World War II Database

Like other Katori-class cruisers, Kashii was originally laid down as a training vessel, but the war necessitated them to enter action. Named after a shrine on the Hakuta Bay in Japan, she was commissioned in Jul 1941 with Captain Sanji Iwabuchi in command. As a part of the Southern Expeditionary Fleet, she served briefly as Vice Admiral Jisaburo Ozawa's flagship off Indochina and southern China in Nov 1941. At 1000 on 8 Dec 1941, she served off Malaya, assisting the landing of troops in Siam who would eventually march into Malaya at the start of the Pacific War. On 13 Dec, she joined light cruiser Sendai and covered transports bringing more troops into Malaya. On 3 Jan 1942, she rescued survivors from the troop transport Meiko Maru as the transport caught fire accidentally, exploded, and sank. On 16 Feb 1942, she escorted transports landing troops on the island of Sumatra; a month later, after participating in several convoy missions, she returned to northern Sumatra to provide cover for further landings at Kutaradja and Sabang. On 19 Mar 1942, Kashii became the flagship of the No. 2 Escort Unit, which landed the Japanese 56th Infantry Division at Rangoon, Burma on 25 Mar 1942. She was detached on 4 Apr and returned to Singapore, once again becoming Ozawa's flagship. In Sep 1942, a fake second funnel was installed to throw off enemy identification. From the start of the Pacific War until early 1944, she participation in many transport and patrol duties all across the South Pacific. In Feb 1944, she returned to Etajima and began to perform training duties as she was originally intended to serve at the time she was laid down. However, as the Allied forces slowly inched toward Japan, by May 1944 she was set out to sea again, this time as Rear Admiral Mitsuharu Matsuyama's flagship, charged with anti-submarine and escort missions. By that time, however, American blockade of Japanese waters were so effective that the presence of Kashii and other escorts affected little on American submarines' efforts to sink Japanese transports. On 12 Jan 1945, Allied forces struck Indochina, where Kashii was located at that time. Between 1100 and 1700 that day, SB2C Helldiver dive bombers and TBF Avenger torpedo bombers attacked the convoy in which Kashii was a member of. Kashii was attacked at 1408, hit by a torpedo and two bombs. The hits set off her depth charges, and the cruiser sank quickly. Only 19 out of her complement of 640 survived.

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