Fujimi 41010 IJN Haguro Heavy Cruiser.

FUJ.41010

                '' IJN Haguro ''

Haguro was laid down at the Mitsubishi shipyard in Nagasaki on March 16, 1925, launched and named on March 24, 1928, and was commissioned into the Imperial Navy on April 25, 1929. Her service inWorld War II started in the Dutch East Indies, where she engaged the enemy off Makassar on February 8, 1942. She played a key role in thebattle of the Java sea on February 27, 1942, and was involved in the sinking of HMS Exeter and the Dutch flag ship Hr Ms De Ruyter, and of Encounter in another action off south Borneo on March 1, 1942.

On May 7, 1942 she participated in the battle of the Coral Sea, moving on to the Solomon Islands where she took part in thebattle of the Eastern Solomons on August 24, 1942, the evacuation from Guadalcanal at the end of January 1943, and took light damage in thebattle of Empress Augusta Bay on November 2, 1943. On June 19, 1944 she survived the battle of the Philippine Sea, and on October 23-25, 1944 she took light damage in the battle of Leyte Gulf.

In May 1945, Haguro was the target of the British "Operation Dukedom" and was ambushed. The 26th Destroyer Flotilla found her with the destroyer kamikaze just after midnight on May 16, 1945, and began the attack. During the battle, the Kamikaze was lightly damaged, but Haguro was hit by gunfire and three Mark IX Torpedoes. The Haguro soon began to slow down and took a 30-degrees list to port.

At 2:32 AM the Haguro began to go down stern first in theMalaca Strait, 55 miles (89 km) off Penang; Kamikaze rescued 320 survivors. Nine hundred men, including Vice Admiral Hashimoto and Rear Admiral Suqiura , perished with her. Rear Admiral Sugiura was later promoted to Vice Admiral posthumously on May 16. The battle was the last gun action ever fought between surface ships.