Wreck of HIJMS Kako (加古)

 Second World War 1939-1945, military, shipwreck, cruiser

Laid down at the Kawasaki Shipbuilding Corporation at Kobe in December 1922, HIJMS Kako was the second and final member of the Furutaka Class of Heavy Cruisers and commissioned into service with the Imperial Japanese Navy in July 1926 as a member of the Fifth Cruiser Squadron. Assigned primarily to operations in the Sea of Japan upon her completion, Kako and her crew participated in the Japanese Invasion of Manchuria in 1931 and spent much of the next five years conducting patrols and exercises in Chinese waters.

Following an extensive reconstruction in 1936-37 which saw her main armament greatly increased and consolidated from six single 7-inch gun mounts to three twin 8-inch mounts along with modernized AA and Torpedo batteries, Kako returned to frontline service in January 1938 as a member of Cruiser Division 6. Resuming peacetime exercises and deployments, Kako and the other ships of Cruiser Division 6 were dispatched to Hahajima, Bonin Islands on December 2nd, 1941 where they joined with the ships of the Guam Invasion Force and awaited the signal to begin hostilities against the United States. Following the Surprise Attack on Pearl Harbor, Kako covered the successful landing of Japanese forces on Guam through the 10th of December before departing Guam for Truk, from where she would operate for the next two months. Taking part in the Invasions of Wake Island, Kavieng and Rabaul before being forward-deployed to Rabaul in February 1942, Kako then took part in the Invasions of Lae, Salamaua, Bougainville, the Shortland Islands and Tulagi.

Detached to escort the ships of the Port Moresby Invasion force, Kako was tasked with escorting the Aircraft Carrier HIJMS Shōhō and a formation of auxiliaries as they made their way along the New Guinea coast, but shortly before noon on May 7th American Carrier Aircraft appeared and attacked. In the resulting Battle of the Coral Sea, Kako emerged undamaged but Shōhō was sunk and fellow carrier HIJMS Shōkaku heavily damaged, prompting the Port Moresby Invasion Force to abandon their mission. Damaged after running aground on a reef while covering the withdrawal of the Port Moresby transports, Kako was sent back to Japan for repairs and an overhaul which kept her off the front lines for over two months.

Reassigned to the IJN 8th Fleet upon completion of her overhaul, Kako began regular patrols around the Solomon Islands, New Britain and New Ireland in July 1942, and was staged with the ships of Cruiser Division 6 at Truk on August 7th when word came of the Allied Invasion of Guadalcanal. Departing Truk on the 7th and steaming at high speed for Rabaul, Kako and her division were joined by two Light Cruisers and a Destroyer and embarked Eighth Fleet Vice Admiral Mikawa and his staff before continuing onward towards Guadalcanal. Launching her floatplane to reconnoiter the area around Guadalcanal in the late afternoon hours of August 8th, Kako inadvertently initiated hostilities in what would become known as the Battle of Savo Island when the same floatplane was sighted and shot down by Carrier Aircraft flying from the USS Wasp (CV-7). The loss of Kako’s floatplane to US Carrier Aircraft would come to play a major role in the subsequent night’s events and the entire Guadalcanal Campaign.

Arriving off Savo Island around 0130hrs the following morning, the Japanese Fleet maintained strict radio silence and prepared for immediate surface action. Sighting a three-ship formation to her North, Kako’s crew began their role in the night’s battle by launching a salvo of her “Long Lance” torpedoes at the rearmost American ship, USS Astoria (CA-34), at 0138hrs. At roughly the same time, Japanese floatplanes began dropping illumination flares on the totally surprised Southern Allied Patrol Force, which was quickly decimated with accurate fire from the lead Cruisers of the Japanese formation and struck with several torpedoes. Leaving USS Chicago (CA-29) limping out of battle and HMAS Canberra (D33) a flaming wreck, the formation turned Northward and broke into two groups, with Kako’s gun crews targeting the lead ship of the Northern Patrol Force. Sending a full salvo of her 8-inch shells directly into the hangar area of USS Vincennes (CA-44) at 0150hrs, Kako started large fires on the American Cruiser which left it brightly illuminated for gunners on other Japanese ships. In the subsequent half hour of violent combat, Kako and her formation completely decimated the entire Northern Patrol Force, sinking all three American Heavy Cruisers with heavy losses while sustaining minor damage and comparatively low losses themselves. Shortly after 0230hrs Vice Admiral Mikawa issued the order to withdraw rather than continue their mission, as the presence of Carrier Aircraft the previous day made him wary of being caught without air cover by the rapidly approaching dawn.

Leaving Guadalcanal in her wake Kako and the ships of Cruiser Division 6 steamed back through New Georgia Sound at high speed, having just delivered what is considered to be the worst Blue Water defeat in US Naval History. Detached to Kavieng shortly after sunrise, Kako took the rear position in Cruiser Division 6’s formation as they steamed unescorted towards their destination, maintaining their high speed to reach the safety and air cover offered by Kavieng’s airfield. Brightly lit by the rising sun to the East, the ships of Cruiser Division 6 were easily spotted off Simbari Island by USS S-44, a patrolling American Submarine, at 0650hrs. Quickly moving to intercept, S-44’s Captain closed to within 700 yards of the Japanese formation and fired a full spread of four torpedoes into the path of the rear ship at 0706hrs.

At 0708hrs the first of three torpedoes slammed into Kako’s Starboard side beneath her #1 gun turret, followed moments later by a second which impacted near her forward magazines and then a third which blew out the bulkhead between her #1 and #2 boiler rooms. Reeling from the tremendous explosions and still moving at 20+ knots, Kako’s bow immediately dove beneath the surface and began to warp from the tremendous pressure being exerted on it by the ship’s momentum. Taking an immediate heavy list to Starboard as tons of seawater began filling her hull, Kako’s crew scrambled to get topside as she fully capsized only two minutes after the first torpedo struck. Lying on her Starboard side for five minutes, Kako’s funnels eventually dipped below the surface and allowed thousands of gallons of seawater to pour into her still-hot boilers, causing an enormous steam explosion to blow out the bottom of her hull and sealed her fate. Wreathed in a cloud of white and gray steam, HIJMS Kako sank bow-first at this location at 0715hrs on August 10th, 1942, taking 34 of her crew with her to the bottom.

www.combinedfleet.com/kako_t.htm