Heavy Cruiser Haguro

Haguro (羽黒) was the third ship of the Myoko-class heavy cruisers, laid down at Mitsubishi Heavy Industries in Nagasaki on 16 March 1925, launched on 24 March 1928, and commissioned on 25 April 1929. Named after Mount Haguro in Yamagata Prefecture (one of the three sacred mountains of Dewa).

Haguro participated extensively in the Pacific War. In the Battle of the Philippine Sea (June 1944) and the Battle of Leyte Gulf (October 1944), she played a significant role. At the Battle off Samar (25 October 1944), she was part of the force that engaged American escort carriers.

By May 1945, Haguro was one of only a handful of significant Japanese warships still operational. Assigned to evacuate the garrison on the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, she departed Singapore on 14 May 1945 with the destroyer Kamikaze. Royal Navy intelligence tracked the force via ULTRA signals intelligence.

Five destroyers of the 26th Destroyer Flotilla (HMS Venus, HMS Verulam, HMS Vigilant, HMS Virago, and HMS Saumarez as leader) were dispatched to intercept. In a brilliant night action on 16 May 1945, the destroyers executed a coordinated torpedo attack. After an hour of fighting and several torpedo hits (British-based accounts give about nine, the Japanese-based record three or four), Haguro sank at 02:32 about 55 miles west-southwest of Penang at approximately 4°49′N 99°42′E. This was the last major surface battle between warships of opposing navies in the Pacific War. Her wreck was discovered in 2003 in 67 m of water in the Malacca Strait.