World War II Database

Contributor: C. Peter Chen

ww2dbaseKatori was the lead ship of a class of three light cruisers ordered as training ships in Japan's 1937 and 1939 Supplementary Naval budgets. She was commissioned into service in Apr 1940 with Captain Hisashi Ichioka as her commanding officer. She participated in the Japanese Navy's final midshipmen cruise before the Pacific War; during that cruise, she and her sister ship Kashima made port calls at Etajima and Mutsu in Japan, and Dalian and Shanghai in China. In Oct 1940, Captain Hisashi Mito was made her commanding officer. In Jan 1941, that role was given to Captain Noboru Owada. At the time of the Pearl Harbor raid, as the flagship of Vice Admiral Mitsumi Shimizu of the Sixth Fleet, she was stationed at Kwajalein, Marshall Islands. She was damaged at Kwajalein by SBD dive bombers and TBD torpedo bombers from USS Enterprise in Feb 1942, during which attack Shimizu was wounded. She received repairs at Yokosuka, Japan between Feb and May 1942. Upon the completion of the repairs, she returned to Kwajalein, and was made the flagship of Sixth Fleet's new commanding officer Vice Admiral Marquis Teruhisa Komatsu. In Jul 1942, Captain Nobuki Nakaoka was made her commanding officer. In Aug 1942, at Yokosuka, she received two twin Type 96 25-millimeter anti-aircraft guns in the forward part of the bridge. In Nov 1942, Captain Takeji Miyazaki took command of Katori while the ship was at Truk, Caroline Islands. In Jun 1943, the new Sixth Fleet commanding officer Vice Admiral Takeo Takagi broke his flag on Katori. In Jul 1943, Captain Hyoe Minakuchi was named her commanding officer. In Oct 1943, Minakuchi was relieved by Captain Tamekiyo Oda. In early Feb 1944, she was transferred to the General Escort Command. Between 17 and 18 Feb 1944, US Navy Task Force 58 launched a major attack on Truk. Katori had just departed from Truk before the attack, escorting armed merchant cruiser Akagi Maru, destroyer Maikaze, destroyer Nowaki, and minesweeping trawler Shonan Maru No. 15 for Yokosuka. The group came under attack by F6F fighters and TBF torpedo bombers from multiple US carriers about 64 kilometers (40 miles) northwest of Truk. Akagi Maru was sunk and Katori and Maikaze suffered some damage. Several hours later, battleship New Jersey, battleship Iowa, cruiser Minneapolis, cruiser New Orleans, destroyer Bradford, and destroyer Burns came upon the group. Already listing slightly to port and on fire from the first attack, Katori was struck by multiple shells from USS Iowa from the range of 13.25 kilometers (14,500 yards). Her list to port worsened quickly, and she sank about 5 minutes after being hit. US Navy personnel spotted many survivors in the water, but the Americans did not approach for rescue, thus all hands aboard were lost, including Captain Oda. Maikaze was sunk with all hands lost during this engagement as well; Nowaki alone escaped the attack. The Japanese Navy struck Katori from its register in Mar 1944.

Light Cruiser Katori Interactive Map

Photographs

Katori Operational Timeline