Operation Dukedom
Encyclopedia
The Battle of the Malacca Strait, sometimes called the Sinking of the Haguro, and in Japanese sources as the Battle off Penang (ペナン沖海戦), was a naval battle that resulted from the British search and destroy operation in May 1945, called Operation Dukedom, that resulted in the sinking of the Japanese cruiser . Haguro had been operating as a supply ship for Japanese garrisons in the Dutch East Indies
and the Bay of Bengal
since 1 May 1945.
, escorted by the destroyer , to re-supply the Port Blair garrison on the Andaman Islands
and to evacuate troops back to Singapore. The Royal Navy was alerted to this by a decrypted Japanese naval signal, subsequently confirmed by a sighting by the submarines and . Force 61 of the Eastern Fleet set sail on 10 May from Trincomalee
, Ceylon to intercept the Japanese flotilla. The Japanese were unwilling to risk any battle and, on receipt of an air reconnaissance warning, they returned to Singapore.
On 14 May, Haguro and Kamikaze tried again and left Singapore. The next day, they were spotted by aircraft from Force 61. The subsequent dive bombing attack by Grumman Avenger II
s of 851 Squadron
caused only minor damage to Haguro, for the loss of an aircraft whose crew was taken prisoner by the Japanese.
Information was relayed to the Japanese that two British destroyer squadrons had been sighted heading towards them. Again, they reversed course to return to the Malacca Strait. This change had been anticipated, however, and the 26th Destroyer Flotilla , commanded by Captain Manley Laurence Power (in Saumarez) steamed to intercept. In heavy rain squalls with lightning, Venus made radar contact at 34 nmi (39.1 mi; 63 km). The British destroyers arranged themselves in a crescent cordon and allowed the Japanese ships to sail into the trap.
At 01:05, Saumarezs 4.7 in (119.4 mm) guns commenced fire at a range of 1.8 nmi (2.1 mi; 3.3 km) while closing at 60 kn (73.1 mph; 117.6 km/h) and hit Haguro with the second salvo. Saumarez turned sharply right to pass astern of Haguro and raked Kamikaze with her 40 mm gun
s as the Japanese destroyer appeared off the port bow and swept by at a relative speed of 50 kn (60.9 mph; 98 km/h). Haguro returned six main battery salvos at Saumarez before being hit at 01:15 by three torpedoes from Saumarez and Verulam. Venus hit Haguro with one torpedo at 01:25, and Virago stopped Haguro with two more torpedo hits two minutes later. Haguro sank at 02:09 after receiving another torpedo from Vigilant, two more from Venus, and nearly an hour of gunfire from the 26th Flotilla. This was the last surface battle of World War II.
Kamikaze was also damaged, but escaped, returning the next day to rescue survivors. About 320 survived, but 900 died, including the Japanese commanders, Vice-Admiral Hashimoto and Rear-Admiral Sugiura.
Saumarez main aerial (in British terminology of the time, an aerial was always for the radio as for the more "modern" radar,the modern term "antenna" was used) and a funnel top had been shot away and an 8 in (203.2 mm) shell nicked the forecastle
. Two men were killed and three burned in the boiler room when a 5 in (127 mm) shell severed the main steam pipe. There was no damage to the remainder of the 26th Flotilla.
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....
and the Bay of Bengal
Bay of Bengal
The Bay of Bengal , the largest bay in the world, forms the northeastern part of the Indian Ocean. It resembles a triangle in shape, and is bordered mostly by the Eastern Coast of India, southern coast of Bangladesh and Sri Lanka to the west and Burma and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands to the...
since 1 May 1945.
The action
On 9 May, Haguro left SingaporeSingapore
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...
, escorted by the destroyer , to re-supply the Port Blair garrison on the Andaman Islands
Andaman Islands
The Andaman Islands are a group of Indian Ocean archipelagic islands in the Bay of Bengal between India to the west, and Burma , to the north and east...
and to evacuate troops back to Singapore. The Royal Navy was alerted to this by a decrypted Japanese naval signal, subsequently confirmed by a sighting by the submarines and . Force 61 of the Eastern Fleet set sail on 10 May from Trincomalee
Trincomalee
Trincomalee is a port city in Eastern Province, Sri Lanka and lies on the east coast of the island, about 113 miles south of Jaffna. It has a population of approximately 100,000 . The city is built on a peninsula, which divides the inner and outer harbours. Overlooking the Kottiyar Bay,...
, Ceylon to intercept the Japanese flotilla. The Japanese were unwilling to risk any battle and, on receipt of an air reconnaissance warning, they returned to Singapore.
On 14 May, Haguro and Kamikaze tried again and left Singapore. The next day, they were spotted by aircraft from Force 61. The subsequent dive bombing attack by Grumman Avenger II
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....
s of 851 Squadron
851 Naval Air Squadron
851 Naval Air Squadron was a Fleet Air Arm squadron of the Royal Navy, first formed in October 1943 at Squantum Naval Air Station in the USA as a MAC-ship escort squadron...
caused only minor damage to Haguro, for the loss of an aircraft whose crew was taken prisoner by the Japanese.
Information was relayed to the Japanese that two British destroyer squadrons had been sighted heading towards them. Again, they reversed course to return to the Malacca Strait. This change had been anticipated, however, and the 26th Destroyer Flotilla , commanded by Captain Manley Laurence Power (in Saumarez) steamed to intercept. In heavy rain squalls with lightning, Venus made radar contact at 34 nmi (39.1 mi; 63 km). The British destroyers arranged themselves in a crescent cordon and allowed the Japanese ships to sail into the trap.
At 01:05, Saumarezs 4.7 in (119.4 mm) guns commenced fire at a range of 1.8 nmi (2.1 mi; 3.3 km) while closing at 60 kn (73.1 mph; 117.6 km/h) and hit Haguro with the second salvo. Saumarez turned sharply right to pass astern of Haguro and raked Kamikaze with her 40 mm gun
Bofors 40 mm gun
The Bofors 40 mm gun is an anti-aircraft autocannon designed by the Swedish defence firm of Bofors Defence...
s as the Japanese destroyer appeared off the port bow and swept by at a relative speed of 50 kn (60.9 mph; 98 km/h). Haguro returned six main battery salvos at Saumarez before being hit at 01:15 by three torpedoes from Saumarez and Verulam. Venus hit Haguro with one torpedo at 01:25, and Virago stopped Haguro with two more torpedo hits two minutes later. Haguro sank at 02:09 after receiving another torpedo from Vigilant, two more from Venus, and nearly an hour of gunfire from the 26th Flotilla. This was the last surface battle of World War II.
Kamikaze was also damaged, but escaped, returning the next day to rescue survivors. About 320 survived, but 900 died, including the Japanese commanders, Vice-Admiral Hashimoto and Rear-Admiral Sugiura.
Saumarez main aerial (in British terminology of the time, an aerial was always for the radio as for the more "modern" radar,the modern term "antenna" was used) and a funnel top had been shot away and an 8 in (203.2 mm) shell nicked the forecastle
Forecastle
Forecastle refers to the upper deck of a sailing ship forward of the foremast, or the forward part of a ship with the sailors' living quarters...
. Two men were killed and three burned in the boiler room when a 5 in (127 mm) shell severed the main steam pipe. There was no damage to the remainder of the 26th Flotilla.