was a 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...

, sunk on January 5, 1945 by an American air attack west of Manila, in the South China Sea

South China Sea

The South China Sea is a marginal sea that is part of the Pacific Ocean, encompassing an area from the Singapore and Malacca Straits to the Strait of Taiwan of around...

.

Operational history

On September 27, 1944 off Etoforu in the Kurile Islands (45º44'N, 148º41'E), Momi was damaged by a torpedo from the submarine . Between October 25 and November 2, together with the destroyer , she escorted the aircraft carriers and on a transport mission from Sasebo

Sasebo, Nagasaki

is a city located in Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan. As of 2011, the city has an estimated population of 259,800 and the density of 609 persons per km². The total area is 426.47 km². The locality is famed for its scenic beauty. The city includes a part of Saikai National Park...

 to Keelung, then returned to Kure.

Momi sortied from Kure on December 16, 1944 as part of the escort for the aircraft carrier . The remainder of the escort consisted of the destroyers and Hinoki. Because an American invasion fleet had been spotted approaching the Philippine Islands, Unryū was intended to deliver a squadron of 30 Ohka

Ohka

The Yokosuka MXY-7 Ohka was a purpose-built, rocket powered human-guided anti-shipping kamikaze attack plane employed by Japan towards the end of World War II...

kamikaze

Kamikaze

The were suicide attacks by military aviators from the Empire of Japan against Allied naval vessels in the closing stages of the Pacific campaign of World War II, designed to destroy as many warships as possible....

planes to Manila

Manila

Manila is the capital of the Philippines. It is one of the sixteen cities forming Metro Manila.Manila is located on the eastern shores of Manila Bay and is bordered by Navotas and Caloocan to the north, Quezon City to the northeast, San Juan and Mandaluyong to the east, Makati on the southeast,...

.

The task force sailed west through the Shimonoseki Straits

Kanmon Straits

The Kanmon Straits or the Straits of Shimonoseki is the stretch of water separating two of Japan's four main islands. On the Honshū side of the water is Shimonoseki and on the Kyūshū side is Kitakyūshū, whose former city and present ward, Moji , gave the strait its "mon"...

 to avoid American submarines, then turned south. On December 19, it encountered the submarine , which sank Unryū, then submerged deep to escape the charging Hinoki. Shigure remained in the area to pick up survivors and unssuccessfully track down and sink the American submarine, while Hinoki and Momi shaped course for Japanese-occupied 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...

. From there, they escorted Ikutagawa Maru to Manila, arriving on January 4, 1945.

The two destroyers were then ordered to withdraw to Taiwan

Taiwan

Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...

, but were caught by American destroyers, including , on the afternoon of January 5. They escaped 127 mm (5 in) gunfire and a spread of torpedoes fired from maximum range, but were caught by carrier-based aircraft from Task Force 77. A 454 kg (1,000 lb) bomb from an 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...

 crippled Hinoki at 5:17 PM; and at 7:10 PM, a torpedo from a TBF Avenger

TBF 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....

struck Momi, she sank with all hands. (14°0′N 120°20′E)

External links

• "Star-Crossed Sortie: The Last Voyage of Unryū and DesDiv 52" by Anthony Tully (retrieved January 16, 2007)
• "Matsu class 1st class destroyers" (retrieved January 16, 2007)
• IJN Momi: Tabular Record of Movement (retrieved October 20, 2009)