Japanese cruiser Chōkai

Coordinates: 11°22′N 126°22′E / 11.367°N 126.367°E / 11.367; 126.367
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
For other ships with the same name, see Japanese ship Chōkai.

Chōkai in 1933
History
Empire of Japan
NameChōkai
NamesakeMount Chōkai
BuilderMitsubishi
Laid down26 March 1928
Launched5 April 1931
Commissioned30 June 1932
Stricken20 December 1944
FateScuttled after gunfire/bomb damage in Battle off Samar, 25 October 1944
General characteristics
Class and typeTakao-class cruiser
Displacement15,781 tons
Length203.76 m (668.5 ft)
Beam19 m (62 ft)
Draught6.3 m (21 ft)
Propulsion130,000 hp (97,000 kW)
Speed35.5 knots (65.7 km/h)
Range8,000 nautical miles (15,000 km) at 14 knots (26 km/h)
Complement773
Armament
Aircraft carried2
Aviation facilitiescatapult

Chōkai (鳥海) was a

Nagasaki
.

Chōkai participated in numerous actions during the Pacific War including the Battle of Savo Island off Guadalcanal, in which she along with other Japanese cruisers, sunk the heavy cruisers USS Astoria, USS Vincennes and USS Quincy. She was sunk in the Battle off Samar in October 1944.

Design

The bridge of Chōkai

The Takao-class cruisers were an improved version of the previous Myōkō-class design, incorporating technical elements learned with the development of the experimental light cruiser Yūbari. They had a distinctive profile with a large, raked main smokestack, and a smaller, straight, second smokestack. Intended to address issues with the Myōkō class, the Takao class had thicker armor, dual-purpose main guns which could be used against aircraft, and torpedo launchers moved to the upper deck for greater safety. However, as with its predecessors, the Takao class was also top-heavy.[1]

The Takao class displaced 16,875 t (16,608 long tons). Chōkai was 203.8 metres (669 ft) long, with a beam of 20.4 metres (67 ft), draft of 6.32 metres (20.7 ft) and was capable of 35.25 knots.[1]

Propulsion was by 12

belt, and 35 mm (1.4 in) armored deck;, the bridge was armored with 10 to 16 mm (0.39 to 0.63 in) armored plates.[1]

Chōkai's main battery was ten

13.2 mm (0.52 in) anti-aircraft machine guns
.

Operational history

Chōkai firing her 20cm main battery guns, during exercises in 1933

At the start of the Pacific War, Chōkai supported the invasion of Malaya and participated in the pursuit of the Royal Navy's battleship Force Z. During January and February 1942, Chōkai was involved in operations to seize the oil-rich Dutch East Indies and the island of Borneo. Steaming near Cape St. Jacques, Chōkai struck a reef, sustaining hull damage on 22 February 1942. On 27 February, she reached Singapore for repairs.

After repairs, Chōkai was once again assigned to a support role in an invasion, this time the landings at

Mergui, Burma
.

Chōkai at anchor, carrying Mitsubishi F1M floatplanes

On 1 April 1942, Chōkai left Mergui to participate a raid on merchant shipping in the Bay of Bengal. First, Chōkai torpedoed and sank the U.S. freighter Bienville, and later on, the British steamship Ganges on 6 April. With her role in the operation successfully concluded, Chōkai returned to Yokosuka on 22 April 1942.

Battle of Savo Island

USS Quincy being illuminated by searchlights of Chōkai during the Battle of Savo Island.

By mid-July 1942, Chōkai was made the new flagship of

Mikawa Gunichi and his 8th Fleet. She proceeded towards Rabaul. On 7 August 1942, with Guadalcanal having been invaded by the Americans, Chōkai headed for the Guadalcanal waters, with Vice Admiral Mikawa aboard. In the battle of Savo Island, Mikawa's squadron of heavy cruisers, consisting of Chokai herself, and the heavy cruisers Furutaka, Kako, Aoba, and Kinugasa inflicted a devastating defeat on an Allied cruiser squadron. First, Chōkai and Aoba targeted the Australian heavy cruiser Canberra, followed by Furutaka and Kako joining in, and all four ships sank Canberra with gunfire.[2] Following that, Chōkai pounded the heavy cruiser USS Astoria, and as Aoba, Kako, and Kinugasa joined in, Astoria sank.[3] Finally, while other cruisers lit the cruiser USS Quincy aflame and sank her, Chōkai sank the heavy cruiser USS Vincennes with two hits from her long lance torpedoes. The battle of Savo Island was one of the most devastating Japanese naval victories of the war, the four allied heavy cruisers sunk and several more ships damaged or crippled. However, Chōkai sustained several hits from Quincy and Astoria, disabling her "A" turret and killing 34 men. Chōkai returned to Rabaul for temporary repairs. For the rest of the Solomon Islands
campaign, Chōkai would fight in an assortment of night battles with the U.S. Navy, sustaining varied, but mostly minor, damage.

Subsequent action

Relieved as the Eighth Fleet flagship shortly after the final evacuation of Guadalcanal, Chōkai headed back to Yokosuka on 20 February 1943. Tasked with various minor duties for the remainder of 1943 and first half of 1944, Chōkai was made the flagship of the Cruiser Division Four ("CruDiv 4") comprising Takao, Maya, Atago, and Chōkai on 3 August 1944. All four ships took part in the Battle of the Philippine Sea.

Battle of Leyte Gulf

Chōkai at anchor at Truk, 20 November 1942. Battleship Yamato can be seen in the left background

CruDiv 4 was part of Admiral Takeo Kurita's large fleet of IJN battleships, cruisers, and destroyers that took part in the various engagements of the Battle of Leyte Gulf at the Philippines.

CruDiv 4 suffered a harrowing submarine attack on 23 October 1944, with the sinking of Maya and Atago (which was Kurita's flagship though he survived), while Takao was left permanently crippled, leaving Chōkai as the only undamaged ship of CruDiv 4.

Chōkai was then transferred to Cruiser Division Five, where she survived an air attack on 24 October 1944, while the battleship Musashi was sunk.

Sunk in the battle off Samar

On the morning of 25 October, Chōkai engaged an American force of

TBM Avenger from Kitkun Bay dropped a 500 lb (230 kg) bomb on her forward machinery room. Fires began to rage and she went dead in the water. She was scuttled later that day by torpedoes from the destroyer Fujinami (11°22′N 126°22′E / 11.367°N 126.367°E / 11.367; 126.367
), which also rescued some of her crew. Two days later Fujinami was sunk with the loss of all hands, including the Chōkai survivors.

Wreck

Chōkai sits upright in 5,173 metres (16,972 ft) of water on the edge of the Philippine Deep. RV Petrel discovered the wreck of Chōkai on 5 May 2019 and dived it via ROV on 30 May 2019.

References

  1. ^ a b c d Patton, Japanese Heavy Cruisers of World War Two, pp. 36–48
  2. ISBN 978-0140165616
    .
  3. ISBN 978-0316583053
    .
  4. ISBN 978-0-553-38148-1
    .
  5. ^ Hackett, Bob; Sander Kingsepp (2018). "IJN Chokai: Tabular Record of Movement". Junyokan!. www.combinedfleet.com. Retrieved 8 August 2019.
  6. ^ "H-060-3 The Search for USS Johnston". H-Gram. Naval History and Heritage Command. 20 April 2021. Petrel also found the Japanese heavy cruiser Chokai
  7. ^ IJN Chokai. RV Petrel. 25 October 2019 – via Facebook.

Bibliography

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