The Imperial Japanese Navy Trivia Quiz

Answer: Miyuki

Miyuki (Deep Snow) was the fourth Fubuki-class destroyer. In 1934, she collided with Inazuma, an Akatsuki-class destroyer, off Cheju Island in Korea. At least five crewmen on Miyuki were lost as she sank, while Inazuma, her entire bow severed, picked up the survivors and was towed to port by cruiser Nachi.

Shirayuki (White Snow) was the second Fubuki-class destroyer. She was named after one of Emperor Hirohito's horses. As the Japanese flagship in the Battle of the Bismarck Sea, Shirayuki was sunk by air attack on March 3, 1943.

Murakumo (Massed Clouds) was the fifth Fubuki-class destroyer. After attempting to rescue survivors from cruiser Furutaka following the Battle of Cape Esperance, Murakumo was sunk by Allied Aircraft on October 12, 1942.

Isonami (Surf) was the ninth Fubuki-class destroyer. She was sunk attempting to rescue survivors from the sunk Penang Maru by USS Tautog on April 9, 1943 in Indonesia.

Answer: False

Although very similar in design and being built on battleship hulls, Kaga (old Japanese Province) was built on a Tosa-class battleship hull and Akagi (named for Mt. Akagi) on an Amagi-class battlecruiser hull. Therefore these two are not close enough to be sister ships.

Other differences include Kaga's wider flight deck and the positions of the islands (Akagi on the portside and Kaga on starboard) and funnels.

Answer: Amagi

After the Washington Naval Treaty of 1922 permitted only a certain amount of battleships per navy, the Japanese Government followed the terms to convert two of the hulls into aircraft carriers. Japan selected Akagi and Amagi (two of four planned Amagi-class battlecruisers) to be converted as the two were the closest to completion. However, the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923 damaged Amagi's hull beyond repair, and was scrapped after the unfinished hull of Kaga was selected as her replacement.

Unryu (Cloud Dragon) was a purpose-built fleet carrier, and the lead ship of a planned class of fifteen - interestingly, Amagi was named the second of the class) but only three were completed before the war ended, with another three incomplete. None of the three ships participated in any battles, and Unryu was the only one sunk at sea by submarine USS Redfish on December 19, 1944.

Junyo (Peregrine Falcon) was originally a passenger liner (SS Kashiwara Maru) but was converted to an aircraft carrier following its acquisition by the IJN in 1941. After being torpedoed in December 1944, the Japanese Navy Junyo could no longer afford to repair it and it was left anchored in Sasebo before being scrapped in 1946-1947.

Atago (named for Mt. Atago) was the fourth planned Amagi-class battlecruiser. After she was cancelled, her name was transferred to the second Takao-class cruiser.

Answer: Hayate

Hayate (Gale) was the seventh Kamikaze-class destroyer that participated in the Invasion of Wake Island following Pearl Harbor. On December 11, 1941, Hayate was sunk by Wake Island's coastal batteries following a large explosion. Only one man was rescued from Hayate. (The first Japanese vessel in general sunk was submarine I-70, by a bomb from an Enterprise dive bomber on December 10, 1941)

Kisaragi (February) was the second Mutsuki-class destroyer that also participated at Wake. She was the second Japanese warship to be lost in the war, lost only a few hours after Hayate. Kisaragi was sunk with all hands by an aerial bomb from Cpt. Henry Elrod .

Kuma (river name) was the lead ship of five Kuma-class cruisers. After participating in campaigns in the Philippines, New Guinea, and the Dutch East Indies, Kuma was torpedoed by submarine HMS Tally-Ho on January 11, 1945. Over half her crew were rescued by destroyer Uranami.

Minekaze (Summit Wind) was the lead ship of fifteen Minekaze-class destroyers, improvements of the previous Kamikaze-class destroyers. Reserved primarily for convoy escort duty, Minekaze was torpedoed by submarine USS Pogy near Taiwan on February 10, 1944.

Answer: Ikazuchi

Ikazuchi (Thunder), along with sister-ship Inazuma (Lightning), rescued a total of over 900 sailors from HMS Exeter, HMS Encounter, and USS Pope (442 from Ikazuchi, 521 from Inazuma). Word of this incident did not come from Kudo himself, but one of the survivors, Sam Falle, who later became a British Diplomat. Kudo remained quiet about this event for the rest of his life, as he was discouraged when Ikazuchi and her crew were lost with all hands on April 13, 1944 whilst Kudo had been transferred to another ship.

Inazuma would be sunk a month after her sister, on convoy duty in the Celebes Sea by submarine USS Bonefish on May 14, 1944.

Cruiser Tone (river name) was another ship that also rescued survivors from a different battle in 1944. However, she was ordered to execute the survivors despite her captain's pleas not to.

Settsu (old Japanese province) was a WWI-era Kawachi-class battleship. Outdated by the Second World War, she remained an auxiliary ship in Kure where she was sunk in 1945 by air attack. She was raised and scrapped in 1946-47.

Answer: Arashi

The destroyer Arashi (Storm), the sixteenth Kagero-class destroyer, was operating alone hunting the US Submarine Nautilus, who scouted and fired several torpedoes at the Japanese Fleet. After a few hours, Arashi gave up the search and steamed back towards the main fleet. Unfortunately for the fleet, American Dauntlesses found Arashi and correctly assumed that the destroyer was pointing into the direction of the main fleet. The outstanding luck the Americans had in finding and bombing 3 of 4 carriers is still considered one of the biggest "what-ifs" in history. Arashi was later assigned to heavy convoy duty during the Guadalcanal Campaign before being sunk in the Ambush at Vella Gulf.

Makigumo (Cirrus Clouds), the third Yugumo-class destroyer, was an escort of Hiryu during the Battle of Midway, and later scuttled the carrier with torpedoes after heavy damage. Sometime later, the destroyer rescued pilot Frank O'Flaherty and his radioman Bruno Gaido. Angered by the defeat, the ship's crew tied them to water-filled kerosene cans and threw them overboard to drown. Makigumo was sunk after she struck a mine whilst evacuating troops from Guadalcanal on February 1, 1943.

Oyashio (named after the Pacific Current) was the fourth Kagero-class destroyer. At the time of Midway, this ship was an escort for the Midway Invasion Force. Like many other Japanese destroyers, this ship was heavily active in the Solomons Campaign, and participated in the Battle of Tassafaronga. During a night convoy run to Kolombangara on May 8, 1943, she struck a mine, and was sunk by aircraft the next day.

Kamikaze (Divine Wind) was the lead ship of a class of nine destroyers made in the 1920s. By the time the Pacific War began, this ship was already obsolete and was held in northern home waters until the war's eve in February 1945, where she became a convoy escort. Kamikaze witnessed the sinkings of cruisers Haguro and Ashigara one month apart, but survived to the end of the war. As a demilitarized transport, Kamikaze was wrecked off Shizuoka in Honshu in 1946.

Answer: 1

The flight deck of Akagi was so loaded with ammunition due to ordinance changing that when a single bomb hit her flight deck (dropped by pilot Dick Best), it triggered an uncontrollable fire, knocking her out for the remainder of the battle. After the fire proved too much, Admiral Yamamoto ordered Akagi scuttled after over 18 hours of fire-fighting. Four destroyers each fired one torpedo and she sank at 5:20 on June 5th, 1942.

She had remained afloat long enough for around 1,400 of her 1,630 crew to escape.

Answer: Tatsuta

However, Tatsuta's sister-ship Tenryu (both river names) did take part in the Battle of Savo Island. Considered one of the most one-sided battles of WW2, the Battle of Savo Island on August 9, 1942 started as seven Japanese cruisers (Chokai, Furutaka, Kako, Aoba, Kinugasa, Tenryu, Yubari) and a destroyer (Yunagi) attempted to breakthrough to bombard the Marines who landed at Guadalcanal. Catching the Allies completely offguard, the Japanese sank three American cruisers (Astoria, Quincy, Vincennes) and led to the scuttling of another cruiser (HMAS Canberra) but the cautious attitude from Admiral Mikawa led him to withdraw before bombarding the Marines at Guadalcanal.

Tatsuta was sunk by submarine USS Sand Lance near Hachijo Jima on March 13, 1944. Tenryu was sunk by submarine USS Albacore off Madung, New Guinea on December 20, 1942

Yubari (river name) was an experimental cruiser that took turns being a testing ground for new designs and frontline duty. She was sunk by submarine USS Bluegill on April 28, 1944 near Palau.

Furutaka (mountain name) later took part in the Battle of Cape Esperance which the Americans had learned from the disaster of Savo Island, and Furutaka was sunk as a result during the battle on October 12, 1942.

Kinugasa (mountain name) was part of Furutaka's task force at Cape Esperance but was sunk by air attack during the naval Battle of Guadalcanal on November 13, 1942.

Answer: Yudachi

Described as a "bar-room brawl after the lights had been shot out" by an American commander, the Night Action on November 12-13, 1942 has gone down as one of the most chaotic naval actions of the war. Both sides maintained strict radio silence and lights-out policies which caused the formations on both sides to disintegrate. During this chaotic encounter, Yudachi (Evening Squall) and Harusame (Spring Rain) led the way for the Japanese column and eventually broke the American line (accidentally, as Yudachi unknowingly drifted too far from the main Japanese force), preventing the Japanese fleet from "crossing the T." (Map showing the locations of ships when salvos were first exchanged: http://i.imgur.com/avZxLOA.jpg) After Harusame withdrew (and in the confusion accidentally fired at Yudachi), the lone destroyer continued to charge, some reports suggesting she torpedoed American cruiser Portland and badly damaged two destroyers. A shell from Sterett hit her engine room and left her dead in the water, yet in defiance Yudachi's captain declared white hammocks to be used as "sails" to maintain morale. After three Japanese torpedoes failed to scuttle her, USS Portland, who was still crippled following Yudachi's hit on the engine room, sank Yudachi with gunfire (Portland's captain was furious after Yudachi fired after interpreting the "sails" as white flags of surrender).

Harusame survived the Guadalcanal Campaign, but was sunk by B-25 bombers on June 8, 1944.

Akatsuki (Dawn) was also an important ship in the Night Action of November 12-13th. Leading a column of her sister-ships Ikazuchi and Inazuma, Akatsuki and Battleship Hiei were the first to light up searchlights at the American fleet. After illuminating cruiser USS Atlanta, Akatsuki immediately came under shellfire from no less than six American ships and was sinking within fifteen minutes.

Fubuki (Blizzard), the lead ship of Japan's first modern destroyer design, had sunk month before the First Naval Battle of Guadalcanal, at the Battle of Cape Esperance on October 11, 1942.

Answer: False

Sister-ship Kirishima (mountain name) lost a head-to-head encounter versus battleships South Dakota and Washington in the Second Naval Battle of Guadalcanal. Hiei (mountain name) was lost earlier that day. After partaking in the engagement on Nov 12-13, Hiei's engine room was badly damaged and leaking oil. After air raids from Henderson Field and USS Enterprise damaged her beyond repair, Hiei was abandoned and scuttled by her company of destroyers. She became the first Japanese battleship to be sunk in action.

Kirishima on the other hand engaged US battleship South Dakota and heavily damaged it on the night of Nov 14-15. However, Kirishima's crew did not notice US battleship Washington who snuck through the night after engaging a separate destroyer squadron and fired on the Japanese battleship after the latter revealed herself using its headlights. The US ships held off the attack, after sinking Kirishima, destroyer Ayanami, damaging cruisers Takao and Atago, and perhaps most importantly, disrupting a bombardment and resupply of Guadalcanal.

Answer: Battle of Kolombangara

In the early hours of July 13, 1943, Japanese light cruiser Jintsu (river name) and five destroyers (Mikazuki, Yukikaze, Hamakaze, Kiyonami, Yūgure) escorted three transports as they approached the Japanese-occupied volcanic island of Kolombangara, guarded by light cruisers USS St. Louis, USS Honolulu, and HMNZS Leander and ten destroyers. Tactically the Japanese won the battle, despite losing Jintsu (she attracted fire because she lit up her searchlights), they damaged all Allied light cruisers and landed their troops on the island.

However, Kolombangara would be abandoned as the Allies landed on Vella Lavella, threatening the former to being cut off, meaning this tactical victory would not change the strategic situation that Japan was losing.

Answer: Shokaku

Shokaku (soaring crane) was heavily damaged at three carrier engagements (Coral Sea, Eastern Solomons, and Santa Cruz), while sister Zuikaku (lucky crane) only suffered negligible damage. On June 19, 1944, Cavalla torpedoed the ship and, much like Midway, at an opportune moment: the ship was in the middle of refueling and rearming planes. The three torpedoes that hit Shokaku caused uncontrollable fires and the ship was abandoned within an hour.

Zuikaku would later be sunk along with three other carriers (Zuiho, Chiyoda, Chitose) in the Battle off Cape Engano during the larger Battle for Leyte Gulf.

Taiho (Great Phoenix) was another carrier lost in the Battle of the Philippine Sea. Japan's newest heavily armored carrier, she was hit by one torpedo by submarine USS Albacore. However, the carrier's poorly trained damage control teams made the fatal decision to allow leaking gas vapor to ventilate through the flight deck, and the ship became a ticking time bomb. The ship exploded six hours after being torpedoed and sank two hours later, on June 20, 1944, with over 1,600 men perishing.

Hiyo (flying hawk) was the third and final carrier to be lost during the battle. A converted ocean liner, Hiyo was mainly used as a support carrier, and the Battle of the Philippine Sea was this ship's only major carrier engagement. On the evening of June 20, 1944, Hiyo was torpedoed in an air attack, crippling an engine room. Though the ship was able to continue at a slower speed, like Taiho, Hiyo was sunk by an internal explosion via fuel ignition, due to poor damage control.

Answer: Chokai

Both Atago and Maya (all Takao cruisers named for mountains) were each struck by four torpedoes from US submarines Darter and Dace respectively and sunk so rapidly that Admiral Kurita, who was on his flagship Atago, was forced to swim to safety and was rescued by a nearby destroyer. Two more torpedoes badly damaged Takao and forced her to limp back to Brunei for repairs (Darter and Dace continued to shadow the damaged cruiser but were forced to let her go when Dace ran aground). Chokai and the rest of the Japanese fleet escaped unscathed.

Chokai would later sink in the Battle off Samar two days later from air attack. Survivors were picked up aboard destroyer Fujinami, but the survivors would perish when the destroyer was sank via air attack.

Takao managed to survive the war laid up in Singapore. She surrendered to the British and was sunk by HMS Newfoundland in the Strait of Malacca as a target ship in 1946.

Answer: Chikuma

After Tone-class cruiser Chikuma (river name) was heavily damaged from air attack in the Battle off Samar, Nowaki (fall gales) took on survivors and scuttled the ship on October 25, 1944. American cruisers caught up with the lone destroyer and sank it off Legaspi in the Philippines. Miraculously, a single man from Chikuma survived, having not been rescued from Nowaki but washing up ashore on an island.

After heavy air attack from six American carriers in three waves, Musashi (old Japanese province) was sunk in the Sibuyan Sea, withstanding dozens of of torpedo and bomb hits. She attempted to escape but a hit on the engine room meant she was only able to make six knots before succumbing to flooding and sinking at 19.36 on October 24, 1944. Half of Musashi's survivors were rescued, including several hundred survivors from the sunken cruiser Maya.

Mikuma (river name, the second Mogami-class cruiser) was sunk during the Battle of Midway on June 6, 1942, the last ship sunk during the battle. The previous day, her sister Mogami unintentionally rammed her and caused the two to slow down their course, allowing for US aircraft to harass and sink Mikuma though allowing Mogami sank.

Suzuya (river name, the third Mogami-class cruiser) was sunk during the Battle off Samar, succumbing to fire from several bombs from American escort carrier aircraft the same day as Chikuma.

Answer: Battle of Ormoc Bay

Shimakaze (island wind) was the only ship of her class, and was considered the pinnacle of Japanese "Special Type" destroyer design. Outfitted with three quintuple torpedo tubes and experimental boilers that could propel the ship over 40 knots, Shimakaze matched the firepower of light cruisers of other navies.

The Battle of Ormoc Bay was actually a large series of sea engagements when the Japanese began evacuating Leyte Island via sea convoy out of Ormoc Bay. Shimakaze was sunk on the first convoy along with three other destroyers (Wakatsuki, Hamanami, Naganami) and two transports on November 11, 1944.

The Battle of Mindoro was a short land campaign which lasted from December 13-16, 1944. The small Japanese garrison quickly surrendered, and the Allies used the island to build airbases to support the Luzon campaign.

The Battle of Manila Bay was a battle during the Spanish-American War on May 1, 1898, and the decisive American victory signalled the end of Spanish rule of the Philippines.

The Battle off Cape Engano was one of several smaller battles in the larger Battle of Leyte Gulf, which resulted in the whole bait of four Japanese carriers (Zuikaku, Zuiho, Chitose, Chiyoda) plus the light cruiser Tama and destroyer Akizuki (Autumn Moon) sinking with heavy casualties.

Answer: Kumano

Kumano (river name, the last of four Kumano class cruisers) managed to cheat sinking in the Battle off Samar, despite the mangling of her bow and the loss of her sister Suzuya. However, the ship was too damaged to leave the Philippines and was hurriedly repaired at Manila, where she came under heavy air bombardment being the one of the largest Japanese ships remaining in the Philippines. She was attacked right before her first convoy out to Formosa and multiple times during the journey itself, once again cheating death and limping back to Dasol, and then Santa Cruz on Luzon. Finally, on November 25, 1944, a month after the Battle off Samar, US aircraft finally sunk the floating hulk in shallow water. Half of the cruiser's men were saved. Admiral William "Bull" Halsey reportedly remarked that "if there was a Japanese ship I could feel sorry for at all, it would be the Kumano."

Oyodo (river name) was the last cruiser built for the Japanese Navy, commissioned in early 1943, developed from the Agano-class but with torpedo and aft armament removed to be used as a floatplane platform. Though she spent much of the war in port, she gained the reputation of being the only light cruiser to be flagship of the Combined Fleet, holding the title for several months in 1944. Though flagship status was transferred to Zuikaku during the Battle off Cape Engano, Oyodo once again became flagship after Zuikaku sank. Oyodo was finally sunk during the massive Allied air raid on Kure on July 28, 1945.

Haguro (mountain name) was the third member of the Myoko-class heavy cruiser. She was noted for sinking the combined ABDA (American-British-Dutch-Australian) Flagship, the Dutch De Ruyter, with a single torpedo during the East Indies Campaign on February 2, 1942. In the last naval gun battle of history, Haguro was sunk by five British destroyers during the Battle of Malacca Strait on May 16, 1945.

Ashigara (mountain name) was the fourth member of the Myoko-class (though commissioned shortly before Haguro) after serving shortly during the East Indies Campaign, she was relgated to transport duty until she once again participated in the Battle of Leyte Gulf but was unable to deal any damage. She was sunk headed from Jakarta to Singapore from submarine torpedoes on June 8. 1945.

Answer: Kongo

Kongo (mountain, meaning 'indestructible diamond'), originally a battlecruiser designed and built in Britain before World War I, was substantially upgraded in the 1930s and was reclassified as a fast battleship. She and her three sisters were heavily engaged throughout the the war (aforementioned sisters Hiei and Kirishima were sunk during the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal), and Kongo and Haruna's last major engagement was the Battle off Samar after which they retired to Brunei. They departed for Japan on November 16, 1944 with the rest of the capital ships, but Kongo was sunk en route four days later by submarine USS Sealion. Kongo was the last battleship in history sunk by a submarine, a fate shared by her British cousins HMS Royal Oak and HMS Barham.

Mutsu (old Japanese province) was the second Nagato-class battleship, the strongest battleships in the IJN before the completion of Yamato. Mutsu barely participated in the Pacific War before she was sunk by a magazine explosion in Kure. The debate continues today whether the ship was destroyed by accident or sabotage.

Shinano (Japanese province, also longest river in Japan) was a Yamato-class battleship converted into an aircraft carrier. Despite her large size, Shinano was built to be merely an aircraft transport rather than a standard carrier. While en route from Yokosuka to Kure on November 29, 1944, Shinano was sunk by submarine USS Archerfish, though much of the damage was caused by an overconfident captain not addressing the damage urgently. Shinano remains the largest vessel sunk by a submarine.

Yamashiro (Japanese province) was VAdm Nishimura's flagship in the Battle of Surigao Strait. During the night engagement on October 25, 1944, Yamashiro and sister battleship Fuso were sunk by an overwhelming amount of torpedoes from US destroyers and PT boats, while only one of Nishimura's ships managed to straggle out of the strait out of the seven that entered.

Answer: Shigure

The lone survivor of Nishimura's fleet in the Battle of Surigao Strait, Shigure (autumn rain) was for known to be an extremely lucky ship: despite being heavily engaged in convoy runs and destroyer duels, the ship would escape with little damage. For a time, this ship was captained by Tameichi Hara, whose memoirs published after the war record valuable info on the state of Japanese fleet doctrine and its flaws. Strangely, Shigure was the lone survivor of another battle (Battle of Vella Gulf), in which the ship barely escaped a US destroyer torpedo run that claimed three other Japanese destroyers. On her final convoy run from Hong Kong to Singapore, Shigure was sunk by submarine USS Blackfin on January 24, 1945, but managed to stay afloat long enough to save over 80% of her crew. She was the last Shiratsuyu-class destroyer to be sunk.

Yukikaze (snowy wind) was the most famous destroyer in Japan due to her lucky status, surviving battles including the naval Battle of Guadalcanal, Battle of Leyte Gulf, and Operation Ten Ichi-go with little damage, though ironically crews on other ships viewed the ships as a bad luck charm as she escorted Yamato, Hiei, and Shinano on their last mission. Yukikaze was the only survivor of twenty four Kagero-class destroyers. After the war, the ship was transferred to the Republic of China (Taiwan) Navy and renamed Tan Yang. In 1970, the ship was sent to scrap after irreparable damage from a storm. An effort to bring the ship back to Japan could not be achieved, but an anchor and rudder were returned instead.

Hibiki (Echo) was the only surviving Akatsuki-class destroyer. Nicknamed the "phoenix," the ship was transfered to the Soviet Navy in 1947. Renamed twice to Verniy (faithful) in 1947 and Dekabrist (Decembrist) in 1948 until she was sunk as a target sometime in the 70s. The wreck can be dived into shallow water several miles offshore near Vladivostok.

Ushio (tide) served to be, unlike Shigure and Yukikaze, a good luck charm to other ships' crews as the ship contributed to protecting many ships she escorted. The only survivor of the Fubuki and Ayanami-class destroyers, Ushio was scrapped in 1948.

Answer: Yahagi

Yahagi (river name) was the third Agano-class light cruiser commissioned. In her short service beginning in 1943, Yahagi attempted to break the Taffy 3 blockade during the Battle off Samar but was forced to withdraw. As the second largest ship of the Operation Ten Ichi-go (with Captain Hara at the helm), Yahagi came under heavy attack by US bombers after falling behind from a hit on the engine room. After sustaining six torpedo and twelve bomb hits, Yahagi sank an hour before Yamato suffered the same fate. Four out of eight destroyers (Isokaze, Hamakaze, Kasumi, Asashimo) were also sunk in the action.

Agano was the lead ship, commissioned in 1942 was suposed to be the first of a new generation of light cruisers built to replace the aging light cruisers of the 1920s. Agano was built to be a destroyer flotilla leader, but in the end did not accomplish much in her role. Agano was sunk on February 16, 1944 near Truk by submarine USS Skate.

Noshiro was the second ship, commissioned 9 months after Agano due to the war. Like Agano, Noshiro served shortly in the Solomons campaign, and notable for towing her sister back to Japan after damage from a submarine attack from USS Scamp. Noshiro was sunk by air attack in the Philippines on October 26, 1944.

Sakawa was the last of the four, being one of the last ships commissioned for the Imperial Japanese Navy in November 1944. Sakawa was slated to join Yamato and Yahagi for Operation Ten Ichi-go but was held back due to a lack of fuel. After participating merely as an anti-aircraft battery, the ship was handed to the US Navy where she was sunk during the nuclear tests of Operation Crossroads in Bikini Atoll.

Answer: Nagato

After reaching Yokosuka following their failure in the Battle of Leyte Gulf, the former flagship of the navy, other than being an anti-air battery, remained mothballed in port for the remainder of the war. Despite poor maintenance, the removal of her funnel, and constant air raids, Nagato (old Japanese province) remained afloat to witness Japan's surrender. The ship was, like Sakawa, set to be in the Operation Crossroads nuclear tests. Though she survived both blasts (she was placed close to the center due to the Pearl Harbor attack being planned from her bridge), Nagato sank to the bottom of the atoll from an unrepaired leak due to her being too radioactive.

Haruna (Mountain Name) was the third Kongo-class battleship, and the last survivor of the four. The ship remained docked at Kure for the remainder if the war, but on July 28, 1945, Kure was hit by a massive US Air Raid aimed to destroy the last of the Japanese fleet. Most remaining capital ships were sunk, though the battleships Ise, Hyuga, and Haruna were sunk in shallow water, and remained partly above water until the surrender. All were scrapped in 1946-1947.

Katsuragi (Mountain Name) survived the war as well, though was one of four Japanese carriers to survive the war. Despite this, Katsuragi never performed her intended purpose of an attack carrier, and was at most a glorified anti-air battery. Katsuragi survived several bomb hits before being scrapped in 1946-47.

Izumo (Old Japanese Province) was, in the Second World War, an obsolete armored cruiser dated from the Russo-Japanese War era, though still served a purpose by capturing or sinking Allied Vessels in China when the war began. Docked in Kure since 1943, three near misses from the Kure Raid opened up the hull and she capsized on July 24, 1945. Izumo was scrapped in 1947