World War II Database

Takao was the lead ship of her class of heavy cruisers. At the start of the Pacific War, she was commanded by Captain Asakura Bunji and participated in the invasion of the Philippine Islands in Dec 1941, providing gunfire support at Lingayen Gulf. In Feb-Mar 1942, she participated in the Battle of the Java Sea. In Jun 1942, she was a part of the Aleutian force in the two-prong attack against the Aleutian Islands and Midway Atoll; she downed a B-17 bomber during the battle. Beginning in Aug 1942, she operated in the South Pacific. She participated in the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands in Oct 1942, the Second Battle of Guadalcanal in Nov 1942, and the evacuation of Guadalcanal in 1943. On 5 Nov 1943, she was attacked by American carrier Saratoga's SBD dive bombers while refueling at Rabaul, with her steering damaged by two bombs; he was forced to return to Yokosuka for extended repairs. In Oct 1944, she operated under Takeo Kurita and sailed with the force to attack American landing forces in the Philippines. While in the Palawan Passage, American submarines Darter and Dace intercepted the fleet on 23 Oct. At 0524, Darther fired a spread of torpedoes and scored four or five hits on fleet mate Atago; she sank roughly 30 minutes later with heavy casualties. At 0534, Darter hit Takao twice, shattering two shafts, breaking her fantail, and flooded three boiler rooms. Takao was sent back to Singapore for repairs, escorted by the destroyers Naganami and Asashimo, the torpedo boat Hiyodori, and the transport Mitsu Maru. When she arrived at Singapore, she was moored and became a stationary anti-aircraft gun battery. She was attacked by British submarine XE3 during Operation Struggle at 2100 on 31 Jul 1945, whose magnetic limpet mines blew a hole 20-meter by 10-meter wide and took a number of her guns out of commission. The Japanese were at first clueless of the infiltration by XE3, and remained so until divers investigating the damage found unexploded mines still attached to Takao's hull. After the surrender, she was boarded by British personnel on 21 Sep 1945. She was eventually sunk as a target ship for HMS Newfoundland in the Malacca Strait.

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