Figure 1: Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) Haguro in the final stages of fitting out, off Mitsubishi's Nagasaki shipyard, 6 April 1929. Photographed by Lieutenant R.J. Townsend, USN, of USS Black Hawk (AD-9). US Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.
Figure 2: Haguro off the mouth of the Yangtze River near Shanghai, China, 1932. US Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.
Figure 3: Photograph of Haguro probably taken between December 1931 and November 1932, when she was the third-ranking ship of Cruiser Squadron 4, Fourth Fleet. Japanese inscription in the lower right reads (from right to left): "Large cruiser Haguro, Myoko.” US Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.
Figure 4: Haguro underway in April 1936. Donation of Kazutoshi Hando, 1970. US Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.
Figure 5: Haguro in April 1936. Courtesy of Irootoko Digital Color Photos. Click on photograph for larger image.
Figure 6: Haguro operating at high speed in 1936. Donation of Kazutoshi Hando, 1970. US Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.
Figure 7: Haguro steaming through the wake of another Japanese cruiser, 1937. Note the 127-mm twin anti-aircraft gun and gun director in the foreground. Donation of Kazutoshi Hando, 1970. US Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.
Figure 8: Simpson Harbor, Rabaul, New Britain. Aircraft of the USAAF (United States Army Air Force) 3rd Bomb Group attack Japanese ships in Simpson Harbor, 2 November 1943. The heavy cruiser Haguro is in the foreground. She had been somewhat damaged during the battle of Empress Augusta Bay the previous night. The burning transport at right appears to be one of the Hakone Maru class, of which Hakone Maru, Hakozaki Maru and Hakusan Maru were still afloat at the time. The ship in the left distance, partially hidden by smoke, appears to be the submarine tender Chogei or Jingei. Official US Air Force Photograph, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center. Click on photograph for larger image.
Figure 9: Simpson Harbor, Rabaul, New Britain. Attack on Japanese shipping in Simpson Harbor by aircraft of the USAAF (United States Army Air Force) 3rd Bomb Group, 2 November 1943. The heavy cruiser Haguro is in the upper right center, beyond the bomb splashes. The ship in the center distance appears to be the submarine tender Chogei or Jingei. The original photograph came from Rear Admiral Samuel Eliot Morison's World War II history project working files. Official US Air Force Photograph, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center. Click on photograph for larger image.
Figure 10: Simpson Harbor, Rabaul, New Britain. Attack on Japanese ships in Simpson Harbor, by aircraft of the USAAF (United States Army Air Force) 3rd Bomb Group, 2 November 1943. The heavy cruiser Haguro is partially visible at left, with what appears to be the submarine tender Chogei or Jingei beyond. The burning transport in the left center appears to be one of the Hakone Maru class, of which Hakone Maru, Hakozaki Maru and Hakusan Maru were still afloat at the time. Official U.S. Air Force Photograph, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center. Click on photograph for larger image.
Figure 11: Simpson Harbor, Rabaul, New Britain. A bomb explodes off the port quarter of a Japanese cargo ship (at right) during an attack on Simpson Harbor by aircraft of the USAAF (United States Army Air Force) 3rd Bomb Group, 2 November 1943. The heavy cruiser Haguro is in the center distance. A low-flying B-25 bomber is visible in the lower left. Official US Air Force Photograph, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center. Click on photograph for larger image.
Figure 12: Illustration of Haguro as she appeared in 1944. Click on photograph for larger image.
Figure 13: Line drawing of Haguro as she appeared in 1944. Click on photograph for larger image.
Named after a mountain in Japan, the 10,980-ton Imperial Japanese Navy’s (IJN) Haguro was a Myoko class heavy cruiser that was built by the Mitsubishi shipyard at Nagasaki, Japan, and was commissioned on 25 April 1929. The ship was approximately 661 feet long and 68 feet wide, had a top speed of 36 knots, and had a peacetime crew of 773 officers and men. Haguro initially was armed with ten 7.9-inch guns, six 4.7-inch guns, two 7.7-mm machine guns, and twelve 24-inch torpedo tubes, but this armament changed dramatically when she was overhauled in the mid-1930s.
Soon after being commissioned, Haguro was assigned to the IJN’s Fourth Sentai (or Squadron) and remained with this unit until 1933, when she was transferred to the Fifth Sentai. During the years prior to the start of World War II in the Pacific, Haguro operated in Japanese home waters and off the coast of China, taking part in peacetime naval exercises. The heavy cruiser carried Japanese troops to China in 1932 and in 1937. In 1937, as confrontations between China and Japan erupted into open warfare, Haguro participated in blockading and patrol duties, as well as landing operations, all along the Chinese coastline.
From 1935 to 1936, and again in 1939, Haguro underwent substantial shipyard overhauls and modifications. These changes significantly enhanced the effectiveness of her torpedo armament, dramatically increased the number of her anti-aircraft gun batteries, and altered her aircraft handling arrangements (she could now carry at least two floatplanes on catapults). Although her armament was improved, her beam and displacement also increased, causing a modest reduction in her maximum speed. In 1940 and 1941, Haguro took part in the Japanese fleet’s preparations for war against the United States and the other Western powers in the region. She was sent to the Palau Islands in November 1941 and, after the war in the Pacific began on 7 December 1941, Haguro participated in the Japanese invasion of the Philippines. During the first few months of 1942, Haguro took part in the conquest of the Netherlands East Indies and played an important role in the major Japanese victory at the Battle of the Java Sea.
In May 1942, Haguro escorted the main Japanese aircraft carrier force during the Battle of the Coral Sea. One month later, during the massive and decisive Battle of Midway, Haguro was part of the task force sent to occupy Midway Island. But the task force had to retreat after Japan lost the battle. In late August 1942, Haguro took part in the Battle of the Eastern Solomon Islands. In January and February 1943, as the struggle for Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands neared its end, Haguro provided distant cover for Japan’s successful effort to evacuate its troops from Guadalcanal. Haguro was in the northern Pacific in May and June 1943, returned south as the Allies moved into the central Solomon Islands, and fought in the Battle of Empress August Bay in the beginning of November.
In June 1944, Haguro participated in the Battle of the Philippines Sea. From 24 to 25 October 1944, the heavy cruiser was in action in the Sibuyan Sea and off the island of Samar in the Philippines. These actions were both part of the Battle for Leyte Gulf in the Philippines. In 1945, Haguro was stationed at Singapore, from which she was assigned to supply and transport missions. During the early hours of 16 May 1945, while conducting an operation to evacuate Japanese troops from the Andaman Islands, Haguro was intercepted by five British destroyers in the eastern Bay of Bengal. Haguro was hit by three torpedoes and sank, with the loss of about three-quarters of her wartime crew of roughly 1,200 officers and men.
