Bombing of Kure (July 1945)

Infobox Military Conflict
conflict = Bombing of Kure
partof = Pacific War


caption = Japanese battleship "Haruna" under attack on 28 July
date = 24–28 July 1945
place = Inland Sea region of Japan
territory =
result = Allied victory
status =
combatant1 = flag|United States|1912
flag|United Kingdom
combatant2 = flagicon|Japan|alt Empire of Japan
combatant3 =
commander1 = William Halsey, Jr.
commander2 =
commander3 =
strength1 =
strength2 =
strength3 =
casualties1 = 133 aircraft, 102 KIAcite book|last=Halsey|title=Admiral Halsey's Story|date=1947|pages=p. 264]
casualties2 = 1 aircraft carrier, 3 battleships, 5 cruisers, 2 frigates and several smaller warships sunk
306 aircraft destroyed, 392 damaged
casualties3 =
notes = The bombing of Kure and surrounding areas by United States and British naval aircraft in late July 1945 led to the sinking of most of the Imperial Japanese Navy's (IJN) remaining large warships. The United States Third Fleet's attacks on the IJN's major base at Kure and nearby ports on 24, 25 and 28 July sank an aircraft carrier, three battleships, five cruisers and several smaller warships. During the same period the British Pacific Fleet attacked other targets in the Inland Sea region and sank two frigates and several smaller vessels and damaged an escort carrier.

Prelude

In July 1945 the IJN's remaining large warships were concentrated near the major naval base of Kure. The ships were effectively immobilized due to fuel shortages and were being used only as stationary anti-aircraft batteries.cite book|last=Royal Navy|title=War with Japan. Volume VI Advance to Japan|date=1995|pages=p.223] Admiral John S. McCain, Sr., the commander of the Fast Carrier Task Force, strongly opposed attacking Kure as he and his staff believed that the ships only posed a minor threat.cite book|last=Halsey|title=Admiral Halsey's Story|date=1947|pages=p. 265]

In his memoirs Admiral Halsey gave four reasons for why he attacked Kure despite McCain's objections:
#To boost US morale and retaliate for the Attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941
#To ensure that the Japanese could not disrupt the planned Soviet invasion of Hokkaido
#To prevent Japan from using its fleet as a bargaining point to secure better peace terms
#Because he had been ordered to conduct the attack by his superior officer, Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz

Despite operating as a task group of the US Third Fleet, the British Pacific Fleet was excluded from the attack on Kure so that Britain would not be able to claim a part in destroying the Japanese fleet. The BPF was instead used to attack airfields and the port of Osaka.

Kure had been subjected to several major attacks by United States Army Air Force B-29 Superfortress bombers in 1945 prior to the US Navy's attack in late July. The Hiro Naval Aircraft Factory was successfully bombed on 5 May, naval mines were laid in the approaches to the port on 30 March and 5 May and 40 percent of the city was destroyed in a major air raid on 1 July. [cite book|last=Craven and Cate|title=The Pacific: Matterhorn to Nagasaki|date=1953|pages=pp.649, 668–669 and 675]

Battle

The Third Fleet attacked Kure for the first time on 24 July. US carrier aircraft flew 1,747 sorties on this day against Japanese targets.cite book|last=Morison|title=Victory in the Pacific|date=1960|pages=p.331 ] The attacks were successful, and resulted in the sinking of aircraft carrier "Amagi", battleship "Hyūga" and heavy cruiser "Tone". The Japanese ships were anchored in water too shallow for torpedos to be used and the US aircraft only avoided heavy losses from the large number of anti-aircraft guns in the area by using variable time-fused bombs. The BPF's attacks against Osaka and targets in the Inland Sea damaged escort carrier "Kaiyo" and sank the frigates "C.D. No. 4" and "C.D. No. 30" for the loss of four aircraft. US strikes against Kure continued on 25 and 28 July and resulted in the sinking of battleships "Ise" and "Haruna", heavy cruiser "Aoba", light cruiser "Ōyodo" (which was the Combined Fleet's flagship), the old heavy cruisers "Iwate" and "Izumo" and several smaller warships. The aircraft carriers "Katsuragi" and "Ryūhō" were also attacked by US aircraft on 24 and 28 July and "Katsuragi" suffered heavy damage. These air strikes were among the largest conducted by the US Navy during the war, and were the most destructive of shipping.

The USAAF also attempted to attack Japanese capital ships at Kure on 28 July. This attack was conducted by 79 B-24 Liberators based at Okinawa and resulted in only four bomb hits on "Aoba", which had been grounded as a result of the earlier carrier attacks. Japanese anti-aircraft guns shot down two B-24s and damaged 14 others and the USAAF's official historians later stated that the attack was "understandable only as competition with the Third Fleet". [cite book|last=Craven and Cate|title=The Pacific: Matterhorn to Nagasaki|date=1953|pages=p.698]

The Allies lost 102 aircrew and 133 planes in combat and accidents during the attacks. These losses were higher than those suffered by the Third Fleet in most of its operations, and were caused by the heavy anti-aircraft defences around the Japanese warships and Japanese fighters conducting a determined defence of the Kure area.

Aftermath

The Allied attacks on Kure and the inland sea resulted in the destruction of Japan's last remaining undamaged battleships and heavy cruisers. These losses avenged those suffered by the United States at Pearl Harborcite book|last=Roskill|title=The War At Sea 1939–1945. Volume III The Offensive. Part II 1st June 1944 – 14th August 1945|date=1961|pages=p.374] and enabled the Soviet Pacific Fleet to operate with much greater freedom in the Sea of Japan.cite book|last=Frank|title=Downfall. The End of the Imperial Japanese Empire|date=1999|pages=p.158]

Notes

References

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