Japanese cruiser Kumano
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 The Kumano, October 1938 |
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| Career |  |
|---|---|
| Ordered: | |
| Laid down: | April 1934 |
| Launched: | 15 October 1936 |
| Completed: | October 1937 |
| Commissioned: | |
| Struck: | |
| Fate: | Sunk, 25 November 1944 |
| General characteristics | |
| Displacement: | 13,440 tons (full load) |
| Length: | 201.6 m (661 ft 5 in) |
| Beam: | 22 m (66 ft) |
| Draft: | 5.5 m (19 ft) |
| Machinery: | Four-shaft impulse single geared turbines |
| Power: | 152,000 shp (113 MW) |
| Speed: | 69 km/h (35 kt) |
| Complement: | 850 |
| Protection: | 100 mm (3.9 in) belt, 35 mm (1.4 in) deck, 25 mm (1 in) turrets, 127 mm (5 in) magazines |
| Armament: | 15 × 155 mm (6.1 in) (5×3) DP, 8 × 127 mm (5 in) DP, 4 × 40 mm (1.57 in) AA, 12 × 610 mm (24 in) TT (4×3), 3 × Type 1 scout aircraft |
The Kumano (熊野) was one of four Mogami-class cruisers of the Imperial Japanese Navy. She was completed at the Kawasaki Shipyard in Kobe on 31 October 1937. She displaced 13,440 tons with a length of 649 ft 10 in and a beam of 66 ft 3 in, and had a top speed of 35 knots. Kumano was armed with fifteen 155 mm (6.1 in) guns in 5 turrets (3 forward and two aft), eight 127 mm (5 in) dual-purpose guns, fifty 25 mm anti-aircraft guns, and twelve of the infamous “Long Lance” torpedoes. Her war-record is of little interest until 20 June 1944, when she was attacked by U.S. carrier aircraft from USS Bunker Hill, USS Monterey, and USS Cabot. During this action, the aircraft carrier Hiyō was sunk and the battleship Haruna was badly damaged.
Then on 25 October 1944, Kumano was part of the Japanese Central Force in the Battle off Samar. The destroyer USS Johnston put a Mk-15 torpedo into her, which literally blew off her bow. As Kumano was retiring towards the San Bernardino Strait, she came under aerial attack and suffered minor damage.
The next day, Kumano was attacked from aircraft launched by the USS Hancock while in the Sibuyan Sea, and was struck by three 226.8 kg (500 lb) bombs. She survived and sailed to Manila Bay for repairs on her bow and all four boilers.
She returned to service and on 6 November 1944 Kumano was guarding convoy Ma-Ta 31. The convoy came under attack by a US submarine wolf-pack consisting of the Batfish, Guitarro, Bream, Raton and the Ray. In all, the American submarines launched 23 torpedoes towards the convoy, two of which struck the Kumano. The first hit destroyed her recently replaced bow, and the second damaged her starboard engine room, flooding all four of her engine rooms. She took on an 11-degree list and lost steerage. At 1930, she was towed to Dasol Bay by the cargo ship Doryo Maru, and from there she was moved to Santa Cruz on the Philippine Island of Luzon.
While undergoing repairs in Santa Cruz on 25 November 1944, Kumano came under aerial attack by aircraft launched by the Ticonderoga. Five torpedoes and four 500 pound bombs struck her, and at 1515 she rolled over and sank in about 31 m (100 ft) of water.
Contents |
[edit] Commanding Officers
Chief Equipping Officer - Capt. Hikojiro Suga - 1 December 1936 - 31 October 1937
Capt. Shoji Nishimura - 31 October 1937 - 18 May 1939
Capt. Sukeyoshi Yatsushiro - 18 May 1939 - 15 November 1939
Capt. Kaoru Arima - 15 November 1939 - 15 October 1940
Capt. Mitsuo Kinoshita - 15 October 1940 - 25 May 1941
Capt. Kikumatsu Tanaka - 25 May 1941 - 27 February 1943
Capt. Toshio Fujita - 27 February 1943 - 29 March 1944
Capt. / RADM* Soichiro Hitomi - 29 March 1944 - 25 November 1944 (KIA)
[edit] References
[edit] Books
- D'Albas, Andrieu (1965). Death of a Navy: Japanese Naval Action in World War II. Devin-Adair Pub. ISBN 0-8159-5302-X.
- Dull, Paul S. (1978). A Battle History of the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1941-1945. Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-097-1.
- Lacroix, Eric; Linton Wells (1997). Japanese Cruisers of the Pacific War. Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-311-3.
[edit] External links
- Parshall, Jon; Bob Hackett, Sander Kingsepp, & Allyn Nevitt. Imperial Japanese Navy Page (Combinedfleet.com). Retrieved on 2006-06-14.
[edit] Notes
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