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was the lead ship of the four-member of heavy cruisers of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN), which were active in World War II. page 81 She was named after Mount Myōkō in Niigata Prefecture. The other ships of the class were , , and .


Background

''Myōkō'' was approved under the 1922–1929 Fleet Modernization Program, as the first heavy cruiser to be built by Japan within the design constraints imposed by the Washington Naval Treaty, and was the first of the "10,000 ton" cruisers built by any nation.Chesneau, '' All the World’s Fighting Ships'', p. 118. Naval architect Vice-admiral Yuzuru Hiraga was able to keep the design from becoming dangerously top-heavy in its early years by continually rejecting demands from the Imperial Japanese Navy General Staff for additional equipment to the upper decks. However, during modifications and rebuildings in the 1930s, the final displacement rose to 15,933 tons, well over the treaty limits.Patton, ''Japanese Heavy Cruisers of World War Two'', pp. 20–36


Design

The ''Myōkō'' class displaced , with a hull design based on an enlarged version of the . ''Myōkō'' was long, with 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 , draft of and were capable of . Propulsion was by 12 Kampon boilers driving four sets of single-impulse geared turbine engines, with four shafts turning three-bladed propellers. The ship was armored with a side belt, and armored deck; however, the bridge was not armored. ''Myōkō''’s main battery was ten
20 cm/50 3rd Year Type naval gun formed the main battery of Japan's World War II heavy cruisers. These guns were also mounted on two early aircraft carriers. The typical installation was ten 20 cm/50 guns; although s carried eight while and -class cruisers carried six. A ...
s, the heaviest armament of any heavy cruiser in the world at the time, mounted in five twin turrets. Her secondary armament included eight 12.7 cm/40 Type 89 naval guns in four twin mounts on each side, and 12 Type 93 Long Lance torpedoes in four triple launchers positioned below the aircraft deck. ''Myōkō'' was also equipped with an aircraft
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 ...
and carried up to three
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 for scouting purposes. ''Myōkō'' was laid down at the Yokosuka Naval Arsenal on 25 October 1924, launched and named on 16 April 1927 in a ceremony attended by Emperor Hirohito, and was commissioned into the Imperial Japanese Navy on 31 July 1929.Hackett & Kingsepp, ''Myoko: Tabular Record of Movement''. CombinedFleet.com. Although the first ship in her class to be laid down, she was the third to be completed. ''Myōkō'' was repeatedly modernized and upgraded throughout her career in order to counter the growing threat of air strikes. She eventually mounted 52 Type 96 25 mm AT/AA Gun guns and two AA guns after her final upgrade.


Operational history


Early service

All of the ''Myōkō''-class cruisers were assigned to the
Sasebo Naval District was the third of five main administrative districts of the pre-war Imperial Japanese Navy. Its territory included the western and southern coastline of Kyūshū, the Ryukyu Islands, Taiwan and Korea, as well as patrols in the East China Sea and t ...
, forming '' Sentai''-4 of the IJN 3rd Fleet, and trained as a unit during the 1930s. During a naval review off
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 ...
on 26 October 1930 stack gases caused problems on the bridge, resulting in a lengthening of the forward smokestack by two meters. During the First Shanghai Incident of February 1932, the cruisers escorted the transports conveying elements of the Imperial Japanese Army to the continent. In December 1932, the ''Myōkō'' class were placed in reserve as the new ''Takao'' class cruisers were commissioned, becoming the new ''Sentai''-4, whereas the ''Myōkō''-class ships were shifted to ''Sentai''-5. Between 1933 and 1935, all ''Myōkō''-class cruisers were retrofitted with their fixed triple torpedo launchers replaced by two quadruple rotatable launchers, and their secondary guns upgraded from 12 cm/45 10th Year Type naval guns to 12.7 cm/40 Type 89 naval gun. During the Second Sino-Japanese War ''Myōkō'' participated in the Amoy Operation from 10–12 May 1938 as flagship of ''Sentai''-9 of the IJN 5th FleetParshall, '' Tabular Record of Movement'' along with the Hainan Island Operation in February 1939. A second reconstruction and retrofit was completed in April 1941, doubling the number of torpedoes to 16, adding another eight 25-mm anti-aircraft guns and bulges to the hull to improve stability.


Pacific War


Invasion of the Philippines

At the time of the attack on Pearl Harbor, ''Myōkō'' and ''Nachi'' formed ''Sentai''-5 of the IJN 3rd Fleet. ''Sentai''-5 was commanded by Rear Admiral Takeo Takagi and deployed from Palau cover for the landings of Japanese forces under "Operation M" — the invasion of the southern Philippine Islands. After covering the landings of Japanese forces at Legaspi on 11 December 1941. ''Myōkō'' and ''Nachi'' returned to Palau and were then reassigned to the Rear Admiral Raizō Tanaka, whose attack force covered landings at Davao on 19 December and Jolo on 24 December. On 4 January 1942 ''Myōkō'' and the other vessels of Admiral Tanaka’s invasion force were attacked by United States Army Air Forces (USAAF)
B-17 Flying Fortress 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 ...
bombers while at anchor at Davao. ''Myōkō'' was hit by one bomb, causing only superficial damage, but she was drydocked 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 ...
for repairs.


Battle of the Java Sea

In the Battle of the Java Sea on 1 March 1942 ''Myōkō'', ''Nachi'' and ''Haguro'' participated in the destruction of the last remaining
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 ...
fleet units in the
Netherlands 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, which ...
. At 11:50, ''Myōkō'', and destroyers and opened fire on the damaged British heavy cruiser and her escort of two destroyers. The 8-inch guns of ''Myōkō'' helped to sink ''Exeter'' and cripple the destroyer which had to be scuttled. Later in March, ''Myōkō'' received a refit at Sasebo Naval Arsenal. In April, she participated in the unsuccessful pursuit of the Doolittle raid task force.


Battle of the Coral Sea

In May, ''Myōkō'' was part of the Carrier Strike Force during the
Operation Mo or the Port Moresby Operation was a Japanese plan to take control of the Australian Territory of New Guinea during World War II as well as other locations in the South Pacific. The goal was to isolate Australia and New Zealand from the Allied ...
that resulted in the Tulagi invasion force and subsequently 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 ...
. It served as a flagship of Vice Admiral Takagi, who was in the overall command of the Carrier Strike Force. This force consisted of the
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 , which were under a tactical command of Rear Admiral Chūichi Hara, the heavy cruisers ''Myōkō'' and ''Haguro'', and five destroyers. ''Shōkaku'' was damaged by American aircraft and ''Zuikaku'' lost most of her aircraft in the Battle of the Coral Sea, forcing the flotilla to withdraw without invading Port Moresby.


Battle of Midway

In June, ''Myōkō'' was part of Vice Admiral Nobutake Kondō's Support Force in the Battle of Midway, which included the
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 and , the heavy cruisers ''Haguro'', and , the light cruiser , the light aircraft carrier and seven destroyers. The Support Force returned to
Sendai is the capital Cities of Japan, city of Miyagi Prefecture, the largest city in the Tōhoku region. , the city had a population of 1,091,407 in 525,828 households, and is one of Japan's 20 Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, desig ...
in northern Japan on 23 June without engaging the enemy in this battle, and ''Myōkō'' was sent out on 28 June as escort for the reinforcement convoy in the Aleutian Islands Campaign. This force included the aircraft carrier ''Zuikaku'', the light aircraft carriers ''Zuihō'', and , the heavy cruisers , , ''Myōkō'', ''Haguro'' and ''Nachi'', the light cruisers , and . ''Myōkō'' returned to
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 ...
on 12 July 1942.


The Solomon Islands campaign

On 11 October 1942 ''Myōkō'' sailed from Truk as part of the IJN 2nd Fleet. This force also included the battleships ''Kongō'' and , the heavy cruisers ''Atago'', ''Chōkai'' and ''Nachi'', the light cruiser and twelve destroyers. They were followed by Vice Admiral Chuichi Nagumo's Carrier Striking Force. The mission was the reinforcement and resupply of Japanese troops on the island of
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 seco ...
, which had been invaded by American troops in August. ''Myōkō'' was attacked on 14 September by a flight of ten USAAF B-17 bombers, suffering light damage. On 15 October, she participated in a shore bombardment operation against the American-held Henderson Field together with ''Maya''. Between 31 January and 9 February 1943 ''Myōkō'', after a refit at Sasebo, took part in the evacuation of Guadalcanal. The force consisted of the carriers ''Zuikaku'', ''Zuihō'' and ''Jun'yō'', the battleships ''Kongō'' and ''Haruna'', heavy cruisers ''Atago'', ''Takao'', ''Myōkō'' and ''Haguro'', the light cruisers and , and 11 destroyers. The Japanese transports were successful in evacuating 11,700 troops from the island.


Later campaigns

In May 1943, ''Myōkō'' and ''Haguro'' sailed north to assist in the evacuation of Kiska. In June, they returned to Sasebo for another refit. ''Myōkō'' was equipped with four twin Type 96 25 mm AT/AA Gun mounts, and a Type 21 air search radar set was also installed. In response to American carrier aircraft raiding in the
Gilbert Islands The Gilbert Islands ( gil, Tungaru;Reilly Ridgell. ''Pacific Nations and Territories: The Islands of Micronesia, Melanesia, and Polynesia.'' 3rd. Ed. Honolulu: Bess Press, 1995. p. 95. formerly Kingsmill or King's-Mill IslandsVery often, this n ...
, ''Myōkō'' sortied with 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 ...
's fleet to engage the American carriers. The fleet consisted of the aircraft carriers ''Shōkaku'', ''Zuikaku'' and ''Zuihō'', the battleships and , heavy cruisers ''Myōkō'', ''Haguro'', , , , ''Atago'', ''Takao'', ''Chōkai'' and , the light cruiser ''Agano'' and fifteen destroyers. Despite extensive searches, this force failed to make contact with the American striking force and returned to Truk. On 1 November, ''Myōkō'' and ''Haguro'' sailed south from Truk with two destroyers, escorting a supply convoy 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 ...
. From Rabaul, ''Myōkō'' sailed with the light cruisers ''Agano'' and and six destroyers to escort reinforcements to the island of Bougainville. There were 1,000 Japanese Army troops carried by four fast destroyer transports. The warships sailed ahead of the transports and engaged an American force in the Battle of Empress Augusta Bay at 12:50 on 3 November. The American force of four light cruisers and eight destroyers sank ''Sendai'' with 6-inch (152 mm) gunfire. While avoiding the American gunfire, ''Myōkō'' collided with the destroyer . ''Hatsukaze'' fell behind the task force as it withdrew and was finished off by American gunfire. ''Haguro'' had received minor damage in the action, and the American destroyer was crippled by a Long Lance torpedo. On 17 November, ''Myōkō'' arrived at Sasebo for another refit. Eight single-mount 25 mm AA guns were added, bringing the total to 24 guns. In January, ''Myōkō'' (with ''Tone'' and two destroyers) made an uneventful transport run from Truk to Kavieng and back. On 10 February, while sailing from Truk to Palau with ''Atago'' and ''Chōkai'' and eight destroyers, ''Myōkō'' was attacked by the submarine . The submarine fired four torpedoes, but all missed. In March, ''Myōkō'' and the destroyer escorted an empty tanker convoy from Palau to Borneo. On 6 April, ''Myōkō'' was attacked by the submarine . She fired all six bow torpedo tubes, but missed. The submarine also spotted ''Myōkō'' but was unable to maneuver into position for an attack.


Battle of the Philippine Sea

In June 1944, ''Myōkō'' participated in the Battle of the Philippine Sea. The Japanese fleet sailed from its anchorage at Tawi Tawi in response to the American invasion of the Marianas Islands. The Japanese high command was aware that American heavy bombers, based in the Marianas, could reach factories and shipyards in the Japanese home islands. This battle was later called the "Great Marianas Turkey Shoot" by American sailors, because over 300 Japanese carrier aircraft were shot down in a single day on 19 June.


Battle of Leyte Gulf

''Myōkō'' participated in 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 fou ...
as part of Vice Admiral Takeo Kurita's First Mobile Striking Force (Center Force) consisting of four battleships and ten cruisers. As the Center Force tried to force a passage through the Sibuyan Sea it was spotted and attacked by US Task Force 38. Although most airstrikes concentrated on the battleship , ''Myōkō'' was hit by a torpedo aft on the starboard side, which damaged her starboard screws. She broke off and headed for Singapore at a reduced speed of , arriving on 2 November 1944. After temporary repairs she departed for Japan with a stop at Cam Ranh Bay. En route to Cam Ranh Bay ''Myōkō'' was hit by one torpedo from a spread of six, fired by the submarine at 17:35 on 13 December 1944 on her aft port side, blowing away her stern, and leaving her unable to steer. She went dead in the water. Despite the extensive damage to the aft, one port screw remained operable and she could make . Unable to steer, she was towed by destroyer (which assisted in damaging ''Bergall'', which survived and returned to Fremantle) and several other ships to Singapore harbor for repairs; however, there were insufficient materials in Singapore to complete the repairs for both ''Myōkō'' and ''Takao'', the latter which had been severely damaged by two submarine-launched torpedoes prior to the Sibuyan Sea battle.


Fate

In February 1945, the harbor commander reported that ''Myōkō'' was irreparable at Singapore without more materials, and impossible to tow to Japan. He recommended that ''Myōkō'' be kept in Singapore as a floating anti-aircraft battery, and this suggestion was approved. Both ''Myōkō'' and ''Takao'' were targeted by British midget submarine attacks on 26 July, but survived the war. ''Myōkō'' formally surrendered to Royal Navy units on 21 September 1945, and was subsequently towed to the Strait of Malacca and scuttled off Port Swettenham, Malaya (near present-day Port Klang, Malaysia) at on 8 July 1946, near submarines and .


References


Bibliography

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External links


Imperial Japanese Navy
at Combinedfleet.com

{{DEFAULTSORT:Myoko Myōkō-class cruisers Ships built by Yokosuka Naval Arsenal 1927 ships Second Sino-Japanese War cruisers of Japan World War II cruisers of Japan Shipwrecks in the Strait of Malacca Scuttled vessels Maritime incidents in December 1944 Maritime incidents in 1946