- Japanese cruiser Tone
nihongo|"IJN Tone"|利根 重巡洋艦|Tone jūjunyōkan was the
lead ship in the two-vessel "Tone"-class ofheavy cruiser s in theImperial Japanese Navy . It was named after theTone River , in theKantō region ofJapan and was completed on20 November 1938 at Mitsubishi's Nagasaki shipyards. "Tone" was designed for long-range scouting missions and had a largeseaplane capacity. She was extensively employed duringWorld War II in conjunction with anaircraft carrier task force, or as part of a cruiser squadron with her sistership , "Chikuma".World War II
Early Pacific War
At the end of 1941, " Tone " was assigned to CruDiv 8 with her
sister ship , "Chikuma", and was thus present during theattack on Pearl Harbor . That day,7 December 1941 , "Tone" and "Chikuma" each launched oneAichi E13A 1 Type 0 "Jake" floatplane for a final weather reconnaissance overOahu . At 0630, "Tone" and "Chikuma" each launched short rangeNakajima E8N Type 95 "Dave" two-seat floatplanes to act as pickets and patrol south of the Striking Force. "Tone's" floatplane flew to Lahaina, but found no American fleet units present. During the subsequent attack, the "USS Arizona", "USS Oklahoma", "USS West Virginia" and "USS California" were sunk and "USS Nevada", "USS Pennsylvania", "USS Tennessee", "USS Maryland" and many smaller ships were damaged.On
16 December CruDiv 8 was ordered to assist in the second attempted invasion ofWake Island . "Tone" launched two E8N2 for ASW patrols. After the fall of Wake Island, CruDiv 8 returned toKure, Hiroshima . By14 January 1942 , CruDiv 8 was based out ofTruk in theCaroline Islands , and covered the landings of Japanese troops atRabaul ,New Britain as well as attacks onLae andSalamaua ,New Guinea . On24 January "Tone's" floatplanes attacked theAdmiralty Islands . After the1 February air raid onKwajalein by Vice AdmiralWilliam Halsey, Jr aboard "USS Enterprise", "Tone" departed Truk with the Carrier Striking Force in an unsuccessful pursuit. "Chikuma" and "Tone" later participated in the Raid on Port Darwin,Australia on19 February , destroying 15 aircraft and sinking 11 ships. "Tone" launched a floatplane to report in weather conditions prior to the attack, but the plane’s radio failed and it returned without reporting. Later, another floatplane had greater success, and shot down aPBY Catalina of theRAAF .Battle of the Java Sea
On
1 March 1942 , "Tone" spotted the old "USS Edsall", 250 miles SSE ofChristmas Island . Four days later, floatplanes from "Tone" and "Chikuma" took part on the strike against Tjilatjap. On6 March , "Tone" rescued a British seaman who had been adrift since his ship had been sunk off Java on27 February .Indian Ocean Raids
On
5 April 1942 , "Tone" was part of a major task force which launched 315 aircraft against Columbo, Ceylon. "HMS Tenedos", "HMS Hector " and 27 aircraft were destroyed and over 500 killed in the harbor, while cruisers "HMS Cornwall" and "HMS Dorsetshire" were destroyed at sea. "Tone" and the rest of the task force returned to Japan in mid-April 1942, when it was almost immediately assigned to the unsuccessful pursuit of Admiral Halsey's Task Force 16.2 with the "USS Hornet" after theDoolittle Raid .Battle of Midway
At the crucial
Battle of Midway , "Tone" and CruDiv 8 was part of Vice AdmiralChuichi Nagumo 's Carrier Striking Force. On4 June , "Tone" and "Chikuma" each launched twoAichi E13A 1 "Jake" long-range reconnaissance floatplanes to search out 300 miles for American carriers. "Tone's" floatplane discovered American ships, but owing to internal bureaucracy in their command structure its report was not immediately delivered to admiral Nagumo. As a result, he had already ordered his aircraft to prepare for another attack on Midway before he received the report. "Tone" was attacked by enemy carrier aircraft during the battle, but sustained no damage, except the loss of an E8N2 "Dave" with its crew. "Chikuma" and "Tone" were then detached to support Vice AdmiralBoshiro Hosogaya 's Aleutian invasion force. However, the anticipated American counter-attack failed to materialize. CruDiv 8 cruised northern waters uneventfully.Rear Admiral
Chuichi Hara assumed command of CruDiv 8 from14 July 1942 . With the US invasion ofGuadalcanal , "Chikuma" and "Tone" were ordered south again on16 August with the aircraft carriers "Shokaku", "Zuikaku", "Zuiho", "Junyō", "Hiyo" and "Ryujo". They were joined by the battleships "Hiei", "Kirishima", seaplane tender "Chitose", and cruisers "Atago", "Maya", "Takao", "Nagara".Battle of the Eastern Solomons
On
24 August 1942 , CruDiv 7's "Kumano", "Suzuya" and "Mogami" arrived to join the reinforcement fleet for Guadalcanal. The following morning, aPBY Catalina seaplane spotted "Ryujo", whichSBD s and TBFs from "Enterprise" unsuccessfully attacked. Seven floatplanes from "Tone" and "Chikuma" were launched to locate the American fleet. One of "Chikuma's" planes spotted the Americans, but was shot down before its report could be relayed. However, a second floatplane was more successful, and the Japanese launched an attack against "Enterprise", hitting it with three bombs which set her wooden deck on fire. However, in the meantime, the Americans located the Japanese fleet, and "Ryujo" was sunk by planes from the "USS Saratoga". "Tone" was attacked unsuccessfully by two TBFs whose Mark 13 torpedoes missed, returning to Truk safely.Battle of Santa Cruz
Through October, "Chikuma" and "Tone" patrolled north of the
Solomon Islands , awaiting word of recapture ofHenderson Field by the Japanese. On19 October , "Tone" (with "Teruzuki") was detached on an independent mission to scout for American ships. Both ships operated off theSanta Cruz Islands until aKawanishi H6K Emily fromJaluit Atoll sighted a carrier off theNew Hebrides . On26 October 1942 , 250 miles northeast ofGuadalcanal , Rear AdmiralHiroaki Abe 's task force launched seven floatplanes to scout south of Guadalcanal. They located the American fleet, and Abe followed with an attack by 13Nakajima B5N 2 "Kate" torpedo planes which sank the "USS Hornet" and damaged the "USS South Dakota" and cruiser "USS San Juan". However, two of the four aircraft launched by "Tone" during the attack were shot down."Tone" supported Japanese reinforcement efforts at
Guadalcanal through mid-November1942 , and was then assigned to patrols from its base in Truk through mid-February 1943. After returning toMaizuru for refit on21 February , two additional twin-mount Type 96 25-mm AA guns were installed along with a Type 21 air-searchradar . On15 March 1943 Rear Admiral Kishi Fukuji assumed command of CruDiv 8, and "Tone" was ordered back to Truk. However, on17 May , "Chikuma" and "Tone" were tasked to accompany battleship "Musashi" back to Tokyo for thestate funeral of AdmiralIsoroku Yamamoto . "Tone" was back in Truk by15 July , having avoided numerous submarine attacks along the route. From July to November, "Tone" was engaged in making troop transport runs to Rabaul, and to patrols of theMarshall Islands in unsuccessful pursuit of the American fleet. While back at Kure on6 November , "Tone" gained additional 25-mm AA guns, bringing its total to 20. CruDiv 8 was disbanded on1 January 1944 , and both "Tone" and "Chikuma" were reassigned to CruDiv 7 (with "Suzuya" and "Kumano") under Rear AdmiralShoji Nishimura . "Tone" returned to Truk on2 January . In February, "Tone" assisted with the evacuation of Japanese forces from Truk toPalau .From
1 March 1944 , "Tone" was assigned to commerce raiding in the Indian Ocean. On9 March , "Tone" sank the British freighter SS "Behar", taking aboard 108 survivors against orders. Of the survivors, 32 were disembarked as prisoners of war at Batavia. Admiral Sakonjo Naomasa on the "Aoba" ordered that the remaining prisoners be “disposed of”, and they were taken out to sea and beheaded. (Following the war, Sakonju was executed forwar crime s, including the murder of these prisoners, while the former commander of "Tone", CaptainHaruo Mayazumi , was sentenced to seven years imprisonment.) [ http://www.cofepow.org.uk/pages/ships_behar.htm Downloaded 16/9/06 ] On20 March 1944 , Rear AdmiralKazutaka Shiraishi assumed command of CruDiv 7.Battle of the Philippine Sea
On
13 June 1944 , AdmiralSoemu Toyoda activated "Operation A-GO" for the defense of theMariana Islands . "Tone" was assigned to Force "C" of Vice AdmiralJisaburo Ozawa 's Mobile Fleet, which proceeded through theVisayan Sea to thePhilippine Sea headed towardsSaipan . On20 June , after "Haruna", "Kongo" and carrier "Chiyoda" were attacked by aircraft from the "USS Bunker Hill", "USS Monterey" and "USS Cabot" and the bulk of the Japanese air cover was destroyed in the “Great Marianas Turkey Shoot ”, "Tone" retired with the Mobile Fleet toOkinawa , and from there to Kure. While at Kure from 26 June-8 July 1944, "Tone" gained additional Type 96 25-mm AA, bringing its total to 57. Two new Type 22 surface-search radars and a Type 13 air-search radar were also fitted. After ferrying army troops to Okinawa "Tone" was reassigned back toSingapore in July.Battle of Leyte Gulf
On
23 October 1944 , "Tone" (with "Kumano", "Suzuya" and " Chikuma") sortied fromBrunei towards the Philippines with Vice Admiral Kurita's First Mobile Striking Force. In theBattle of the Palawan Passage , "Atago" and "Maya" were sunk by submarines, and "Takao" damaged. On24 October , CruDiv 7 was part of Vice AdmiralTakeo Kurita 's Center Force. In theBattle of the Sibuyan Sea the Center Force suffered eleven raids by planes from the carriers American Task Group 38.2, and "Tone" was hit by bombs. The following day, during theBattle off Samar , "Musashi" was sunk, "Yamato", "Nagato", "Haruna" and "Myoko" were damaged. "Tone" engaged American destroyer USS "Heermann" but was driven away by air attack. She escaped back through theSan Bernardino Strait without further damage, but "Tone's" sister "Chikuma", "Chokai", and "Suzuya" were lost.On
6 November , "Tone" departedBrunei towardsManila , and onward to Mako in thePescadores and Kure. Back in dry dock in Maizuru, Tone gained four additional triple mount 25-mm AA guns aft, bringing its total to 62. The Type 21 radar was replaced with a Type 22. CruDiv 7 was disbanded21 November and "Tone" re-assigned to CruDiv 5 with "Kumano". Once repairs were completed on18 February 1945 , "Tone" relocated toEtajima , where it was moored for use as a training ship. It was slightly damaged in an air raid on19 March .On
24 July 1945 , Task Force 38 launched a large air raid against Kure aimed at the final destruction of the Imperial Japanese Navy. Nine aircraft from the "USS Monterey" hit "Tone" with three bombs, causing her to settle to the bottom of the bay. The hulk was attacked again on 28 July by rockets and armor piercing bombs dropped by planes from the "USS Wasp" and "USS Ticonderoga". "Tone" was removed from the Navy List on20 November 1945 . Its hulk was raised and scrapped after the war from 1947-1948.List of Captains
Chief Equipping Officer - Capt. Teizo Hara - 1 November 1938 - 20 November 1938
Capt. Teizo Hara - 20 November 1938 - 15 November 1939
Capt. Shinzo Onishi - 15 November 1939 - 15 October 1940
Capt. Masao Nishida - 15 October 1940 - 10 September 1941
Capt. Tametsugu Okada - 10 September 1941 - 14 July 1942
Capt. Yuji Kobe - 14 July 1942 - 1 December 1943
Capt. Haruo Mayuzumi - 1 December 1943 - 6 January 1945
Capt. Yusaku Okada - 6 January 1945 - 24 July 1945
References
Books
*cite book
last = Brown
first = David
authorlink =
year = 1990
title = Warship Losses of World War Two
publisher = Naval Institute Press
location =
id = ISBN 1-55750-914-X
*cite book
last = D'Albas
first = Andrieu
authorlink =
year = 1965
title = Death of a Navy: Japanese Naval Action in World War II
publisher = Devin-Adair Pub
location =
id = ISBN 0-8159-5302-X
*cite book
last = Dull
first = Paul S.
authorlink =
year = 1978
chapter =
title = A Battle History of the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1941-1945
publisher = Naval Institute Press
location =
id = ISBN 0-87021-097-1
*cite book
last = Howarth
first = Stephen
authorlink =
year = 1983
title = The Fighting Ships of the Rising Sun: The drama of the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1895-1945
publisher = Atheneum
location =
id = ISBN 0-68911-402-8
*cite book
last = Jentsura
first = Hansgeorg
authorlink =
coauthors =
year = 1976
chapter =
title = Warships of the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1869-1945
publisher = Naval Institute Press
location =
id = ISBN 0-87021-893-X
*cite book
last = Lacroix
first = Eric
authorlink =
coauthors = Linton Wells
year = 1997
chapter =
title = Japanese Cruisers of the Pacific War
publisher = Naval Institute Press
location =
id = ISBN 0-87021-311-3
*cite book
last = Whitley
first = M.J.
authorlink =
coauthors =
year = 1995
chapter =
title = Cruisers of World War Two: An International Encyclopedia
publisher = Naval Institute Press
location =
id = ISBN 1-55750-141-6External links
*cite web
last = Parshall
first = Jon
coauthors = Bob Hackett, Sander Kingsepp, & Allyn Nevitt
year =
url = http://www.combinedfleet.com/tone_c.htm CombinedFleet.com: "Tone" class
title = Imperial Japanese Navy Page (Combinedfleet.com)
work =
accessdate = 2006-06-14
*Tabular record: [http://www.combinedfleet.com/tone_t.htm CombinedFleet.com: "Tone" history] (Retrieved 26 January 2007.)Three photos of Tone, but you must type Tone in the pic search window,
* http://www.world-war.co.uk/index.php3Notes
ee also
*
List of World War II ships
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.