Japanese cruiser Tenryu
Encyclopedia
was the lead ship
in the two-ship of light cruiser
s of the Imperial Japanese Navy
. Tenryū was named after the Tenryū River
in Nagano
and Shizuoka
prefectures.
s, inspired by and designed with a similar concept to the Royal Navy
Arethusa-class
and s. These ships were designed to act as flagships for destroyer flotillas.
With improvements in oil-fired turbine-engine technology, the Tenryū class had more than twice the power of the previous and were capable of reaching the high speed of 33 knots (65 km/h).
. The following year, it was assigned to the Japanese 2nd Fleet
and patrolled the coast of Russia
, providing support to Japanese troops in the Siberian Intervention
against the Bolshevik
Red Army
.
The ship was refitted between March 1927 and March 1930, when it was given a tripod foremast. From 1931 to 1933, Tenryū was assigned to patrols of the Yangtze River
in China
and was thus in combat during the January 28 Incident
at Shanghai
in 1932.
From 1937 to 1938, Tenryū was assigned to patrols of the China
coast, as the situation between Japan and China deteriorated into the Second Sino-Japanese War
. During a refit in 1939, it gained two additional 13 mm AA machine guns. From 1939 to 1941, the ship served primarily as a training vessel.
, together with its sister ship
Tatsuta in CruDiv 18 of the Fourth Fleet
under Vice Admiral
Marumo Kunimori. At the time of the attack on Pearl Harbor
, CruDiv 18 was part of the Wake Island
invasion force. Tenryū was strafed with machine-gun fire by a USMC
Grumman F4F Wildcat
that damaged three torpedoes on its deck on December 11, 1941, but otherwise suffered no damage during the first Battle of Wake Island
. The cruiser also participated in the second (successful) invasion attempt on Wake Island on December 21.
On 20 January 1942, Tatsuta and Tenryū were assigned to cover troop transports during the invasion of Kavieng
, New Ireland
, in the Bismarck Archipelago
. During a refit at Truk on 23 February, two Type 96 twin-mount 25 mm AA guns were installed aft as part of the heightened awareness of the threat posed by American aircraft.
From March through May, CruDiv 18 and Tenryū covered numerous troop landings throughout the Solomon Islands
and New Guinea
, including Lae
and Salamaua
, Buka
, Bougainville
, Rabaul
, Shortland
, Kieta
, Manus Island
, the Admiralty Islands
, Tulagi
, and Santa Isabel Island
.
Tenryū returned to Japan for repairs on 23 May, remaining for a month.
On July 14, 1942, in a major reorganization of the Japanese navy, CruDiv 18 under Rear Admiral
Mitsuharu Matsuyama came under the newly created Eighth Fleet
, commanded by Vice Admiral Gunichi Mikawa
. On July 20, Tenryū was assigned to cover Japanese troop landings in the invasion of Buna
, New Guinea. The invasion force was attacked by USAAF B-17 Flying Fortresss and B-26 Marauder
bombers, but Tenryū was unharmed.
, together with the cruisers , , , , , and , and the destroyer , which attacked US Task Group 62.6 that was screening transports with Allied invasion forces for Guadalcanal. During nighttime gun and torpedo action, Tenryu sank the with two torpedoes. She also contributed to sinking the , , and . In addition, the , , and were damaged. Tenryū was hit by the Chicago, with 23 crewmen killed. Tenryū remained based out of Rabaul through the end of August, escorting convoys of troops and supplies.
On 25 August, Tenryū was again bombed by B-17s during its coverage of the landing of 1200 troops of the Kure No. 5 Special Naval Landing Force at Milne Bay
, New Guinea, but again escaped without damage. On 6 September, Tenryū was part of the force assigned to evacuate the surviving troops after their defeat and in the process sank the 3,199-ton British freighter MV Anshun (1930)
.
On 1 October, the cruiser was hit by a bomb dropped by a B-17 of the 19th Bomb Group, Fifth Air Force
while at Rabaul. The bomb killed 30 crewmen, but the ship was not severely damaged. Tenryū was then tasked with "Tokyo Express
" transport runs from Rabaul to Tassafaronga
, Guadalcanal, through early November.
On 8 November, the Tenryū convoy was attacked by PT boat
s (PT-37, P-39, and PT-61), but escaped without damage.
torpedo-bombers from Guadalcanal. During the subsequent battle, Kinugasa was sunk and Chōkai was slightly damaged. A Douglas SBD Dauntless
dive-bomber crashed into the cruiser . Tenryū was undamaged and returned to Shortland.
On 16 December 1942, Tenryū departed for Madang
, New Guinea, in an attack force with the destroyers , , , and and the armed merchant cruisers Aikoku Maru and Gokoku Maru, successfully landing its forces on 18 December.
The following day, as Tenryū was departing, it was attacked by , which fired three torpedoes each at a transport and what it identified as a destroyer. The torpedoes missed the transport, but one hit Tenryū in the stern. Tenryū sank at 11:20 p.m. on 19 December 1942, at 05°12′S 145°56′E. Twenty-three crewmen were lost, but Suzukaze rescued the survivors, including Captain Ueda.
Tenryū was struck from the Navy list on 20 January 1943.
Lead ship
The lead ship or class leader is the first of a series or class of ships all constructed according to the same general design. The term is applicable military ships and larger civilian craft.-Overview:...
in the two-ship of 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 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...
. Tenryū was named after the Tenryū River
Tenryu River
The is a river arising from Lake Suwa in Okaya, Nagano Prefecture, grazing Aichi Prefecture and flowing through western Shizuoka Prefecture in central Honshū, Japan. With a length of , it is Japan's ninth longest river.-Geography:...
in Nagano
Nagano Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of the island of Honshū. The capital is the city of Nagano.- History :Nagano was formerly known as the province of Shinano...
and Shizuoka
Shizuoka Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region on Honshu island. The capital is the city of Shizuoka.- History :Shizuoka prefecture was formed from the former Tōtōmi, Suruga and Izu provinces.The area was the home of the first Tokugawa Shogun...
prefectures.
Background
The Tenryū-class light cruisers were essentially enlarged destroyerDestroyer
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, inspired by and designed with a similar concept to the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
Arethusa-class
Arethusa class cruiser (1913)
The Arethusa-class cruisers were a class of eight oil-fired light cruisers of the Royal Navy all ordered in September 1912, primarily for service in the North Sea. They had three funnels with the middle one somewhat larger in diameter than the others. All served in World War I...
and s. These ships were designed to act as flagships for destroyer flotillas.
With improvements in oil-fired turbine-engine technology, the Tenryū class had more than twice the power of the previous and were capable of reaching the high speed of 33 knots (65 km/h).
Early career
Tenryū was completed on 20 November 1919, at the Yokosuka Naval ArsenalYokosuka Naval Arsenal
was one of four principal naval shipyards owned and operated by the Imperial Japanese Navy, and was located at Yokosuka city, Kanagawa prefecture on Tokyo Bay, south of Yokohama...
. The following year, it was assigned to the Japanese 2nd Fleet
IJN 2nd Fleet
The was a fleet of the Imperial Japanese Navy.-History:First established on 28 December 1903, the IJN 2nd Fleet was created by the Imperial General Headquarters as a mobile strike force of cruisers and destroyers to pursue the Imperial Russian Navy's Vladivostok-based cruiser squadron while the...
and patrolled the coast of Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, providing support to Japanese troops in the Siberian Intervention
Siberian Intervention
The ', or the Siberian Expedition, of 1918–1922 was the dispatch of troops of the Entente powers to the Russian Maritime Provinces as part of a larger effort by the western powers and Japan to support White Russian forces against the Bolshevik Red Army during the Russian Civil War...
against the Bolshevik
Bolshevik
The Bolsheviks, originally also Bolshevists , derived from bol'shinstvo, "majority") were a faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party which split apart from the Menshevik faction at the Second Party Congress in 1903....
Red Army
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
.
The ship was refitted between March 1927 and March 1930, when it was given a tripod foremast. From 1931 to 1933, Tenryū was assigned to patrols of the Yangtze River
Yangtze River
The Yangtze, Yangzi or Cháng Jiāng is the longest river in Asia, and the third-longest in the world. It flows for from the glaciers on the Tibetan Plateau in Qinghai eastward across southwest, central and eastern China before emptying into the East China Sea at Shanghai. It is also one of the...
in China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
and was thus in combat during the January 28 Incident
January 28 Incident
The January 28 Incident was a short war between the armies of the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan, before official hostilities of the Second Sino-Japanese War commenced in 1937.- Naming :...
at Shanghai
Shanghai
Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...
in 1932.
From 1937 to 1938, Tenryū was assigned to patrols of the China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
coast, as the situation between Japan and China deteriorated into the Second Sino-Japanese War
Second Sino-Japanese War
The Second Sino-Japanese War was a military conflict fought primarily between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. From 1937 to 1941, China fought Japan with some economic help from Germany , the Soviet Union and the United States...
. During a refit in 1939, it gained two additional 13 mm AA machine guns. From 1939 to 1941, the ship served primarily as a training vessel.
Early Pacific War
In late 1940, Tenryū was based out of Truk, in the Caroline IslandsCaroline Islands
The Caroline Islands 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 in the eastern part of the group, and Palau at the extreme western end...
, together with its 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...
Tatsuta in CruDiv 18 of the Fourth Fleet
IJN 4th Fleet
The was a fleet designation of the Imperial Japanese Navy. The Fourth Fleet designation was used during three separate periods. The initial designation was for a group of ships that were assigned to work together during the Russo-Japanese conflict and the period of its immediate aftermath...
under Vice Admiral
Vice admiral (United States)
In the United States Navy, the United States Coast Guard, the United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Corps, and the United States Maritime Service, vice admiral is a three-star flag officer, with the pay grade of...
Marumo Kunimori. At the time of the attack on Pearl Harbor
Attack on Pearl Harbor
The attack on Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike conducted by the Imperial Japanese Navy against the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on the morning of December 7, 1941...
, CruDiv 18 was part of the Wake Island
Wake Island
Wake Island is a coral atoll having a coastline of in the North Pacific Ocean, located about two-thirds of the way from Honolulu west to Guam east. It is an unorganized, unincorporated territory of the United States, administered by the Office of Insular Affairs, U.S. Department of the Interior...
invasion force. Tenryū was strafed with machine-gun fire by a USMC
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...
Grumman F4F Wildcat
F4F Wildcat
The Grumman F4F Wildcat was an American carrier-based fighter aircraft that began service with both the United States Navy and the British Royal Navy in 1940...
that damaged three torpedoes on its deck on December 11, 1941, but otherwise suffered no damage during the first Battle of Wake Island
Battle of Wake Island
The Battle of Wake Island began simultaneously with the Attack on Pearl Harbor and ended on 23 December 1941, with the surrender of the American forces to the Empire of Japan...
. The cruiser also participated in the second (successful) invasion attempt on Wake Island on December 21.
On 20 January 1942, Tatsuta and Tenryū were assigned to cover troop transports during the invasion of Kavieng
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 2000, it had a population of 10,600....
, New Ireland
New Ireland (island)
New Ireland is a large island in Papua New Guinea, approximately 7,404 km² in area. It is the largest island of the New Ireland Province, lying northeast of the island of New Britain. Both islands are part of the Bismarck Archipelago, named after Otto von Bismarck, and they are separated by...
, in the Bismarck Archipelago
Bismarck Archipelago
The Bismarck Archipelago is a group of islands off the northeastern coast of New Guinea in the western Pacific Ocean and is part of the Islands Region of Papua New Guinea.-History:...
. During a refit at Truk on 23 February, two Type 96 twin-mount 25 mm AA guns were installed aft as part of the heightened awareness of the threat posed by American aircraft.
From March through May, CruDiv 18 and Tenryū covered numerous troop landings throughout 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 New Guinea
New Guinea
New Guinea is the world's second largest island, after Greenland, covering a land area of 786,000 km2. Located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, it lies geographically to the east of the Malay Archipelago, with which it is sometimes included as part of a greater Indo-Australian Archipelago...
, including Lae
Lae
Lae, the capital of Morobe Province, is the second-largest city in Papua New Guinea. It is located at the start of the Highlands Highway which is the main land transport corridor from the Highlands region to the coast...
and Salamaua
Salamaua
Salamaua was a small town situated on the north-eastern coastline of Papua New Guinea part of Morobe province. The settlement was built on a minor isthmus between the coast with mountains on the inland side and a headland...
, Buka
Buka, Papua New Guinea
Buka is situated on Buka Island, Bougainville Province, Papua New Guinea. It has been the capital of the province during the Bougainville civil war...
, Bougainville
Bougainville Island
Bougainville Island is the main island of the Autonomous Region of Bougainville of Papua New Guinea. This region is also known as Bougainville Province or the North Solomons. The population of the province is 175,160 , which includes the adjacent island of Buka and assorted outlying islands...
, 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...
, Shortland
Shortland Island
Shortland Island is the largest island of the Shortland Islands, Solomon Islands, at . Named by John Shortland....
, Kieta
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 known mainly for its transport connections .-History:On...
, Manus Island
Manus Island
Manus Island is part of Manus Province in northern Papua New Guinea and is the largest island of the Admiralty Islands. It is the fifth largest island in Papua New Guinea with an area of 2,100 km², measuring around 100 km × 30 km. According to the 2000 census, Manus Island had a...
, the Admiralty Islands
Admiralty Islands
The Admiralty Islands are a group of eighteen islands in the Bismarck Archipelago, to the north of New Guinea in the south Pacific Ocean. These are also sometimes called the Manus Islands, after the largest island. These rainforest-covered islands form part of Manus Province, the smallest and...
, Tulagi
Tulagi
Tulagi, less commonly Tulaghi, is a small island in the Solomon Islands, just off the south coast of Florida Island. The town of the same name on the island Tulagi, less commonly Tulaghi, is a small island (5.5 km by 1 km) in the Solomon Islands, just off the south coast of Florida...
, and Santa Isabel Island
Santa Isabel Island
Santa Isabel Island is the longest in the Solomon Islands, South Pacific, and the largest in the group of islands in Isabel Province.-Location and geographic data:...
.
Tenryū returned to Japan for repairs on 23 May, remaining for a month.
On July 14, 1942, in a major reorganization of the Japanese navy, CruDiv 18 under Rear Admiral
Rear admiral (United States)
Rear admiral is a naval commissioned officer rank above that of a commodore and captain, and below that of a vice admiral. The uniformed services of the United States are unique in having two grades of rear admirals.- Rear admiral :...
Mitsuharu Matsuyama came under the newly created Eighth Fleet
IJN 8th Fleet
The was a fleet of the Imperial Japanese Navy established during World War II.-History:Established on 14 July 1942, the IJN 8th Fleet was a headquarters unit established to direct Japanese naval operations in the Solomon Islands and New Guinea...
, commanded by Vice Admiral Gunichi Mikawa
Gunichi Mikawa
was a Vice-Admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II.Mikawa was the commander of a heavy cruiser force that carried out spectacular I.J.N. victory over the U.S. Navy and the Royal Australian Navy at the Battle of Savo Island in Ironbottom Sound on the night of August 1942. In...
. On July 20, Tenryū was assigned to cover Japanese troop landings in the invasion of Buna
Buna, Papua New Guinea
Buna is a village in Oro Province, Papua New Guinea. It was the site in part, of the Battle of Buna-Gona during World War II, when it constituted a variety of native huts and a handful of houses with a airstrip...
, New Guinea. The invasion force was attacked by USAAF B-17 Flying Fortresss and B-26 Marauder
B-26 Marauder
The Martin B-26 Marauder was a World War II twin-engine medium bomber built by the Glenn L. Martin Company. First used in the Pacific Theater in early 1942, it was also used in the Mediterranean Theater and in Western Europe....
bombers, but Tenryū was unharmed.
Battle of Savo Island
On 9 August 1942, Tenryū was in the Battle of Savo IslandBattle of Savo Island
The Battle of Savo Island, also known as the First Battle of Savo Island and, in Japanese sources, as the , was a naval battle of the Pacific Campaign of World War II, between the Imperial Japanese Navy and Allied naval forces...
, together with the cruisers , , , , , and , and the destroyer , which attacked US Task Group 62.6 that was screening transports with Allied invasion forces for Guadalcanal. During nighttime gun and torpedo action, Tenryu sank the with two torpedoes. She also contributed to sinking the , , and . In addition, the , , and were damaged. Tenryū was hit by the Chicago, with 23 crewmen killed. Tenryū remained based out of Rabaul through the end of August, escorting convoys of troops and supplies.
On 25 August, Tenryū was again bombed by B-17s during its coverage of the landing of 1200 troops of the Kure No. 5 Special Naval Landing Force at Milne Bay
Milne Bay
Milne Bay is a large bay in Milne Bay Province, southeastern Papua New Guinea. The bay is named after Sir Alexander Milne.The area was a site of the Battle of Milne Bay in 1942....
, New Guinea, but again escaped without damage. On 6 September, Tenryū was part of the force assigned to evacuate the surviving troops after their defeat and in the process sank the 3,199-ton British freighter MV Anshun (1930)
MV Anshun (1930)
The MV Anshun was a motor vessel of 3165 tons built by Scotts Shipbuilding and Engineering Company Limited, Greenock in 1930 for the The China Navigation Co. for the Chinese coastal passenger service....
.
On 1 October, the cruiser was hit by a bomb dropped by a B-17 of the 19th Bomb Group, Fifth Air Force
Fifth Air Force
The Fifth Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Pacific Air Forces . It is headquartered at Yokota Air Base, Japan....
while at Rabaul. The bomb killed 30 crewmen, but the ship was not severely damaged. Tenryū was then tasked with "Tokyo Express
Tokyo Express
The Tokyo Express was the name given by Allied forces to the use of Imperial Japanese Navy ships at night to deliver personnel, supplies, and equipment to Japanese forces operating in and around New Guinea and the Solomon Islands during the Pacific campaign of World War II...
" transport runs from Rabaul to Tassafaronga
Battle of Tassafaronga
The Battle of Tassafaronga, sometimes referred to as the Fourth Battle of Savo Island or, in Japanese sources, as the , was a nighttime naval battle that took place November 30, 1942 between United States Navy and Imperial Japanese Navy warships during the Guadalcanal campaign...
, Guadalcanal, through early November.
On 8 November, the Tenryū convoy was attacked by PT boat
PT boat
PT Boats were a variety of motor torpedo boat , a small, fast vessel used by the United States Navy in World War II to attack larger surface ships. The PT boat squadrons were nicknamed "the mosquito fleet". The Japanese called them "Devil Boats".The original pre–World War I torpedo boats were...
s (PT-37, P-39, and PT-61), but escaped without damage.
Naval Battles of Guadalcanal
On 13 November 1942, Tenryū departed Shortland for Guadalcanal as part of the Japanese task force for the bombardment of Henderson Field. The task force was attacked the next day by and torpedo-bombers from and Marine Grumman TBF AvengerTBF Avenger
The Grumman TBF Avenger was a torpedo bomber developed initially for the United States Navy and Marine Corps, and eventually used by several air or naval arms around the world....
torpedo-bombers from Guadalcanal. During the subsequent battle, Kinugasa was sunk and Chōkai was slightly damaged. A Douglas SBD Dauntless
SBD Dauntless
The Douglas SBD Dauntless was a naval dive bomber made by Douglas during World War II. The SBD was the United States Navy's main dive bomber from mid-1940 until late 1943, when it was largely replaced by the SB2C Helldiver...
dive-bomber crashed into the cruiser . Tenryū was undamaged and returned to Shortland.
On 16 December 1942, Tenryū departed for Madang
Madang
Madang is the capital of Madang Province and is a town with a population of 27,420 on the north coast of Papua New Guinea. It was first settled by the Germans in the 19th century....
, New Guinea, in an attack force with the destroyers , , , and and the armed merchant cruisers Aikoku Maru and Gokoku Maru, successfully landing its forces on 18 December.
The following day, as Tenryū was departing, it was attacked by , which fired three torpedoes each at a transport and what it identified as a destroyer. The torpedoes missed the transport, but one hit Tenryū in the stern. Tenryū sank at 11:20 p.m. on 19 December 1942, at 05°12′S 145°56′E. Twenty-three crewmen were lost, but Suzukaze rescued the survivors, including Captain Ueda.
Tenryū was struck from the Navy list on 20 January 1943.
External links
- Gallery: US Navy Historical Center