Japanese cruiser Atago
Encyclopedia
was one of four Takao-class
Takao class cruiser
- Notes :...

 heavy cruiser
Heavy cruiser
The heavy cruiser was a type of cruiser, a naval warship designed for long range, high speed and an armament of naval guns roughly 203mm calibre . The heavy cruiser can be seen as a lineage of ship design from 1915 until 1945, although the term 'heavy cruiser' only came into formal use in 1930...

s, designed to be an improvement over the previous Myōkō-class
Myoko class cruiser
-External links:*...

 design. These ships were fast, powerful, and heavily armed. The Takao-class ships were approved under the 1927 fiscal year budget as part of the Imperial Japanese Navy
Imperial Japanese Navy
The Imperial Japanese Navy was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1869 until 1947, when it was dissolved following Japan's constitutional renunciation of the use of force as a means of settling international disputes...

's strategy of the Decisive Battle, and forming the backbone of a multipurpose long range strike force. Atago was built by the Kure
Kure, Hiroshima
is a city in Hiroshima prefecture, Japan.As of October 1, 2010, the city has an estimated population of 240,820 and a population density of 681 persons per km². The total area is 353.74 km².- History :...

 Naval shipyards near Hiroshima
Hiroshima
is the capital of Hiroshima Prefecture, and the largest city in the Chūgoku region of western Honshu, the largest island of Japan. It became best known as the first city in history to be destroyed by a nuclear weapon when the United States Army Air Forces dropped an atomic bomb on it at 8:15 A.M...

, and—like all heavy cruisers—was named after a mountain: in this case Mount Atago
Mount Atago
is a 924m mountain in the northwestern part of Ukyo-ku, in the city of Kyoto, Kyoto Prefecture, Japan....

, located outside of Kyoto
Kyoto
is a city in the central part of the island of Honshū, Japan. It has a population close to 1.5 million. Formerly the imperial capital of Japan, it is now the capital of Kyoto Prefecture, as well as a major part of the Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto metropolitan area.-History:...

.

Service history

At the start of the Pacific War
Pacific War
The Pacific War, also sometimes called the Asia-Pacific War refers broadly to the parts of World War II that took place in the Pacific Ocean, its islands, and in East Asia, then called the Far East...

, Atago was the flagship of Vice Admiral
Vice Admiral
Vice admiral is a senior naval rank of a three-star flag officer, which is equivalent to lieutenant general in the other uniformed services. A vice admiral is typically senior to a rear admiral and junior to an admiral...

 Kondō Nobutake's Cruiser Division 4, along with sister ship
Sister ship
A sister ship is a ship of the same class as, or of virtually identical design to, another ship. Such vessels share a near-identical hull and superstructure layout, similar displacement, and roughly comparable features and equipment...

s , , and , and assigned to support the invasion of Malaya
British Malaya
British Malaya loosely described a set of states on the Malay Peninsula and the Island of Singapore that were brought under British control between the 18th and the 20th centuries...

 and the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...

.

From January-March 1942, Atago was based out of Palau
Palau
Palau , officially the Republic of Palau , is an island nation in the Pacific Ocean, east of the Philippines and south of Tokyo. In 1978, after three decades as being part of the United Nations trusteeship, Palau chose independence instead of becoming part of the Federated States of Micronesia, a...

, and was involved in operations to seize the oil-rich Dutch East Indies
Dutch East Indies
The Dutch East Indies was a Dutch colony that became modern Indonesia following World War II. It was formed from the nationalised colonies of the Dutch East India Company, which came under the administration of the Netherlands government in 1800....

, participating in numerous combat operations, including the Battle of the Java Sea
Battle of the Java Sea
The Battle of the Java Sea was a decisive naval battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II, that sealed the fate of the Netherlands East Indies....

. After taking Vice Admiral Kondō on an inspection tour of Japan’s new possessions in the former Dutch East Indies, Atago returned to Yokosuka in April 1942, where she was assigned to the unsuccessful pursuit of Admiral William F. Halsey's Task Group 16.2 (TG 16.2)after the Doolittle Raid
Doolittle Raid
The Doolittle Raid, on 18 April 1942, was the first air raid by the United States to strike the Japanese Home Islands during World War II. By demonstrating that Japan itself was vulnerable to American air attack, it provided a vital morale boost and opportunity for U.S. retaliation after the...

 on Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...

.

After a retrofit in April 1942 to replace her single 4.7 in (119.4 mm) dual purpose gun
Dual purpose gun
A dual purpose gun is a naval artillery mounting designed to engage both surface and air targets.-Description:Second World War-era capital ships had four classes of artillery: the heavy main battery, intended to engage opposing battleships and cruisers ; a secondary battery for use against enemy...

s with new dual 5 in (127 mm) dual purpose guns, Atago departed for the disastrous Battle of Midway
Battle of Midway
The Battle of Midway is widely regarded as the most important naval battle of the Pacific Campaign of World War II. Between 4 and 7 June 1942, approximately one month after the Battle of the Coral Sea and six months after Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor, the United States Navy decisively defeated...

, from which she returned unscathed.

Guadalcanal campaign

On 7 August 1942, Atago was reassigned south to Truk, from which it made numerous sorties in the defense of Guadalcanal
Guadalcanal
Guadalcanal is a tropical island in the South-Western Pacific. The largest island in the Solomons, it was discovered by the Spanish expedition of Alvaro de Mendaña in 1568...

 through December. Atago also participated in the Battle of the Eastern Solomons
Battle of the Eastern Solomons
The naval Battle of the Eastern Solomons The naval Battle of the Eastern Solomons The naval Battle of the Eastern Solomons (also known as the Battle of the Stewart Islands and, in Japanese sources, as the , took place on 24–25 August 1942, and was the third carrier battle of the Pacific campaign...

 (24 August), Battle of Santa Cruz Islands (26-27 October) and in the Second Naval Battle of Guadalcanal
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, as the , took place from 12–15 November 1942, and was the decisive engagement in a series of naval battles...

 (15 November). On 25 August, during the Battle of the Eastern Solomons, aircraft from the American
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...

 aircraft carrier
Aircraft carrier
An aircraft carrier is a warship designed with a primary mission of deploying and recovering aircraft, acting as a seagoing airbase. Aircraft carriers thus allow a naval force to project air power worldwide without having to depend on local bases for staging aircraft operations...

  shot down two of Aichi E13A
Aichi E13A
-See also:-References:NotesBibliography* Dorr, Robert E. and Chris Bishop. Vietnam Air War Debrief. London: Aerospace Publishing, 1996. ISBN 1-874023-78-6....

1 "Jake" floatplane
Floatplane
A floatplane is a type of seaplane, with slender pontoons mounted under the fuselage; only the floats of a floatplane normally come into contact with water, with the fuselage remaining above water...

s from Atago that were engaged in reconnaissance missions, killing all four aircrew members in the two aircraft. During the latter battle, in a night gun duel with the American battleship
Battleship
A battleship is a large armored warship with a main battery consisting of heavy caliber guns. Battleships were larger, better armed and armored than cruisers and destroyers. As the largest armed ships in a fleet, battleships were used to attain command of the sea and represented the apex of a...

s and , Atago and Takao hit South Dakota with seventeen 8 in (203.2 mm) rounds, five 6 in (152.4 mm) and one 5-inch. Battleship also hit South Dakota with a single 14 in (355.6 mm) round that exploded on her aft No. 3 turret's barbette.

South Dakota was damaged, but not sunk. Early in the battle, Atago and Takao each launched eight Type 93
Type 93 torpedo
The Type 93 was a -diameter torpedo of the Imperial Japanese Navy , launched from surface ships. It is commonly referred to as the Long Lance by most modern English-language naval historians, a nickname given it after the war by Samuel E. Morison, the chief historian of the U.S...

 "Long Lance" torpedo
Torpedo
The modern torpedo is a self-propelled missile weapon with an explosive warhead, launched above or below the water surface, propelled underwater towards a target, and designed to detonate either on contact with it or in proximity to it.The term torpedo was originally employed for...

es at Washington but they all missed. Atago was damaged slightly as a result of the action, and returned to Kure for repairs on 17 December.

In January 1943, Atago returned to Truk to continue Japanese efforts to hold the Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands is a sovereign state in Oceania, east of Papua New Guinea, consisting of nearly one thousand islands. It covers a land mass of . The capital, Honiara, is located on the island of Guadalcanal...

, and eventually to support the evacuation of Guadalcanal. She remained based out of Truk through July 1943, when she returned to Yokosuka for further refits and modifications to add two triple-mount Type 96 25 mm (0.984251968503937 in) anti-aircraft gun
Anti-aircraft warfare
NATO defines air defence as "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action." They include ground and air based weapon systems, associated sensor systems, command and control arrangements and passive measures. It may be to protect naval, ground and air forces...

s.

Later battles

From August–November 1943, Atago returned to Truk to continue her sorties supporting Japanese forces in the Solomon Islands. In response to the Allied landings on Bougainville on 1 November 1943, Atago and several other Japanese cruisers were sent to Rabaul
Rabaul
Rabaul is a township in East New Britain province, Papua New Guinea. The town was the provincial capital and most important settlement in the province until it was destroyed in 1994 by falling ash of a volcanic eruption. During the eruption, ash was sent thousands of metres into the air and the...

 to prepare to attack the Allied landing forces. On 5 November, while refueling at Rabaul, Atago′s task force was attacked by 97 planes from the carriers and . Atago sustained three near-misses by 500 lb (226.8 kg) bombs that killed 22 crewmen, including her skipper Captain Nakaoka who was hit by a bomb splinter while on the bridge. On 15 November, Atago returned to Yokosuka for repairs, and installation of additional 25 mm anti-aircraft guns and a Type 22 surface-search radar
Radar
Radar is an object-detection system which uses radio waves to determine the range, altitude, direction, or speed of objects. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, weather formations, and terrain. The radar dish or antenna transmits pulses of radio...

 set.

In January 1944, Atago returned to Truk. On 10 February, the cruiser force was attacked by the American submarine
Submarine
A submarine is a watercraft capable of independent operation below the surface of the water. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability...

  in a night surface attack, but she missed with four torpedoes. Atago was then reassigned to CruDiv 4 based in Palau
Palau
Palau , officially the Republic of Palau , is an island nation in the Pacific Ocean, east of the Philippines and south of Tokyo. In 1978, after three decades as being part of the United Nations trusteeship, Palau chose independence instead of becoming part of the Federated States of Micronesia, a...

 under Vice Admiral Jisaburo Ozawa
Jisaburo Ozawa
was an admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II. He was the last Commander-in-Chief of Combined Fleet. Many military historians regard Ozawa as one of the most capable Japanese flag officers.-Biography:...

's First Mobile Fleet. The cruiser force was unsuccessfully attacked by the submarine on 6 April.

On 13 June, Atago was in the Battle of the Philippine Sea
Battle of the Philippine Sea
The Battle of the Philippine Sea was a decisive naval battle of World War II which effectively eliminated the Imperial Japanese Navy's ability to conduct large-scale carrier actions. It took place during the United States' amphibious invasion of the Mariana Islands during the Pacific War...

, which resulted in disastrous losses for the Imperial Japanese Navy
Imperial Japanese Navy
The Imperial Japanese Navy was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1869 until 1947, when it was dissolved following Japan's constitutional renunciation of the use of force as a means of settling international disputes...

; however, she again emerged unscathed. On 22 June, Atago retired with the remnants of the fleet via Okinawa to Kure, where in a final refit, four triple- and 22 single-mount 25 mm AA guns were installed bringing the total to 60.. A Type 13 air-search radar set was also fitted.

Sunk in the Battle of Palawan Passage

From July-October 1944, Atago was flagship of Vice Admiral Takeo Kurita
Takeo Kurita
Vice Admiral was a vice-admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II.-Early life:Kurita was born in Mito city, Ibaraki Prefecture in 1889. He was sent off to Etajima in 1905 and graduated from the 38th class of the Imperial Japanese Naval Academy in 1910, ranked 28th out of a class of...

's First Mobile Striking Force, the most powerful component of the Imperial Japanese Navy at the time with seven battleships, 11 heavy cruisers, two light cruiser
Light cruiser
A light cruiser is a type of small- or medium-sized warship. The term is a shortening of the phrase "light armored cruiser", describing a small ship that carried armor in the same way as an armored cruiser: a protective belt and deck...

s, and 19 destroyer
Destroyer
In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast and maneuverable yet long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against smaller, powerful, short-range attackers. Destroyers, originally called torpedo-boat destroyers in 1892, evolved from...

s based at Lingga Roads near Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...

. On 22 October, in the Battle of Leyte Gulf
Battle of Leyte Gulf
The Battle of Leyte Gulf, also called the "Battles for Leyte Gulf", and formerly known as the "Second Battle of the Philippine Sea", is generally considered to be the largest naval battle of World War II and, by some criteria, possibly the largest naval battle in history.It was fought in waters...

, Atago sortied with CruDiv 4's Chōkai, Takao and Maya. The next day, during the Battle of the Palawan Passage, Atago was hit by four torpedoes fired by the submarine , and set afire. At 05:53, Atago capsized in about 1800 m (5,905.5 ft) of water at 09°28′N 117°17′E.

Of Atago’s crewmen, 360 were killed, but 529 survivors including Vice Admiral Kurita, CoS Rear Admiral Tomiji Koyanagi
Tomiji Koyanagi
, was an admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II.-Biography:A native of Niigata Prefecture, Koyanagi was a graduate of the 42nd class of the Imperial Japanese Navy Academy in 1914. He served his midshipman duty on the cruiser and battleship . Commissioned a sub-lieutenant in...

 and Atago’s skipper Rear Admiral Araki were rescued by Kishinami; 171 other survivors were also rescued by Asashimo. Atago’s sister ships fared no better: Maya was sunk by Dace; Takao was forced back to Brunei
Brunei
Brunei , officially the State of Brunei Darussalam or the Nation of Brunei, the Abode of Peace , is a sovereign state located on the north coast of the island of Borneo, in Southeast Asia...

 after being torpedoed by Darter (later scuttled after running onto a reef); and two days later, Chōkai was lost off Samar
Samar
Samar, formerly and also known as Western Samar, is a province in the Philippines located in the Eastern Visayas region. Its capital is Catbalogan City and covers the western portion of Samar as well as several islands in the Samar Sea located to the west of the mainland...

, despite having assisted in sinking two US destroyers, the escort carrier , and escort destroyer .

See also

Atago class destroyer
Atago class destroyer
The is an improved version of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force 's Kongō class destroyers. It is a Japanese variant of the United States Navy Arleigh Burke-class destroyer ....

DDG-177 Atago (commissioned 2007)
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