Japanese cruiser Atago

World War II United States Navy recognition drawings of Takao and Atago.
History
Japan
Name	Atago
Ordered	1927 fiscal year
Builder	Yokosuka Navy Yard
Laid down	28 April 1927
Launched	16 June 1930
Commissioned	30 March 1932
Fate	Torpedoed by American submarines, 23 October 1944
General characteristics
Class and type	Takao-class heavy cruiser
Displacement	9,850 long tons (10,010 t) (standard) 14,616 long tons (14,851 t) (full load)
Length	668 ft 6 in (203.76 m)
Beam	59–68 ft (18–21 m)
Draft	20 ft (6.1 m) (standard) 20.7 ft (6.3 m) (full load)
Installed power	133,100 shp (99,300 kW)
Propulsion	4 × geared steam turbines 12 × Kampon boilers 4 × shafts
Speed	34.2–35.5 kn (63.3–65.7 km/h; 39.4–40.9 mph)
Range	8,500 nmi (15,700 km; 9,800 mi) at 14 kn (26 km/h; 16 mph)
Complement	773
Armament	Original Layout: 10 × 8 in (200 mm) guns (5x2) 4 × 4.7 in (120 mm) dual purpose guns (4x1) 2 × 40 mm (1.57 in) anti-aircraft guns (2x1) 60 × 25 mm (0.98 in) anti-aircraft guns 4 × 13.2 mm (0.520 in) anti-aircraft machine guns 8 × 24 in (610 mm) torpedo tubes (4x2) depth charges
Armor	Belt: 1.5–5 in (3.8–12.7 cm) Deck: 1.375 in (3.493 cm) (main, max); .5–1 in (1.3–2.5 cm) (upper) Bulkheads: 3–4 in (7.6–10.2 cm) Turrets: 1 in (2.5 cm)
Aircraft carried	3 × floatplanes (1 × Aichi E13A1 "Jake" and 2 × Mitsubishi F1M2 "Pete"s)
Aviation facilities	2 × catapults

Atago (愛宕) was one of four Takao-class heavy cruisers, designed to be an improvement over the previous Myōkō-class design. These ships were fast, powerful, and heavily armed. The Takao-class ships were approved under the 1927 fiscal year budget as part of the Imperial Japanese Navy's strategy of the Decisive Battle, and forming the backbone of a multipurpose long range strike force. Atago was built by the Kure Naval shipyards near Hiroshima, and - like all heavy cruisers - was named after a mountain: in this case Mount Atago, located outside of Kyoto.

Service history

At the start of the Pacific War, Atago was the flagship of Vice Admiral Kondō Nobutake's Cruiser Division 4, along with sister ships Maya, Chōkai, and Takao, and assigned to support the invasion of Malaya and the Philippines.

From January-March 1942, Atago was based out of Palau, and was involved in operations to seize the oil-rich Dutch East Indies, participating in numerous combat operations, including the Battle of the Java Sea. After taking Vice Admiral Kondō on an inspection tour of Japan’s new possessions in the former Dutch East Indies, Atago returned to Yokosuka in April 1942, where she was assigned to the unsuccessful pursuit of Admiral William F. Halsey's Task Group 16.2 (TG 16.2)after the Doolittle Raid on Tokyo.

After a retrofit in April 1942 to replace her single 4.7 in (120 mm) dual purpose guns with new dual 5 in (130 mm) dual purpose guns, Atago departed for the disastrous Battle of Midway, from which she returned unscathed.

Guadalcanal campaign

On 7 August 1942, Atago was reassigned south to Truk, from which it made numerous sorties in the defense of Guadalcanal through December. Atago also participated in the Battle of the Eastern Solomons (24 August), Battle of Santa Cruz Islands (26-27 October) and in the Second Naval Battle of Guadalcanal (15 November). On 25 August, during the Battle of the Eastern Solomons, aircraft from the American aircraft carrier USS Wasp shot down two of Aichi E13A1 "Jake" floatplanes from Atago that were engaged in reconnaissance missions, killing all four aircrew members in the two aircraft. During the latter battle, in a night gun duel with the American battleships USS South Dakota and Washington, Atago and Takao hit South Dakota with seventeen 8 in (200 mm) rounds, five 6 in (150 mm) and one 5-inch. Battleship Kirishima also hit South Dakota with a single 14 in (360 mm) round that exploded on her aft No. 3 turret's barbette.

South Dakota was damaged, but not sunk. Early in the battle, Atago and Takao each launched eight Type 93 "Long Lance" torpedoes at Washington but they all missed. Atago was damaged slightly as a result of the action, and returned to Kure for repairs on 17 December.

In January 1943, Atago returned to Truk to continue Japanese efforts to hold the Solomon Islands, and eventually to support the evacuation of Guadalcanal. She remained based out of Truk through July 1943, when she returned to Yokosuka for further refits and modifications to add two triple-mount Type 96 25 mm (0.98 in) anti-aircraft guns.

Later battles

From August–November 1943, Atago returned to Truk to continue her sorties supporting Japanese forces in the Solomon Islands. In response to the Allied landings on Bougainville on 1 November 1943, Atago and several other Japanese cruisers were sent to Rabaul to prepare to attack the Allied landing forces. On 5 November, while refueling at Rabaul, Atago′s task force was attacked by 97 planes from the carriers USS Saratoga and Princeton. Atago sustained three near-misses by 500 lb (230 kg) bombs that killed 22 crewmen, including her skipper Captain Nakaoka who was hit by a bomb splinter while on the bridge. On 15 November, Atago returned to Yokosuka for repairs, and installation of additional 25 mm anti-aircraft guns and a Type 22 surface-search radar set.

In January 1944, Atago returned to Truk. On 10 February, the cruiser force was attacked by the American submarine USS Permit in a night surface attack, but she missed with four torpedoes. Atago was then reassigned to CruDiv 4 based in Palau under Vice Admiral Jisaburo Ozawa's First Mobile Fleet. The cruiser force was unsuccessfully attacked by the submarine USS Dace on 6 April.

On 13 June, Atago was in the Battle of the Philippine Sea, which resulted in disastrous losses for the Imperial Japanese Navy; however, she again emerged unscathed. On 22 June, Atago retired with the remnants of the fleet via Okinawa to Kure, where in a final refit, four triple- and 22 single-mount 25 mm AA guns were installed bringing the total to 60.. A Type 13 air-search radar set was also fitted.

Sunk in the Battle of Palawan Passage

From July-October 1944, Atago was flagship of Vice Admiral Takeo Kurita's First Mobile Striking Force, the most powerful component of the Imperial Japanese Navy at the time with seven battleships, 11 heavy cruisers, two light cruisers, and 19 destroyers based at Lingga Roads near Singapore. On 22 October, in the Battle of Leyte Gulf, Atago sortied with CruDiv 4's Chōkai, Takao and Maya. The next day, during the Battle of the Palawan Passage, Atago was hit by four torpedoes fired by the submarine USS Darter, and set afire. At 05:53, Atago capsized in about 1,800 m (5,900 ft) of water at 09°28′N 117°17′E.

Of Atago’s crewmen, 360 were killed, but 529 survivors including Vice Admiral Kurita, CoS Rear Admiral Tomiji Koyanagi and Atago’s skipper Rear Admiral Araki were rescued by Kishinami; 171 other survivors were also rescued by Asashimo. Atago’s sister ships fared no better: Maya was sunk by Dace; Takao was forced back to Brunei after being torpedoed by Darter (later scuttled after running onto a reef); and two days later, Chōkai was lost off Samar, despite having assisted in sinking two US destroyers, the escort carrier USS Gambier Bay (CVE-73), and escort destroyer USS Samuel B. Roberts (DE-413).

References

Books

• D'Albas, Andrieu (1965). Death of a Navy: Japanese Naval Action in World War II. Devin-Adair Pub. ISBN 0-8159-5302-X.
• Dull, Paul S. (1978). A Battle History of the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1941-1945. Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-097-1.
• Lacroix, Eric (1997). Japanese Cruisers of the Pacific War. Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-311-3. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)

External links

• Parshall, Jon. "Imperial Japanese Navy Page (Combinedfleet.com)". Retrieved 2006-06-14. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)

See also

Atago class destroyer DDG-177 Atago (commissioned 2007)