Wreck of HIJMS Inazuma (電)

 Second World War 1939-1945, military, shipwreck, destroyer (ship)

Laid down in March 1930 as the final member of the Akatsuki Class of Destroyers, HIJMS Inazuma commissioned into service with the Imperial Japanese Navy in November 1932 and was assigned to Destroyer Division 6, Squadron 1 in the IJN First Fleet. Unlike many of her sisterships, the Inazuma and her crew played no part in the Second Sino-Japanese War of the mid-1930's as their ship spent over two years in drydock under extensive repair and refit following a high-speed open ocean collision with their sistership HIJMS Miyuki (深雪) in June 1934, which resulted in major damage to the Inazuma and the loss of the Miyuki and several of her crew.

Duly repaired and modernized upon her emergence from the Sasebo Navy Yard in early 1937 the Inazuma resumed her duties with Desron 1 based in the Mako Guard District through the end of the 1930's and into the 1940's and was still assigned there when orders were received to prepare for an Invasion of Hong Kong on December 8th, 1941. Inazuma and her crew began their part in the Second World War by shelling British defenses at Hong Kong shortly after 0800hrs on December 8th and then assisted the Cruiser Isuzu in sinking two British gunboats which had sortied to attack the far superior Japanese force. Remaining off Hong Kong for the balance of the month, the Inazuma and her crew provided fire support and helped secure the harbor before departing the area on December 24th to reprovision. Involved in a second collision less than a month later while bringing stores aboard ship, the Inazuma was again drydocked for emergency repairs at Mako which kept her out of action through the end of February.

Returning to the fray in time to see her second installment of Naval combat, the Inazuma took part in the Battle of Sunda Strait, where her guns and torpedoes assisted in sinking two Destroyers and a Cruiser of a combined British and American Task Force on March 1st. After operating briefly off the Philippines, the Inazuma steamed North to the Aleutians where she operated through August in support of Japanese operations before returning to Japan and conducting intensive training exercises with Carrier forces through October. After escorting two Carriers to Truk atoll the Inazuma and her crew stood out for the Solomon Islands, then under invasion by American forces at Guadalcanal. Arriving in the Solomon Islands in early November, she began operations with the powerful Japanese Naval force regularly attacking American positions on Guadalcanal, particularly Henderson Airfield. On her first shore bombardment mission, the Inazuma and the combined Battleship/Cruiser formation she escorted engaged and decimated a US and Australian force in the First Naval Battle of Guadalcanal on the night of November 12th, a battle in which the Inazuma claimed to have sunk an enemy Cruiser with her torpedoes. Returning to Guadalcanal again two days later, she again clashed with American ships in the Second Naval Battle of Guadalcanal on the night of November 14th, where she shared credit in sinking three American Destroyers and damaging a fourth with almost no damage or casualties suffered aboard ship in both actions.

Remaining in the Solomon Islands as part of the "Tokyo Express" resupply force through January 1943, the Inazuma returned to Japan for repairs and upkeep before once again returning to the Aleutian Islands in early spring. Spending the balance of 1943 and the first two months of 1944 engaged in convoy escort work, the Inazuma and her crew were reassigned to operate with the Combined Fleet and were paired with the Aircraft Carrier Chiyoda through April 1944 as she operated in the Palau/Philippine Islands area. A shortage of escort ships led the Inazuma to be reassigned as escort to an Tanker convoy bound from Moji to to Borneo via Manila in early May 1944. After seeing her charges safely to Manila, the convoy departed for Balikpapan on May 11th and were three days out of port when their movements were sighted by the American Submarine USS Bonefish (SS-223) as the convoy steamed in the Celebes Sea.

The American Sub tailed the convoy for the entire day on May 14th and waited until after dark to surface and outflank the slow-moving tankers and their escorts, using it's onboard radar system to monitor its targets from a safe distance. After moving into firing position and remaining on the surface for a quick getaway, the Bonefish's Captain lined up his shot and sent a 6-torpedo spread into the formation before quickly departing the area. Minutes later at least two of the six shots from the Bonefish struck the Inazuma beneath her superstructure in close succession and in nearly the same spot, blowing an enormous hole into the Destroyer's Port side. Stunned crews had almost zero time to react before the entire forward magazine of the Inazuma detonated, blowing the ship in two and sinking her at this location with 161 of her crew still onboard on May 14th, 1944. 125 of her crew, mainly those stationed topside or near deck-level doors, managed to survive the sinking and were rescued by other Destroyers.


www.combinedfleet.com/inazum_t.htm