Japanese cruiser Kitakami
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was a 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 ...
, named after the
Kitakami River The is the fourth largest river in Japan and the largest in the Tōhoku region. It is long and drains an area of . page 793 It flows through mostly rural areas of Iwate and Miyagi Prefectures. The source of the river is the Mount Nanashirug ...
in
Iwate Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku region of Honshu. It is the second-largest Japanese prefecture at , with a population of 1,210,534 (as of October 1, 2020). Iwate Prefecture borders Aomori Prefecture to the north, Akita Prefectur ...
,
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

After the construction of the s, the drawbacks of the small cruiser concept became apparent. At the end of 1917, plans for an additional six ''Tenryū''-class vessels, plus three new-design 7,200 ton-class scout cruisers were shelved, in place of an intermediate 5,500 ton-class vessel which could be used as both a long-range, high speed reconnaissance ship, and also as a command vessel for
destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, manoeuvrable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against powerful short range attackers. They were originally developed in ...
or
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 ...
flotillas. ''Kitakami'' was the third in a series of five vessels in this class which were built from 1918-1921.Gardner, ''Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921''; page 238


Design

The ''Kuma''-class vessels were essentially enlarged versions of the ''Tenryū''-class cruisers, with greater speed, range, and weaponry. With improvements in geared-turbine engine technology, the ''Kuma''-class vessels were capable of the high speed of , and a range of at . The number of
14 cm/50 3rd Year Type naval gun The 14 cm/50 3rd Year Type naval gun was a Japanese low-angle weapon introduced during World War I. History It served as the secondary armament in a number of Japanese dreadnoughts and as the main armament in light cruisers and some auxiliar ...
s was increased from four on the ''Tenryū'' class to seven on ''Kitakami'': two forward, one on each side of the superstructure and three aft, which meant that only six guns could be brought to bear on a broadside. The torpedo launchers were also increased to four double launchers: however, the ''Kuma'' class remained highly deficient in anti-aircraft protection, with only two
8 cm/40 3rd Year Type naval gun The Type 41 naval gun otherwise known as the 8 cm/40 3rd Year Type naval gun was a Japanese dual-purpose gun introduced before World War I. Although designated as , its shells were in diameter. Design The Japanese Type 41 naval gun oth ...
s and two machine guns.Stille, ''Imperial Japanese Navy Light Cruisers 1941-45'', pages 14-18;


Service career


Early career

''Kitakami'' 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 ...
on 1 September 1919, launched on 3 July 1920 and completed 15 April 1921 at
Sasebo Naval Arsenal 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 the ...
,
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 ...
.Nishida, ''Ships of the Imperial Japanese Navy'' Soon after commissioning, she was based at Mako,
Pescadores Islands The Penghu (, Hokkien POJ: ''Phîⁿ-ô͘''  or ''Phêⁿ-ô͘'' ) or Pescadores Islands are an archipelago of 90 islands and islets in the Taiwan Strait, located approximately west from the main island of Taiwan, covering an area ...
. She was commanded by Captain
Jinichi Kusaka , was an admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II. Fellow Admiral Ryūnosuke Kusaka was his cousin. Biography A native of Ishikawa Prefecture, Kusaka graduated from the 37th class of the Imperial Japanese Navy Academy, ranked 21s ...
from November 1931 through December 1932 and Captain
Tomoshige Samejima Vice Admiral Baron , was an admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II. Biography Samejima was the grandson of Iwakura Tomomi, and adopted by Admiral Samejima Kazunori a native of Satsuma Domain and noted figure in the Meiji restor ...
from December 1932 to March 1934. With the start of 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 Th ...
, she was assigned to cover the landings of Japanese forces in central
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 ...
.
CombinedFleet.com: ''Kitakami'' Tabular Record of Movement;
On 25 August 1941, ''Kitakami'' returned to Sasebo for conversion to a " torpedo cruiser" with ten quadruple
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 ...
mounts for the Type 93 “Long Lance” torpedo, in line with Imperial Japanese Navy plans to create a special "Night Battle Force" of torpedo-cruisers. Modification was completed by 30 September 1941, and ''Kitakami'' was assigned to the Japanese First Fleet, CruDiv 9.


Early stages of the Pacific War

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, j ...
, ''Kitakami'' was escorting the Combined Fleet's
battleship A battleship is a large armored warship with a main 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 1880s to describe a type of ...
s from
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 ...
to the
Bonin Islands The Bonin Islands, also known as the , are an archipelago of over 30 subtropical and tropical islands, some directly south of Tokyo, Japan and northwest of Guam. The name "Bonin Islands" comes from the Japanese word ''bunin'' (an archaic readi ...
and back to Japan. From January to May 1942, ''Kitakami'' was assigned largely to training duties around the Japanese home islands. At the time of 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 Adm ...
on 29 May 1942, ''Kitakami'' and her
sister ship A sister ship is a ship of the same class or of virtually identical design to another ship. Such vessels share a nearly identical hull and superstructure layout, similar size, and roughly comparable features and equipment. They often share a ...
were part of the Aleutian Screening Force, and returned safely to Japan on 17 June 1942.


As a fast troop transport

From August – September 1942, ''Kitakami'' and ''Ōi'' were converted into fast transports. Their ten quadruple torpedo launchers were reduced to six (a total of 24 tubes). They were equipped with two and were fitted with two triple mount Type 96 25-mm AA guns.
Depth charge A depth charge is an anti-submarine warfare (ASW) weapon. It is intended to destroy a submarine by being dropped into the water nearby and detonating, subjecting the target to a powerful and destructive Shock factor, hydraulic shock. Most depth ...
launch rails were also installed. After conversion, ''Kitakami'' and ''Ōi'' embarked the No. 4 Maizuiru Special Naval Landing Force, which they transported to Truk in the Caroline Islands and Shortland Island 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 ...
by 6 October 1942. CruDiv 9 was disbanded on 21 November 1942, and ''Kitakami'' was assigned directly to the Combined Fleet. In November, ''Kitakami'' transported troops from
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 ...
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 ...
,
New Britain New Britain ( tpi, Niu Briten) is the largest island in the Bismarck Archipelago, part of the Islands Region of Papua New Guinea. It is separated from New Guinea by a northwest corner of the Solomon Sea (or with an island hop of Umboi the Dam ...
, and returned to Sasebo by the end of the year. In January 1943, ''Kitakami'' was assigned to the reinforcement of Japanese forces in
New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu Hiri Motu, also known as Police Motu, Pidgin Motu, or just Hiri, is a language of Papua New Guinea, which is spoken in surrounding areas of Port Moresby (Capital of Papua New Guinea). It is a simplified version of ...
, and escorted a convoy with the IJA 20th Infantry Division from
Pusan Busan (), officially known as is South Korea's most populous city after Seoul, with a population of over 3.4 million inhabitants. Formerly romanized as Pusan, it is the economic, cultural and educational center of southeastern South Korea, w ...
to
Wewak Wewak is the capital of the East Sepik province of Papua New Guinea. It is on the northern coast of the island of New Guinea. It is the largest town between Madang and Jayapura. It is the see city (seat) of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Wewak. Hi ...
, New Guinea via
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 Caro ...
. In February, she escorted a convoy with the IJA 41st Infantry Division from Tsingtao to Wewak, again via Palau. On 15 March 1943, ''Kitakami'' was reassigned to CruDiv 16 of the Southwest Area Fleet as a guard ship based out of
Surabaya Surabaya ( jv, ꦱꦸꦫꦧꦪ or jv, ꦯꦹꦫꦨꦪ; ; ) is the capital city of the Provinces of Indonesia, Indonesian province of East Java and the List of Indonesian cities by population, second-largest city in Indonesia, after Jakarta. L ...
. She escorted three troop convoys from Surabaya to Kaimana, New Guinea during April and May. On 23 June 1943, while at Makassar, ''Kitakami'', ''Ōi'', and were bombed by Consolidated
B-24 Liberator The Consolidated B-24 Liberator is an American heavy bomber, designed by Consolidated Aircraft of San Diego, California. It was known within the company as the Model 32, and some initial production aircraft were laid down as export models des ...
s of the
5th Air Force The Fifth Air Force (5 AF) is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Pacific Air Forces (PACAF). It is headquartered at Yokota Air Base, Japan. It is the U.S. Air Force's oldest continuously serving Numbered Air Force. The organiza ...
's 319th Bomb Squadron. None of the cruisers were hit, but some sustained slight damage from near-misses. After refit at Seletar Naval Base,
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 ...
in August, ''Kitakami'' escorted a troop convoy from Singapore to the
Nicobar Islands The Nicobar Islands are an archipelagic island chain in the eastern Indian Ocean. They are located in Southeast Asia, northwest of Aceh on Sumatra, and separated from Thailand to the east by the Andaman Sea. Located southeast of the Indian s ...
in early September. Two more convoys were escorted to
Port Blair Port Blair () is the capital city of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, a union territory of India in the Bay of Bengal. It is also the local administrative sub-division (''tehsil'') of the islands, the headquarters for the district of South And ...
,
Andaman Islands The Andaman Islands () are an archipelago in the northeastern Indian Ocean about southwest off the coasts of Myanmar's Ayeyarwady Region. Together with the Nicobar Islands to their south, the Andamans serve as a maritime boundary between th ...
in late October. In late January 1944, ''Kitakami'' escorted another convoy to Port Blair. On its return voyage while transiting
Malacca Strait The Strait of Malacca is a narrow stretch of water, 500 mi (800 km) long and from 40 to 155 mi (65–250 km) wide, between the Malay Peninsula (Peninsular Malaysia) to the northeast and the Indonesian island of Sumatra to the southwest, conne ...
, southwest of
Penang Penang ( ms, Pulau Pinang, is a Malaysian state located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia, by the Malacca Strait. It has two parts: Penang Island, where the capital city, George Town, is located, and Seberang Perai on the Malay ...
, Malaya, on 27 January 1944, the ''Kitakami'' was hit aft by two torpedoes fired by the submarine . ''Kinu'' took ''Kitakami'' in tow to Angsa Bay,
Malaya Malaya refers to a number of historical and current political entities related to what is currently Peninsular Malaysia in Southeast Asia: Political entities * British Malaya (1826–1957), a loose collection of the British colony of the Straits ...
for emergency repairs, followed by extensive repairs at the No. 101 Repair Facility at Seletar Naval Base, Singapore in February. Repairs were not completed until 21 June 1944. However, after departing Singapore to escort the tanker ''Kyokuto maru'', ''Kitakami'' began to take on water and had to put into
Cavite Cavite, officially the Province of Cavite ( tl, Lalawigan ng Kabite; Chavacano: ''Provincia de Cavite''), is a province in the Philippines located in the Calabarzon region in Luzon. Located on the southern shores of Manila Bay and southwest ...
Navy Yard 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 ...
from 12 July 1944 to 26 July 1944. Despite the additional repairs, ''Kitakami'' still took on water on her return voyage to Sasebo.


As a ''Kaiten'' carrier

From 14 August 1944 ''Kitakami'' was repaired and modified at Sasebo Naval Arsenal into a '' Kaiten'' human torpedo carrier with a capacity for eight ''Kaiten''. A 20-ton crane, formerly from the seaplane carrier , was fitted to raise and lower the ''Kaiten'' into the water. Her stern was remodeled into an overhanging ramp configuration and the aft turbines were removed as well, and the space used to hold spare parts and repair equipment. The removal of these turbines reduced ''Kitakami''s top speed from . All of ''Kitakami''s remaining armaments were removed and replaced by two Type 89 127-mm AA guns and 67 Type 96 25-mm (twelve triple-mount and 31 single-mount) AA guns, two Type 13 air-search and one Type 22 surface-search
radar Radar is a detection system that uses radio waves to determine the distance (''ranging''), angle, and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, w ...
s. Two depth charge launching rails were installed at the stern and two depth charge throwers were also installed. The refit was completed on 20 January 1945, and ''Kitakami'' was reassigned directly to the Combined Fleet. On 19 March 1945, American Task Force 58 aircraft carriers , , , , , and made the first carrier attack of the war on
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 ...
. More than 240 aircraft ( Curtiss SB2C Helldivers,
Vought F4U Corsair The Vought F4U Corsair is an American fighter aircraft which saw service primarily in World War II and the Korean War. Designed and initially manufactured by Chance Vought, the Corsair was soon in great demand; additional production contracts ...
s and Grumman F6F Hellcats) attacked the battleships , , , , aircraft carriers , , , and other ships. ''Kitakami'' sustained no damage. In July 1945, an additional twenty seven single mount Type 96 25-mm AA guns were fitted to ''Kitakami''. However, on 24 July 1945 about 200 aircraft Task Force 38's ''Essex'', , , '' Hancock'', and again attacked the Kure area. ''Kitakami'' was damaged by strafing and thirty-two crewmen were killed.


Post-war

After the
surrender of Japan The surrender of the Empire of Japan in World War II was announced by Emperor Hirohito on 15 August and formally signed on 2 September 1945, bringing the war's hostilities to a close. By the end of July 1945, the Imperial Japanese Navy ...
on 2 September 1945, ''Kitakami'' was moved to
Kagoshima , abbreviated to , is the capital city of Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan. Located at the southwestern tip of the island of Kyushu, Kagoshima is the largest city in the prefecture by some margin. It has been nicknamed the "Naples of the Eastern wor ...
and assigned to the Repatriation Service. She was used as a repair tender for ships on repatriation duties. ''Kitakami'' 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 30 November 1945, and scrapped from 10 August 1946 – 31 March 1947.


References


Notes


Books

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External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kitakami Kuma-class cruisers Ships built by Sasebo Naval Arsenal 1920 ships Second Sino-Japanese War cruisers of Japan World War II cruisers of Japan