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Japanese cruiser Noshiro

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Japanese cruiser Noshiro in 1943.jpg
Noshiro in Tokyo Bay, July 1943
History
Empire of Japan
NameNoshiro
Ordered1939 Fiscal Year
BuilderYokosuka Naval Arsenal
Laid down4 September 1941
Launched19 July 1942
Commissioned30 June 1943[1]
Stricken20 December 1944
Fate
General characteristics
Class and typeAgano-class cruiser
Displacement6,652 t (6,547 long tons) (standard); 7,590 t (7,470 long tons) (loaded)
Length162 m (531 ft)
Beam15.2 m (50 ft)
Draught5.6 m (18 ft)
Propulsion
  • 4 shaft Gihon geared turbines
  • 6 Kampon boilers
  • 100,000 shp (75,000 kW)
Speed35 knots (65 km/h)
Range6,300 nautical miles (11,670 km) at 18 knots (33 km/h)
Complement726
Armament
Armor
  • Belt 60 mm (2.4 in)
  • Deck 20 mm (0.79 in)
Aircraft carried2 x floatplanes
Aviation facilities1 aircraft catapult
For other ships with the same name, see Japanese ship Noshiro.

Noshiro (能代) was an Agano-class cruiser which served with the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) during World War II.[2] She was named after the Noshiro River in Akita Prefecture in northern Japan.

Discover more about Japanese cruiser Noshiro related topics

Agano-class cruiser

Agano-class cruiser

The four Agano-class cruisers were light cruisers operated by the Imperial Japanese Navy. All were named after Japanese rivers. Larger than previous Japanese light cruisers, the Agano-class vessels were fast, but with little protection, and were under-gunned for their size. They participated in numerous actions during World War II.

Cruiser

Cruiser

A cruiser is a type of warship. Modern cruisers are generally the largest ships in a fleet after aircraft carriers and amphibious assault ships, and can usually perform several roles.

Imperial Japanese Navy

Imperial Japanese Navy

The Imperial Japanese Navy was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945, when it was dissolved following Japan's surrender in World War II. The Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) was formed between 1952–1954 after the dissolution of the IJN.

World War II

World War II

World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a global conflict that lasted from 1939 to 1945. The vast majority of the world's countries, including all of the great powers, fought as part of two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis. Many participants threw their economic, industrial, and scientific capabilities behind this total war, blurring the distinction between civilian and military resources. Aircraft played a major role, enabling the strategic bombing of population centres and the delivery of the only two nuclear weapons ever used in war.

Akita Prefecture

Akita Prefecture

Akita Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku region of Honshu. Its population is approximately 966,000 and its geographic area is 11,637 km2. Akita Prefecture is bordered by Aomori Prefecture to the north, Iwate Prefecture to the east, Miyagi Prefecture to the southeast, and Yamagata Prefecture to the south.

Background

Noshiro was the second of the four vessels completed in the Agano class of light cruisers, which were intended to replace increasingly obsolete light cruisers in the Imperial Japanese Navy. Funding was authorized in the 4th Naval Armaments Supplement Programme of 1939, although construction was delayed due to lack of capacity in Japanese shipyards. Like other vessels of her class, Noshiro was intended for use as the flagship of a destroyer flotilla.[3]

Design

The design for the Agano class was based on technologies developed by the experimental cruiser Yūbari, resulting in a graceful and uncluttered deck line and single smokestack.[3]

Noshiro was armed with six 152 mm Type 41 guns in three gun turrets.[3] Secondary armament included four 76 mm Type 98 DP guns designed specifically for the class, in two twin turrets amidships. Anti-aircraft weapons included two triple 25 mm AA guns in front of the bridge, and two twin 13 mm mounts near the mast.[3] Noshiro also had two quadruple torpedo launchers for Type 93 torpedoes located below the flight deck, with eight reserve torpedoes.[3] The torpedo tubes were mounted on the centerline, as was more common with destroyers, and had a rapid reload system with eight spare torpedoes. Being mounted on the centerline allowed the twin launchers to fire to either port or starboard, meaning that a full eight-torpedo broadside could be fired, whereas a ship with separate port and starboard launchers can only fire half of its torpedoes at a time. Two depth charge rails and 18 depth charges were also installed aft. Noshiro was also equipped with two Aichi E13A aircraft and had a flight deck with a 26-foot catapult.

The engines were a quadruple-shaft geared turbine arrangement with six boilers in five boiler rooms, developing 100,000 shp (75,000 kW) for a maximum speed of 35 knots (65 km/h).

Discover more about Design related topics

Japanese cruiser Yūbari

Japanese cruiser Yūbari

Yūbari (夕張) was an experimental light cruiser built between 1922 and 1923 for the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN). Although a test bed for various new designs and technologies, she was commissioned as a front-line warship and participated in numerous combat operations during World War II before she was sunk by the USS Bluegill. Designs pioneered on Yūbari had a major impact on future Japanese warship designs.

15 cm/50 41st Year Type

15 cm/50 41st Year Type

The 15 cm/50 41st Year Type gun was a naval gun used by the Imperial Japanese Navy before and during World War II. It had a 152 millimetres (6.0 in) bore with a length of 7.6 metres (25 ft) and fired 45.4 kilograms (100 lb) shell for a distance of 18,000 metres (20,000 yd) or 21,000 metres (23,000 yd). The gun was first used in single casemates on the Kongō-class battlecruisers and Fusō-class battleships and later in the Agano-class light cruisers in twin mountings.

Gun turret

Gun turret

A gun turret is a mounting platform from which weapons can be fired that affords protection, visibility and ability to turn and aim. A modern gun turret is generally a rotatable weapon mount that houses the crew or mechanism of a projectile-firing weapon and at the same time lets the weapon be aimed and fired in some degree of azimuth and elevation.

Type 93 torpedo

Type 93 torpedo

The Type 93 was a 610 mm (24 in)-diameter torpedo of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN), launched from surface ships. It is commonly referred to as the Long Lance by most modern English-language naval historians, a nickname given to it after the war by Samuel Eliot Morison, the chief historian of the U.S. Navy, who spent much of the war in the Pacific Theater. In Japanese references, the term Sanso gyorai is also used, in reference to its propulsion system. It was the most advanced naval torpedo in the world at the time.

Depth charge

Depth charge

A depth charge is an anti-submarine warfare (ASW) weapon. It is intended to destroy a submarine by being dropped into the water nearby and detonating, subjecting the target to a powerful and destructive hydraulic shock. Most depth charges use high explosive charges and a fuze set to detonate the charge, typically at a specific depth. Depth charges can be dropped by ships, patrol aircraft, and helicopters.

Aichi E13A

Aichi E13A

The Aichi E13A was a long-range reconnaissance seaplane used by the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) from 1941 to 1945. Numerically the most important floatplane of the IJN, it could carry a crew of three and a bombload of 250 kg (550 lb). The Navy designation was "Navy Type Zero Reconnaissance Seaplane" (零式水上偵察機).

Service career

Early career

Noshiro was launched at Yokosuka Naval Arsenal on 19 July 1942 and completed less than a year later on 30 June 1943.[4] On completion, she was initially assigned to the IJN 1st Fleet for training off of Hashirajima. On 15 August 1943, she was reassigned to Vice Admiral Takeo Kurita's Second Fleet as the flagship of DesRon 2, replacing the cruiser Jintsū, which had been sunk a month earlier at the Battle of Kolombangara[5]

Battles in the Gilbert Islands and Solomon Islands

On 18 September 1943, in reaction to air raids on Tarawa launched by United States Navy aircraft carriers USS Lexington, Princeton and Belleau Wood, the Combined Fleet sortied to Eniwetok with a massive force but failed to make contact and returned to Truk in the Caroline Islands. Likewise, from 17 October 1943 – 26 October 1943, the Combined Fleet failed to contact US Task Force 15 after it bombed Wake Island.[5]

On 1 November 1943, the United States launched the Bougainville Campaign to retake Bougainville in the Solomon Islands. The day after the Battle of Empress Augusta Bay (2 November), Noshiro departed Truk with Sentai 4's Atago, Takao and Maya, Sentai 7's Suzuya and Mogami, Sentai 8's Chikuma and four destroyers, arriving at Rabaul on 5 November 1943. While refueling in Simpson Harbor from the oiler Kokuyo Maru the cruisers were attacked during the Carrier Raid on Rabaul by 97 planes from Task Force 38's carriers USS Saratoga and Princeton. Noshiro was hit by a dud Mark 13 aerial torpedo.[5]

From 12 November 1943, Noshiro assisted its sister ship, Agano, after the latter was torpedoed by the submarine USS Scamp, and attempted to tow it back to Truk.

On 20 November 1943, American "Operation Galvanic" to retake the Gilbert Islands invaded Tarawa. The invasion fleet of 200 ships included 13 battleships and 11 carriers. Noshiro responded by sailing from Truk with Suzuya, Kumano, Chōkai, Ōyodo and several destroyers. The group was attacked on 1 January 1944 by aircraft from the aircraft carriers USS Bunker Hill and Monterey. One of Noshiro's gun turrets was put out of action temporarily by the attack and ten crewmen killed.[5]

On 19 January 1944, Noshiro was dispatched from Truk to assist the aircraft carrier Un'yō after it had been torpedoed by the submarine USS Haddock by towing it back to Saipan. Noshiro continued on to Yokosuka Naval Arsenal, going into dry dock for repairs and refit on 1 February 1944. Six triple-mount and eight single-mount Type 96 25 mm AA guns were fitted. This brought the Noshiro's 25 mm total to 32 barrels (8x3) (8x1).[5]

Battles in the Philippines

The retrofit was completed by 28 March 1944, enabling Noshiro to depart for Davao and Lingga on 5 April 1944 with Sentai 4's Atago, Takao and Chōkai, ‘‘Sentai’’ 5's Myōkō and Haguro and the destroyer Harusame. The cruiser group was attacked by the submarine USS Dace, which missed with all six bow torpedoes, and was also sighted by the submarine USS Darter, which failed to achieve an attack vector. Likewise, the cruiser group was sighted coming out of Davao Bay on 7 April 1944 by the submarine USS Scamp, which was also unable to attack, and by the submarine USS Gurnard on 18 May 1944 which fired a full salvo of six bow torpedoes, all of which missed.[5]

Noshiro was at the Battle of the Philippine Sea on 19 June 1944, where it was flagship of Rear Admiral Mikio Hayakawa as part of Vice Admiral Kurita’s Vanguard Force. Noshiro escaped from the battle undamaged.[5]

From late June-early July 1944, Noshiro again was dry docked and refitted at Kure Naval Arsenal. Two more triple-mount Type 96 25 mm AA gun mounts were installed amidships bringing the total number of 25 mm guns to 48 barrels (10x3, 18x1). A Type 13 air-search and Type 22 surface-search radar were also fitted. On 8 July 1944, Noshiro departed Kure with the destroyers carrying army troops and material to Singapore, and remained in the vicinity for the following three months conducting training.[5]

On 18 October 1944, Noshiro was ordered to Brunei, in preparation for the Battle of Leyte Gulf, which began on 22 October 1944. Noshiro, as DesRon 2's flagship, sortied with Admiral Kurita's First Mobile Striking Force, Force "A" (Center Force). At the Battle of the Sibuyan Sea on 24 October 1944, Force A was attacked 11 times by over 250 carrier aircraft from Task Force 38 comprising the aircraft carriers USS Essex, Lexington, Intrepid, Cabot, Franklin and Enterprise. Although the battleships Yamato, Nagato, Haruna, and the cruisers Myōkō and Tone were damaged, Noshiro escaped unharmed.[5]

The following day, at the Battle off Samar, Noshiro hit the escort carrier USS White Plains with several 6-inch shells, but was in turn hit starboard side by a 5-inch shell from an American destroyer. She also participated in the sinking of the carrier USS Gambier Bay, which was one of two cases of an aircraft carrier being sunk solely by naval gunfire.[5]

On 26 October 1944, west of Panay, Kurita's force was attacked by 80 Grumman TBM-1C Avenger torpedo bombers from the aircraft carriers USS Wasp and Cowpens. One bomb exploded in Noshiro's AA shell magazine, starting a fire that was quickly extinguished. In the second attack, six more Avengers attacked Noshiro, which dodged their torpedoes, but in the third wave, an Avenger launched a Mark 13 aerial torpedo that hit in the No. 3 boiler room. It instantly flooded, and the No. 1 boiler room flooded shortly thereafter. The inrush of water threw all of Noshiro's boilers off line, and she came to a halt with a 16-degree list to port.[5]

While emergency repairs were carried out and Noshiro dead in the water, the destroyer Hamanami came alongside and removed Rear Admiral Hayakawa, who later transferred to Yamato. At 1014, a fourth attack of 28 TBMs and Curtiss SB2C-3 Helldiver dive bombers from USS Hornet struck with another torpedo to starboard beneath Noshiro's No. 2 turret. Noshiro's gunners later claimed to have shot down six of the attacking planes. Captain Kajiwara ordered the forward magazines flooded in an attempt to right the ship. Five minutes later, with the forward deck awash and the list steadily increasing, Kajiwara gave the order to abandon ship. At 1113, Noshiro sank at 11°42′N 121°41′E / 11.700°N 121.683°E / 11.700; 121.683Coordinates: 11°42′N 121°41′E / 11.700°N 121.683°E / 11.700; 121.683 south of Mindoro.[4] The destroyers Akishimo and Hamanami rescued Captain Sueyoshi Kajiwara and 328 survivors.[5]

Noshiro was removed from the navy list on 20 December 1944.[4]

Discover more about Service career related topics

Takeo Kurita

Takeo Kurita

Takeo Kurita was a vice admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) during World War II. Kurita commanded IJN 2nd Fleet, the main Japanese attack force during the Battle of Leyte Gulf, the largest naval battle in history.

Flagship

Flagship

A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically the first, largest, fastest, most heavily armed, or best known.

Japanese cruiser Jintsū

Japanese cruiser Jintsū

Jintsū (神通) was the second vessel completed in the three-ship Sendai-class light cruiser in the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN), named after the Jinzū River in the Gifu and Toyama prefectures of central Japan. She was active in World War II in various campaigns including the Japanese invasion of the Philippines, the Battle of the Java Sea, and Battle of Midway. On 13 July 1943 in the Battle of Kolombangara, she was discovered during a night attack by American ships and sunk in combat.

Battle of Kolombangara

Battle of Kolombangara

The Battle of Kolombangara was a naval battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II, fought on the night of 12/13 July 1943, off the northeastern coast of Kolombangara in the Solomon Islands. The battle took place during the early stages of the New Georgia campaign when an Imperial Japanese Navy force, carrying reinforcements south to Vila, Solomon Islands, was intercepted by a task force of U.S. and New Zealand light cruisers and destroyers. In the ensuing action, the Japanese sank one Allied destroyer and damaged three cruisers. They were also able to successfully land 1,200 ground troops on the western coast of Kolombangara but lost one light cruiser sunk in the process.

Tarawa

Tarawa

Tarawa is an atoll and the capital of the Republic of Kiribati, in the Micronesia region of the central Pacific Ocean. It comprises North Tarawa, which has 6,629 inhabitants and much in common with other more remote islands of the Gilberts group, and South Tarawa, which has 56,388 inhabitants as of 2015, half of the country's total population. The atoll was the site of the Battle of Tarawa during World War II.

Aircraft carrier

Aircraft carrier

An aircraft carrier is a warship that serves as a seagoing airbase, equipped with a full-length flight deck and facilities for carrying, arming, deploying, and recovering aircraft. Typically, it is the capital ship of a fleet, as it allows a naval force to project air power worldwide without depending on local bases for staging aircraft operations. Carriers have evolved since their inception in the early twentieth century from wooden vessels used to deploy balloons to nuclear-powered warships that carry numerous fighters, strike aircraft, helicopters, and other types of aircraft. While heavier aircraft such as fixed-wing gunships and bombers have been launched from aircraft carriers, these aircraft have not landed on a carrier. By its diplomatic and tactical power, its mobility, its autonomy and the variety of its means, the aircraft carrier is often the centerpiece of modern combat fleets. Tactically or even strategically, it replaced the battleship in the role of flagship of a fleet. One of its great advantages is that, by sailing in international waters, it does not interfere with any territorial sovereignty and thus obviates the need for overflight authorizations from third-party countries, reduces the times and transit distances of aircraft and therefore significantly increase the time of availability on the combat zone.

USS Lexington (CV-16)

USS Lexington (CV-16)

USS Lexington (CV/CVA/CVS/CVT/AVT-16), nicknamed "The Blue Ghost", is an Essex-class aircraft carrier built during World War II for the United States Navy. Originally intended to be named Cabot, the new aircraft carrier was renamed while under construction to commemorate the recently-lost USS Lexington (CV-2), becoming the sixth U.S. Navy ship to bear the name in honor of the Battle of Lexington.

USS Princeton (CVL-23)

USS Princeton (CVL-23)

The fourth USS Princeton (CVL-23) was a United States Navy Independence-class light aircraft carrier active in the Pacific Ocean during World War II. She was launched in 1942 and lost at the Battle of Leyte Gulf in 1944.

USS Belleau Wood (CVL-24)

USS Belleau Wood (CVL-24)

USS Belleau Wood was a United States Navy Independence-class light aircraft carrier active during World War II in the Pacific Theater from 1943 to 1945. The ship also served in the First Indochina War under French Navy temporary service as Bois Belleau.

Combined Fleet

Combined Fleet

The Combined Fleet was the main sea-going component of the Imperial Japanese Navy. Until 1933, the Combined Fleet was not a permanent organization, but a temporary force formed for the duration of a conflict or major naval maneuvers from various units normally under separate commands in peacetime.

Chuuk Lagoon

Chuuk Lagoon

Chuuk Lagoon, previously Truk Atoll, is an atoll in the central Pacific. It lies about 1,800 kilometres northeast of New Guinea, and is part of Chuuk State within the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM). A protective reef, 225 kilometres (140 mi) around, encloses a natural harbour 79 by 50 km, with an area of 2,130 km2 (820 sq mi). It has a land area of 93.07 square kilometres, with a population of 36,158 people and a maximal elevation of 443 metres (1,453 ft). Weno city on Moen Island functions as both the atoll's capital and the state capital, and is the largest city in the FSM with its 13,700 people.

Caroline Islands

Caroline 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 (FSM) in the central and eastern parts of the group, and Palau at the extreme western end. Historically, this area was also called Nuevas Filipinas or New Philippines, because they were part of the Spanish East Indies and were governed from Manila in the Philippines.

Source: "Japanese cruiser Noshiro", Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, (2023, February 24th), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_cruiser_Noshiro.

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Further Reading

Japanese cruiser Chikuma (1938)

Japanese cruiser Myōkō

Japanese cruiser Takao (1930)

Japanese cruiser Yūbari

Japanese cruiser Ōyodo

Takao-class cruiser

Japanese cruiser Yahagi (1942)

Japanese cruiser Naka

Agano-class cruiser

Japanese cruiser Agano

Japanese cruiser Atago

Japanese cruiser Maya

Japanese cruiser Nagara

Japanese cruiser Suzuya (1934)

Japanese cruiser Isuzu

Japanese cruiser Abukuma

Japanese cruiser Katori

Japanese cruiser Aoba
References
  1. ^ Lacroix, Japanese Cruisers, p. 794.
  2. ^ Jentsura, Hansgeorg (1976). Warships of the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1869-1945. Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-893-X. page 111-112
  3. ^ a b c d e Stille, Imperial Japanese Navy Light Cruisers 1941-45 , pages 34-39;
  4. ^ a b c Nishida, Hiroshi (2002). "Agano-class light cruisers". Imperial Japanese Navy. Archived from the original on 8 December 2012. Retrieved 21 September 2014.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Parshall, Jon; Bob Hackett; Sander Kingsepp; Allyn Nevitt. "Imperial Japanese Navy Page (Combinedfleet.com): Agano class". Retrieved 14 June 2006. tabular record: CombinedFleet.com: ‘‘Noshiro’’ history
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