Kure Naval Base Air Raid Site

The attacks on Kure and the Inland Sea in late July 1945 were among the most devastating naval air operations of the Pacific War, effectively destroying the Imperial Japanese Navy as a fighting force. Kure, located on the coast of Hiroshima Prefecture, had been the IJN's primary naval base and shipbuilding center since the Meiji era, and by mid-1945 the remnants of Japan's once-mighty fleet were concentrated there — immobilized by critical fuel shortages and used only as stationary anti-aircraft batteries.

On July 24, 1945, Task Force 38 of the U.S. Third Fleet, commanded by Admiral William "Bull" Halsey, launched a massive carrier air strike against Kure. American pilots flew 1,747 sorties that day alone, striking warships at anchor throughout the harbor and the Seto Inland Sea. The British Pacific Fleet's Task Force 37, including carriers HMS Formidable, Indefatigable, and Victorious, took part in the wider operation but was excluded from the attack on Kure itself, striking Osaka and other targets around the Inland Sea instead. Attacks continued on July 25 and culminated in a final massive strike on July 28.

The results were catastrophic for the IJN. The aircraft carrier Amagi capsized and sank. The battleships Haruna, Hyūga, and Ise — veterans of engagements from the Indian Ocean to Leyte Gulf — were all sunk in shallow water. The heavy cruisers Tone and Aoba, light cruiser Ōyodo (serving as the Combined Fleet flagship), and the elderly armored cruisers Iwate and Izumo were destroyed. The escort carrier Kaiyō and numerous smaller vessels were also sunk or critically damaged. The carriers Katsuragi, Hōshō, and Ryūhō were damaged but remained afloat. In total, the raids sank 1 fleet carrier, 3 battleships, 5 cruisers, and several destroyers and escort vessels.

The Allied forces lost 102 aircrew killed and 133 aircraft destroyed in combat and operational accidents during the three days of attacks. Japan lost 306 aircraft destroyed and 392 damaged. The destruction of the Kure fleet left only the battleship Nagato at Yokosuka as Japan's sole surviving major warship, and cleared the way for Soviet naval operations in the Sea of Japan without threat from Japanese surface forces.

Today, the Kure Naval Base area has been substantially rebuilt and is home to the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force's Kure District Headquarters. The nearby Yamato Museum (Kure Maritime Museum) documents the history of the naval base and the warships built and destroyed there. Several memorials in the city commemorate the air raids that devastated both the fleet and the civilian areas of Kure.