days later and rejoining the Third Fleet. In response to the carrier raid on
Tarawa Tarawa is an atoll and the capital of the Republic of Kiribati,Kiribati
''
sortie A sortie (from the French word meaning ''exit'' or from Latin root ''surgere'' meaning to "rise up") is a deployment or dispatch of one military unit, be it an aircraft, ship, or troops, from a strongpoint. The term originated in siege warfare. ...
d for
Eniwetok Enewetak Atoll (; also spelled Eniwetok Atoll or sometimes Eniewetok; mh, Ānewetak, , or , ; known to the Japanese as Brown Atoll or Brown Island; ja, ブラウン環礁) is a large coral atoll of 40 islands in the Pacific Ocean and with it ...
to search for the American forces before they returned to Truk on 23 September, having failed to locate them. The Japanese had intercepted some American radio traffic that suggested another attack on
Wake Island Wake Island ( mh, Ānen Kio, translation=island of the kio flower; also known as Wake Atoll) is a coral atoll in the western Pacific Ocean in the northeastern area of the Micronesia subregion, east of Guam, west of Honolulu, southeast of To ...
, and on 17 October, ''Ōyodo'' and the bulk of the fleet sailed for Eniwetok to be in a position to intercept any such attack, but no attack occurred and the fleet returned to Truk.Hackett & Kingsepp Vice Admiral
Jisaburō Ozawa was an admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II. He was the last Commander-in-Chief of the Combined Fleet. Ozawa has been noted for his unusual height, measuring in at over tall, although his exact height has not been reliabl ...
, commander of the Third Fleet, hoisted his flag aboard the ship on 6 December. On 30 December ''Ōyodo'' participated in an operation to reinforce the garrisons at Rabaul and Kavieng. While returning to Truk on 1 January 1944, ''Ōyodo'' was slightly damaged by US aircraft from two aircraft carriers of Task Group 50.2, with two crewmen killed and six wounded. The following day, she rescued 71 survivors from the transport ''Kiyosumi Maru'', which had been torpedoed by an American
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 ...
. ''Ōyodo'' returned to Yokosuka on 16 February following the successful American invasion of
Kwajalein Kwajalein Atoll (; Marshallese: ) is part of the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI). The southernmost and largest island in the atoll is named Kwajalein Island, which its majority English-speaking residents (about 1,000 mostly U.S. civilia ...
, and loaded torpedoes and supplies for the Japanese garrison at
Saipan Saipan ( ch, Sa’ipan, cal, Seipél, formerly in es, Saipán, and in ja, 彩帆島, Saipan-tō) is the largest island of the Northern Mariana Islands, a Commonwealth (U.S. insular area), commonwealth of the United States in the western Pa ...
, which were delivered on 22 February.


Flagship of the Combined Fleet and the Battle off Cape Engaño

On 6 March, ''Ōyodo'' went into the
dry dock A dry dock (sometimes drydock or dry-dock) is a narrow basin or vessel that can be flooded to allow a load to be floated in, then drained to allow that load to come to rest on a dry platform. Dry docks are used for the construction, maintenance, ...
at Yokosuka for a refit to convert her into a flagship, in which her hangar was converted into staff offices and accommodations to take advantage of her elaborate communications suite. The aircraft catapult was exchanged for the shorter () standard type, and a pair of Type 22 surface search radars were installed. 29 additional Type 96 guns were installed in six triple and eleven single mounts for a total of 47 weapons. The modifications increased her complement to 61 officers and 850 sailors. The day after the refit was finished on 31 March, ''Ōyodo'' became the
flagship A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically the fi ...
of the Combined Fleet. Admiral
Soemu Toyoda was an admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy in World War II. Biography Early career Toyoda was born in what is now part Kitsuki city, Ōita Prefecture. He graduated from the 33rd class of the Imperial Japanese Navy Academy in 1905, ranked 26 ...
, commander of the Combined Fleet, hoisted his flag on her on 4 May. ''Ōyodo'' remained in Japanese waters until 11 October. On 29 September, Admiral Toyoda and his staff transferred to the new underground headquarters of the IJN in Yokohama. Six additional Type 96 AA guns in single mounts were installed in early October, along with a Type 13 radar, and her Type 22 radars were modified to allow them to be used for fire control. ''Ōyodo'' rejoined the Main Body of the 1st Mobile Fleet, commanded by Ozawa, on 5 October and departed Yokosuka on 11 October. En route, she was attacked by the submarine which fired six torpedoes, all of which missed. The ship departed Yashima anchorage on 20 October 1944 towards 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 ...
as part of Operation "Sho-Ichi-Go"— which was intended to defeat the American invasion of the Philippines. ''Ōyodo'' was part of Ozawa's Northern Mobile ("Decoy") Force, which was to bait the American aircraft carrier strike force away from the main Japanese strike force by exposing the surviving Japanese carriers. ''Ōyodo'' was the only warship in Ozawa's force that had reconnaissance floatplanes, and both E13A1's performed reconnaissance and
anti-submarine An anti-submarine weapon (ASW) is any one of a number of devices that are intended to act against a submarine and its crew, to destroy (sink) the vessel or reduce its capability as a weapon of war. In its simplest sense, an anti-submarine weapo ...
patrols over the fleet. On the morning of 24 October, the bulk of the few aircraft aboard the carriers were launched to attack the American carriers as a distraction. They inflicted no damage and caused the Americans to search in the direction from which they had attacked. The Americans finally spotted Ozawa's ships at 16:40, some east of Cape Engaño, the northeastern tip of
Luzon Luzon (; ) is the largest and most populous island in the Philippines. Located in the northern portion of the Philippines archipelago, it is the economic and political center of the nation, being home to the country's capital city, Manila, as ...
. The American carriers were spread out and it was very late in the day to launch an
airstrike An airstrike, air strike or air raid is an offensive operation carried out by aircraft. Air strikes are delivered from aircraft such as blimps, balloons, fighters, heavy bombers, ground attack aircraft, attack helicopters and drones. The offic ...
, so 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 ...
, commander of the Third Fleet decided to mass his carriers in a position to attack the following morning. Ozawa reversed course during the night, correctly believing that the Americans would follow him north. Although they had lost contact during the night, the Americans did find the Japanese carriers at 07:35. They had already launched an airstrike of 180 aircraft that was orbiting ahead of the American carriers while waiting for the Japanese ships to be located.Polmar & Genda, pp. 428–29 This was just the first of a total of five airstrikes that the Americans launched that day. During the first strike, ''Ōyodo'' suffered two near-misses, but at 08:48 she was hit by a bomb that damaged a boiler room. At 10:54, Vice Admiral Ozawa left the sinking aircraft carrier and transferred his flag to ''Ōyodo''. Later in the day the ship was hit by two rockets from F6F Hellcat fighter-bombers and damaged by another near-miss and Ozawa ordered his remaining forces to retire northward. Around 19:00 Ozawa learned about a force of destroyers and cruisers that sank the
light carrier A light aircraft carrier, or light fleet carrier, is an aircraft carrier that is smaller than the standard carriers of a navy. The precise definition of the type varies by country; light carriers typically have a complement of aircraft only one-h ...
and drove off the Japanese destroyers rescuing survivors from some of the carriers lost earlier in the day. He ordered the two hybrid battleship/carriers and ''Ōyodo'' to reverse course and engage the Americans, but they were unable to find them, and they reversed course at 23:30 and headed for
Amami Ōshima , also known as Amami, is the largest island in the Amami archipelago between Kyūshū and Okinawa. It is one of the Satsunan Islands. The island, 712.35 km2 in area, has a population of approximately 73,000 people. Administratively it is d ...
. When they arrived there on the 27th Ozawa transferred his flag to the battleship


Final stages of the war

A few days later ''Ōyodo'' was sent to
Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...
on a transport run, arriving on 1 November. Three days later she departed for
Brunei Brunei ( , ), formally Brunei Darussalam ( ms, Negara Brunei Darussalam, Jawi alphabet, Jawi: , ), is a country located on the north coast of the island of Borneo in Southeast Asia. Apart from its South China Sea coast, it is completely sur ...
and remained in the
South China Sea The South China Sea is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean. It is bounded in the north by the shores of South China (hence the name), in the west by the Indochinese Peninsula, in the east by the islands of Taiwan and northwestern Phil ...
area for the next several months. On 24 December ''Ōyodo'', the heavy cruiser and six destroyers sortied to attack the American forces at San Jose on the island of
Mindoro Mindoro is the seventh largest and eighth-most populous island in the Philippines. With a total land area of 10,571 km2 ( 4,082 sq.mi ) and has a population of 1,408,454 as of 2020 census. It is located off the southwestern coast of Luz ...
. They were spotted by American aircraft late the next day and ''Ōyodo'' was hit by a pair of bombs; one failed to detonate and the other only slightly damaged the cruiser. The destroyers engaged an American convoy escorted by
PT boat A PT boat (short for patrol torpedo boat) was a motor torpedo boat used by the United States Navy in World War II. It was small, fast, and inexpensive to build, valued for its maneuverability and speed but hampered at the beginning of the wa ...
s while the cruisers fired
star shell A shell, in a military context, is a projectile whose payload contains an explosive, incendiary, or other chemical filling. Originally it was called a bombshell, but "shell" has come to be unambiguous in a military context. Modern usage so ...
s to illuminate the area. They later bombarded a supply dump and set it on fire before returning to Cam Ranh Bay,
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, ...
. ''Ōyodo'' arrived in
Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...
on 1 January 1945 and was repaired from 9 to 29 January. The following month she was assigned to
Operation Kita was conducted by the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) during the Pacific War in February 1945. Its purpose was to return two hybrid battleship-aircraft carriers and four escort ships to Japan from Singapore, where they had been based since Novembe ...
together with the two ''Ise''-class battleship/carriers and three destroyers. The ships were loaded with critically needed strategic war supplies (aviation gasoline,
rubber Rubber, also called India rubber, latex, Amazonian rubber, ''caucho'', or ''caoutchouc'', as initially produced, consists of polymers of the organic compound isoprene, with minor impurities of other organic compounds. Thailand, Malaysia, and ...
,
tin Tin is a chemical element with the symbol Sn (from la, stannum) and atomic number 50. Tin is a silvery-coloured metal. Tin is soft enough to be cut with little force and a bar of tin can be bent by hand with little effort. When bent, t ...
,
zinc Zinc is a chemical element with the symbol Zn and atomic number 30. Zinc is a slightly brittle metal at room temperature and has a shiny-greyish appearance when oxidation is removed. It is the first element in group 12 (IIB) of the periodi ...
, and
mercury Mercury commonly refers to: * Mercury (planet), the nearest planet to the Sun * Mercury (element), a metallic chemical element with the symbol Hg * Mercury (mythology), a Roman god Mercury or The Mercury may also refer to: Companies * Merc ...
) and 1,150 surplus oil workers to be ferried back to Japan. The ships sailed from Singapore on 10 February and was spotted by the British submarine the following day. ''Tantalus'' was forced to submerge by a
maritime patrol aircraft A maritime patrol aircraft (MPA), also known as a patrol aircraft, maritime reconnaissance aircraft, or by the older American term patrol bomber, is a fixed-wing aircraft designed to operate for long durations over water in maritime patrol roles ...
and was unable to attack. On 13 February the submarine unsuccessfully attacked the ships as did the submarine . Later that afternoon, ''Ōyodo'' launched one of her floatplanes which spotted the submarine on the surface ahead of the convoy. ''Hyūga'' opened fire with her main guns and forced ''Bashaw'' to submerge when one of her shells landed within of the submarine. The convoy reached the Matsu Islands, off the Chinese coast, on the 15th and was unsuccessfully attacked by the submarine before they reached
Zhoushan Island Zhoushan Island is the principal and namesake island in the Zhoushan Islands, formerly romanized as the ChusanIslands, an archipelago administered by Zhoushan Prefecture in Zhejiang Province in the People's Republic of China. It is the province ...
, near
Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flow ...
, that night. The convoy reached Kure on 20 February, having evaded or escaped pursuit by twenty-three
Allied An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...
submarines along the way. ''Ōyodo'' was transferred to the Kure Training Force on 1 March, and, a few weeks later, Vice Admiral
Marc Mitscher Marc Andrew "Pete" Mitscher (January 26, 1887 – February 3, 1947) was a pioneer in naval aviation who became an admiral in the United States Navy, and served as commander of the Fast Carrier Task Force in the Pacific during the latter half of ...
's Task Force 58 made the first carrier attack on Kure on 19 March. Three 500 lb bombs hit ''Ōyodo''; one hit the port engine room and started fires that badly damaged the propulsion machinery compartments. Another hit the base of the funnel and destroyed the boiler uptakes and the last one detonated inside the ship. Near-misses ruptured some hull plating forward and the cruiser started to flood, but she was towed to Etajima and beached to prevent her from sinking. The bombs killed or wounded 54 crewmen. She was refloated and entered a dry dock for repairs on 23 March which were completed on 4 May.Lacroix & Wells, p. 652 On 24 July US Task Force 38 launched a massive attack to destroy any and all remaining units of the Japanese Navy. ''Ōyodo'' was strafed and hit by five bombs, two of which hit near her catapult and punched holes in her deck. Two more hit amidships near the engine rooms and the last struck forward of the bridge and started a fire that could not be extinguished for two days. Four days later, a day-long attack was launched by the US carrier fleet. ''Ōyodo'' was near-missed by bombs in the morning and the shock waves from their detonations ruptured her hull plating abreast of the forward engine room and No. 5 boiler room that flooded those two compartments. The asymmetric weight of the water on the starboard side caused her to capsized to starboard in shallow water about 25 minutes later. Permission to abandon ship was granted by Captain Shoichi Taguchi before she capsized, but about 300 crewmen were killed. ''Ōyodo'' was removed from the
navy list A Navy Directory, formerly the Navy List or Naval Register is an official list of naval officers, their ranks and seniority, the ships which they command or to which they are appointed, etc., that is published by the government or naval author ...
on 20 November. Her wreck was raised on 20 September 1947 and towed to a dry dock to be demolished. The ship was scrapped from 6 January to 1 August 1948.


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External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Oyodo Cruisers of the Imperial Japanese Navy Ōyodo-class cruisers Ships built by Kure Naval Arsenal 1942 ships World War II cruisers of Japan Cruisers sunk by aircraft Shipwrecks in the Inland Sea Maritime incidents in July 1945 Ships sunk by US aircraft