Japanese cruiser Kinugasa
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was the second vessel in the two-vessel of
heavy cruiser The heavy cruiser was a type of cruiser, a naval warship designed for long range and high speed, armed generally with naval guns of roughly 203 mm (8 inches) in caliber, whose design parameters were dictated by the Washington Naval T ...
s in 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 ...
. The ship was named after Mount Kinugasa, located in
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,
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 ...
.


Background

IJNS ''Kinugasa'' and her sister ship were originally planned as the third and fourth vessels in the of heavy cruisers. However, design issues with the ''Furutaka''s resulted in modifications including twin
turret Turret may refer to: * Turret (architecture), a small tower that projects above the wall of a building * Gun turret, a mechanism of a projectile-firing weapon * Objective turret, an indexable holder of multiple lenses in an optical microscope * Mi ...
s and an aircraft catapult. These modifications created yet more weight to an already top-heavy design, causing stability problems. Nevertheless, ''Kinugasa'' played an important role in the opening stages of
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 ...
.


Service career


Pre-World War II

''Kinugasa'' was completed on 30 September 1927 at the
Kawasaki shipyards is the shipbuilding subsidiary of Kawasaki Heavy Industries. It produces primarily specialized commercial vessels, including LNG carriers, LPG carriers, container ships, bulk carriers, oil tankers, as well as high speed passenger jetfoils. In a ...
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, whic ...
. Her early service was as flagship of the Fifth Squadron (''Sentai''), and she operated for virtually her entire career with that unit and the Sixth and Seventh Squadrons. In 1928, she became the first Japanese combat ship to carry an
aircraft catapult An aircraft catapult is a device used to allow aircraft to take off from a very limited amount of space, such as the deck of a vessel, but can also be installed on land-based runways in rare cases. It is now most commonly used on aircraft carrier ...
. During a training exercise on 11 July 1929, the Japanese
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 ...
''
I-55 Interstate 55 (I-55) is a major Interstate Highway in the central United States. As with most primary Interstates that end in a five, it is a major cross-country, north–south route, connecting the Gulf of Mexico to the Great Lakes. The h ...
'' accidentally collided with ''Kinugasa'' while using ''Kinugasa'' as a target. ''I-55'' suffered damage to her bow plating in the collision. ''Kinugasa'' served off the
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
coast in 1928–1929 and on several occasions during the 1930s. Placed in reserve in September 1937, ''Kinugasa'' was extensively modernized at the
Sasebo Navy Yard was one of four principal naval shipyards owned and operated by the Imperial Japanese Navy. History The Sasebo Naval District was established at Sasebo, Nagasaki in 1886, as the third of the naval districts responsible for the defense of t ...
and not recommissioned until the end of October 1940.


World War II

In 1941, ''Kinugasa'' was assigned to Cruiser Division 6 (CruDiv6), as
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 Rear Admiral
Aritomo Goto Aritomo (written: 有朋 or 存知) is a masculine Japanese given name. Notable people with the name include: *, Imperial Japanese Navy admiral *, Japanese general and Prime Minister of Japan {{given name Japanese masculine given names ...
as part of the First Fleet under overall command of Vice Admiral
Takasu Shiro is a town in Kamikawa Subprefecture in Hokkaido, Japan. Translated into English, Takasu means "hawk's nest". As of April 2020, the town has an estimated population of 6,780 people. Geography Takasu is located in the central area of Hokkaido ...
. CruDiv 6 consisted of ''Kinugasa'', , and . At the time of 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 ...
, CruDiv6 was engaged in the invasion of Guam, following which it participated in the second invasion of
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 ...
. From January–May 1942, ''Kinugasa'' was based out of Truk, in the
Caroline Islands The Caroline Islands (or the Carolines) are a widely scattered archipelago of tiny islands in the western Pacific Ocean, to the north of New Guinea. Politically, they are divided between the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) in the centra ...
where it provided protection for the landings of Japanese troops in 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 capita ...
and
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at
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 ...
,
Kavieng Kavieng is the capital of the Papua New Guinean province of New Ireland and the largest town on the island of the same name. The town is located at Balgai Bay, on the northern tip of the island. As of 2009, it had a population of 17,248. Kavi ...
, Buka, Shortland,
Kieta Kieta is a port town located on the eastern coast of the island of Bougainville in Papua New Guinea, near the township of Arawa. After extensive destruction during the 1990 Civil Uprising on Bougainville, Kieta has few inhabitants now, and is kno ...
,
Manus Island Manus Island is part of Manus Province in northern Papua New Guinea and is the largest of the Admiralty Islands. It is the fifth-largest island in Papua New Guinea, with an area of , measuring around . Manus Island is covered in rugged jungles w ...
,
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and
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.


Battle of Coral Sea

At the
Battle of the Coral Sea The Battle of the Coral Sea, from 4 to 8 May 1942, was a major naval battle between the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) and naval and air forces of the United States and Australia. Taking place in the Pacific Theatre of World War II, the batt ...
, CruDiv 6 departed Shortland and effected a rendezvous at sea with 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 ...
At 11:00 on 7 May 1942, north of Taguli Island, ''Shōhō'' was attacked and sunk by 93
Douglas SBD Dauntless The Douglas SBD Dauntless is a World War II American naval scout plane and dive bomber that was manufactured by Douglas Aircraft from 1940 through 1944. The SBD ("Scout Bomber Douglas") was the United States Navy's main carrier-based scout/div ...
dive bomber 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 througho ...
s and
Douglas TBD Devastator The Douglas TBD Devastator was an American torpedo bomber of the United States Navy. Ordered in 1934, it first flew in 1935 and entered service in 1937. At that point, it was the most advanced aircraft flying for the Navy and possibly for any na ...
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 from and . The following day, 46 SBDs, 21 TBDs and 15
Grumman F4F Wildcat The Grumman F4F Wildcat is an American carrier-based fighter aircraft that entered service in 1940 with the United States Navy, and the British Royal Navy where it was initially known as the Martlet. First used by the British in the North Atlant ...
s from ''Yorktown'' and ''Lexington'' severely damaged the carrier above the waterline and forced her retirement. ''Furutaka'' and ''Kinugasa'', undamaged in the battle, escorted ''Shōkaku'' back to Truk. ''Kinugasa'' was withdrawn to Japan in June 1942 for repairs, and returned to Truk by 4 July. Following the major reorganization of 14 July 1942, ''Kinugasa'' came under the newly created Eighth Fleet under Vice Admiral
Gunichi Mikawa was a vice-admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) during World War II. Mikawa was the commander of a heavy cruiser force that won a spectacular IJN victory over the U.S. Navy and the Royal Australian Navy at the Battle of Savo Island in I ...
, based at Rabaul.


The Battle of Savo Island

In the
Battle of Savo Island The Battle of Savo Island, also known as the First Battle of Savo Island and, in Japanese sources, as the , and colloquially among Allied Guadalcanal veterans as the Battle of the Five Sitting Ducks, was a naval battle of the Solomon Islands ca ...
on 9 August 1942, the four heavy cruisers of CruDiv 6 (''Aoba'', ''Kako'', ''Furutaka'' and ''Kinugasa''), the heavy cruiser , light cruisers and and destroyer engaged the Allied forces in a night gun and torpedo action. At about 23:00, ''Chōkai'', ''Furutaka'' and ''Kako'' all launched their reconnaissance floatplanes. The circling floatplanes dropped flares illuminating the targets and all the Japanese ships opened fire. The
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cruisers , , and were sunk. The cruiser was damaged as were the destroyers and . On the Japanese side, ''Chōkai'' was hit three times, ''Kinugasa'' twice (once in her No. 1 Engine Room by an 8-inch shell from ''Vincennes'' that did not explode but caused some damage, killed one man and wounded another,Lacroix & Wells, ''Japanese Cruisers'', p. 307 and one in a storeroom aft that was flooded by a 5-inch shell from ''Patterson''), ''Aoba'' once, and ''Furutaka'' was not damaged. The heavily laden American invasion transports off Guadalcanal were unprotected, but Admiral Mikawa, unaware that Admiral Fletcher had withdrawn his aircraft carriers covering the invasion, feared an air attack at daybreak and ordered a retirement. Captain Sawa of ''Kinugasa'', frustrated, launched a spread of torpedoes from ''Kinugasa''s starboard tubes at the Allied transports distant, but all missed. The following day as CruDiv6 approached Kavieng, ''Kako'' was torpedoed and sunk by the US submarine .


Battle of Cape Esperance

At the
Battle of Cape Esperance The Battle of Cape Esperance, also known as the Second Battle of Savo Island and, in Japanese sources, as the , took place on 11–12 October 1942, in the Pacific campaign of World War II between the Imperial Japanese Navy and United States Na ...
on 11 October 1942, CruDiv 6's (''Aoba'', ''Furutaka'' and ''Kinugasa''), and destroyers and departed Shortland to provide cover for a troop reinforcement convoy by shelling Henderson Field on Guadalcanal. The fleet was spotted, coming down "the Slot" at , by two
Vought OS2U Kingfisher The Vought OS2U Kingfisher is an American catapult-launched observation floatplane. It was a compact mid-wing monoplane, with a large central float and small stabilizing floats. Performance was modest because of its low-powered engine. The OS2U ...
reconnaissance floatplanes. So alerted, the radar-equipped American cruisers , , , and and five destroyers steamed around the end of Guadalcanal to block the entrance to Savo Sound. At 22:35, ''Helena''s radar spotted the Japanese fleet, and the Americans successfully crossed the Japanese "T". Both fleets opened fire, but Admiral Goto, thinking that he was under
friendly fire In military terminology, friendly fire or fratricide is an attack by belligerent or neutral forces on friendly troops while attempting to attack enemy/hostile targets. Examples include misidentifying the target as hostile, cross-fire while en ...
, ordered a 180-degree turn that exposed each of his ships to the American broadsides. ''Aoba'' was damaged heavily, and Admiral Goto was mortally wounded. ''Furutaka'' was hit by a torpedo that flooded her forward engine room and was subsequently sunk by , and . ''Kinugasa'' straddled ''Boise'' and ''Salt Lake City'' with 8-inch salvos, knocking out ''Boise''s No. 1 and 2 turrets. ''Kinugasa'' sustained four hits in the engagement. The following morning, ''Kinugasa'' was attacked but not damaged by five American planes, and then returned to Shortland. Just a few days later, on the night of 14/15 October 1942, ''Kinugasa'' returned and together with heavy cruiser bombarded Henderson Field with a total of 752 8-inch shells. This followed the bombardment from battleships and the night before and preceded the bombardment by the heavy cruisers and the following night.


Naval Battle of Guadalcanal

From 24–26 October and 1–5 November, ''Kinugasa'' and ''Chōkai'' provided cover for replacement convoys of troops and equipment to bolster Japanese defenses at Guadalcanal. On 14 November, during the
Naval Battle of Guadalcanal The Naval Battle of Guadalcanal, sometimes referred to as the Third and Fourth Battles of Savo Island, the Battle of the Solomons, the Battle of Friday the 13th, or, in Japanese sources, the , took place from 12 to 15 November 1942, and was t ...
, ''Kinugasa'' was attacked by
Grumman TBF Avenger The Grumman TBF Avenger (designated TBM for aircraft manufactured by General Motors) is an American World War II-era torpedo bomber developed initially for the United States Navy and Marine Corps, and eventually used by several air and naval av ...
torpedo bombers and Douglas SBD Dauntlesses from and
USMC The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through co ...
Avengers from Guadalcanal on her return trip from an unopposed bombardment of Henderson Field the night before. At 09:36, a 500-pound bomb hit ''Kinugasa''s machine gun mount in front of the bridge, starting a fire in the forward gasoline storage area. Captain Sawa and his
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 ...
were killed by the bomb, and ''Kinugasa'' gradually began to list to port. Near-misses caused additional fires and flooding and a second attack by 17 more Dauntlesses knocked out ''Kinugasa''s engines and rudder and opened more compartments to the sea. At 11:22, she capsized and sank southwest of
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at , taking 511 crewmen with her. IJNS ''Kinugasa'' was removed from the Navy list on 15 December 1942.


References


Sources

* * * * *


External links

* *Tabular record
CombinedFleet.com: ''Kinugasa'' history
(Retrieved 4 April 2016.) *Gallery

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kinugasa Aoba-class cruisers Ships built by Kawasaki Heavy Industries 1926 ships Maritime incidents in 1929 World War II cruisers of Japan Shipwrecks in Ironbottom Sound Cruisers sunk by aircraft Maritime incidents in November 1942 Ships sunk by US aircraft