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IJN Myōkō

IJN Myōkō

The ships of this class displaced 13,300 tons, were 204 metres long, and were capable of 36 knots (67 km/h). They carried two floatplanes and their main armament was ten 8-inch (203mm) guns, the heaviest armament of any cruiser in the world at the time.

Myōkō was laid down at the Yokosuka Naval Arsenal on October 25, 1924, launched and named on April 16, 1927, and was commissioned into the Imperial Japanese Navy on July 31, 1929. She was named after a mountain in Niigata Prefecture..

In June 1944, participated in the Battle of the Philippine Sea. The Japanese fleet sailed from its anchorage at Tawi Tawi in response to the American invasion of the Marianas Islands. The Japanese high command was aware that American heavy bombers, based in the Marianas, could eventually reach Japanese factories and shipyards in the Home Islands. This battle was later called the "Great Marianas Turkey Shoot" by American sailors, because over 300 Japanese carrier aircraft were shot down in a single day on June 19.

After participating in the Battle of Leyte Gulf, on her way to Camranh Bay, the Myōkō was hit by one torpedo from a spread of six, fired by USS Bergall at 9:35 PM on December 13, 1944. She was towed by destroyer Ushio and several other ships to Singapore Harbor for repairs, but there were insufficient materials in Singapore to complete the repairs to both Myōkō and Takao, which was also in harbor for repairs.

In February 1945, the harbor commander reported that the Myōkō was irreparable at Singapore without more materials, and impossible to tow to Japan. He recommended that Myōkō be kept in Singapore as a floating AA battery. This suggestion was approved and, although both Myōkō and Takao were targeted by British midget submarine attacks on July 26, Myōkō survived the war. Myōkō formally surrendered to British units on September 21, and was subsequently towed to the Strait of Malacca and scuttled off Port Swettenham, Malaya near submarines I-501 and I-502.