Operation Kita
Encyclopedia
Operation Kita was conducted by the Imperial Japanese Navy
(IJN) during the Pacific War
in February 1945. Its purpose was to return both Ise-class
hybrid battleship
-aircraft carrier
s and their escorts to Japan
from Singapore
, where they had been based since November the previous year. The movement of the Japanese force was detected by the Allies
, but all attempts to attack it with submarine
s and aircraft failed. Nevertheless, due to the intensifying Allied blockade of Japan, the Ise-class battleship-carriers and their escorts were among the last IJN warships to safely reach the country from the Southwest Pacific
before the end of the war.
Before departing Singapore, the Japanese ships, which were designated the Completion Force, were loaded with supplies of oil
and other important raw materials. This formed part of an effort to run increased quantities of supplies through the Allied blockade
of Japan before the country was cut off from its empire. The Allies had learned of the Completion Force's composition and goals through intelligence
gained from decrypting Japanese radio signals, and plans were developed for coordinated attacks on it by submarines and United States Army Air Forces
(USAAF) aircraft. As part of these preparations, 26 submarines were eventually positioned along the ships' expected route.
The Completion Force sailed on 10 February 1945 and was sighted leaving port by a Royal Navy
submarine. However, attempts by it and several United States Navy
(U.S. Navy) submarines to attack between 11 and 14 February were unsuccessful. More than 88 USAAF aircraft attempted to bomb the Completion Force on 13 and 14 February, but were unable to do so due to bad weather. A further submarine attack on 16 February did not damage any of the Japanese ships. As a result, the Completion Force reached its destination of Kure
in Japan on 20 February without having suffered any casualties. Despite this success, the Japanese Government was forced to discontinue its efforts to ship oil from Southeast Asia to Japan in March due to the heavy losses Allied submarines were inflicting on oil tanker
s, and all the ships of the Completion Force were sunk in or near Japanese home waters before the end of the war.
effectively cut off the supply of oil from Southeast Asia to Japan and greatly reduced Japanese imports of other commodities. By this stage of the war, the oil reserves in Japan had been largely depleted. U.S. Navy submarines sank many Japanese warships during 1944, including the battleship , seven aircraft carrier
s, two heavy
and seven light cruiser
s. In early 1945, the Japanese Government assessed that all convoy
routes from the south would eventually be cut, and attempted to supplement the supplies of oil brought in by tankers
by loading drums of oil on freighter
s. Several IJN aircraft carrier
s were also used to transport drums of oil from Singapore
to Japan.
On 11 November 1944, the two Ise-class hybrid battleship-aircraft carriers— and , which were grouped as Carrier Division 4
and under the command of Rear Admiral Matsuda Chiaki—sailed from the Japanese home islands to join the main body of the IJN in the Southwest Pacific. This deployment was made to both reinforce the remaining elements of the IJN in the area and place the ships near a source of fuel. During their voyage from Japan, each of the battleship-carriers was loaded with about 1000 ST (907.2 t) of munitions for the units defending Manila
in the Philippines
. Due to heavy Allied air attacks on Manila, the two warships unloaded their supplies in the Spratly Islands
from 14 November. They sailed for the Lingga Roads
near Singapore on the 20th of the month and arrived there two days later. The Allies learned from intelligence gained by decrypting
Japanese radio signals that the battleship-carriers had sailed. Allied submarines were ordered to keep watch for the ships, but did not intercept Ise or Hyūga during their voyage to Singapore. The two battleship-carriers were deployed to Cam Ranh Bay
in Indochina during December and returned to Singapore on 11 January 1945. The U.S. Third Fleet raided the South China Sea
between 10 and 20 January in search of the Japanese fleet, but did not locate Ise or Hyūga.
The ships of the Completion Force departed the Lingga Roads on 6 February and began loading their cargoes in Singapore the next day. Shortly before docking, Ise sustained a small amount of damage when she struck a mine
which had been dropped by Allied aircraft
. During the Completion Force's period at Singapore all six ships were loaded with supplies and Ise received temporary repairs. Hyūga embarked 4,944 drums of aviation gasoline
as well as 326 drums of standard gasoline
and 440 oil field workers. Ise was loaded with 5,200 drums of aviation gasoline and 551 oil workers; each of the battleship-carriers also embarked 1750 ST (1,587.6 t) of rubber
, 1,750 short tons of tin
and 200 ST (181.4 t) of other metals. Ōyodo was loaded with 120 ST (108.9 t) of tin, 70 ST (63.5 t) of tungsten
, 70 tons of aviation gasoline, 50 ST (45.4 t) of rubber, 40 ST (36.3 t) of zinc
and 20 ST (18.1 t) of mercury
. A further 140 ST (127 t) of rubber and tin was split among the three destroyers.
Through code breaking, Allied intelligence was aware of the Completion Force's composition and objectives. Allied signals intelligence units carefully monitored radio transmissions in the Singapore region, and the resulting "Ultra
" intelligence provided details of the two battleship-carriers' movements to Singapore, preparations to return to Japan and planned route. The commander of Allied submarines in the South-West Pacific Area, Rear Admiral James Fife, Jr.
, placed a high priority on stopping Ise and Hyūga from reaching Japan, and stationed 15 submarines along their expected route. A plan for coordinated attacks on the ships by the U.S. Navy and USAAF was developed. At the time, the U.S. Seventh Fleet
was assigned four battleships in Filipino waters to guard the Allied beachhead at Lingayen Gulf
in Luzon
against attacks by the Japanese forces based at Lingga Roads and the Inland Sea until the USAAF forces in the region were strong enough to assume this responsibility. As of early February, the USAAF units in the Philippines were focused on supporting the United States Army
–led Philippines Campaign and attacking Japanese facilities in Formosa
. An intensive campaign against Japanese shipping in the South China Sea had been planned, but was yet to begin.
. The ships left the Philippines area on 14 February without having played any part in efforts to intercept the Completion Force.
U.S. Navy submarines unsuccessfully attempted to attack the Japanese ships on 12 February. At about 1:45 pm, detected the Completion Force at a distance of 9 mi (7.8 nmi; 14.5 km) using her radar and transmitted a contact report. An hour later, made radar contact with the Japanese ships at a range of 15 mi (13 nmi; 24.1 km). Over the next 14 hours the submarines Blackfin, Charr, , and attempted to reach a position where they could attack the Japanese ships, but were unable to do so. A group of submarines to the north—comprising , and —was unable to reach a position where they could attack the Completion Force.
USAAF patrols made contact with the Completion Force on 12 February; following this, it was tracked almost continuously by radar-equipped Army Air Forces and U.S. Navy aircraft. On the morning of 13 February, a force of B-24 Liberator heavy bombers and 40 B-25 Mitchell medium bombers escorted by 48 P-51 Mustang fighters was dispatched from several bases on the islands of Leyte
and Mindoro
to attack the Japanese ships. While the aircraft successfully rendezvoused near the Completion Force, heavy cloud cover kept them from spotting any of the ships. As radar-directed blind bombing was prohibited to avoid accidental attacks on the Allied submarines in the area, the strike force returned to its bases without attacking. On the same day, the Australian destroyers and departed Lingayen Gulf and proceeded to a position about 300 mi (260.7 nmi; 482.8 km) west of Manila where they were held in readiness to rescue the crews of any aircraft downed while attacking the Completion Force.
More submarines attempted to attack the Japanese force on 13 February. A group of three boats—comprising , and —was deployed along its route, and Bergall sighted the Japanese ships at 12:30 pm. The submarine was submerged at the time and attempted to maneuver into a firing position, but could not get any closer to the ships than 4800 yd (4,389.1 m). Nevertheless, it fired six torpedo
es at the Japanese force, all of which missed. Blower attempted a submerged attack, but the five torpedoes it fired at one of the battleship-carriers and Ōyodo missed. and , the northernmost submarines that Rear Admiral Fife had deployed, encountered the Completion Force during the afternoon of 13 February. Bashaw sighted the Japanese ships as they emerged from a rain squall at 3:15 pm, but one of the battleship-carriers spotted the submarine and launched an aircraft to attack it. Bashaw was forced to dive when the battleship-carrier began shelling it with her main battery
, and neither it nor Flasher was able to intercept the Completion Force. During this period the other submarines in the area continued to chase the Japanese ships but did not regain contact with them.
An air attack was attempted against the Completion Force on 14 February. The number of B-24s, B-25s and escorting P-51s dispatched on this day was smaller than the force which had been used on 13 February, as the Japanese ships were now beyond the range of aircraft based at Leyte. Once again, cloud cover over the Completion Force prevented the Allied aircraft from sighting the Japanese ships, and they were unable to attack due to the prohibition on radar-aimed bombing. This was the USAAF's last attempt to bomb the Japanese force. As a result, the only successes gained by the USAAF aircraft involved in the operation were to shoot down a Mitsubishi Ki-57
"Topsy" transport plane near the Completion Force on 13 February as well as several fighters in the area of the ships between the 12th and 14th of the month. The two Australian destroyers were released for other duties on 15 February.
Vice Admiral Charles A. Lockwood
—the commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet's
submarine force—followed the unsuccessful attempts to intercept the Completion Force in the South China Sea, and stationed a further eleven submarines along its projected route between the Luzon Strait
and Japan. The Completion Force reached the Matsu Islands
at the northern end of the Formosa Strait
in the evening of 15 February, and anchored there for five hours. The Japanese ships resumed their journey to Kure via Korea and the Shimonoseki Strait at midnight, and the destroyers and were attached to the force for part of the day. At 5:07 am on 16 February, intercepted the Completion Force south of the Chinese city of Wenchow
and fired six torpedoes at one of the escorts, but all missed. At this time the Japanese ships were sailing at a speed of 18 knots (35.3 km/h). None of the other American submarines made contact with the Japanese force as it sailed to the east of where they had been positioned by Lockwood.
The Completion Force finished its voyage toward the end of February. It anchored off Chusan Island
near Shanghai
from 9:06 pm on 16 February until 7:00 am on 18 February, when it sailed for Sanzenpo Harbor near Sacheon
on the southern coast of Korea. It arrived there at 4:00 pm that day, and anchored overnight. The Completion Force departed Sanzenpo Harbor at 7:00 am on 19 February and reached the Japanese island of Mutsurejima at 4:00 pm that day. After anchoring overnight, the Completion Force docked at Kure at 10:00 am on 20 February. The ships of the Completion Force were among the last Japanese warships to reach the home islands from the Southwest Pacific.
The use of freighters and warships to carry oil was successful in increasing Japanese oil imports, and the total level quality of oil which reached the country during the first quarter of 1945 was greater than the amounts achieved in late 1944. Nevertheless, Allied submarines sank the majority of the merchant tankers that attempted to sail from Southeast Asia to Japan during February, and in March the Japanese ceased attempting to import oil from this source. Following the departure of the Completion Force, the only major seaworthy Japanese warships remaining in the Southwest Pacific were the heavy cruiser
s and as well as the light cruiser . These three cruisers did not attempt to return to Japan, and all were sunk by Allied submarines and destroyers between April and June.
After reaching Japan, Ise and Hyūga were assigned to bolster the anti-aircraft defenses of the city of Kure and its naval base. Due to shortages of fuel and aircraft the ships did not put to sea again, and both were sunk during the U.S. Navy's attacks on Kure
between 24 and 28 July 1945. Ōyodo became part of the Kure Training Force and remained in port until she was sunk on 28 July. The three destroyers failed to survive the war; Asashimo and Kasumi fell victim to American carrier aircraft while escorting the battleship during Operation Ten-Go
on 6 April, and Hatsushimo sank after striking a mine near Maizuru
on 30 July.
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...
(IJN) during 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...
in February 1945. Its purpose was to return both Ise-class
Ise class battleship
Originally intended as sister ships of the preceding Fusō class, the of the Imperial Japanese Navy were considered sufficiently different to warrant separate classification....
hybrid 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...
-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...
s and their escorts to Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
from 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...
, where they had been based since November the previous year. The movement of the Japanese force was detected by the Allies
Allies of World War II
The Allies of World War II were the countries that opposed the Axis powers during the Second World War . Former Axis states contributing to the Allied victory are not considered Allied states...
, but all attempts to attack it with 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...
s and aircraft failed. Nevertheless, due to the intensifying Allied blockade of Japan, the Ise-class battleship-carriers and their escorts were among the last IJN warships to safely reach the country from the Southwest Pacific
South West Pacific theatre of World War II
The South West Pacific Theatre, technically the South West Pacific Area, between 1942 and 1945, was one of two designated area commands and war theatres enumerated by the Combined Chiefs of Staff of World War II in the Pacific region....
before the end of the war.
Before departing Singapore, the Japanese ships, which were designated the Completion Force, were loaded with supplies of oil
Oil
An oil is any substance that is liquid at ambient temperatures and does not mix with water but may mix with other oils and organic solvents. This general definition includes vegetable oils, volatile essential oils, petrochemical oils, and synthetic oils....
and other important raw materials. This formed part of an effort to run increased quantities of supplies through the Allied blockade
Blockade
A blockade is an effort to cut off food, supplies, war material or communications from a particular area by force, either in part or totally. A blockade should not be confused with an embargo or sanctions, which are legal barriers to trade, and is distinct from a siege in that a blockade is usually...
of Japan before the country was cut off from its empire. The Allies had learned of the Completion Force's composition and goals through intelligence
Military intelligence
Military intelligence is a military discipline that exploits a number of information collection and analysis approaches to provide guidance and direction to commanders in support of their decisions....
gained from decrypting Japanese radio signals, and plans were developed for coordinated attacks on it by submarines and United States Army Air Forces
United States Army Air Forces
The United States Army Air Forces was the military aviation arm of the United States of America during and immediately after World War II, and the direct predecessor of the United States Air Force....
(USAAF) aircraft. As part of these preparations, 26 submarines were eventually positioned along the ships' expected route.
The Completion Force sailed on 10 February 1945 and was sighted leaving port by a 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...
submarine. However, attempts by it and several United States Navy
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...
(U.S. Navy) submarines to attack between 11 and 14 February were unsuccessful. More than 88 USAAF aircraft attempted to bomb the Completion Force on 13 and 14 February, but were unable to do so due to bad weather. A further submarine attack on 16 February did not damage any of the Japanese ships. As a result, the Completion Force reached its destination of 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 :...
in Japan on 20 February without having suffered any casualties. Despite this success, the Japanese Government was forced to discontinue its efforts to ship oil from Southeast Asia to Japan in March due to the heavy losses Allied submarines were inflicting on oil tanker
Oil tanker
An oil tanker, also known as a petroleum tanker, is a merchant ship designed for the bulk transport of oil. There are two basic types of oil tankers: the crude tanker and the product tanker. Crude tankers move large quantities of unrefined crude oil from its point of extraction to refineries...
s, and all the ships of the Completion Force were sunk in or near Japanese home waters before the end of the war.
Background
During 1944, Allied submarine attacksAllied submarines in the Pacific War
Allied submarines were used extensively during the Pacific War and were a key contributor to the defeat of the Empire of Japan. During the war, submarines of the United States Navy were responsible for 55% of Japan's merchant marine losses; other Allied navies added to the toll. The war against...
effectively cut off the supply of oil from Southeast Asia to Japan and greatly reduced Japanese imports of other commodities. By this stage of the war, the oil reserves in Japan had been largely depleted. U.S. Navy submarines sank many Japanese warships during 1944, including the battleship , seven 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...
s, two heavy
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...
and seven 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. In early 1945, the Japanese Government assessed that all convoy
Convoy
A convoy is a group of vehicles, typically motor vehicles or ships, traveling together for mutual support and protection. Often, a convoy is organized with armed defensive support, though it may also be used in a non-military sense, for example when driving through remote areas.-Age of Sail:Naval...
routes from the south would eventually be cut, and attempted to supplement the supplies of oil brought in by tankers
Oil tanker
An oil tanker, also known as a petroleum tanker, is a merchant ship designed for the bulk transport of oil. There are two basic types of oil tankers: the crude tanker and the product tanker. Crude tankers move large quantities of unrefined crude oil from its point of extraction to refineries...
by loading drums of oil on freighter
Cargo ship
A cargo ship or freighter is any sort of ship or vessel that carries cargo, goods, and materials from one port to another. Thousands of cargo carriers ply the world's seas and oceans each year; they handle the bulk of international trade...
s. Several IJN 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...
s were also used to transport drums of oil from 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...
to Japan.
On 11 November 1944, the two Ise-class hybrid battleship-aircraft carriers— and , which were grouped as Carrier Division 4
Fourth Carrier Division
The was a seaplane tender and aircraft carrier unit of the Imperial Japanese Navy's Combined Fleet.-Organization:-Commander:-Bibliography:*"Monthly The Maru" series, and "The Maru Special" series,...
and under the command of Rear Admiral Matsuda Chiaki—sailed from the Japanese home islands to join the main body of the IJN in the Southwest Pacific. This deployment was made to both reinforce the remaining elements of the IJN in the area and place the ships near a source of fuel. During their voyage from Japan, each of the battleship-carriers was loaded with about 1000 ST (907.2 t) of munitions for the units defending 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,...
in 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...
. Due to heavy Allied air attacks on Manila, the two warships unloaded their supplies in the Spratly Islands
Spratly Islands
The Spratly Islands are a group of more than 750 reefs, islets, atolls, cays and islands in the South China Sea. The archipelago lies off the coasts of the Philippines and Malaysia , about one third of the way from there to southern Vietnam. They comprise less than four square kilometers of land...
from 14 November. They sailed for the Lingga Roads
Lingga Islands
Not to be confused with "Linga", a common Scottish island name, see Linga The Lingga Islands or Lingga Archipelago are a group of islands in Indonesia, located south of Singapore, along both sides of the equator, off the eastern coast of Riau Islands province on Sumatra island...
near Singapore on the 20th of the month and arrived there two days later. The Allies learned from intelligence gained by decrypting
Cryptanalysis
Cryptanalysis is the study of methods for obtaining the meaning of encrypted information, without access to the secret information that is normally required to do so. Typically, this involves knowing how the system works and finding a secret key...
Japanese radio signals that the battleship-carriers had sailed. Allied submarines were ordered to keep watch for the ships, but did not intercept Ise or Hyūga during their voyage to Singapore. The two battleship-carriers were deployed to Cam Ranh Bay
Cam Ranh Bay
Cam Ranh Bay is a deep-water bay in Vietnam in the province of Khánh Hòa. It is located at an inlet of the South China Sea situated on the southeastern coast of Vietnam, between Phan Rang and Nha Trang, approximately 290 kilometers / 180 miles northeast of Hồ Chí Minh City / Saigon.Cam Ranh is...
in Indochina during December and returned to Singapore on 11 January 1945. The U.S. Third Fleet raided 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...
between 10 and 20 January in search of the Japanese fleet, but did not locate Ise or Hyūga.
Preparations
In early February 1945, Ise, Hyūga and an escort of smaller warships received orders to sail to Japan in what was designated Operation Kita. The goal of this operation was to return some of the IJN warships in the Southwest Pacific to Japan loaded with important supplies. The ships selected to accompany the battleship-carriers were the light cruiser (which became part of Carrier Division 4 from 10 February) and destroyers , and . Carrier Division 4 and its escorts was designated the Completion Force.The ships of the Completion Force departed the Lingga Roads on 6 February and began loading their cargoes in Singapore the next day. Shortly before docking, Ise sustained a small amount of damage when she struck a mine
Naval mine
A naval mine is a self-contained explosive device placed in water to destroy surface ships or submarines. Unlike depth charges, mines are deposited and left to wait until they are triggered by the approach of, or contact with, an enemy vessel...
which had been dropped by Allied aircraft
Bombing of Singapore (1944–1945)
The Bombing of Singapore was a military campaign conducted by the Allied air forces during World War II. United States Army Air Forces long-range bomber units conducted 11 air raids on Japanese-occupied Singapore between November 1944 and March 1945...
. During the Completion Force's period at Singapore all six ships were loaded with supplies and Ise received temporary repairs. Hyūga embarked 4,944 drums of aviation gasoline
Avgas
Avgas is an aviation fuel used to power piston-engine aircraft. Avgas is distinguished from mogas , which is the everyday gasoline used in cars and some non-commercial light aircraft...
as well as 326 drums of standard gasoline
Gasoline
Gasoline , or petrol , is a toxic, translucent, petroleum-derived liquid that is primarily used as a fuel in internal combustion engines. It consists mostly of organic compounds obtained by the fractional distillation of petroleum, enhanced with a variety of additives. Some gasolines also contain...
and 440 oil field workers. Ise was loaded with 5,200 drums of aviation gasoline and 551 oil workers; each of the battleship-carriers also embarked 1750 ST (1,587.6 t) of rubber
Rubber
Natural rubber, also called India rubber or caoutchouc, is an elastomer that was originally derived from latex, a milky colloid produced by some plants. The plants would be ‘tapped’, that is, an incision made into the bark of the tree and the sticky, milk colored latex sap collected and refined...
, 1,750 short tons of tin
Tin
Tin is a chemical element with the symbol Sn and atomic number 50. It is a main group metal in group 14 of the periodic table. Tin shows chemical similarity to both neighboring group 14 elements, germanium and lead and has two possible oxidation states, +2 and the slightly more stable +4...
and 200 ST (181.4 t) of other metals. Ōyodo was loaded with 120 ST (108.9 t) of tin, 70 ST (63.5 t) of tungsten
Tungsten
Tungsten , also known as wolfram , is a chemical element with the chemical symbol W and atomic number 74.A hard, rare metal under standard conditions when uncombined, tungsten is found naturally on Earth only in chemical compounds. It was identified as a new element in 1781, and first isolated as...
, 70 tons of aviation gasoline, 50 ST (45.4 t) of rubber, 40 ST (36.3 t) of zinc
Zinc
Zinc , or spelter , is a metallic chemical element; it has the symbol Zn and atomic number 30. It is the first element in group 12 of the periodic table. Zinc is, in some respects, chemically similar to magnesium, because its ion is of similar size and its only common oxidation state is +2...
and 20 ST (18.1 t) of mercury
Mercury (element)
Mercury is a chemical element with the symbol Hg and atomic number 80. It is also known as quicksilver or hydrargyrum...
. A further 140 ST (127 t) of rubber and tin was split among the three destroyers.
Through code breaking, Allied intelligence was aware of the Completion Force's composition and objectives. Allied signals intelligence units carefully monitored radio transmissions in the Singapore region, and the resulting "Ultra
Ultra
Ultra was the designation adopted by British military intelligence in June 1941 for wartime signals intelligence obtained by "breaking" high-level encrypted enemy radio and teleprinter communications at the Government Code and Cypher School at Bletchley Park. "Ultra" eventually became the standard...
" intelligence provided details of the two battleship-carriers' movements to Singapore, preparations to return to Japan and planned route. The commander of Allied submarines in the South-West Pacific Area, Rear Admiral James Fife, Jr.
James Fife, Jr.
Admiral James Fife, Jr. was a United States Navy admiral who was promoted to four star rank after retirement as a "tombstone admiral".-Biography:...
, placed a high priority on stopping Ise and Hyūga from reaching Japan, and stationed 15 submarines along their expected route. A plan for coordinated attacks on the ships by the U.S. Navy and USAAF was developed. At the time, the U.S. Seventh Fleet
United States Seventh Fleet
The Seventh Fleet is the United States Navy's permanent forward projection force based in Yokosuka, Japan, with units positioned near Japan and South Korea. It is a component fleet force under the United States Pacific Fleet. At present, it is the largest of the forward-deployed U.S. fleets, with...
was assigned four battleships in Filipino waters to guard the Allied beachhead at Lingayen Gulf
Lingayen Gulf
The Lingayen Gulf is an extension of the South China Sea on Luzon in the Philippines stretching . It is framed by the provinces of Pangasinan and La Union and sits between the Zambales Mountains and the Cordillera Central...
in Luzon
Luzon
Luzon is the largest island in the Philippines. It is located in the northernmost region of the archipelago, and is also the name for one of the three primary island groups in the country centered on the Island of Luzon...
against attacks by the Japanese forces based at Lingga Roads and the Inland Sea until the USAAF forces in the region were strong enough to assume this responsibility. As of early February, the USAAF units in the Philippines were focused on supporting the United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
–led Philippines Campaign and attacking Japanese facilities in Formosa
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...
. An intensive campaign against Japanese shipping in the South China Sea had been planned, but was yet to begin.
Voyage
The Completion Force sailed from Singapore on the evening of 10 February. The timing of its departure was set by a long-term forecast of bad weather for the voyage to Japan. The British submarine observed the ships leaving port and attempted to attack them on 11 February, but was driven off by a Japanese aircraft. Following this action, Tantalus radioed a contact report to Fife's headquarters. The four U.S. Navy battleships at Lingayen Gulf sailed on 10 February bound for U.S. bases in the Pacific where they were to receive repairs and undertake preparations ahead of their role supporting the invasion of OkinawaBattle of Okinawa
The Battle of Okinawa, codenamed Operation Iceberg, was fought on the Ryukyu Islands of Okinawa and was the largest amphibious assault in the Pacific War of World War II. The 82-day-long battle lasted from early April until mid-June 1945...
. The ships left the Philippines area on 14 February without having played any part in efforts to intercept the Completion Force.
U.S. Navy submarines unsuccessfully attempted to attack the Japanese ships on 12 February. At about 1:45 pm, detected the Completion Force at a distance of 9 mi (7.8 nmi; 14.5 km) using her radar and transmitted a contact report. An hour later, made radar contact with the Japanese ships at a range of 15 mi (13 nmi; 24.1 km). Over the next 14 hours the submarines Blackfin, Charr, , and attempted to reach a position where they could attack the Japanese ships, but were unable to do so. A group of submarines to the north—comprising , and —was unable to reach a position where they could attack the Completion Force.
USAAF patrols made contact with the Completion Force on 12 February; following this, it was tracked almost continuously by radar-equipped Army Air Forces and U.S. Navy aircraft. On the morning of 13 February, a force of B-24 Liberator heavy bombers and 40 B-25 Mitchell medium bombers escorted by 48 P-51 Mustang fighters was dispatched from several bases on the islands of Leyte
Leyte
Leyte is a province of the Philippines located in the Eastern Visayas region. Its capital is Tacloban City and occupies the northern three-quarters of the Leyte Island. Leyte is located west of Samar Island, north of Southern Leyte and south of Biliran...
and Mindoro
Mindoro
Mindoro is the seventh-largest island in the Philippines. It is located off the coast of Luzon, and northeast of Palawan. The southern coast of Mindoro forms the northeastern extremum of the Sulu Sea.-History:...
to attack the Japanese ships. While the aircraft successfully rendezvoused near the Completion Force, heavy cloud cover kept them from spotting any of the ships. As radar-directed blind bombing was prohibited to avoid accidental attacks on the Allied submarines in the area, the strike force returned to its bases without attacking. On the same day, the Australian destroyers and departed Lingayen Gulf and proceeded to a position about 300 mi (260.7 nmi; 482.8 km) west of Manila where they were held in readiness to rescue the crews of any aircraft downed while attacking the Completion Force.
More submarines attempted to attack the Japanese force on 13 February. A group of three boats—comprising , and —was deployed along its route, and Bergall sighted the Japanese ships at 12:30 pm. The submarine was submerged at the time and attempted to maneuver into a firing position, but could not get any closer to the ships than 4800 yd (4,389.1 m). Nevertheless, it fired six 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 the Japanese force, all of which missed. Blower attempted a submerged attack, but the five torpedoes it fired at one of the battleship-carriers and Ōyodo missed. and , the northernmost submarines that Rear Admiral Fife had deployed, encountered the Completion Force during the afternoon of 13 February. Bashaw sighted the Japanese ships as they emerged from a rain squall at 3:15 pm, but one of the battleship-carriers spotted the submarine and launched an aircraft to attack it. Bashaw was forced to dive when the battleship-carrier began shelling it with her main battery
Main battery
Generally used only in the terms of naval warfare, the main battery is the primary weapon around which a ship was designed. "Battery" is in itself a common term in the military science of artillery. For example, the United States Navy battleship USS Washington had a main battery of nine guns...
, and neither it nor Flasher was able to intercept the Completion Force. During this period the other submarines in the area continued to chase the Japanese ships but did not regain contact with them.
An air attack was attempted against the Completion Force on 14 February. The number of B-24s, B-25s and escorting P-51s dispatched on this day was smaller than the force which had been used on 13 February, as the Japanese ships were now beyond the range of aircraft based at Leyte. Once again, cloud cover over the Completion Force prevented the Allied aircraft from sighting the Japanese ships, and they were unable to attack due to the prohibition on radar-aimed bombing. This was the USAAF's last attempt to bomb the Japanese force. As a result, the only successes gained by the USAAF aircraft involved in the operation were to shoot down a Mitsubishi Ki-57
Mitsubishi Ki-57
|-See also:-References:NotesBibliography* Francillon, Ph.D., René J. The Mitsubishi Ki-21 . Leatherhead, Surrey, UK: Profile Publications Ltd., 1967....
"Topsy" transport plane near the Completion Force on 13 February as well as several fighters in the area of the ships between the 12th and 14th of the month. The two Australian destroyers were released for other duties on 15 February.
Vice Admiral Charles A. Lockwood
Charles A. Lockwood
Charles Andrews Lockwood was an admiral of the United States Navy. He is known in submarine history as the legendary commander of Submarine Force Pacific Fleet during World War II...
—the commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet's
United States Pacific Fleet
The United States Pacific Fleet is a Pacific Ocean theater-level component command of the United States Navy that provides naval resources under the operational control of the United States Pacific Command. Its home port is at Pearl Harbor Naval Base, Hawaii. It is commanded by Admiral Patrick M...
submarine force—followed the unsuccessful attempts to intercept the Completion Force in the South China Sea, and stationed a further eleven submarines along its projected route between the Luzon Strait
Luzon Strait
The Luzon Strait is the strait between the island country of Taiwan and Luzon island of the Philippines. The strait thereby connects the Philippine Sea to the South China Sea in the western Pacific Ocean....
and Japan. The Completion Force reached the Matsu Islands
Matsu Islands
The Matsu Islands are a minor archipelago of 19 islands and islets in the Taiwan Strait administered as Lienchiang County , Fujian Province of the Republic of China . Only a small area of what is historically Lienchiang County is under the control of the ROC...
at the northern end of the Formosa Strait
Taiwan Strait
The Taiwan Strait or Formosa Strait, formerly known as the Black Ditch, is a 180-km-wide strait separating Mainland China and Taiwan. The strait is part of the South China Sea and connects to East China Sea to the northeast...
in the evening of 15 February, and anchored there for five hours. The Japanese ships resumed their journey to Kure via Korea and the Shimonoseki Strait at midnight, and the destroyers and were attached to the force for part of the day. At 5:07 am on 16 February, intercepted the Completion Force south of the Chinese city of Wenchow
Wenzhou
Wenzhou is a prefecture-level city in southeastern Zhejiang province, People's Republic of China. The area under its jurisdiction, which includes two satellite cities and six counties, had a population of 9,122,100 as of 2010....
and fired six torpedoes at one of the escorts, but all missed. At this time the Japanese ships were sailing at a speed of 18 knots (35.3 km/h). None of the other American submarines made contact with the Japanese force as it sailed to the east of where they had been positioned by Lockwood.
The Completion Force finished its voyage toward the end of February. It anchored off Chusan Island
Zhoushan
Zhoushan or Zhoushan Archipelago New Area; formerly transliterated as Chusan, is a prefecture-level city in northeastern Zhejiang province of Eastern China. The only prefecture-level city of the People's Republic of China consisting solely of islands, it lies across the mouth of the Hangzhou Bay,...
near 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...
from 9:06 pm on 16 February until 7:00 am on 18 February, when it sailed for Sanzenpo Harbor near Sacheon
Sacheon
Sacheon is a city in South Gyeongsang Province, South Korea. Sacheon's chief fame comes from its being the site of two naval battles in the Seven Year War....
on the southern coast of Korea. It arrived there at 4:00 pm that day, and anchored overnight. The Completion Force departed Sanzenpo Harbor at 7:00 am on 19 February and reached the Japanese island of Mutsurejima at 4:00 pm that day. After anchoring overnight, the Completion Force docked at Kure at 10:00 am on 20 February. The ships of the Completion Force were among the last Japanese warships to reach the home islands from the Southwest Pacific.
Aftermath
The Allied naval commanders were disappointed by the failure of the 26 submarines directed against the Completion Force to inflict any damage on the ships. Fife concluded that this was due to the Completion Force's high speed, the poor weather conditions at the time of the operation and the Japanese ships being fitted with equipment that enabled them to detect submarines' radar signals. In a letter to Lockwood, he wrote that the failure of the submarines under his command "was a bitter pill to take and I make no alibi". Lockwood attributed his decision to deploy the submarines under his command too far to the west on faulty intelligence, and told Fife that "our dope certainly went sour at the last moment. Perhaps I depended too much on it".The use of freighters and warships to carry oil was successful in increasing Japanese oil imports, and the total level quality of oil which reached the country during the first quarter of 1945 was greater than the amounts achieved in late 1944. Nevertheless, Allied submarines sank the majority of the merchant tankers that attempted to sail from Southeast Asia to Japan during February, and in March the Japanese ceased attempting to import oil from this source. Following the departure of the Completion Force, the only major seaworthy Japanese warships remaining in the Southwest Pacific were the 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 and as well as the light cruiser . These three cruisers did not attempt to return to Japan, and all were sunk by Allied submarines and destroyers between April and June.
After reaching Japan, Ise and Hyūga were assigned to bolster the anti-aircraft defenses of the city of Kure and its naval base. Due to shortages of fuel and aircraft the ships did not put to sea again, and both were sunk during the U.S. Navy's attacks on Kure
Bombing of Kure (July 1945)
The bombing of Kure and surrounding areas by United States and British naval aircraft in late July 1945 led to the sinking of most of the surviving large warships of the Imperial Japanese Navy . The United States Third Fleet's attacks on Kure Naval Arsenal and nearby ports on 24, 25, and 28 July...
between 24 and 28 July 1945. Ōyodo became part of the Kure Training Force and remained in port until she was sunk on 28 July. The three destroyers failed to survive the war; Asashimo and Kasumi fell victim to American carrier aircraft while escorting the battleship during Operation Ten-Go
Operation Ten-Go
was the last major Japanese naval operation in the Pacific Theater of World War II. Other renderings of this operation's title in English include Operation Heaven One and Ten-ichi-gō....
on 6 April, and Hatsushimo sank after striking a mine near Maizuru
Maizuru, Kyoto
is a city located in Kyōto, Japan, on an inlet of the Sea of Japan.As of 2008, the city has an estimated population of 89,626 and the density of 264 persons per km². The total area is .The city was founded on May 27, 1943....
on 30 July.